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One Piece at a Time
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For the Johnny Cash album, see One Piece at a Time (album).
"One Piece at a Time"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album One Piece at a Time
B-side
"Go On Blues"
Released
March 1976 (1976-03)
Format
7-inch single
Genre
Country, rockabilly, novelty
Length
4:00
Label
Columbia
Songwriter(s)
Wayne Kemp
Producer(s)
Charlie Bragg, Don Davis
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"Strawberry Cake"
(1976) "One Piece at a Time"
(1976) "Sold Out of Flagpoles"
(1976)
Audio sample
file
help
"One Piece at a Time" is a country novelty song written by Wayne Kemp[1] and recorded by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three in 1976. It was the last song performed by Cash to reach number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and the last of Cash's songs to reach the Billboard Hot 100, on which it peaked at number 29.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 In popular culture
3 Charts
4 References
5 External links
Background[edit]
Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" Cadillac. Cash is in the driver's seat and Bruce Fitzpatrick is standing at the far right.
The singer leaves his home in Kentucky in 1949 to pursue work at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. He installs wheels on Cadillacs, watching each one roll by day after day on the assembly line, knowing that he will never be able to afford one of his own.
Beginning almost immediately, he and a co-worker decide to "steal" a Cadillac by way of using their assembly line jobs to obtain the parts via salami slicing. He takes the small parts home hidden in his unusually large lunch box; larger parts are smuggled out in his co-worker's motorhome.
The process of accumulating all the necessary parts turns out to take at least 25 years (the newest part mentioned, the engine, is from 1973), but once they have what they think is a complete car, they attempt to assemble the pieces. Because automakers inevitably make numerous changes to their models, designs and parts over the course of a quarter-century, the result was a hodgepodge of parts from different years and models that did not fit together well (the bolt holes disappear when attempting to fit the engine with a 1953 transmission, there was only one right headlight and two left headlights, and they only had one tail fin).
Despite these problems, the singer and his co-worker get the car in proper working condition. The singer's wife is surprised at the outcome, but wants a ride in it anyway. Townspeople began laughing at the singer's unique car as he takes it to have it registered. However, the folks at the courthouse were not as pleased — it took the "whole staff" to type up the vehicle title, which ended up weighing 60 pounds (27 kg).
The song ends with a CB radio conversation between the singer and a truck driver inquiring about the "psychobilly Cadillac", in which the singer replies, "you might say I went right up to the factory and picked it up; it's cheaper that way".
The song is in a moderate tempo in the key of F major, with a main chord pattern of F-B♭-C7-F. The verses are done in a talking blues style; Cash had used a similar spoken-word format and chord progression in his earlier hit "A Boy Named Sue."[3]
In popular culture[edit]
Bruce Fitzpatrick, owner of Abernathy Auto Parts and Hilltop Auto Salvage in Nashville, Tennessee, was asked by the promoters of the song to build the vehicle for international promotion. Fitzpatrick had all the models of Cadillacs mentioned in the song when it was released and built a car using the song as a model. The result was presented to Cash in April 1976. It was parked outside The House of Cash[4] in Hendersonville, Tennessee, until someone could find a place to store it. After The House of Cash Museum closed, Bruce Fitzpatrick retrieved the '49–'70 Cadillac with a wrecker and brought it back to Abernathy Auto Parts and Hilltop Auto Salvage in Nashville, Tennessee, and crushed it.[5]
The song was covered by Chicago rock band Tub Ring for the 2001 Johnny Cash tribute album, Cash from Chaos.
The psychobilly Cadillac from the "One Piece at a Time" video is at the Storytellers museum in Bon Aqua, Tennessee. This is a different car than the one made by Bruce Fitzpatrick. This car was made at the behest of Bill Patch of Welch, OK and constructed by Leland Mayfield, Harley Malone, Eldon McCoy and Don. P. Chenoweth. [6]
An attempt at building a vehicle "one piece at a time" was completed successfully over a five-year period by a Chinese motorcycle assembly line worker in Chongqing.[7]
Charts[edit]
Chart (1976)
Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 29
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[10] 6
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles 40
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
U.K. Singles Chart 32
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Hall of Fame - Wayne Kemp". Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 76.
Jump up ^ "'One Piece at a Time' sheet music". MusicNotes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
Jump up ^ "The House Of Cash". stevenmenke.com. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Neel, Lara (3 March 2014). "A '49–'70 Cadillac Built for Johnny Cash". Motorbooks. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Jump up ^ Jimmie Tramel, Unusual Gift for Johnny Cash turned Welch into Cash Country." Tulsa World August 13, 2017. http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/17towns/towns-in-unusual-gift-for-johnny-cash-turned-welch-into/article_b2607cc5-3ebd-5ccd-a5ea-bd430b6a2c3b.html
Jump up ^ "Man stole motorbike - part by part". Ananova. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
Jump up ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)" Billboard.
Jump up ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)" Billboard.
Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 49.
External links[edit]
Lyrics as they appear on Yahoo! Music
Origin of the Second Cadillac as presented by the Antique Automobile Club of America. See also [1]
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Preceded by
"After All the Good Is Gone"
by Conway Twitty Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single
May 29-June 6, 1976 Succeeded by
"I'll Get Over You"
by Crystal Gayle
RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
June 19, 1976 Succeeded by
"El Paso City"
by Marty Robbins
[hide]
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Songs
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Family Feud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is about the American television game show. For other uses, see Family Feud (disambiguation).
Family Feud
Genre
Game show
Created by
Mark Goodson
Directed by
Paul Alter (1976–85, 1988–90)
Marc Breslow (1988–93)
Andy Felsher (1990–95)
Lenn Goodside (1999–02)
Ken Fuchs (2002–present)
Hugh Bartlett (2013–14)
Presented by
Richard Dawson (1976–85, 1994–95)
Ray Combs (1988–94)
Louie Anderson (1999–2002)
Richard Karn (2002–06)
John O'Hurley (2006–10)
Steve Harvey (2010–present)
Narrated by
Gene Wood (1976–85, 1988–95)
Burton Richardson (1999–2010)
Joey Fatone (2010–15)
Rubin Ervin (2015–present)
Theme music composer
Score Productions (1976–85, 1988–95, 2002–03, 2008–present)
Edd Kalehoff (1994–95)
John Lewis Parker (1999–2008)
Country of origin
United States
Original language(s)
English
Production
Producer(s)
Howard Felsher (1976–85, 1988–95)
Cathy Dawson (1976–85)
Gary Dawson (1984–85, 1994–95)
Running time
22–26 minutes:
ABC (1976–85)
CBS (1988–92)
Syndicated (1977–85, 1988–95, 1999–present)
42–44 minutes:
ABC specials (1978–84, 2015–present)
CBS (1992–93)
Syndicated (1994–95)
Production company(s)
Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1976–82)
Mark Goodson Productions (1982–85, 1988–95, 1999–2002)
FremantleMedia (2002–present)
Distributor
Viacom Enterprises (1977–85)
LBS Communications (1988–91)
Tribune Entertainment (1999–2007)
20th Television (2007-present)
Debmar-Mercury (2007–present)
Release
Original network
ABC (1976–85, 2015–present)
CBS (1988–93)
Syndicated (1977–85, 1988–95, 1999–present)
Original release
July 12, 1976 (1976-07-12) – present
Chronology
Related shows
100 desempleados dijeron (from XHDRBZ)
100 latinos dijeron
100 mexicanos dijeron
Celebrity Family Feud
¿Qué dice la gente?
External links
Website
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson where two families compete to name the most popular responses to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. It is considered a spin-off of Match Game, whose panel included original host Richard Dawson.
