Commander McBragg is a

cartoon character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, i ...

who appeared in short segments (usually 90 seconds) produced by

Total Television Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover,p.478 Erickson,Hal ''Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003'' McFarland & Co., 2005 Joe Harris, and Trea ...

Productions and animated by Gamma Productions. These segments first appeared in 1963 on the animated series ''

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' is an animated television series that originally aired Saturday mornings on CBS from 1963 to 1966 as one of the earliest Saturday morning cartoons. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that prod ...

'',Markstein, Don
"Commander McBragg."
Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed July 17, 2008.
on Toontracker.com. Accessed July 17, 2008. then on the ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

'' animated television show from 1964 to 1973, and have appeared in some syndicated prints of ''

The Bullwinkle Show ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC tele ...

'', ''

Hoppity Hooper ''Hoppity Hooper'' is an American animated television series produced by Jay Ward, and sponsored by General Mills, originally broadcast on ABC from September 12, 1964 until 1967. The series was produced in Hollywood by Jay Ward and Bill Scot ...

'' and ''Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show''.

Segment format

The segments opened with an image of a revolving globe and the title "The World of Commander McBragg." The Commander, a retired British officer, would buttonhole a hapless member of his gentleman's club, and relate some story filled with unlikelihoods and outright impossibilities (as his name, Commander McBragg, would suggest), always concluding with a hairbreadth escape. For example, McBragg would point to a map on the wall (or globe) and say: "There!

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

! Did I ever tell you about the time I ...?" His colleague would, despite his initial reluctance ("NO, Commander, but I-"), become engaged in the exciting tale ("Good Heavens, Commander! What ''did'' you do?"), and at the conclusion would compliment the Commander on his cleverness—usually incorporating a terrible

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

—to which the Commander would usually respond, "Quite." A few episodes ended with the suggestion that the Commander's tall tales may have been at least partially true. One episode, "The Great Bird," in which the Commander was abducted and raised by a giant

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

, ended with the Commander offering his companion a ride home; then, when the offer was declined, the Commander was whisked away by a giant bird...though only the shadow of the bird is seen, with a giant feather floating from the sky in a few seconds later.

Character origins

The deep, gravelly voice of Commander McBragg was provided by veteran voice talent Kenny Delmar, best known for his stammering non-stop talking as " Senator Claghorn" (of which Foghorn Leghorn, the

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

character, is a parody) on '' The Fred Allen Show''. In the US dub version of the show, Commander McBragg's voice was provided by

Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American baseball executive who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players ...

, best known as Michael Anthony on '' The Millionaire'', and Stanley Livingston was voiced by John Hart, best known for ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

''. The character of McBragg is a classic example of the '' miles gloriosus'', a

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of s ...

known for his military experience and dubious claims of grandeur; the tradition dates back to ancient Rome. English actor C. Aubrey Smith – from the 1939 motion pictures '' The Four Feathers'' ("War was war then") and '' Another Thin Man'' – often played roles in films similar to the exploits related by McBragg and has been cited as an influence. The stories, more often than not, were taken from or were imitations of the '' Baron Munchausen'' stories of

Rudolf Erich Raspe Rudolf Erich Raspe (March 1736 – 16 November 1794) was a German librarian, writer, and scientist, called by his biographer John Patrick Carswell a "rogue". He is best known for his collection of tall tales '' The Surprising Adventures of Baro ...

. The Englishness of the commander, the reluctance of his audience to listen to his far-fetched stories, and the commander's insistence on telling them, suggest the influence of

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

's " Oldest Member" golf stories as well.

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

also indulged the tradition with his stories of Brigadier Gerard. Other influences include the early animated character Colonel Heeza Liar, e's a Liarthe subject of a number of animated shorts created by John R. Bray and directed by

Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lant ...

, who was later known for the

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

franchise. Another influence may have been Captain

Geoffrey Spicer-Simson Captain Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson DSO, RN (15 January 1876 – 29 January 1947) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Home Fleets. He is most famous for his role as leader of a naval expedition to Lake Tangany ...

DSO, RN, a career Royal Navy officer noted for telling of his improbable exploits whose career as a surveyor took him to China, Borneo and Africa. Spicer-Simson's greatest claim to fame was winning the Battle of Lake Tanganyika during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

with two armed motor launches named ''Mimi'' and ''Toutou''.

Episodes

# "Over the Falls" # "Fish Story" # "The Himalayas" # "The North Pole" # "Khyber Pass" # "Ace of Aces" # "Niagara Falls" # "Dodge City Dodge" # "Football By Hex" # "Rabelasla" # "Okefenokee Swamp" # "The Flying Machine" # "The Giant Elephant" # "The Great Bird" # "Chicago Mobster" # "The Monster Bear" # "The Kangaroo" # "The Giant Mosquito" # "The Black Knight" # "The Flying Pond" # "The Old Ninety-Two" # "Our Man in Manhattan" # "Oyster Island" # "The Steam Car" # "Swimming the Atlantic" # "Fort Apache" # "The Flying Trapeze" # "Around the World" # "

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United Sta ...

" # "The Rhino Charge" # "Mystifying McBragg" # "Mamouth Cavern" # "The Astronaut" # "Dam Break" # "The Eclipse" # "Ship of the Desert" # "Egypt" # "The Singing Cowboy" # "The Lumberjack" # "The Bronco Buster" # "Echo Canyon" # "Tightrope" # "Lake Tortuga" # "Coney Island" # "Rainbow Island" # "The Insect Collector" # "Lost Valley" # "The Orient Express"

Other media

Commander McBragg appeared in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' episode " The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" voiced by

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

. He was acting as the judge for a scavenger hunt between Montgomery Burns and the Rich Texan, both eccentric millionaires in the same gentleman's club, known in the episode as "The Excluder's Club" as it is known for being very exclusive.

References

External links