Commander McBragg


Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions. These segments first appeared in 1963 on the animated series Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, then on the Underdog animated television show from 1964–1973, and have appeared in some syndicated prints of The Bullwinkle Show, Hoppity Hooper 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 naval officer, would buttonhole a hapless member of his gentleman's club, and relate some story filled with unlikelihoods and outright impossibilities, always concluding with a hairbreadth escape. For example, McBragg would point to a map on the wall and say: "There! Zanzibar! Did I ever tell you about the time I...?" His colleague would, despite his initial reluctance, become engaged in the exciting tale, and at the conclusion would compliment the Commander on his cleverness—usually incorporating a terrible pun—to which the Commander would usually respond, "Quite."

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" on The Fred Allen Show.
The character of McBragg is a classic example of the miles gloriosus, a stock character 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 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. 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's "Oldest Member" golf stories as well. Other influences include the early animated character Colonel Heeza Liar, the subject of a number of animated shorts created by John R. Bray and directed by Walter Lantz, who was later known for the Woody Woodpecker franchise.
Another influence may have been Captain Geoffrey Spicer-Simson 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 with two armed motor launches named Mimi and Toutou.

Episodes

  1. "Over the Falls"
  2. "Fish Story"
  3. "The Himalayas"
  4. "The North Pole"
  5. "Khyber Pass"
  6. "Ace of Aces"
  7. "Niagara Falls"
  8. "Dodge City Dodge"
  9. "Football By Hex"
  10. "Rabelasla"
  11. "Okefenokee Swamp"
  12. "The Flying Machine"
  13. "The Giant Elephant"
  14. "The Great Bird"
  15. "Chicago Mobster"
  16. "The Monster Bear"
  17. "The Kangaroo"
  18. "The Giant Mosquito"
  19. "The Black Knight"
  20. "The Flying Pond"
  21. "The Old Ninety-Two"
  22. "Our Man in Manhattan"
  23. "Oyster Island"
  24. "The Steam Car"
  25. "Swimming the Atlantic"
  26. "Fort Apache"
  27. "The Flying Trapeze"
  28. "Around the World"
  29. "Indianapolis Motor Speedway"
  30. "The Rhino Charge"
  31. "Mystifying McBragg"
  32. "Mamouth Cavern"
  33. "The Astronaut"
  34. "Dam Break"
  35. "The Eclipse"
  36. "Ship of the Desert"
  37. "Egypt"
  38. "The Singing Cowboy"
  39. "The Lumberjack"
  40. "The Bronco Buster"
  41. "Echo Canyon"
  42. "Tightrope"
  43. "Lake Tortuga"
  44. "Coney Island"
  45. "Rainbow Island"
  46. "The Insect Collector"
  47. "Lost Valley"
  48. "The Orient Express"

    Other media

Commander McBragg appeared in The Simpsons episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" voiced by Maurice LaMarche. 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.