A Different World actress Cree Summer began her career as the first voice artist for Penny in Inspector Gadget

Inspector Gadget and Penny are on MeTv Toons

Inspector Gadget was an animated series that ran from 1983-1984 for two season in syndication. It amy have aired on ABC, CBS, and NBC depending on the location. The cartoon shorts can now be seen on MeTV Toons at 9:30 a.m. weekdays. Baby Boomers are enjoying watching their favoite childhood cartoons on this new channel and sharing what they are learning about their favorite cartoon characters in MeTV Toons Facebook groups.

I knew Don Adams who starred in Get Smart was the voice of the secret agent with gadgets attached to his body. He was always fighting the evil Dr. Claw who after being foiled would say "I'll get you next time gadget, next time". "Uncle Gadget" more often than not was assisted by his niece Penny and I was curiosu whose voice was behind the pretty blonde. During the first season Penny Gadget was originated by Cree Summer who is best known for portraying Freddie Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World.

Cree Summer's parents were actors

Summer has lent her voice to many cartoon caracters since A Different World went off the air including Elmyra Duff on Tiny Toon Adventures, Suzt Charmichael on Rugrats, and Numbuh 5 and Cree Lincoln in Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door,

On A Different World Freddie's mother was white but Cree's parents both are of Native American heritage as you can see in the following image of the family. Her father Don Francks also known as Iron Buffalo was an actor who was in many Westerns including Riding High, Jericho, The Wild WIld West, and The Adventures of Tugboat Annie. He did work as a young actor in his native Canada which makes Cree a chip off the old block. Her mother Lili Francks a Plains/Cree/African American who was her dad's second wife. She was in films includeing Siren, Blue Murder, and Da Kink in My Hair.

The amazing Penny Gadget

One of the fun aspects of Inspector Gadget is that Penny actually does all the hard work for her uncle with his secret spy missions. He seems oblivious that Penny assists him and his superiors believe he is the one catching the bad guys and foiling their plans. Penny allows Uncle Gadget to believe he is solving the mysteries.

She usually uses her computer book and video watch to help her solve the cases. It is not stated where Penny got them or why she has them in the first place, but given Penny's super intelligence, she probably built it herself.

Penny Gadget was Cree Summer's first television role and from 1983 to 1986 she has voiced more than 100 characters. Her voice is destinctive and sometimes can be detected but I had no idea she was the original Penny until I read it. Some of her additional voiceover work includes the following.

Cree Summer's additional voice work

Cleo the Poodle in PBS Kids' Clifford the Big Red Dog, Miranda from Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger, Foxxy Love in Drawn Together, Dulcy the Dragon in Sonic the Hedgehog, Valerie Gray in Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom, Penelope in Barbie as Rapunzel, octogenarian villain Granny May on WordGirl, Tiff from Nickelodeon's My Life as a Teenage Robot, and Blackarachnia in Transformers: Animated. She also voiced Princess 'Kida' Kidagakash for the franchise of Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire

If you are a fan of Inspector Gadget and Penny be sure to tune in to MeTV Toons. Cree Summer is currently touring with other members of the A Different World cast to HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities.