'''Alfred E. Neuman '''

{{short description|The mascot for Mad magazine}}
{{Other uses|Alfred Neumann (disambiguation)|Alfred Newman (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:Mad30.jpg|thumb|Neuman on ''Mad'' 30]]
'''Alfred E. Neuman ''' is the fictitious [[mascot]] and cover boy of the American humor magazine ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]''. The character's distinct face, with his parted red hair, gap-tooth smile, freckles, protruding nose, and scrawny body, had actually first emerged in U.S. [[Iconography#iconography and popular culture|iconography]] decades prior to his association with the magazine, appearing in early twentieth-century advertisements for painless dentistry—the origin of his "What, me worry?" motto—and, in the early 1930s, on a presidential campaign postcard with the caption, "Sure I'm for Roosevelt". The magazine's editor [[Harvey Kurtzman]] claimed the character in 1954, and he was named "Alfred E. Neuman" by Mad'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 over 550 issues. Rarely seen in profile, Neuman has almost always been portrayed in front view, silhouette, or directly from behind.Maria Reidelbach. Completely Mad: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine (New York: Little Brown & Company, 1992).
==History==
[[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.Shir-Cliff, Bernard. "The Karate Lesson". ''Help!'', October 1964.
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.
[[File:MAD Magazine (no. 21, front cover).jpg|thumb|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 7 of Mad #24 as "Melvin Coznowski" and on page 63 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:
{{bquote|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 [[Nipper|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.Sam Sweet, "A Boy with No Birthday Turns Sixty," 'The Paris Review,' March 3, 2016 https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/03/03/a-boy-with-no-birthday-turns-sixty/> 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.madcoversite.com/allthumbs2.html|website=Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site |title=All Special Thumbs}}{{cite web|url=http://www.madcoversite.com/pbthumbs.html|title=Paperback Thumbs|website=Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site}}
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)|finger]]" gesture while declaring ''Mad'' to be "The Number One Ecch Magazine".[http://www.madcoversite.com/mad166id.jpg Cover image to ''Mad'' #166 at madcoversite.com] Some newsstands that normally carried ''Mad'' chose not to display or sell this issue.Michelle Nati, "12 More Of The Most Controversial Magazine Covers," 'Oddee' website, May 21, 2014
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 "[[thumbs 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.[http://www.madcoversite.com/mad502id.jpg Cover image to ''Mad'' #502 at madcoversite.com]  The cover of issue #400 was a [[photomosaic]] of Neuman's face, composed of more than 2,700 images of previous ''Mad'' covers.[http://www.madcoversite.com/mad400id.jpg Cover image to ''Mad'' #400 at madcoversite.com]
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,[http://www.madcoversite.com/mad161id.jpg Cover image to ''Mad'' #161 at madcoversite.com] spoofing the 1972 film ''[[The Poseidon Adventure (1972 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]].DeBartolo, Dick. ''Good Days and Mad: A Hysterical Tour Behind the Scenes at Mad Magazine''. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1994. The image was copied in 1998 for issue #369 spoofing the hit film ''[[Titanic (1997 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 [[single (music)|45 rpm single]] entitled "What—Me Worry?" ([[ABC-Paramount]] 10013), by "Alfred E. Neuman and His Furshlugginer Five", featuring an uncredited voice actor singing as Neuman. (The B-side of the single, "[[Potrzebie]]", is an instrumental.){{cite web
  |url = https://www.discogs.com/Alfred-E-Neuman-And-His-Furshlugginer-Five-What-Me-Worry-Potrzebie/release/1977279
  |title =  Alfred E. Neuman And His Furshlugginer Five – What - Me Worry? / Potrzebie
  |accessdate = 2018-12-03
  |date =
  |publisher = Discogs
}}
''Mad'' routinely portrays Neuman in the guise of another character or inanimate object for its cover images.
Since his initial unsuccessful run in 1956, Neuman has periodically been re-offered as a candidate for [[President of the United States|President]] with the slogan, "You could do worse... and always have!"
