Milton the Monster
Encyclopedia
Milton the Monster, also called The Milton the Monster Show was an American
animated cartoon
TV series that ran on ABC
from October 9, 1965, to September 7, 1968. It was produced and directed by Hal Seeger
.
-looking monster with a flat-topped, seemingly hollow head which emitted various quantities of white steam or smoke based on his mood or situation. He was created by mad scientist
Professor Montgomery Weirdo and his assistant Count Kook, who lived in a haunted house on Horror Hill. Milton is a smiling, good-natured fellow, thanks to the Professor using too much "tincture of tenderness" as explained in the opening theme of each individual Milton the Monster segment. Milton was created not of individual body parts, but rather in a mold from such liquids as "essence of terror" and "sinister sauce." Out of fear of his creation destroying him, Professor Weirdo intended to add just a few drops of the aforementioned tincture of tenderness to the mold, but Count Kook bumped the Professor's elbow, resulting in too much of the tincture being added to the mix. Milton's voice, which owed much to Grady Sutton's Og Ogglby character from the W. C. Fields' feature film THE BANK DICK, was provided by Bob McFadden
who also provided voices for Professor Weirdo's resident monsters:
Professor Weirdo's nemesis was Professor Fruitcake, another mad scientist who lived in a castle on an opposite hill. Professor Fruitcake's major creation was Zelda the Zombie
. Other characters in the series included Fangenstein, a biker monster apparently inspired by Marlon Brando
, his sidekick, Abercrombie the Zombie and Professor Weirdo's aunt, the witchy Aunt Hagatha.
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20
Episode 21
Episode 22
Episode 23
Episode 24
Episode 25
Episode 26
released the complete series on a 4-DVD
set.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
TV series that ran on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from October 9, 1965, to September 7, 1968. It was produced and directed by Hal Seeger
Hal Seeger
Harold "Hal" Seeger was an animated cartoon producer and director who owned his own studio the Hal Seeger Studio ....
.
Overview
The series starred Milton the Monster, a FrankensteinFrankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
-looking monster with a flat-topped, seemingly hollow head which emitted various quantities of white steam or smoke based on his mood or situation. He was created by mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Professor Montgomery Weirdo and his assistant Count Kook, who lived in a haunted house on Horror Hill. Milton is a smiling, good-natured fellow, thanks to the Professor using too much "tincture of tenderness" as explained in the opening theme of each individual Milton the Monster segment. Milton was created not of individual body parts, but rather in a mold from such liquids as "essence of terror" and "sinister sauce." Out of fear of his creation destroying him, Professor Weirdo intended to add just a few drops of the aforementioned tincture of tenderness to the mold, but Count Kook bumped the Professor's elbow, resulting in too much of the tincture being added to the mix. Milton's voice, which owed much to Grady Sutton's Og Ogglby character from the W. C. Fields' feature film THE BANK DICK, was provided by Bob McFadden
Bob McFadden
Robert "Bob" McFadden was a singer and voiceover actor best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His best known characters were Milton the Monster, Cool McCool, and the ThunderCats' Snarf...
who also provided voices for Professor Weirdo's resident monsters:
- Heebie - a skull-faced, top hatTop hatA top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...
-wearing zombieZombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
with a Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
voice - Jeebie - a slow-witted, cyclopianCyclopsA cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
, hairy green creature with a single sharp tooth that was often used to open soda cans
Professor Weirdo's nemesis was Professor Fruitcake, another mad scientist who lived in a castle on an opposite hill. Professor Fruitcake's major creation was Zelda the Zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
. Other characters in the series included Fangenstein, a biker monster apparently inspired by Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, his sidekick, Abercrombie the Zombie and Professor Weirdo's aunt, the witchy Aunt Hagatha.
Other features
Other features on the show included:- "Fearless Fly", starring an insect superhero similar to Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
's Atom AntAtom AntAtom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show...
. One of the most popular segments of the Milton the Monster Show, Fearless Fly was in reality Hirem, an ordinary housefly who, when danger threatens, ducks into a nearby matchbox, dons a red sweater and, in a reversal of Clark KentClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
, changes into the superhero Fearless Fly by putting on a pair of super high-powered glassesGlassesGlasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
that "provides millions of mega-tons of energy through the sensitive muscles in his head." FF, according to the opening, is more powerful than a speeding rocket and faster than a beam of light. No flypaper can hold him and no insecticide can stop him. Fearless Fly's only weakness is losing his glasses, which happens in just about every episode. To bring the point home, Hirem bemoans his fate by telling the audience, "Without my super high-powered glasses I'm helpless!" His chief nemesis is the 900-year-old Fu ManchuFu ManchuDr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
-inspired Dr. Goo Fee and his sidekick Gung Ho. Occasionally, Milton the Monster's Professor Weirdo makes an appearance to threaten Fearless Fly. Specifically, the episodes "Fearless Fly meets the Monsters" and "The Spider Spiter." The "Fearless Fly meets the Monsters" episode appears to be an early pilot for Milton the Monster. We see Professor Weirdo creating a monster similar to Milton. The same tincture of tenderness mishap occurs, but this creature's name is George. He basically looks like Milton, but with the Frankenstein Monster's hairstyle, has a deeper voice that sounds nothing like Jim Nabors, and a scar across his forehead. Heebie and Jeebie are present, but have different voices. Heebie's voice sounds more like Jeebie's, while Jeebie's design is basically unchanged, except he has a full set of fangs instead of just a single sharp tooth and sounds like Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
. Also present is a robot that appears to be an early version of Mechanical Mike, a character that appears in the Milton the Monster episode, "Monster-Sitter." The actual Milton the Monster makes a brief cameo in the episode, "Ferocious Fly" as a mirageMirageA mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirare, meaning "to look at, to wonder at"...
