Maynard G. Krebs
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Maynard Gwalter Krebs is the "
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
"
sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...
of the title character in the
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television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'', which aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
from 1959 to 1963. The Krebs character, portrayed by
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' and Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television serie ...
, begins the series as a
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
, with a
goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on the chin entirely. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer solely to a bear ...
, "hip" (
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
) language, and a generally unkempt,
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...
appearance. He played the bongos and ocarina and sang scat. He also played bebop trumpet. His abhorrence of conventional social forms is signified by comical reactions to three words: "work", "marriage", and "police". For example, whenever the word "work" is mentioned, even in passing, he yelps "Work?!" and jumps with fear or even faints. He serves as a foil to the well-groomed, well-dressed, strait-laced Dobie, who also hates to work, and the contrast between the two friends provides much of the humor of the series. By the third season of ''Dobie Gillis'', Maynard becomes less of the stereotypical beatnik and more a free soul who "does his own thing," as he might say—including collecting tinfoil or petrified frogs, seeing the old Endicott Building get torn down and going to see the movie ''The Monster That Devoured Cleveland'', which perpetually ran at the Central City Bijou throughout the entire series run. In one episode, he invites Dobie to accompany him to a double-feature of the film and its sequel, ''Son of the Monster that Devoured Cleveland''. Many of the later episodes center around Maynard, with Dobie more of an observer, but always as narrator. The series lasted four years, but its popularity extended into the 1990s and 2000s as channels like
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and Me-TV re-broadcast it for new generations. Maynard's middle name is pronounced "Walter", named for his aunt. The "G" is silent, he would explain.


Reception

In 1999, ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' ranked Maynard G. Krebs number 22 on its '50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time' list.


In popular culture

Maynard G. Krebs became a well-known figure in American
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
. *The series inspired the creators of ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
'', whose four human characters were modeled from characters on the series, with
Shaggy Rogers Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. He is characterized as an amateur detective, and the long-time best friend of his dog, Scooby-Doo. Character description Shaggy ...
being inspired by Maynard. *Krebs appeared in the novel '' Gilligan's Wake'', where Gilligan believed himself to be Krebs. (On their respective shows, both Krebs and Gilligan were portrayed by actor
Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' and Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television serie ...
.) *In ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode " Homer the Vigilante", Homer fantasizes riding a nuclear bomb onto a group of beatniks in a parody of a scene from '' Dr. Strangelove'', after which he says, "Take that, Maynard G. Krebs!" *In the ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode " Tales of a Third Grade Nothing", Frank Sinatra Jr. refers to the DJ in the nightclub as Maynard G. Krebs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, Maynard G. Television characters introduced in 1959 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis characters Television sidekicks Fictional United States Army personnel Teenage characters in television American male characters in sitcoms