[[File:Alfred E. Neumann.jpg|left|thumb|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 "Alfred's Poor Almanac" (a parody of [[Poor Richard'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 of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (left ear), [[Richard Nixon]] (nose), [[Oregon]] [[Governor of 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 incurious "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 [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] bust with his catch phrase engraved on the base, translated into [[Dog Latin]]—''Quid, Me Anxius Sum?''
Neuman's surname is often misspelled as "Newman".{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22alfred+e.+newman%22&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=|title=Google search for "Alfred E. Newman"|publisher=}}
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 [[Universal Product Code|UPC]] was really a "Close-up Photograph of Neuman's Missing Tooth".
Neuman also appeared as himself in a political cartoon{{vague|date=December 2018}}, after ''[[Newsweek]]'' had been criticized for using computer graphics to retouch the teeth of [[McCaughey septuplets|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.{{cite news| url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/mad_magazine/index.html |title=MAD Magazine News |work=The New York Times |first=David |last=Hajdu}}
In 1958, ''Mad'' published letters from several readers noting the resemblance between Neuman and England's [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]], then nine years old."Letters Dept". ''Mad'' 38 (March 1958). 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.Reidelbach, Maria. ''Completely Mad'', New York: Little Brown, 1991. {{ISBN|0-316-73890-5}}
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 (TV series)|Mad]]''.
==Genesis==
[[File:The New Boy - Los Angeles Herald.jpg|thumb|The New Boy—1894]]
[[File:YellowKid.jpeg|thumb|[[The Yellow Kid]], 1897]]
[[File:Antikamnia neuman.jpg|thumb|1908 [[Antikamnia]] Tablet Calendar]]
Neuman's precise origin is shrouded in mystery and may never be fully known.  A 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.{{cite web|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/342/143/248360|title=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)|publisher=}}
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..." 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.Peter Jensen Brown, ''The Real Alfred E'', http://therealalfrede.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-real-alfred-e.html>
A description of the stage play's advertisement was published in the December 2, 1894, ''[[Los Angeles Herald]]''. 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."  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. 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: "What's the good of anything?—Nothing!"
The ''New Boy'' advertising image was copied widely in advertising for "painless" dentistry and other products.  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''.
[[File:Me worry? No, I buy auto parts from James Evans Parts Co., 337 West Tyler St., Longview, Texas.jpg|thumb|left|Postcard from 1930 to 1945 with a similar boy and slogan to ''Mad''{{'}}s Neuman]]
Similar faces turned up in advertising for "painless" dentistry. According to Gaines, 'Alfie' has his origin in Topeka with the Painless Romine Topeka Dental College, actually a dental group at 704 Kansas Avenue, at the office of Dr. William Romine—often misspelled as Romaine—a dentist who resided and practiced in Wichita.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG6tPem4-zc&t=528shttps://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=kansapedia/painless-romine/12186 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 [[Physical chemistry|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 [[United States|American]] [[World War II]] [[bomber]], over the motto "Me Worry?" (this painted face was sometimes referred to as "The Jolly Boy").{{cite web|url=http://www.nose-art.net/315th-III/315th-3.htm |title=315th III |publisher=Nose-art.net |date= |accessdate=2010-07-10| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100621051706/http://www.nose-art.net/315th-III/315th-3.htm| archivedate= 21 June 2010 | deadurl= no}}
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 [[Jew]]ish 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").Some sorts say the images was also lifted from a picture of some kid,in a vintage photograph.
