"What - Me Worry?" in 1944

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Mar 19, 2008, at 7:59 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> Speaks for itself:
>
>  http://www.b-26marauderarchive.org/PH/Noseart/NP3812.htm

from the wikipedia entry for Mad magazine:

The image most closely associated with the magazine is that of Alfred
E. Neuman, the boy with misaligned eyes, a gap-toothed smile and the
perennial question "What, me worry?" Mad first used the boy's face in
November, 1954, on the cover of the comic book's first reprint
collection, the Ballantine paperback titled The Mad Reader. His first
Mad cover appearance was in miniature, amid the novelty products
parodied on the front of issue #21 (March 1955). From #24 through #30,
Neuman was a part of the ornate border design on each cover. His first
iconic full-cover appearance --identified by name, and sporting his
"What, me worry?" motto -- was as a supposed write-in candidate for
the 1956 presidential election on the cover of issue #30.

The original image of an unnamed boy with a goofy gap-toothed grin was
a popular humorous graphic for many decades before Mad adopted it. It
had been used for all manner of purposes, from U.S. political
campaigns to Nazi racial propaganda to advertisements for painless
dentistry. Decades ago, the magazine was sued over the copyright to
the image, but prevailed by producing similar ones predating the
claimant's, dating back to the late 19th century.

Harvey Kurtzman first spotted the image on a postcard pinned to the
bulletin board of Ballantine Books' editor. "It was a face that didn't
have a care in the world, except mischief," recalled Kurtzman. The
name "Alfred E. Neuman" was derived from the 1940s radio show of
comedian Henry Morgan, which included a running gag trumpeting the
imminent arrival of Hollywood composer Alfred Newman, which was
supposed to create intense excitement, after which Newman would appear
for mere seconds, then vanish. According to Kurtzman, Morgan used "the
name Alfred Newman for an innocuous character that you'd forget in
five minutes." Later, Morgan was a contributor to Mad.

The boy's face is now permanently associated with Mad. With the "What,
me worry?" motto, Neuman has often appeared in political cartoons as a
shorthand for unquestioning stupidity.

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