Maynard G. Krebs

Maynard G. Krebs (the G. stood for Walter) was the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the early 1960s U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The Krebs character, portrayed by actor Bob Denver, began as a stereotypical beatnik, with a goatee, "hip" slang usage, and a generally unkempt, bohemian appearance, studiously avoiding anything resembling work, which he seemed to regard as the ultimate four-letter word. Whenever the word was mentioned, even in a line like "That would work," he would jump with fear, yelping, "Work?!" He served as a foil to the well-groomed, well-dressed, straitlaced Dobie, and the contrast between the two friends provided much of the series' humor. Gradually, he became less of the stereotypical beatnik and more a free soul who did his own thing - including collecting tinfoil or petrified frogs, seeing the old Endicott Building get torn down and seeing the movie The Monster Who Devoured Cleveland (in fact, Maynard might be described as the prototype of the late-60s hippie). Many of the later episodes centered around Maynard, with Dobie more of an observer, but always as narrator. The series lasted four years (1959-1963), but its popularity extended into the 1980s as stations like Nick at Nite reran it for new generations.

In popular culture

Maynard G. Krebs became a well known figure in American popular culture, especially among members of the mainstream culture who had never had any contact with actual "beats", and formed the basis for the beatnik character archetype. For example, in a Simpsons episode, Homer Simpson yelled, "Take that, Maynard G. Krebs!" as he imagined himself riding a hydrogen bomb after it was dropped from a plane to blow up beatniks in a scene that parodied Dr. Strangelove.^[1] The series also inspired the creator of Scooby Doo whose four human characters were modeled from characters on the series with Shaggy Rogers being inspired by Maynard ^[2]. Krebs also appeared in the novel Gilligan's Wake, where Gilligan believed himself to be Krebs.

References

1. ^ Homer the Vigilante. snpp.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
2. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara (2006-05-22). Scooby-Doo, What is You?. Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.