The [[EC Comics|EC]] editors grew up listening to radio, and this was frequently reflected in their stories, names and references. The name "Alfred E. Neuman" derived from comedian [[Henry Morgan (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 (composer)|Alfred Newman]], who scored many films and also composed the [[20th Century Fox#Logo and fanfare|familiar fanfare]] that accompanies [[20th Century Fox]]'s opening film logo.{{cite web|url=http://potrzebie.blogspot.com/2008/03/in-early-1950s-bill-gaines-and-harvey.html|title=Kurtzman, Harvey. "That Face on ''Mad'''', February 6, 1975.|publisher=}} The possible inspiration for Henry Morgan was that [[Laird Cregar]] portrayed Sir [[Henry Morgan]] in ''[[The Black Swan (film)|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:
{{bquote|The name Alfred E. Neuman was picked up from [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]], the music arranger from back in the 1940s and 1950s,mixed with the Mayor Alfred E.Smith ,better known as [[Al Smith]]. 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.}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.madmumblings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3592|title=Mad Mumblings :: View topic – Alfred E. Neuman History Show at EMU in Ypsilanti, Michigan|publisher=|access-date=2008-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122043629/http://www.madmumblings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3592|archive-date=2009-01-22|dead-url=yes|df=}}Kimberly Buchholz, [http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/010808/winterart.html "Winter Art Series starts off 'Mad'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217104023/http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/010808/winterart.html |date=2012-02-17 }}, ''Focus EMU Online'', Jan. 8, 2008, Eastern Michigan University
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{{cite web|first=John |last=Adcock |title=Mysteries of Melvin|url= http://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2010/02/mysteries-of-melvin_17.html}}> and another at leconcombre.com.{{cite web|url=http://www.leconcombre.com/concpost/us/postcard4/alfred_e_neuman_documents.html|title=What Me Worry ? – The Idiot Kid|publisher=leconcombre.com}}  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:
{{bquote|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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.menafn.com/menafn/05067360-756a-4cd7-b74e-ab3922d3da42/Durham-resident-Meglin-to-speak-about-his-MAD-life?src=main |title=Durham resident Meglin to speak about his MAD life |access-date=2012-12-03 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20130128124056/http://www.menafn.com/menafn/05067360-756a-4cd7-b74e-ab3922d3da42/Durham-resident-Meglin-to-speak-about-his-MAD-life?src=main |archive-date=2013-01-28 |dead-url=yes |df= }}}}
==Cultural impact==
[[File:Crazy44.jpg|thumb|Alfred E. Neuman has become so closely associated with ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' that the image has even been used to parody the long-running satire magazine itself.]]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.
Freas painted the August 1971 cover of ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|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]]?"{{cite web|url=http://www.marksverylarge.com/issue-index/1971-08/|title=''National Lampoon'' Issue #17 – Bummer|publisher=}} 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?"! {{cite web|url=http://www.peanuts.com/comicstrips/3261561/|title=Peanuts, July 5, 1973}}{{cite web|url=http://www.animationnation.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001436;p=|title=Animation Nation|publisher=}}
Neuman also appeared as a sight gag in the March 27, 1967, installment of the comic strip ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'', as an inspector general.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}} He can also be spotted in ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #300, helping [[Spider-Man|Peter Parker]] and [[Mary Jane Watson|Mary Jane]] move into their new house, while saying, "Darn! I'm missing the [[New Jersey Nets|Nets]] game! That makes me Mad!" Similarly, when, in 1959's ''[[Superman (comic book)|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]]' "[[Joker (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 Simpson|Marge]] is arrested and in prison she meets an inmate called Tattoo Annie who has a [[Mad fold-in|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 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 (cartoonist)|Dave Berg]] and [[Don Martin (cartoonist)|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 that includes an [[Aurora Plastics Corporation|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.Reidelbach, Maria, ''Completely Mad'', pg. 203, Little Brown & Co., 1991. ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' made multiple references to Neuman, including episode #602 featuring ''[[Invasion U.S.A. (1952 film)|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 "[[Mario Puzo|Alfred E. Puzo]]" and "[[Francis Ford Coppola|Francis E. Neuman]]".
Another homage to the name was "Al Freddy Newham", as used on the cover of the April 1967 issue of the amateur radio enthusiast's ''[[73 (magazine)|73 Magazine]]'', preparing to ineptly solder the frayed cord of a soldering gun with the same damaged gun.{{cite web|url=http://www.radiolabworks.com/73mag/73_6.html|title=73 Magazine – Mad Parody Cover|publisher=}}  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 (film)|Platoon]]''.  Lyrically, Neuman is invoked by the [[Beastie Boys]] on their song "[[Shadrach (Beastie Boys song)|Shadrach]]".{{cite web|url=http://www.sklar.com/page/article/shadrach |title=A Postmodern Analysis of Beastie Boys' "Shadrach" |publisher=sklar.com |date= |accessdate=2010-07-10}} A 1980 ''[[Password Plus]]'' episode featured Neuman's name as an answer, using the clues "Freckles", "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 (Man album)|Slow Motion]]'' by [[Man (band)|Man]].