Hirem hallucinates while lost in the desert. When Fearless Fly is in the guise of Hirem, he hangs out at the Sugar Bowl with his girlfriend Flory (not Flora, as cited in other reference sources). Hirem's chief antagonist at the bistro is the bullying Horsey the Horsefly. Flory's voice was provided by the un-credited Beverly Arnold. Bob McFaddenBob McFaddenRobert "Bob" McFadden was a singer and voiceover actor best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His best known characters were Milton the Monster, Cool McCool, and the ThunderCats' Snarf...
usually provided all of the voices, including the female ones, such as the seductive Lady Deflyah. - "Flukey Luke", with a cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
detectiveDetectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
and his IrishIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-accented Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
companion Two Feathers. Flukey Luke was so named because of his dumb luck that allowed him to get the upper hand despite being incredibly inept. - "Stuffy Durma", starring a nouveau-riche hobo who resisted the attempts of valet Bradley Brinkley to get some culture and breeding.
- "Muggy-DooMuggy-DooMuggy-Doo is a funny-animal character created by Hal Seeger; originally appearing in comic books, this character soon went on to animated cartoons, but didn’t last long in either venue.-Comic books:...
", featuring a sly boy foxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
who often gets into trouble with his get-rich-quick schemes. - "Penny Penguin", starring a bratty aquatic bird.
Episode list
Episode 1- Fearless Fly: Trick or Treatment
- Flukey Luke: Loot Pursuit
- Milton the Monster: Zelda the Zombie
Episode 2
- Fearless Fly: Horse Shoo Fly
- Muggy Doo: Gogh Van Gogh
- Milton the Monster: Boy Meet Ghoul
Episode 3
- Fearless Fly: Fatty Karate
- Muggy Doo: You Auto Be in Pictures
- Milton the Monster: Monsters for Hire
Episode 4
- Fearless Fly: Captain Fligh
- Muggy Doo: Doo Or Die
- Milton the Monster: Who Do Voodoo?
Episode 5
- Fearless Fly: The Goofy Dr. Goo Fee
- Muggy Doo: From Riches To Rags
- Milton the Monster: The Pot Thickens
Episode 6
- Fearless Fly: Sly Fly
- Stuffy Derma: From Wrecks to Riches
- Milton the Monster: Medium Undone
Episode 7
- Fearless Fly: Throne For A Loss
- Flukey Luke: Missin' Masters
- Milton the Monster: Monster Mutiny
Episode 8
- Fearless Fly: The Bomb's Rush
- Penny Penguin: There Auto Be A Law
- Milton the Monster: Ghoul School
Episode 9
- Fearless Fly: Fly Hijack
- Flukey Luke: Tired Gun
- Milton the Monster: Hector the Protector
Episode 10
- Fearless Fly: Si Si Fly
- Flukey Luke: Palace Malice
- Milton the Monster: Horrorbaloo
Episode 11
- Fearless Fly: The House-Fly Guest
- Muggy Doo: Fortune Kooky
- Milton the Monster: Goon Platoon
Episode 12
- Fearless Fly: Invincible Vs. Invisible
- Stuffy Derma: Suit Yourself
- Milton the Monster: The Dummy Talks
Episode 13
- Fearless Fly: Fly By Might
- Stuffy Derma: Hobo Hootenanny
- Milton the Monster: A Pie In The Sky
Episode 14
- Fearless Fly: The Sphinx Jinx
- Penny Penguin: Penny Ante
- Milton the Monster: Monsterous Escape
Episode 15
- Fearless Fly: The Spider Spiter
- Penny Penguin: Sickened Honeymoon
- Milton the Monster: Abercrombie the Zombie
Episode 16
- Fearless Fly: Fearless Fly Meets The Monsters (Pilot)
- Muggy Doo: Crumb-Bumming
- Milton the Monster: V for Vampire
Episode 17
- Milton the Monster: Monster Vs. Mobster
- Fearless Fly: Martians Meet Their Match (Pilot)
- Milton the Monster: Witch Crafty
Episode 18
- Milton the Monster: Camp Gitchy Gloomy
- Fearless Fly: Lets Phase It
- Milton the Monster: The Hearse Thief
Episode 19
- Milton the Monster: Boo To You
- Fearless Fly: Under Waterloo
- Milton the Monster: Kid Stuff
Episode 20
- Milton the Monster: Horror Scope
- Fearless Fly: Lady Deflyah
- Milton the Monster: The Flying Cup & Saucer
Episode 21
- Milton the Monster: Monster-Sitter
- Fearless Fly: Robinson Shoesole
- Milton the Monster: The Moon Goons
Episode 22
- Milton the Monster: Think Shrink
- Fearless Fly: Private Fly
- Milton the Monster: Skullgaria Forever!
Episode 23
- Milton the Monster: Crumby Mummy
- Fearless Fly: Stage Plight
- Milton the Monster: Fort Fangenstein
Episode 24
- Fearless Fly: Safari Harry
- Stuffy Derma: Nuggets To You
- Milton the Monster: Batnap
Episode 25
- Milton the Monster: Dunkin' Treasure
- Fearless Fly: Ferocious Fly
- Milton the Monster: Monsterous Monster
Episode 26
- Fearless Fly: Napoleon Bonafly
- Flukey Luke: Violin Violence
- Milton the Monster: The Mummy's Thumb
DVD release
On March 20, 2007, Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
released the complete series on a 4-DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set.