The program premiered on ABC on July 12, 1976, and ran as part of its daytime schedule until June 14, 1985. The program was re-launched by CBS on July 4, 1988, and ran until September 10, 1993. Three separate editions for syndication were also produced. The first aired from September 19, 1977 to September 6, 1985. The second aired from September 19, 1988 to September 8, 1995. The current syndicated series premiered on September 20, 1999.
The ABC network version of the show and the first syndicated series were hosted by Richard Dawson. Ray Combs hosted the CBS series and the first six seasons of the accompanying syndicated version, then was replaced by Dawson for the final season. The 1999 syndicated series has been hosted by Louie Anderson (1999–2002), Richard Karn (2002–06), John O'Hurley (2006–10), and Steve Harvey (2010–present). Announcers for the series have included Gene Wood (1976–85, 1988–95), Burton Richardson (1999–2010, syndication; 2015–present, ABC), Joey Fatone (2010–15), and Rubin Ervin (2015–present).
The program has spawned multiple regional adaptations in over 50 international markets outside the United States. Within a year of its debut, the original version became the number one game show in daytime television; however, as viewing habits changed, the ratings declined. Harvey's takeover in 2010 increased Nielsen ratings significantly and eventually placed the program among the top five most popular syndicated television shows in the country. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Feud third in its list of the 60 greatest game shows of all time.
Contents
1 Gameplay
1.1 Fast Money
1.2 Returning champions
1.3 Bullseye game
2 Hosts and announcers
3 Production
4 Broadcast history
4.1 1976–85
4.2 1988–95
4.3 1999–present
5 Reception
6 Merchandise
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Works cited
9 External links
Gameplay[edit]
Two family teams of five contestants (reduced to four contestants for the 1994-95 season) each compete to win cash and prizes. The original version of the show began with the families being introduced, seated opposite each other as if posing for family portraits, after which the host interviewed them.[1]
Unlike most game shows, there is no minimum age necessary to participate in Family Feud, although every family must have at least one person who is 18 years or older. Each round begins with a "face-off" question that serves as a toss-up between two opposing contestants. The host asks a survey question that was previously posed to a group of 100 people (e.g., "Name the hour that you get up on Sunday mornings.").[2] A certain number of answers are concealed on the board, ranked by popularity of the survey's responses. Only answers said by at least two people can appear on the board. The first contestant to buzz-in gives an answer; if it is the most popular, his/her family immediately wins the face-off. Otherwise, the opponent responds and the family member providing the higher-ranked answer wins. Ties are broken in favor of the contestant who buzzes-in first. If neither contestant's answer is on the board, the other eight contestants have a chance to respond, one at a time from alternating sides, until an answer is revealed. The family that wins the face-off may choose to play the question or pass control to their opponents (except on the Combs version, when the family who won the face-off automatically gained control of the question).[2]
The family with control of the question then tries to win the round by guessing all of the remaining concealed answers, with each member giving one answer in sequence. Giving an answer not on the board, or failing to respond within the allotted time, earns one strike. If the family earns three strikes, their opponents are given one chance to "steal" the points for the round by guessing any remaining concealed answer; failing to do so awards the points back to the family that originally had control. If the opponents are given the opportunity to "steal" the points, then only their team's captain is required to answer the question (except on the Combs version, where all team members were required to answer.) However, the team's captain has the final say as to what answer is given.[2] Any remaining concealed answers on the board that were not guessed are then revealed.
While a family has control of a question, the members are not allowed to discuss possible answers with one another; each person must respond individually. However, the opposing family may confer in preparation for an attempt to steal, and their captain must respond for them when such an attempt is made.
Answers are worth one point for every person in the 100-member survey who gave them. The winning family in each round scores the total points for all revealed answers to that question, including those given during the face-off but excluding the one used to steal (if applicable). The number of answers on the board decreases from round to round, and as the game progresses, certain rounds are played for double or triple point value. The first family to score 300 points wins the game and advances to the Fast Money bonus round for a chance to win a cash bonus. Until 1992, both teams received $1 per point scored.[1]
Prior to 1999, the game continued as normal until one family reached the necessary total to win. Since then, if neither team reaches the goal after four rounds (or, from 1999 to 2002, if both teams were tied with the same score after the final round), one last question is played for triple value with only the #1 answer displayed.
The goal of 300 points has been in place in the rules of almost every version of the show. However, when the program premiered in 1976, the goal was 200 points. For the 1984–85 season of both the daytime and syndicated program, the goal was increased to 400 points.[3] For several seasons after the 1999 return to syndication, there was no specific point goal. Instead, four rounds were played, with the last for triple points and only one strike. The family with the most points after the fourth round won the game.
Fast Money[edit]
Two members of the winning family play Fast Money for a chance to win a cash bonus. One contestant is onstage with the host, while the other is sequestered backstage so that he/she cannot hear the first portion of the round. The first contestant is asked five rapid-fire survey questions and has a set time limit in which to answer them (originally 15 seconds, extended to 20 in 1994). The clock begins to run only after the first question is asked, and the first contestant may pass on a question and return to it after all five have been asked, if time remains.
After the first contestant has either answered all five questions or run out of time, the host reveals how many people in the survey matched each of his/her answers. The board is then cleared except for the total score, and the second contestant is then brought out to answer the same five questions. The same rules are followed, but the time limit is extended by five seconds (originally 20, then extended to 25); in addition, if the second contestant duplicates an answer given by the first, a buzzer sounds and he/she must give another answer. If the two contestants reach a combined total of 200 points or more, the family wins the bonus. If not, they are given $5 per point scored as a consolation prize.[2]
The grand prize for winning Fast Money has varied. When the program aired in daytime, families played for $5,000.[4][5] The grand prize for syndicated episodes was $10,000 for much of its existence. In 2001, the prize was doubled to $20,000 at the request of then-host Louie Anderson, where it has remained since.[6]
Returning champions[edit]
When Family Feud premiered on ABC, network rules dictated how much a family could win. Once any family reached $25,000, they were retired as champions.[7] The accompanying syndicated series that premiered in 1977 featured two new families each episode because of tape bicycling (a practice then common in syndicated television).
The CBS daytime and syndicated versions which began airing in 1988 also featured returning champions, who could appear for a maximum of five days.[8] For a brief period in the 1994–95 season which aired in syndication, there were no returning champions. For these episodes, two new families competed in this first half of each episode. The second half featured former champion families who appeared on Family Feud between 1977 and 1985, with the winner of the first half of the show playing one of these families in the second half.[9]
From 1999 to 2002, two new families appeared on each episode. The returning champions rule was reinstated with the same five-day limit starting with the 2002–03 season.[10] Starting with the 2009–10 season, a family that wins five matches also wins a new car.
Bullseye game[edit]
In June 1992, the CBS daytime edition of Feud expanded from thirty to sixty minutes and became known as Family Feud Challenge. As part of the change, a new round was added at the start of each game called "Bullseye". This round determined the potential Fast Money stake for each team.[11] Each team was given a starting value for their bank and attempted to come up with the top answer to a survey question to add to it. The Bullseye round was added to the syndicated edition in September 1992.
The first two members of each family appeared at the face-off podium and were asked a question to which only the number-one answer was available. Giving the top answer added the value for that question to the family's bank. The process then repeated with the four remaining members from each family. On the first half of the daytime version, families were staked with $2,500. The first question was worth $500, with each succeeding question worth $500 more than the previous, with the final question worth $2,500. This allowed for a potential maximum bank of $10,000. For the second half of the daytime version, and also on the syndicated version, all values were doubled, making the maximum potential bank $20,000. The team that eventually won the game played for their bank in Fast Money.
