Some Legwork on Michigan J. Frog, Presumed Dead or Hopping Mad

A bulletin in "The Washington Post" reports:

"Michigan J. Frog, the 1950s Warner Bros. contract player best known for his top hat, cane and ragtime songs, is dead, killed by the WB network for whom he had been working as a mascot."

The frog, named by creator Chuck Jones many years after an animated one-shot appearance, is now believed by WB execs to be a symbol of youth and does not adequately represent the television network's mature programming.

Oh, please. Dumb Fudds.

Entertainment writer Mark Evanier shares his insider knowledge at News From Me:

"Mr. Frog may have had the most stupendous career of anyone who only appeared in just a couple of cartoons, only one of which anyone saw -- the original, 1955 'One Froggy Evening.' Years later, after his stardom was firmly established, came its barely-released 1998 sequel, 'Another Froggy Evening,' and a few cameos on 'Tiny Toon Adventures' and other WB venues. I never quite understood why he was dancing about in WB promos, or even why the network for a time had the receptionist at its offices greet each caller with, "The dub-dub-dubya-yew duba-yew-bee!" They had a frog doing their commercials and Porky Pig answering their phones."

The great "One Froggy Evening" cartoon, a personal favorite, concerns the discovery of a full-throated, crooning amphibian. The rub is the mesmerizingly talented frog only performs for his rescuer, who envisions vast fame and riches which never materialize.

Evanier adds: "I recall attending a big 'kick-off' party for the WB. They had a guy (or maybe it was a gal) in a big Michigan J. Frog suit, dancing about. I thought it would have been much hipper to have the person in the costume dance only when one person was looking."