A statue of Neuman can be found at the [[Dort Mall]] in [[Flint, Michigan]].{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_mel/9363398782/in/photolist-fgpSf3-DwZzT |title=Statue of Neuman at the Dort Mall in Flint, Michigan |publisher=flickr.com |date= |accessdate=2018-09-20}}
===Politics===
During the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|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]]''.{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/issue/november-13-2000|title=''The Nation'' November 13 2000|date=13 November 2000|publisher=}} 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.[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/07/12/2005-07-12_gop_big_mad_over_hil_zinger.html Joe Mahoney. "GOP BIG MAD OVER HIL ZINGER"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404152023/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/07/12/2005-07-12_gop_big_mad_over_hil_zinger.html |date=2010-04-04 }} ''[[New York Daily News]]'' July 12, 2005 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."{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/us/politics/17smith.html | work=The New York Times | title=At Dinner, McCain and Obama Share Some Laughs. No Joke | first1=Michael | last1=Cooper | first2=Jeff | last2=Zeleny | date=October 17, 2008}}
During an interview on May 10, 2019, President [[Donald Trump]] said "Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States", in reference to presidential candidate [[Pete Buttigieg]].{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/10/trump-pete-buttigieg-nickname-1317460|title=Trump’s new nickname for Pete Buttigieg: ‘Alfred E. Neuman’|author=Daniel Lippman, Andrew Restuccia and Eliana Johnson|publisher=Politico |date=2019-05-10 |accessdate=2019-05-11}} [[Mad (magazine)|''Mad'' magazine]] also referenced Pete Buttigieg on social media.{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2PVk2vh|title=Mad magazine trolls Buttigieg on Trump nickname response|last=Forgey|first=Quint|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=2019-05-13}}
Neuman's features have also been compared to others in the public eye, including [[Prince Charles]], [[Rick Astley]], [[MC Pedrinho]], [[Ted Koppel]], [[Oliver North]], [[Pete Buttigieg]] and [[David Letterman]].{{cite web|title=The Long, Tangled History of Alfred E. Neuman|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/03/03/a-boy-with-no-birthday-turns-sixty/|accessdate=8 April 2019}} German weekly [[Der Spiegel]] merged Neuman's likeness with that of then candidate for [[Conservative Party (UK)|British Conservative Party]] leadership [[Boris Johnson]] for their July 20, 2019 issue.{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/what-a-prime-minister-boris-johnson-could-mean-for-europe-a-1278073.html|title= Mad in Britain: How Boris Johnson Turned the British against Europe |last=Schindler|first=Jörg|website=Spiegel Online|language=en|access-date=2019-07-23}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Alfred E. Neuman}}
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/alfred_e.htm Alfred E. Neuman] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://www.webcitation.org/6bCR6GWaM?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftoonopedia.com%2Falfred_e.htm Archived] from the original on August 31, 2015.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100324051541/http://www.madtrash.com/simpsons/ Alfred E. Neuman in ''The Simpsons'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090905001320/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/04/12/2005-04-12_party_gotta_fight_back__sez_.html ''New York Daily News'': Senator Hillary Clinton compares George W. Bush with Alfred E. Neuman]
* [http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-gas.html 1962 advertisement for a $4.95 Alfred E. Neuman mask]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090122043629/http://www.madmumblings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3592 19th-century Neuman images]
* [http://www.toledoblade.com/Art/2008/01/20/Mad-for-Alfred-A-new-exhibit-shows-Mad-magazine-s-poster-boy-has-a-shadowy-past.html Article showing early Alfred images]
* [http://madtrash.com/the-origin-of-neuman-dept/ The Origins of Neuman - The Bizarre History of a 125-Year-Old Fool]
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