"I'm Milton, your brand-new son!"

Building monsters is tricky business. A pinch of this, a dash of that – one little mistake can have disastrous results. In the case of Milton the Monster, the error was slightly less than horrific though - Professor Weirdo and Count Kook dropped in a little too much “tincture of tenderness,” and the result was a happy-go-lucky monster with a rather pleasant demeanor. While the two monster makers were less than pleased with their creation, viewers develop quite the soft spot for the loveable lug.

Milton lived in a spooky mansion high atop Haunted Hill with his two creators, who were forever trying to banish him from their abode, but with little success. Also sharing the residence were Heebie, a zombie with only a skull for a face and Jeebie, a one-eyed green, hairy creature with a single sharp tooth that proved quite handy as a soda can opener. On an adjacent hill lived the group’s nemesis, another mad scientist named Professor Fruitcake who had his own prized creation, Zelda the Zombie. Other recurring characters included Professor Weirdo’s aunt, a witch named Aunt Hagatha, and Fangenstein, a motorcycle-riding monster (inspired by Marlon Brando) and his companion, Abercrombie, another zombie.

Milton shared his screen time with five other recurring segments:

Fearless Fly was an everyday housefly that, when duty called, would duck into a matchbox, and emerge as his superhero alter-ego, complete with red sweater and a pair of high-powered glasses that provided him with “millions of mega-tons of energy.” The only problem was that, without his glasses, he was completely powerless – and, of course, he managed to lose the glasses quite frequently. He sent his time battling foes such as Dr Goo Fee and his assistant, Gung Ho and when he wasn’t working, could usually be found socializing around the local sugar bowl with love interest Flora and a pal named Horsey.

Flukey Luke was a remarkably inept cowboy who was still able to protect his Old West town, thanks to his uncanny luck. Riding atop his trusted steed, Pronto, Luke and his cohort Two Feathers (a native American who spoke with an inexplicable Irish brogue) kept the town safe from villains such as the evil Spider Webb.

Penny Penguin was an aquatic fowl, modeled much in the spirit of Dennis the Menace. The precocious penguin found trouble at every opportunity, much to the chagrin of his parents, Chester and Beulah.

Stuffy Durma was a rags-to-riches story of a hobo who finds himself suddenly affluent after inheriting ten million dollars. His servant, Bradley Brinkley does his best to instill some culture in the former vagrant but Stuffy always seems to revert back to his old ways. Much to his mentor’s disapproval, Stuffy prefers to spend his time with old chums, Ashcan Annie and Stu Mulligan and often invites them to his mansion.

And finally, Muggy Doo was a conniving boy fox (originally a feline in comic books) who spent his time conning people out of their belongings, whether it be food, shelter, money or anything else that he set his sites on.

Debuting in 1965 and running for three seasons on ABC, Milton the Monster, is fondly remembered to this day, mainly for his unusual smokestack-like head that regularly released puffs of smoke. Sadly, those memories are few and far between, as the good-natured Milton never quite achieved the same cult status of other cartoon characters from his era.