Froggy the Gremlin was a character created by

Smilin' Ed McConnell Smilin' Ed McConnell (born James McConnell; 1882 – July 23, 1954) was a radio personality, best known as the host of the children's radio and television series, ''Smilin' Ed's Gang'', closely identified with its sponsor, Buster Brown shoes ...

and brought to radio in the 1940s and television in 1950s on the '' Smilin' Ed's Gang'' show, and later ''

Andy's Gang ''Andy's Gang'' was a children's television program broadcast on NBC from August 20, 1955, to December 31, 1960, hosted by the actor Andy Devine. It was the successor to the radio and television program ''Smilin' Ed McConnell and His Buster Brown G ...

'' TV show, hosted by actor

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

after McConnell's death.

The character

Froggy was a troublemaker. Disrespectful of adult authority figures, Froggy played

practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

s and disrupted the presentations of other guests. If a guest were to demonstrate how to paint a wall, he might say, "And now I'm going to take this can of paint..." Froggy would chime in, "And dump it over my head." And the confused guest would proceed to do so.McMahon, Ed and Fisher, David C.
''When Television Was Young''
Thomas Nelson Inc, 2007, On radio and the early TV shows, Froggy's voice was frequently supplied by Arch ("Archie") Presby, who was also the program's announcer. He appeared on screen in a puff of smoke with the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Hiya, kids! Hiya hiya hiya hiya!" The human host had another catchphrase, directed to Froggy, "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"

References in popular culture

* Froggy appears on the fictional television series ''Young People's After-school Press Conference'' to disrupt an interview with Dr. Henry Kissinger (

Roger Bowen Roger Wendell Bowen (May 25, 1932 – February 16, 1996) was an American comedic actor and novelist, best known for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the 1970 film ''M*A*S*H''. Bowen considered himself a writer who only moonlighted as an ...

) in the 1976 satirical film '' TunnelVision''. *

Buckner & Garcia Buckner & Garcia was an American musical duo consisting of Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia from Akron, Ohio. Their first recording was made in 1972, when they performed a novelty song called "Gotta Hear the Beat", which they recorded as Animal Ja ...

paid tribute on a 1982 novelty song about the arcade game ''

Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous rive ...

'' called "Froggy's Lament" from their album '' Pac-Man Fever'', which utilized Froggy's catchphrases. * Froggy made regular appearances on ''

The Ghoul Show Ronald D. Sweed (January 23, 1949 – April 1, 2019) was an American entertainer and author, known for his late-night television horror host character "The Ghoul". Early life and career Sweed was born on January 23, 1949, in Euclid, Ohio. His mo ...

'' in which he was more often the victim of the host's pranks rather than the initiator of the same. *

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

, a well-known writer of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, occasionally uses a picture of Froggy the Gremlin as his avatar when posting on his "Not a Blog". Fans of Martin's ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...

'' series have speculated that Martin adopts the Froggy icon when dropping hints as to new developments in the books. In addition Martin has made reference to the character in the ''

Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...

'' series and in ''

The Armageddon Rag ''The Armageddon Rag'' is a 1983 mystery/fantasy novel by American author George R. R. Martin, first co-published in hardcover by both Poseidon Press and The Nemo Press. The novel contains subdued and hidden fantasy elements and is structured in ...

''.

References

External links

Froggy the Gremlin fan site

Fictional frogs {{tv-char-stub

The character

References in popular culture

See also

Further reading

References

External links