When Richard Dawson returned as host of the program in 1994, the round's name was changed to the "Bankroll" round.[12] Although the goal remained of giving only the number-one answer, the format was modified to three questions from five, with only one member of each family participating for all three questions. The initial stake for each family remained the same ($2,500 in the first half of the hour and $5,000 in the second). However, the value for each question was $500, $1,500 and $2,500 in the first half, with values doubling for the second half. This meant a potential maximum bank of $7,000 in the first half and $14,000 in the second.[12]
The Bullseye round temporarily returned during the 2009–10 season. It was played similarly as the format used from 1992 to 1994 on the syndicated version, with five questions worth from $1,000 to $5,000. However, each family was given a $15,000 starting stake, which meant a potential maximum of a $30,000 bank.
Hosts and announcers[edit]
The ABC and first syndicated versions of Family Feud were hosted by Richard Dawson. As writer David Marc put it, Dawson's on-air personality "fell somewhere between the brainless sincerity of Wink Martindale and the raunchy cynicism of Chuck Barris".[13] Dawson showed himself to have insistent affections for all of the female members of each family that competed on the show, regardless of age.[13] Writers Tim Brooks, Jon Ellowitz, and Earle F. Marsh owed Family Feud's popularity to Dawson's "glib familiarity" (he had previously played Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes) and "ready wit" (from his tenure as a panelist on Match Game).[1] The show's original announcer was Gene Wood,[14] with Johnny Gilbert and Rod Roddy serving as occasional substitutes.[15]
In 1988, Ray Combs took over Dawson's role as host on CBS and in syndication with Wood returning as announcer and Roddy, Art James, and Charlie O'Donnell serving in that role when Wood was not available.[15] Combs hosted the program until the daytime version's cancellation in 1993 and the syndicated version until the end of the 1993–94 season. Dawson returned to the show at the request of Mark Goodson Productions for the 1994–95 season.[16]
When Feud returned to syndication in 1999, it was initially hosted by Louie Anderson,[1] with Burton Richardson as the new announcer.[17] Richard Karn was selected to take over for Anderson when season four premiered in 2002,[1] and when season eight premiered in 2006, Karn was replaced by John O'Hurley.[1] In 2010, both O'Hurley and Richardson departed from the show; comedian Steve Harvey was named the new host for season twelve,[18] and announcements were made using a pre-recorded track of former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone's voice until 2015,[19] when Rubin Ervin, who has been a member of the production staff as the warmup man for the audience since Harvey took over, became the announcer (Richardson still announces for Celebrity Family Feud).
Production[edit]
The first four versions of the show were directed by Paul Alter and produced by Howard Felsher and Cathy Dawson. For the 1988 versions, Gary Dawson worked with the show as a third producer, and Alter was joined by two other directors, Marc Breslow and Andy Felsher.[15] The 1999 version's main staff include executive producer Gabrielle Johnston, supervising producers Kristin Bjorklund and Brian Hawley, and director Ken Fuchs; Johnston and Bjorklund previously worked as associate producers of the 1980s version.[20] The show's classic theme tune was written by an uncredited Walt Levinsky for Score Productions. The themes used from 1999 to 2008 were written by John Lewis Parker.[20] The production rights to the show were originally owned by the production company Goodson shared with his partner Bill Todman, but were sold to their current holder, FremantleMedia, when it acquired all of Goodson and Todman's works in 2002.[20]
Broadcast history[edit]
1976–85[edit]
Mark Goodson created Family Feud during the increasing popularity of his earlier game show, Match Game, which set daytime ratings records in 1976, and on which Dawson was currently appearing on as one of its most popular panelists. Match Game aired on CBS, and by 1976, CBS vice president Fred Silverman (who had originally commissioned Match Game) had moved to a new position as President of ABC. The show premiered on ABC's daytime lineup at 1:30 PM (ET)/12:30 PM (CT/MT/PT) on July 12, 1976, and although it was not an immediate hit, before long it became a ratings winner and eventually surpassed Match Game to become the highest-rated game show in daytime.
Due to the expansion of All My Children to one hour in April 1977, the show was moved to 11:30/10:30 AM, as the second part of an hour that had daytime reruns of Happy Days (later Laverne & Shirley) as its lead-in. When $20,000 Pyramid was cancelled in June 1980, it moved a half-hour back to 12 noon/11:00 AM. [21] It remained the most popular daytime game show until Merv Griffin's game show Wheel of Fortune surpassed it in 1984.[2] From 1978 until 1984, ABC periodically broadcast hour-long primetime "All-Star Specials", in which celebrity casts from various primetime lineup TV series competed instead of ordinary families.[1] The popularity of the program inspired Goodson to consider producing a nighttime edition, which launched in syndication on September 18, 1977. Like many other game shows at the time, the nighttime Feud aired once a week; it expanded to twice a week in January 1979,[2] and finally to five nights a week (Monday through Friday) in the fall of 1980. However, the viewing habits of both daytime and syndicated audiences were changing.[2] When Griffin launched Wheel's syndicated version, starring Pat Sajak and Vanna White, in 1983, that show climbed the ratings to the point where it unseated Feud as the highest-rated syndicated show;[22] the syndicated premiere of Wheel's sister show Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek as host also siphoned ratings from Feud with its early success. With declining ratings, and as part of a scheduling reshuffle with two of ABC's half-hour soaps, the show moved back to the 11:30/10:30 timeslot in October 1984, as the second part of a one-hour game show block with Trivia Trap (later All-Star Blitz) as its lead in, hoping to make a dent in the ratings of The Price is Right.
Despite the ratings decline, there was some interest in keeping the show in production. In a 2011 interview, Dawson recalled a meeting with executives from Viacom Enterprises about keeping the show for one more season. Dawson was growing tired of the grueling taping schedule and initially wanted to stop altogether. After discussing the situation with ABC and Viacom, Dawson said that he would return for a final syndicated season of thirty-nine weeks of episodes but would not continue doing the daytime series. After this, Dawson did not hear from Viacom for approximately a week and once they contacted him again, Dawson was told that Viacom was no longer interested in continuing the syndicated Feud beyond the 1984–85 season.[23] Viacom made this official in January 1985 ahead of that year's NATPE convention, and within a few weeks, ABC decided that it too would not renew Feud for the 1985–86 season.[24] The daytime version came to an end on June 14, 1985.[2] The syndicated version aired its last new episode on May 17, 1985, and continued to air in reruns after that until September 6, 1985.[2]
1988–95[edit]
Family Feud moved to CBS with Ray Combs hosting on July 4, 1988 at 10:00 AM (ET)/9:00 AM (CT/MT/PT), replacing The $25,000 Pyramid. Like its predecessor, this version also had an accompanying syndicated edition which launched in September of that year. It moved to 10:30/9:30 in January 1991 to make room for a short-lived talk show starring Barbara DeAngelis. At that timeslot, it replaced the daytime Wheel of Fortune, which moved back to NBC.[1] In June 1992, the network version expanded from its original half-hour format to a full hour, and was retitled The Family Feud Challenge;[1] this new format featured three families per episode, which included two new families competing in the first half-hour for the right to play the returning champions in the second half. The Family Feud Challenge aired its final new episode on March 26, 1993, with reruns airing until September 10.[25] The syndicated Feud, meanwhile, remained in production and entered its sixth season in the fall of 1993.
