Hugh Brannum

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Hugh Brannum (January 5, 1910 - April 19, 1987) is an actor best known for his role as "Mr. Green Jeans" on the children's television show "Captain Kangaroo." He was known by the nickname "Lumpy."

Brannum was born in Sandwich, Illinois in 1910. He attended Maine Township High School in suburban Chicago. In the 1940s and 1950s, he appeared on the radio as the bass player for Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians. On the radio and on 78-rpm records, he also told stories about "Little Orley," a farm kid. These stories led to him getting the role of Mr. Green Jeans from 1955 to 1984.

Characters played by Mr. Brannum: Mr. Green Jeans, The Professor, Greeno The Clown, The Old Folk Singer, Mr. Bainter The Painter.

Brannum died in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in 1987.

[edit] Trivia

There is a long-running but incorrect rumor that Brannum was the father of musician Frank Zappa, apparently because one of Zappa's compositions is titled Son of Mr. Green Genes