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Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments (usually 90 seconds) produced byTotal Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions. These segments first appeared around 1964 on the animated seriesTennessee Tuxedo and His Tales,[1][2] and has since appeared in syndicated prints ofThe Bullwinkle Show,Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show,[3] andThe Underdog Show.
The segments opened with an image of a revolving globe and the title "The World of Commander McBragg". The Commander, a retired British officer, would buttonhole a hapless member of hisgentleman's club, and relate some story filled with unlikelihoods, and outright impossibilities (as his name, Commander McBragg, would suggest), always concluding with a hairbreadth escape. For example, McBragg would point to a map on the wall (or globe) and say: "There!Zanzibar! Did I ever tell you about the time I ...?" His colleague would, despite his initial reluctance ("NO, Commander, but I-"), become engaged in the exciting tale ("Good Heavens, Commander! Whatdid you do?"), and at the conclusion would compliment the Commander on his cleverness—usually incorporating a terriblepun—to which the Commander would usually respond, "Quite."
A few episodes ended with the suggestion that the Commander's tall tales may have been at least partially true. One episode, "The Great Bird," in which the Commander was abducted and raised by a giantcondor, ended with the Commander offering his companion a ride home; then, when the offer was declined, the Commander was whisked away by a giant bird (though only the shadow of the bird is seen, with a giant feather floating from the sky in a few seconds later).
The deep, gravelly voice of Commander McBragg was provided by veteran voice talentKenny Delmar, best known for his stammering non-stop talking as "Senator Claghorn" (of whichFoghorn Leghorn, theLooney Tunes character, is a parody) onThe Fred Allen Show.
The character of McBragg is a classic example of themiles gloriosus, astock character known for his military experience and dubious claims of grandeur; the tradition dates back to ancient Rome. English actorC. Aubrey Smith – from the 1939 motion picturesThe Four Feathers ("War was war then") andAnother Thin Man – often played roles in films similar to the exploits related by McBragg and has been cited as an influence.[4] The stories, more often than not, were taken from or were imitations of theBaron Munchausen stories ofRudolf 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 ofP.G. Wodehouse's "Oldest Member" golf stories as well.Arthur Conan Doyle also indulged the tradition with his stories ofBrigadier Gerard. Other influences include the early animated characterColonel Heeza Liar,[1] [He's a Liar] the subject of a number of animated shorts created byJohn R. Bray and directed byWalter Lantz, who was later known for theWoody Woodpecker franchise.
Another influence may have been CaptainGeoffrey 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 theBattle of Lake Tanganyika duringWorld War I with two armed motor launches namedMimi andToutou.
A physical resemblance may have come from British character actor C. Aubrey Smith, who often appeared in British and American films as the dignified, aging, somewhat bumbling English officer and gentleman.
Commander McBragg appeared inThe Simpsons episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" voiced byMaurice LaMarche. He was acting as the judge for a scavenger hunt betweenMontgomery Burns and theRich 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.