Despite the success with Combs as the host, ratings for the show began to plummet, especially with the syndicated being intact. For much of its run to this point, the syndicated Feud had to deal with situations by either dropping the series or moving it to undesirable time slots such as overnights. By 1992, the ratings had hit a low point, and, by the time the sixth season premiered, distributor All American Television (which would eventually acquire Mark Goodson Productions) made the decision to cancel the series unless ratings improved and changes were made. The responsibility for this fell on Jonathan Goodson, who had taken over his father's company when Mark Goodson died in 1992. One of the options considered was a host change.[16]
When the revival launched in 1988, Mark Goodson had not even considered former host Richard Dawson to return due to lingering bad feelings between Dawson and the production team. After hiring Combs, Goodson threw his loyalties behind him, and refused to consider changing hosts, despite the ratings already waning. However, the younger Goodson did not have the ties to Combs that his father did, and felt that a change would at least require consideration. After a rigorous staff meeting, Goodson offered Dawson a contract to return as host of the syndicated Feud, and the semi-retired Dawson agreed to return. Combs finished out the remainder of the season, but, upset by the decision to replace him, he departed from the studio as soon as he signed off on the final episode of his tenure.[16]
A revamped Family Feud returned for a seventh season in September 1994, with Dawson returning as the host. The show expanded from thirty to sixty minutes, reinstated the Family Feud Challenge format, and did various other things to try to improve the ratings of the show such as modernizing the set, feature families that had previously been champions on the original Feud, and have more themed weeks. Although Dawson did bring a brief ratings surge when he came back, the show could not sustain it long term, and Feud came to a conclusion at the end of the 1994–95 season. The show ceased production for nearly four years after failing to come to an agreement with various companies. Even so on, Ray Combs died on June 2, 1996.
1999–present[edit]
Family Feud returned in syndication on September 20, 1999, with comedian Louie Anderson as the next host. Anderson hosted the show for nearly three years until his release in 2002.[26] After Anderson's release, Richard Karn took over the show. The format was changed to reintroduce returning champions, allowing them to appear for up to five days. However, even after Karn's takeover, Anderson-hosted episodes continued in reruns that aired on PAX TV/Ion Television.[1] Karn hosted the show for four years, and then, it was John O'Hurley at the helm. The show's Nielsen ratings were at 1.5, putting it in danger of cancellation once again. O'Hurley would host the show for four years, and was succeeded by Steve Harvey. With Harvey at the helm, ratings increased by as much as 40%,[27] and within two short years, the show was rated at 4.0, and had become the fifth most popular syndicated program.[28] Fox News' Paulette Cohn argued that Harvey's "relatability," or "understanding of what the people at home want to know," is what saved the show from cancellation;[29] Harvey himself debated, "If someone said an answer that was so ridiculous, I knew that the people at home behind the camera had to be going, 'What did they just say?' … They gave this answer that doesn't have a shot in hell of being up there. The fact that I recognize that, that's comedic genius to me. I think that's [made] the difference."[29]
Since Harvey became host, Family Feud has regularly ranked among the top 10 highest-rated programs in all of daytime television programming and third among game shows (behind Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!); in February 2014, the show achieved a 6.0 share in the Nielsen ratings, with approximately 8.8 million viewers.[30] In June 2015, Family Feud eclipsed Wheel of Fortune as the most-watched syndicated game show on television.[31]
Reruns of the Dawson, Combs, Anderson and Karn hosted episodes have been included among Buzzr's acquisitions since its launch on June 1, 2015.[32] On June 13, 2016, American episodes hosted by Harvey began airing on the UK digital terrestrial and satellite channel Challenge.[33]
Production of Family Feud was shifted from Universal Orlando to Harvey's hometown of Atlanta in 2011, first at the Atlanta Civic Center and later at the Georgia World Congress Center. Harvey was also originating a syndicated radio show from Atlanta, and the state of Georgia also issued tax credits for the production. In 2017, production moved to Los Angeles Center Studios (later moved again to Universal Studios Hollywood) in Los Angeles to accommodate Harvey's new syndicated talk show Steve, returning production of the regular series back to Los Angeles for the first time since 2010.[34][35][36][37]
Reception[edit]
Family Feud won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 1977, and the show has twice won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host, once with Dawson (1978) and again with Harvey (2014) and (2017).[38][39] Feud ranked number 3 on Game Show Network (GSN)'s 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[40] and also on TV Guide's 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.[41]
Tara Ariano and Sarah D. Bunting, founders of the website Television Without Pity, wrote that they hated the 1999 syndicated version, saying "Give us classic Feud every time", citing both Dawson and Combs as hosts. Additionally, they called Anderson an "alleged sexual harasser and full-time sphere".[42]
It was reported that the public responded negatively to several videos posted on the official Family Feud web site in September 2015, in which contestants on the current version gave sexually explicit answers to survey questions.[43] Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center suggested that the responses are in line with sexual content becoming more commonplace on television.[43]
The popularity of Family Feud in the United States has led it to become a worldwide franchise, with over 50 adaptations outside the United States. Countries that have aired their own versions of the show include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, among others.
Merchandise[edit]
Further information: Family Feud (video game series)
Since the show's premiere in 1976, many home versions of Family Feud have been released in various formats. Milton Bradley, Pressman Games, and Endless Games have all released traditional board games based on the show,[44][45] while Imagination Entertainment released the program in a DVD game format.[46]
The game has been released in other formats by multiple companies; Coleco Adam released the first computer version of the show in 1983, and Sharedata followed in 1987 with versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and Apple II computers.[47] GameTek released versions for Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Genesis, 3DO, and PC (on CD-ROM) between 1990 and 1995.[48] Hasbro Interactive released a version in 2000 for the PC and PlayStation.[49] In 2006, versions were released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, and PC.[50] Seattle-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of Family Feud that was available on Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular.[51][52][53] Glu Mobile later released a newer mobile version of Family Feud for other carriers.[54]
Most recently, in conjunction with Ludia, Ubisoft has video games for multiple platforms. The first of these was entitled Family Feud: 2010 Edition and was released for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC in September 2009.[55] Ubisoft then released Family Feud Decades the next year, which featured sets and survey questions from television versions of all four decades the show has been on air.[56] A third game, entitled Family Feud: 2012 Edition was released for the Wii and Xbox 360 in 2011.[57]
In addition to the home games, a DVD set titled All-Star Family Feud was released on January 8, 2008 and featured a total of 15 celebrity episodes from the original ABC/syndicated versions on its four discs.[58] It was re-issued as The Best of All-Star Family Feud on February 2, 2010.[59]
See also[edit]
All Star Family Feud
Family Feud (1977 Australian game show)
Family Feud (2014 Australian game show)
References[edit]
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^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Schwartz, Ryan and Wostbrock, p. 72.
Jump up ^ Family Feud. 14 June 1985. ABC.
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Jump up ^ "Family Feud". E! True Hollywood Story. Season 6. Episode 34. 2002. E!.
Jump up ^ Family Feud. 28 May 1980. ABC. Explained by Richard Dawson at the beginning of the episode [better source needed]
Jump up ^ Family Feud. 14 November 1988. CBS. [better source needed]
Jump up ^ Family Feud. 8 September 1994. Syndicated. [better source needed]
Jump up ^ Family Feud. September 2002. Syndicated. [better source needed]
Jump up ^ Family Feud Challenge. June 1992. CBS.
^ Jump up to: a b Family Feud. 12 September 1994. Syndication.
^ Jump up to: a b Marc, David (1995). Prime Time, Prime Movers: From I Love Lucy to L.A. Law – America's Greatest TV Shows and the People who Created Them. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-0311-8.
Jump up ^ "Gene Wood, 78, Game Show Announcer". The New York Times. June 14, 2004. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. pp. 71–73. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Family Feud". E! True Hollywood Story. Season 6. Episode 34. July 28, 2002. E!.
Jump up ^ Grosvenor, Carrie. "Interview with Burton Richardson, 'Family Feud' Announcer". About.com. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ Albiniak, Paige (January 20, 2010). "Steve Harvey to Host 'Family Feud'". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
Jump up ^ Breia Brissey (July 23, 2010). "Joey Fatone will not Dance his Ass Off. He'll just judge those who do!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c End credits lists of appropriate Family Feud episodes.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud – A long history of successful programming". Mansfield Television Distribution Co. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
Jump up ^ Schwartz, Ryan and Wostbrock, pp. 250–252.
