The character of Mister Magoo, the nearsighted fellow who amazingly stays out of serious bodily harm while going erroneously into many hazardous and life threatening situations, was created by John Hubley, Millard Kaufman, Willis Pyle and Sherm Glas.
His full name is Quincy Magoo and he's a graduate from Rutgers University, his beloved alma mater.
He's very often accompanied by his nephew Waldo, who's a bit dim-witted and can't help his uncle from staying out of trouble.
Mister Magoo has always fascinated me since childhood and I hold very fond memories of his theatrical cartoons and his TV Christmas special.
There have been some recent projects to reboot the character but, happily, they haven't met with any kind of success. We can still enjoy Magoo in his original form through his 1950s cartoons, his later TV shows and the various comic books and paperbacks that have been printed over the years.
Mister Magoo was voiced by Jim Backus, and he was always associated with the character.
So now, to celebrate Magoo's 70th birthday, here we have some samples of his multiple misadventures:
There have been several Mr. Magoo figures and assorted merchandising items.
And, a few times, I have even slipped Mr. Magoo's image into my own editorial cartoons:
Thank you, Mister Magoo, for those very happy times.
"Oh, Magoo! You've done it again!"
