Chuckles Bites the Dust
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| “Chuckles Bites the Dust” | |||||||
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| The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 7 |
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| Written by | David Lloyd | ||||||
| Directed by | Joan Darling | ||||||
| Original airdate | October 25, 1975 | ||||||
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| List of The Mary Tyler Moore Show episodes | |||||||
Chuckles Bites the Dust is an episode of the television situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show which aired October 25, 1975. In that episode, Chuckles the Clown (the star of WJM's children's show) is hired as the grand marshal for a circus parade, after news anchor Ted Baxter is ordered by Lou Grant to turn it down. Chuckles is to dress in character as Peter Peanut. Unfortunately, Chuckles is spotted and trampled by an elephant, and he dies from his injuries (all off-camera). Mr. Grant announces the tragic death to the newsroom staff. The unusual circumstances of Chuckles's death provokes a wave of jokes, especially by Lou and Murray Slaughter ("He could've gone as Billy Banana and had a Gorilla peel him to death."). Everyone in the newsroom begins collapsing into laughter, with the exception of Mary, who is appalled by her co-workers' lack of respect for the deceased.
At the funeral, all of the attendees are properly somber. All except one: Mary inexplicably feels a strong urge to laugh. She tries to stifle it, but finally can't contain herself while listening to the minister's eulogy:
- "Chuckles the Clown brought pleasure to millions. The characters he created will be remembered by children and adults alike: Peter Peanut, Mr. Fee-Fi-Fo, Billy Banana, and my particular favorite, Aunt Yoo Hoo. And not just for the laughter they provided--there was always some deeper meaning to whatever Chuckles did. Remember Mr. Fee-Fi-Fo's little catch phrase? Remember how when his arch rival Señor Caboom hit him with a giant cucumber and knocked him down? Mr. Fee-Fi-Fo would always pick himself up, dust himself off and say, 'I hurt my foo-foo'. Life's a lot like that. From time to time we all fall down and hurt our foo-foos. If only we could deal with it as simply and bravely and honestly as Mr. Fee-Fi-Fo. And what did Chuckles ask in return? Not much. In his own words, 'A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.'"
Mary's co-workers are shocked at her behavior, but the minister tells the mortified Mary that laughter was actually in keeping with Chuckles' wishes and urges her to continue her laughter. She then suddenly breaks into uncontrollable sobbing.
This episode was ranked #1 on TV Guide's "The 100 Best Episodes Of All Time". It was directed by Joan Darling and written by David Lloyd, who received an Emmy for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series."[1]