Jump up ^ "Richard Dawson Interview". Archive of American Television. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
Jump up ^ "NATPE '85". Broadcasting: 52. January 21, 1985. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Schwartz, Ryan and Wostbrock, p. 73.
Jump up ^ DeMichael, Tom (2009). TV's Greatest Game Shows: Television's Favorite Game Shows from the 50s, 60s, & More!. Marshall Publishing & Promotions, Inc. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-9814909-9-1.
Jump up ^ "'Family Feud' Ratings Jump with Steve Harvey". eurweb.com. October 19, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
Jump up ^ Albiniak, Paige (October 8, 2012). "Steve Harvey, Syndication King? No Feud With That". Broadcasting & Cable. 142 (39): 22.
^ Jump up to: a b Cohn, Paulette (June 19, 2015). "How Family Feud host Steve Harvey saved show, expanded with 'Celebrity' edition". Fox News Entertainment. Fox News Network, LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
Jump up ^ Bibel, Sara. "Syndicated TV Ratings: 'Judge Judy' Again Number One in Households, 'Wheel of Fortune' Wins Total Viewers & 'Dr. Phil' Top Talker for Week Ending February 9, 2014". TV By the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
Jump up ^ Kissell, Rick (June 23, 2015). "Ratings: Family Feud Tops All of Syndication for First Time". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Fox TV Stations Bolsters Game Show Content With Buzzr TV". Deadline. Penske Business Media. January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud". Challenge. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
Jump up ^ "'Family Feud': Apopka family plays this week; show won't return to Orlando". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
Jump up ^ "'Family Feud' moving production from Atlanta to Los Angeles". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
Jump up ^ "Steve Harvey moving radio show from Atlanta to Los Angeles". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
Jump up ^ "'Family Feud' relocating to Atlanta". UPI. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
Jump up ^ "The Winners for the 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
Jump up ^ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR THE 44TH ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY® AWARDS" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
Jump up ^ The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time. August 31, 2006. GSN.
Jump up ^ Fretts, Bruce (June 17, 2013). "Eyes on the Prize". TV Guide: 14–15.
Jump up ^ Ariano, Tara; Bunting, Sarah D. (2006). Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) About TV. Quirk Books. p. 96. ISBN 1-59474-117-4.
^ Jump up to: a b Burt, Sharelle M. (2 October 2015). "Sexually charged answers on 'Family Feud' have viewers fuming". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud (1977)". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud". Endless Games. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ Lambert, David (September 7, 2004). "Family Feud – Richard Karn version gets interactive DVD game!". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud by Softie, Inc". archive.org. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud conversions". MobyGames. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud [2000] Review". IGN. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud: 2006". IGN. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud by Mobliss inc". Mobliss. Archived from the original on February 14, 2003. Retrieved February 14, 2003.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud (2004) by Mobliss". Mobliss. Archived from the original on November 12, 2004. Retrieved November 12, 2004.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud (Deluxe) by Mobliss". Mobliss. Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud". Glu Mobile. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud: 2010 Edition". IGN. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud Decades (2010)". IGN. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud: 2012 Edition". IGN. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud – All-Star Family Feud Starring Richard Dawson". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Family Feud – All-Star Family Feud Starring Richard Dawson (Mill Creek)". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
Works cited[edit]
Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve & Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.
External links[edit]
Official website
Current Production website
Family Feud (1976) on IMDb
All-Star Family Feud Special (1977) on IMDb
Family Feud (1988) on IMDb
Family Feud (1999) on IMDb
Celebrity Family Feud (2008) on IMDb
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100 mexicanos dijeron (Mexico)
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Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show
Password (1974)
Hollywood Squares (1975)
The $20,000 Pyramid (1976)
Family Feud (1977)
Hollywood Squares (1978)
Hollywood Squares (1979)
Hollywood Squares / The $20,000 Pyramid (1980)
The $20,000 Pyramid (1981)
Password Plus (1982)
The $25,000 Pyramid (1983)
The $25,000 Pyramid (1984)
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The $25,000 Pyramid (1986)
The $25,000 Pyramid (1987)
The Price Is Right (1988)
The $25,000 Pyramid (1989)
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The Price Is Right (1996)
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Win Ben Stein's Money (1999)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2000)
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Alfred E. Neuman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Alfred Neumann (disambiguation) and Alfred Newman (disambiguation).
Neuman on Mad 30
Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine Mad. The character's face had drifted through U.S. iconography for decades before being claimed by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1954 and later named by the magazine's second editor Al Feldstein in 1956. Since his debut in Mad, Neuman's likeness has appeared on the cover of all but a handful of the magazine's 550+ issues, distinguished by jug ears, a missing front tooth, and one eye lower than the other. His face is rarely seen in profile; he has virtually always been shown in front view, directly from behind, or in silhouette.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Genesis
3 Cultural impact
4 References
5 External links
History[edit]
Harvey Kurtzman first spotted the image on a postcard pinned to the office bulletin board of Ballantine Books editor Bernard Shir-Cliff. "It was a face that didn't have a care in the world, except mischief", recalled Kurtzman. Shir-Cliff was later a contributor to various magazines created by Kurtzman.[1]
In November 1954, Neuman made his Mad debut on the front cover of Ballantine's The Mad Reader, a paperback collection of reprints from the first two years of Mad. The character's first appearance in the comic book was on the cover of Mad #21 (March 1955), in a tiny image as part of a mock advertisement. A rubber mask bearing his likeness with "idiot" written underneath was offered for $1.29.
First cover appearance of Neuman, on Mad #21 (third from viewer's left of the six faces approx. 40% down the viewer's-right side)
Mad switched to a magazine format starting with issue #24, and Neuman's face appeared in the top, central position of the illustrated border used on the covers, with his now-familiar signature phrase "What, me worry?" written underneath. Initially, the phrase was rendered "What? Me worry?" These borders were used for five more issues, through Mad #30 (December 1956).
The character was also shown on page 9 of Mad #24 as "Melvin Coznowski" and on page 65 as "Melvin Sturdley". In later issues he appeared as "Melvin Cowsnofsky" or "Mel Haney". In Mad #25, the face and name were shown together on separate pages as both Neuman and Mel Haney. The crowded cover shot on Mad #27 marked Neuman's first color appearance.
When Al Feldstein took over as Mad's editor in 1956, he seized upon the face:
I decided that I wanted to have this visual logo as the image of Mad, the same way that corporations had the Jolly Green Giant and the dog barking [sic] at the gramophone for RCA. This kid was the perfect example of what I wanted. So I put an ad in The New York Times that said, "National magazine wants portrait artist for special project". In walked this little old guy in his sixties named Norman Mingo, and he said, "What national magazine is this?" I said "Mad," and he said, "Goodbye." I told him to wait, and I dragged out all these examples and postcards of this idiot kid, and I said, "I want a definitive portrait of this kid. I don't want him to look like an idiot—I want him to be loveable and have an intelligence behind his eyes. But I want him to have this devil-may-care attitude, someone who can maintain a sense of humor while the world is collapsing around him." I adapted and used that portrait, and that was the beginning.
Mingo's defining portrait was used on the cover of Mad #30 in late 1956 as a supposed write-in candidate for the Presidency, and fixed his identity and appearance into the version that has been used ever since. In November 2008, Mingo's original cover art featuring this first official portrait of Neuman sold at auction for $203,150. Mingo painted seven more Neuman covers through 1957, and later returned to become the magazine's signature cover artist throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Mingo produced 97 Mad covers in total, and also illustrated dozens of additional cover images for Mad's many reprint Specials and its line of paperbacks.[2][3]
During Mingo's absence, Frank Kelly Freas rendered Neuman for Mad from 1958 to 1962. Mingo's total surpassed Freas' in 1965, and his leading status endured until 2016, when current contributor Mark Fredrickson became the most prolific Mad cover artist with his 98th cover.
