- Jolly Green Giant
The Jolly Green Giant is a symbol of the
Green Giant food company of theUnited States , appearing as a smiling green-skinned giant wearing a tunic, wreath and boots made of leaves. In 1973, JGG teamed up with "Little Green Sprout ", the diminutive young green giant. Created by Leo Burnett, the Giant first appeared in advertisements in 1928; the name originally came from a variety of unusually largepea called the "Green Giant" that the company canned and sold.Fact | date = September 2008Portrayal
Len Dresslar, born 1925, provided the voice of the Jolly Green giant in television commercials, saying only "Ho, ho, ho". [ [http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051026-124546-2337r.htm Washington Times,] October 25, 2005.] Dresslar was also a successful as a
jazz and popular music singer inChicago entertainment circles. Despite being over 6ft (1.82m) tall, Dresslar never portrayed the Giant in TV commercials. The figure viewers saw on screen wasKeith R. Wegeman , an Olympic ski jumper and father ofsoap opera actressKatherine Kelly Lang from "The Bold and the Beautiful ".Fact | date = September 2008The original televised Jolly Green Giant was nothing more than a puppet that, through the use of stop-motion animation, stalked through the "valley" and said little more than "fo fum fi fe". The original jolly green giant portrayed himself as a giant that not only was green, but also jolly, this because green was his favorite colour and he was also a nice guy to be around. The commercial, which first aired in 1953, was deemed too scary for younger viewers and the puppet was discarded. The next commercial featured several different animated elves (similar to the
Keebler elves) working in a "factory" around the valley while Keith Wegeman (shown in far-away shots) stood over the area, chanting the soon-to-be-famous "ho, ho, ho" phrase.tatue
In 1978, the town of
Blue Earth, Minnesota paid $43,000 to erect a 55-foot (16.8 m) fiberglass statue of the Jolly Green Giant to commemorate the linking of the east and west sections of Interstate 90. It was permanently erected onJuly 6 ,1979 , at coord|43|39|02|N|94|5|46|W|region:US_type:landmark|name=Jolly Green Giant statue (Blue Earth, Minnesota). The statue attracts over 10,000 visitors a year.The 55 foot statue of the Green Giant in Blue Earth, Mn was the idea of Paul Hedberg who owned local radio station KBEW. During summer Hedberg would interview travelers going through Blue Earth on U.S. Highway 16. The name of the popular radio program was "Welcome Travelers". At the end of each traveler interview Hedberg would give guests a sample of Green Giant corn and peas canned in the local Blue Earth Green Giant plant. Everyone he interviewed wanted to "see the Green Giant". In 1977 Hedberg contacted Thomas H. Wyman, President of Green Giant, to see if the Company would allow a statue of their corporate symbol to be erected along the new Interstate 90 in Blue Earth. Wyman said OK if the money could be raised locally. Hedberg got home and went to 10 local businessmen with his idea and asked for $5,000 each. In one week the $50,000 was donated. The Green Giant Company worked with the statue builder, Creative Displays of Sparta, Ws. The concern was, what did the Giant look like from the back as he'd never been shown on TV from that angle? The Green Giant statue arrived in Blue Earth, via a big flat bed truck, on Sept. 21, 1978. On Saturday morning Sept. 23 the Giant was hoisted in a sling by a 65 foot crane in the North roadside rest area along I-90. The Green Man overlooked the official opening of I-90, where east met west, completing I-90's construction, 3,028 miles nonstop from Boston to Seattle. The statue was placed in its permanent location on July 6, 1979, a mile south of I-90 on U.S. Highway 169. 10,000 people a year visit the statue. There are steps on the back so visitors can take a picture standing directly under the Giant. He's maintained by the City of Blue Earth and gets at least one bath a year as well as a big red scarf around his neck during the Christmas Season.
Jolly Green Giant in popular culture
*The mascot became so well-known that the name came to be used for other sorts of things that were large and green in color.
*The HH-3E rescuehelicopter s that theUnited States Air Force used during theVietnam War were called Jolly Green Giants, while the larger HH-53 helicopter received the nickname "Super Jolly."
*The greensuperhero monster , The Incredible Hulk, is often described in jest as "The Not-So-Jolly Green Giant."
* On the CD "Andy Warhol From Tape: Sounds of His Life and Work", there is a recording of Andy visiting aGristedes supermarket in which Andy and a companion speak about how they love the image of the Jolly Green Giant.
*There is a large billboard of the Green Giant inLe Sueur, Minnesota , with the Green Giant's companion Little Green Sprout (though trees are in the way).
*In an oft-replayed bit fromThe Tonight Show ,Johnny Carson is dressed as the "Little Green Sprout" and is standing between the lower legs of the Giant. He looks up and says, in his "Art Fern" voice, "Ho-ho-ho, Jolly Green Giant! Show us your Niblets!" whereupon he is showered with gigantic kernels of corn. He then looks up and mouths an obscenity at the Giant while the audience roars.
*In the film "Full Metal Jacket " Crazy Earl says, "We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns."
*The giant was the subject of several questions on the popular 1970s game showMatch Game .
*In the film "Demolition Man " the "Valley of the Jolly Green Giant" song is heard while in a restaurant. Depending on the version, the restaurant could bePizza Hutt ,Taco Bell or unbranded.
*The Kingsmen ,The Royal Guardsmen , and several other groups recorded songs titled "The Jolly Green Giant."
*In the film "Ghostbusters 2 " After bringing the Statue of Liberty to life, Bill Murray's character says "Keep kickin' Libby. If you make this work, we'll pop for a weekend in Vegas with the Jolly Green Giant!"
*InMartin Bashir 's documentary aboutMichael Jackson , Jackson was shown to have a Jolly Green Giant statue and sung the signature theme song. This was later spoofed in British comedy sketch show "Bo Selecta ".
*Ludacris references the Jolly Green Giant in his song "Coming 2 America" on the album "Word of Mouf "
*In an episode ofThe Simpsons ,"Lost Verizon ",Marge Simpson mentions that she has to buy peas on installment and gets a final notice bill from the Jolly Green Giant.Footnotes
References
* [http://www.greengiant.com/history.htm GreenGiant.com: History] (official company site)
External links
* [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1834 Songfacts.com] (lyrics)
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDbKlaWgR3Q YouTube.com: First Green Giant commercial]
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