There are many words that could be used to describe Mr. Magoo, but “visionary” isn’t one of them. In fact, all of his problems could be traced to the man’s stubborn refusal to wear glasses. His myopic worldview, coupled with a grumpy disposition, led to plenty of comical misunderstandings throughout the years and the cranky curmudgeon won the hearts of millions of viewers along the way.

Character actor Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III on Gilligan’s Island) lent his easily identifiable voice to Mr. Magoo, who first appeared in the late 40s, in a series of animated theatrical shorts produced by UPA. The positive reaction to the character led to a series of beer commercials in 1956 and finally, in 1960, Mr. Magoo got his own syndicated television show.

Sharing screen time with the cantankerous Magoo, a number of colorful characters rounded out the cast. Foremost was his young nephew Waldo, who, for better or worse, had been left in the care of his nearsighted uncle. Audiences were also introduced to the free-spirited Mother Magoo, his wealthy uncle Tycoon Magoo and butler Worcestershire, as well as a Chinese houseboy named Charlie. An animal lover, Mr. Magoo also had two pets – a canine named Caesar and a hamster named Hamlet (understandable considering that Magoo was a thespian by trade.)

In just two years, UPA managed to crank out 130 five-minute Mr. Magoo shorts. Although the animation was somewhat crude, it was also one of the first cartoons to be broadcast in color. The show, which leaned heavily towards silly sight gags, gained popularity by appealing to audiences of all ages and led to a number of other appearances for the blind-as-a-bat bumbler.

In 1962, Mr. Magoo starred in the beloved holiday special, Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol, a comic retelling of the classic Dickens story. The popularity of this special helped launch a new series in 1964 called The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, where more focus was placed on the character’s acting talents, featuring him as Ishmael in Moby Dick, Friar Tuck in Robin Hood and Long John Silver in Treasure Island – not to mention, all seven dwarves in a retelling of Snow White. In the late 70s, Magoo would get another series, produced by the DePatie-Freleng studios called What’s New Mr. Magoo.

And in 1997, with live-adaptations of old cartoons being all the rage, actor Leslie Nielson would portray the nearsighted curmudgeon on the big screen in the feature-film, Mr. Magoo. The film failed to win over audiences and did poorly at the box-office, thanks in part to a number of organizations that perceived the comic portrayal of a blind character as negative. What they failed to understand was that Mr. Magoo was never really blind; he just stubbornly refused to correct his vision problem by wearing glasses. Or maybe Magoo really was a visionary after all – realizing that the ability to see would have prematurely ended his career before it ever began.

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