Neuman has appeared in one form or another on the cover of nearly every issue of Mad and its spinoffs since that issue and continuing to the present day, with a small handful of exceptions. Two such departures were Mad #233 (September 1982) which replaced Neuman's image with that of Pac-Man, and Mad #195 (December 1977) which instead featured the message "Pssst! Keep This Issue Out of the Hands of Your Parents! (Make 'Em Buy Their Own Copy!)". Even when Neuman is not part of the cover gag, or when the cover is entirely text-based, his disembodied head generally appears in miniature form. The most notorious Neuman-free cover was #166 (April 1974), which featured a human hand giving the profane "middle finger" gesture while declaring Mad to be "The Number One Ecch Magazine".[4] Some newsstands that normally carried Mad chose not to display or sell this issue.
Conversely, the two covers that featured Neuman the most times were #502 (January 2010), and #400 (December 2000). #502 featured a human hand giving the "thumb's down" signal, while wearing a silver-spangled glove in the style of singer Michael Jackson. Each individual spangle, more than 300 in all, was a tiny Alfred E. Neuman face.[5] The cover of issue #400 was a photomosaic of Neuman's face, composed of more than 2,700 images of previous Mad covers.[6]
Neuman's ubiquity as a grinning cover boy grew as the magazine's circulation quadrupled, but the single highest-selling issue of Mad depicted only his feet. The cover image of issue #161,[7] spoofing the 1973 film The Poseidon Adventure, showed Neuman floating upside-down inside a life preserver. The original art for this cover was purchased at auction in 1992 for $2,200 by Annie Gaines, the widow of Mad founder and publisher William Gaines, and subsequently given on permanent loan to Mad writer Dick DeBartolo.[8] The image was copied in 1998 for issue #369 spoofing the hit film Titanic.
A female version of Neuman named Moxie Cowznofski appeared briefly during the late 1950s, occasionally described in editorial text as Neuman's "girlfriend". Neuman and Moxie were sometimes depicted side-by-side, defeating any speculation that Moxie was possibly Neuman in female guise. Her name was inspired by Moxie, a soft drink manufactured in Portland, Maine, which was sold nationwide in the 1950s and whose logo appeared as a running visual gag in many early issues of Mad.
In late 1959, Mad released a 45 rpm single entitled "What—Me Worry?" on ABC Paramount 12013 that was credited to Neuman, and featured an uncredited voice actor singing the song as Neuman. (The B-side of the single, "Potrzebie", is an instrumental.)
Mad routinely combines Neuman with another character or inanimate object for its cover images. Neuman has appeared in a slew of guises, including Santa Claus, Darth Vader, George Washington, King Kong, Baby New Year, Lawrence of Arabia, Batman, Robin, Spider-Man, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Rosemary's Baby, George S. Patton, the Fiddler on the Roof, an Aurora-style model kit, Alex from A Clockwork Orange, Bonnie and Clyde actor Michael J. Pollard, Barbra Streisand, Mr. T, Indiana Jones, Radar O'Reilly, Bruce Springsteen, Max Headroom, Mr. Spock, Bart Simpson, Pee-Wee Herman, Michael Jackson, a California Raisin, a face on Mount Rushmore, as Egyptian hieroglyphics, part of a fireworks display, a jack-in-the-box, an engraved bottle stopper, a scarecrow, the Headless Horseman, the sequins on Michael Jackson's glove, Don King, Robin Hood, Abraham Lincoln, Guns N' Roses' Slash, Kim Pine, the Man in the Moon, an Oscar statuette, an "Operation" board game, Jabba the Hutt, Wolverine, Gollum, Lance Armstrong, SpongeBob SquarePants, Agent Smith from The Matrix, Kurt Cobain, Shrek, Dr. Octopus, Dennis Rodman, The Incredibles' Jack-Jack, a zombie, a victim of a zombie swarm, a caveman, a fetus, a boa constrictor, a rat, a weathervane, a Ferengi, Greek column, the joker in a deck of cards, the bull's eye in a target, the three wise monkeys, part of a totem pole, a cigar label, George W. Bush, Justin Timberlake, Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Barry Bonds, Suri Cruise, Wilson the Volleyball, the Mona Lisa, Che Guevara, Lil Wayne, Barack Obama, Rorschach (from Watchmen), Adolf Hitler, Justin Bieber, Jimmy Carter, Finn the Human, and Uncle Sam ("Who Needs You?"), among other familiar faces.
Since his initial unsuccessful run in 1956, Neuman has periodically been re-offered as a candidate for President with the slogan, "You could do worse... and always have!"
Early image of the "Me Worry?" kid, from the early 1950s.
Along with his face, Mad also includes a short humorous quotation credited to Neuman with every issue's table of contents. (Example: "It takes one to know one... and vice versa!") Some of these quotations were collected in the 1997 book Mad: The Half-Wit and Wisdom of Alfred E. Neuman, which was illustrated by Sergio Aragonés.
Neuman is now used exclusively as a mascot and iconic symbol of the magazine, but before this status was codified, he was referenced in several early articles. In one, Neuman answered a letter from a suicidal reader by giving "expert advice" on the best technique for tying a hangman's knot. Other articles featured the school newspaper of "Neuman High School", and a bulletin from "Alfred E. Neuman University". An article entitled "Alfred E. Neuman's Family Tree" depicted historical versions of Neuman from various eras. Since then, Neuman has appeared only occasionally inside the magazine's articles. A recurring article titled "Poor Alfred's Almanac" showed his face atop the page, but otherwise the character had no role in the text. In a 1968 article, Neuman's face was assembled, feature by feature, from parts of photographs of well-known politicos, including then-President Lyndon B. Johnson (left ear), Richard Nixon (nose), Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield (eyes), and Ronald Reagan (hair). The gap in his teeth (which was otherwise the grin of Dwight D. Eisenhower) came from "The 'Credibility Gap' Created by Practically All Politicians".
Neuman's famous motto is the intellectually uncurious "What, me worry?" This was changed for one issue to "Yes, me worry!" after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. On the cover of current printings of the paperback The Ides of Mad, as rendered by long-time cover artist Norman Mingo, Neuman is portrayed as a Roman bust with his catch phrase engraved on the base, translated into Latin—Quid, Me Anxius Sum?
Neuman's surname is often misspelled as "Newman".[9]
Neuman's most prominent physical feature is his gap-toothed grin, with a few notable exceptions. On the cover of issue #236 (January 1983), Neuman was featured with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The cover showed E.T. using his famous "healing finger" to touch Neuman's mouth and cause the missing tooth to appear. The cover of issue #411 (November 2001), the first to be produced following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, showed a close-up of Neuman's face, but his gap was now filled with an American flag. A text gag on the cover of issue #263 (June 1986) claimed that the UPC was really a "Close-up Photograph of Neuman's Missing Tooth".
Neuman also appeared as himself in a political cartoon, after Newsweek had been criticized for using computer graphics to retouch the teeth of Bobbi McCaughey. The cartoon was rendered in the form of a split-screen comparison, in which Neuman was featured on the cover of Mad with his usual gap-toothed grin, then also featured on the cover of Newsweek, but with a perfect smile.
Despite the primacy of Neuman's incomplete smile, his other facial features have occasionally attracted notice. Artist Andy Warhol said that seeing Neuman taught him to love people with big ears.[10]
In 1958, Mad published letters from several readers noting the resemblance between Neuman and England's Prince Charles, then nine years old.[11] Shortly thereafter, an angry letter under a Buckingham Palace letterhead arrived at the Mad offices: "Dear Sirs No it isn't a bit—not the least little bit like me. So jolly well stow it! See! Charles. P." The letter was authenticated as having been written on triple-cream laid royal stationery bearing an official copper-engraved crest. The postmark indicated it had been mailed from a post office within a short walking distance of Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, the original disappeared years ago while on loan to another magazine and has never been recovered.[12]
For many years, Mad sold prints of the official portrait of Neuman through a small house ad on the letters page of the magazine. In the early years, the price was one for 25 cents; three for 50 cents; nine for a dollar; or 27 for two dollars. The ad stated that the prints could also be used for wrapping fish.
A live-action version of Neuman—an uncredited actor wearing a mask—appears briefly in the 1980 film Up the Academy which was originally released to theaters as Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy. Mad later pulled its support from the film, and all footage of the Neuman character was excised from North American home video and television releases, although it was reinstated for the 2006 DVD release.
Neuman appeared occasionally in the early seasons of MADtv during sketches and interstitials, and briefly appeared in the animated TV series Mad.
Genesis[edit]
The New Boy—1894
Neuman's precise origin is shrouded in mystery and may never be fully known. A comprehensive collection of early Neumanesque images can be found in Maria Reidelbach's comprehensive work, Completely Mad: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine (Little, Brown, 1991). Mad publisher Bill Gaines gave Reidelbach total access to the magazine's own files, including the collection of Neuman-related images that had been assembled for a 1965 copyright infringement lawsuit.[13]
The earliest image cited in Reidelbach's book is from an advertisement for Atmore's Mince Meat, Genuine English Plum Pudding. She wrote that, "[d]ating from 1895, this is the oldest verified image of the boy.... The kid's features are fully developed and unmistakable, and the image was very likely taken from an older archetype..."[12] After the publication of the book, an older "archetype" was discovered in an advertisement for the comical stage play, The New Boy, which debuted on Broadway in 1894. The image is nearly identical to what later appears in the Atmore's ads.[14]
An example of the stage play's advertisement was published in the Los Angeles Herald (December 2, 1894). Using words that could easily be describing the character of Alfred E. Neuman, the paper reported that the, "comic red-headed urchin with a joyous grin all over his freckled face, whose phiz [(face)] is the trademark of the comedy, is so expressive of the rollicking and ridiculous that the New York Herald and the Evening Telegram have applied it to political cartoon purposes."[14] Elements of the plot of the play explain why the character has adult and childlike features, why the character is dressed as he is, and how he may have lost his teeth.[14] Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the original New Boy image was published with a two-part phrase that is similar in tone to Neuman's, "What? Me Worry?" catch phrase. The catch phrase for The New Boy, was, "What's the good of anything?—Nothing!"[14]
The New Boy advertising image was copied widely for use as advertising for "painless" dentistry advertisements and other uses. It is also possible that the image influenced the look of The Yellow Kid, the 1890s character from Richard F. Outcault's strip, Hogan's Alley. The image was used for a variety of purposes nearly continuously until it was adopted by Mad Magazine.[14]
The Yellow Kid, 1897.
1908 Antikamnia Tablet Calendar.
Postcard from 1930 to 1945 with a similar boy and slogan to Mad Magazine's Neuman.
Similar faces turned up in advertising for "painless" dentistry. A face virtually identical to Neuman's appears in the 1923 issue of the University of Minnesota humor magazine The Guffer above the caption "Medic After Passing Con Exam in P. Chem." Another identical face shows up in the logo for Happy Jack Beverages, a soda drink produced by the A. B. Cook company in 1939. An almost-identical image appeared as "nose art" on an American World War II bomber, over the motto "Me Worry?" (this painted face was sometimes referred to as "The Jolly Boy").[15] Neuman's image was also used negatively, as a "supporter" of rival political candidates, with the idea that only an idiot would vote for them. In 1940, those opposing Franklin Delano Roosevelt's third-term reelection bid distributed postcards with a similar caricature bearing the caption, "Sure I'm for Roosevelt". In some instances, there was also the implication that the "idiot" was in fact a Jewish caricature. Carl Djerassi's autobiography claims that in Vienna after the Anschluss, he saw posters with a similar face and the caption Tod den Juden ("Kill the Jews").
Since the EC editors had grown up listening to radio, this was frequently reflected in their stories, names and references. The name "Alfred E. Neuman" derived from comedian Henry Morgan's "Here's Morgan" radio series on Mutual, ABC and NBC. One character on his show had a name that was a reference to composer Alfred Newman, who scored many films and also composed the familiar fanfare that accompanies 20th Century Fox's opening film logo.[16] The possible inspiration for Henry Morgan was that Laird Cregar portrayed Sir Henry Morgan in The Black Swan (1942) with Tyrone Power, and the Oscar-nominated score for that film was by Newman. Listening to the sarcastic Morgan's brash broadcasts, the Mad staff took note and reworked the name into Neuman, as later recalled by Kurtzman:
The name Alfred E. Neuman was picked up from Alfred Newman, the music arranger from back in the 1940s and 1950s. Actually, we borrowed the name indirectly through The Henry Morgan Show. He was using the name Newman for an innocuous character that you'd forget in five minutes. So we started using the name Alfred Neuman. The readers insisted on putting the name and the face together, and they would call the "What, Me Worry?" face Alfred Neuman.[16]
Morgan later became a Mad contributor, with "The Truth about Cowboys" in issue #33.
When Mad was sued for copyright infringement by a woman claiming to hold the rights to the image, the magazine argued that it had copied the picture from various materials dating back to 1911 (which pre-dated the plaintiff's own claim). The lawsuit was unsuccessful, and the boy's face is now permanently associated with Mad—so much so, in fact, that according to Mad writer Frank Jacobs, the US Post Office once delivered a letter to the Mad offices bearing only a picture of Neuman, without any other address or identifying features.
In 2008, Eastern Michigan University held an exhibit and symposium on the evolution of Neuman images, dating back to 1877.[17][18]
Several pre–New Boy images that bear some resemblance to Neuman have also been identified. A number may be seen on John Adcock's Mysteries of Melvin blog-posting[19] and another at leconcombre.com.[20] The earlier images, however, do not share the missing teeth/tooth or the head-and-shoulders framing and head-on pose.
In 2012, longtime editor Nick Meglin offered a streamlined, exasperated version of Neuman's origins:
Oh, don't ask me about Alfred E. Neuman. That story is so old and so meaningless. Does the average Playboy reader care about where the rabbit came from? It's just a symbol that lets you know what's on the inside. It's just a name we made up. We had 20, and that's the one we settled on.[21]
Cultural impact[edit]
Over the decades, Neuman has frequently been referenced in outside media, and his face has often appeared in political cartoons as a shorthand for unquestioning stupidity. During the administration of United States President George W. Bush, Neuman's features were frequently merged with those of Bush by editorial cartoonists such as Mike Luckovich and Tom Tomorrow. The image has also appeared on magazine covers, notably The Nation.[22] A large Bush/Neuman poster was part of the Washington protests that accompanied Bush's 2001 inauguration. The alleged resemblance between the two has been noted more than once by Hillary Clinton. On July 10, 2005, speaking at the Aspen Institute's Ideas Festival, she said, "I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," referring to Bush's purported "What, me worry?" attitude.[23] At the October 2008 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama joked, "It's often been said that I share the politics of Alfred E. Smith and the ears of Neuman."[24] Neuman's features have also been compared to others in the public eye, including Prince Charles, Ted Koppel, Oliver North and David Letterman.
Freas painted the August 1971 cover of National Lampoon which merged Neuman's features with those of the court-martialed Vietnam War murderer William Calley, complete with the phrase, 'What, My Lai?"[25] However, Neuman's motto has also been referenced in a non-pejorative fashion, as at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. Jimi Hendrix spoke to the audience about the various changes of personnel in his band, and their lack of rehearsal time, while saying "What, me worry?" The tenth American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, has a striking resemblance to Neuman. When judge Steven Tyler pointed this out on the show, McCreery replied, "What, me worry?"
In an extended sequence of the comic strip Peanuts from 1973 (later recreated in the 1983 TV special It's An Adventure, Charlie Brown), Charlie Brown becomes so obsessed with baseball that everything round starts looking like a baseball to him. Soon his own round head develops a rash that makes the back of his skull look like a baseball, and he starts wearing a paper bag on his head to hide it. Ironically, while hidden from view, his popularity and respect increase. He is referred to by the other campers as "Mr. Sack" or "Sack", but is also voted camp president and is widely admired. The rash eventually fades from his head, but Charlie Brown still fears that the next round thing he expects to see—a sunrise—may continue to look like a baseball. When the sun does rise, it instead looks like Neuman, with a halo reading: "What! Me Worry?"! [26][27] Neuman also appeared as a sight gag in the March 27, 1967 installment of the comic strip Beetle Bailey, as an inspector general.[28] He can also be spotted in The Amazing Spider-Man #300, helping Peter Parker and Mary Jane move into their new house, while saying, "Darn! I'm missing the Nets game! That makes me Mad!" Similarly, when, in 1959's Superman #126, Superman decides to test Lois Lane by removing a rubber Superman mask in order to reveal his "real" identity, his identity is none other than Neuman. DC Comics' "Emperor Joker" storyline includes a cult that worships a deity named Alfred E.; the high priest of this cult wears a mask identical to Neuman's face.
Neuman and Mad have been referenced several times on the animated series The Simpsons. In the episode "Marge in Chains", Marge is arrested and in prison she meets an inmate called Tattoo Annie who has a fold-in tattoo that reveals Neuman with the text: "What me Worry?". The original phrase was "What kind of slime would I marry?". In the episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", Bart comes into contact with Neuman during a visit to the Mad offices. Neuman demands to see "Kaputnik and Fonebone" (which are references to deceased long-time Mad artists Dave Berg and Don Martin, respectively) for their work on New Kids on the Blecch (which would later become the title of another episode), and requests some "furshlugginer pastrami sandwiches". An awestruck Bart announces that he will "never wash these eyes again". In the episode "New Kids on the Blecch", Bart's boy band is booked to play a gig on an aircraft carrier, but their band manager plots to use the craft's weaponry to destroy the Mad offices when he discovers the magazine plans to publish a defamatory article about the band. Mad's New York headquarters were depicted as a skyscraper similar to the Chrysler Building with a giant three-dimensional replica of Neuman's head mounted on the roof. In the episode "Father Knows Worst", Homer and Bart visit a hobby shop which includes an Aurora model-style kit of Neuman holding several protest signs.
In a segment of his 1958 television special, Fred Astaire danced while wearing a rubber Neuman mask.[29] An episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 made multiple references to Neuman, including episode #602 featuring Invasion U.S.A. Upon seeing director Alfred E. Green's name in the film's opening credits, Crow T. Robot, in a slightly idiotic tone, riffs "What? Me direct?" An animated 1996 sketch on MADtv combining Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with The Godfather was credited to "Alfred E. Puzo" and "Francis E. Neuman".
Another reworked name was "Al Freddy Newham", depicted on the cover of the April 1967 issue of the amateur radio enthusiast's 73 Magazine, preparing to ineptly solder the frayed cord of a soldering gun with the same damaged gun.[30] Neuman appears briefly, in clay animated form, in Jimmy Picker's 1983 stop motion animated film, Sundae in New York. He also makes a cameo in the 1988 Daffy Duck cartoon The Night of the Living Duck. A doodle of Neuman appears on a soldier's helmet in Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam film Platoon. Lyrically, Neuman is invoked by the Beastie Boys on their song "Shadrach", from their second studio album, Paul's Boutique.[31] A 1980 Password Plus episode featured Neuman's name as an answer, using the clues "Ugly", "Mad", "Magazine", "Cover", and "Kid". (Elaine Joyce solved the puzzle after "Cover"). He can be glimpsed holding a fish on the cover of the album Slow Motion by Man.
A statue of Neuman can be found at the Dort Mall in Flint, Michigan.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Shir-Cliff, Bernard. "The Karate Lesson". Help!, October 1964.
Jump up ^ "Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site - All Special Thumbs". www.madcoversite.com.
Jump up ^ "Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site - Paperback Thumbs". www.madcoversite.com.
Jump up ^ Cover image to Mad #166 at madcoversite.com
Jump up ^ Cover image to Mad #502 at madcoversite.com
Jump up ^ Cover image to Mad #400 at madcoversite.com
Jump up ^ Cover image to Mad #161 at madcoversite.com
Jump up ^ DeBartolo, Dick. Good Days and Mad: A Hysterical Tour Behind the Scenes at Mad Magazine. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1994.
Jump up ^ "Google search for "Alfred E. Newman"".
Jump up ^ Hajdu, David. "MAD Magazine News". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ "Letters Dept". Mad 38 (March 1958).
^ Jump up to: a b Reidelbach, Maria. Completely Mad, New York: Little Brown, 1991. ISBN 0-316-73890-5
Jump up ^ "Helen Pratt Stuff, Plaintiff-appellant, v. E. C. Publications, Inc., William M. Gaines, Independent News Co., Crown Publishers, Inc., Ballantine Books, Inc., Defendants-appellees, 342 F.2d 143 (2d Cir. 1965)".
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Peter Jensen Brown, The Real Alfred E, http://therealalfrede.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-real-alfred-e.html
Jump up ^ "315th III". Nose-art.net. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
^ Jump up to: a b "Kurtzman, Harvey. "That Face on Mad'', February 6, 1975".
Jump up ^ "Mad Mumblings :: View topic – Alfred E. Neuman History Show at EMU in Ypsilanti, Michigan".
Jump up ^ Kimberly Buchholz, "Winter Art Series starts off 'Mad'", Focus EMU Online, Jan. 8, 2008, Eastern Michigan University
Jump up ^ Adcock, John. "Mysteries of Melvin".
Jump up ^ "What Me Worry ? – The Idiot Kid". leconcombre.com.
Jump up ^ http://www.menafn.com/menafn/05067360-756a-4cd7-b74e-ab3922d3da42/Durham-resident-Meglin-to-speak-about-his-MAD-life?src=main
Jump up ^ "The Nation November 13 2000". 13 November 2000.
Jump up ^ Joe Mahoney. "GOP BIG MAD OVER HIL ZINGER" New York Daily News July 12, 2005
Jump up ^ Cooper, Michael; Zeleny, Jeff (October 17, 2008). "At Dinner, McCain and Obama Share Some Laughs. No Joke". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ "National Lampoon Issue #17 – Bummer".
Jump up ^ "Peanuts, July 5, 1973".
Jump up ^ "Animation Nation".
Jump up ^ Walker, Mort. I Don't Want to be Out Here Any More Than You Do, Beetle Bailey. New York: Tempo books, 1970. ISBN 0-448-12256-1
Jump up ^ Reidelbach, Maria, "Completely Mad", pg. 203, Little Brown & Co., 1991.
Jump up ^ "73 Magazine – Mad Parody Cover".
Jump up ^ "A Postmodern Analysis of Beastie Boys' "Shadrach"". sklar.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alfred E. Neuman.
Alfred E. Neuman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015.
Alfred E. Neuman in The Simpsons
New York Daily News: Senator Hillary Clinton compares George W. Bush with Alfred E. Neuman
1962 advertisement for a $4.95 Alfred E. Neuman mask
19th-century Neuman images
Article showing early Alfred images
The Origins of Neuman - The Bizarre History of a 125-Year-Old Fool
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