History of MADtv (1995-2000)

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The following is a history of the FOX sketch series MADtv from the 1995 television season to 2000.

MADtv Logo
MADtv Logo

Contents

[edit] MADtv (1995-2000): The Alfred E. Neuman era

[edit] Name

Some fans of the show have dubbed this period the "Alfred E. Neuman Era" because the show made more frequent reference to its connections with MAD Magazine than it did later on. Today, the connection between the two seems limited to the title of the show, as most Mad Magazine related content no longer appears on the show.

[edit] Creation of MADtv

[edit] In Living Color

The genesis of MADtv can be traced back to the Fox Broadcasting Company executives' desire to produce a show which could successfully rival Saturday Night Live. In 1990, FOX achieved their desired success with In Living Color, which was created and produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans. In Living Color lasted for four seasons with Wayans as Executive Producer and was a cult success. However, after the fourth season, Wayans left the show and most of the cast (including all of his siblings) left with him. Despite the fact that the new cast had stars like Carol Rosenthal from FOX's other (short-lived) sketch comedy show, The Edge, and Anne-Marie Johnson, Season 5 failed to obtain enough support from the viewers and the show was cancelled in 1994.

[edit] House of Buggin'

At that point, the quest to find a replacement series began. In 1994, FOX executives gave John Leguizamo a chance to fill the void which In Living Color left with his show, House of Buggin'. However, many critics and viewers believed that House of Buggin' lacked the edginess and creativity of its predecessor. As a result, the show was not renewed at the end of the 1994-1995 season. After the failure of House of Buggin' , FOX decided to try once more at creating a weekend night based comedy sketch show. This time, in lieu of trying to exactly imitate the success of In Living Color, FOX decided to create a union between its former show's creative team and a magazine widely regarded as an icon of comedy and parody.

[edit] MADtv

Fax Bahr and Adam Small, two of the most successful writers on In Living Color teamed up with producer, Quincy Jones and David Salzman and they all came up with the idea of creating an edgy sketch comedy show that was based on MAD Magazine. MAD Magazine had been around lampooning celebrities, movies, television shows and politicians since the 1950s. Thus, there was already a cult following for the show. But to make this union successful, the show would have to stay true to the fan base of MAD Magazine, while at the same time, stay true to the hip edgy and racy sketches which had come to define shows like In Living Color, as well as the sharp political humor that had defined Saturday Night Live. As a result, it was decided that characters from MAD Magazine, like Alfred E. Neuman and Spy vs. Spy, and the "MAD" logo would be incorporated into the show to act as a continuity link between the new show and the faithful readers of the magazine. Moreover, FOX signed a deal with Klasky-Csupo, (the animation company behind The Simpsons (1987-1992) and Rugrats ) to provide the animation for the Spy vs. Spy cartoons during the show.

[edit] Casting

Given the success of the racial and ethnic diversity of In Living Color, it was decided early on that the MADtv cast would also be diverse. In addition, the producers wanted to have a mixture of veterans of movie and television comedy, people with sketch comedy experience, and others with stand-up comedy experience. To fill the desire to have seasoned veterans on the cast, FOX executives added David Herman to the cast. Herman was already familiar with FOX executives because he was one of the few popular cast members from John Leguizamo's House of Buggin'. Herman also had an extensive television career and he had appeared in films like Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July. The next television veteran to join the cast was Phil LaMarr. In addition to being a graduate of Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood and Yale University, LaMarr was also an alumnus of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings and he has studied improv at The Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. Like Herman, LaMarr also had an extensive career in television and film. He had appeared in the movies It's Pat and Bio-Dome. He had also appeared in Pulp Fiction in the small but memorable role of Marvin, the man whom John Travolta's character accidentally shoots in the face.

After securing the television veterans of the series, FOX then focused on lining up the newcomers to the television medium. FOX executives looked towards The Groundlings alumnus Mary Scheer to fill one of the cast vacancies. Scheer had limited experience in television and film, appearing in films like It's Pat (along with Phil LaMarr), Not of This Earth and Under a Killing Moon. Her television credits included appearances in Seinfeld, Party of Five, and Beverly Hills 90210. The next cast member was Nicole Sullivan.

[edit] The Alfred E. Neuman era season breakdown

[edit] MADtv sketches (1995 - 2000)

[edit] Recurring characters

The following is a list of some of the most popular sketches featuring recurring characters that premiered during this era of MADtv.

For more details on this topic, see MADtv recurring characters.
Sketch Character Cast Member Other notes
Al Casdy Motivational Speaker Al Casdy Bryan Callen
Al Casdy Motivational Speaker Bill Phil LaMarr
Incredible Findings Tony Bryan Callen
Incredible Findings Mike Lawson David Herman
X-News Marsh David Herman
X-News Amy Nicole Sullivan
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars El Asso Wipo David Herman Seasons 1-2
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars El Asso Wipo Chris Hogan Season 3
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars El Asso Wipo David Arquette Season 4 (guest appearance)
Mexican Wrestling Federation Superstars El Diablo Negro Aries Spears
Jaq The UBS Guy Jaq Phil LaMarr
Funky Walker Dirty Talker Desperation Lee Phil LaMarr
Savante Savante Phil LaMarr
Rick the Player Rick Phil LaMarr
That's My White Mama Momma Artie Lange
That's My White Mama Shaquana Curtis Debra Wilson
That's My White Mama Robert Phil LaMarr
The Eracists Steve Phil LaMarr
The Eracists Debbie Nicole Sullivan
The Eracists Hugh Will Sasso
The Eracists Anne Alex Borstein
Cabana Chat Dixie Wetsworth Mary Scheer
Cabana Chat Pool Boy Bryan Callen (Seasons 1-2)
Cabana Chat Dexter St. Croix Orlando Jones (Seasons 1-2)
Cabana Chat James Brown, Jr. Aries Spears (Season 3)
Darlene McBride Darlene McBride Nicole Sullivan
The Vancome Lady Kathy the Vancome Lady Nicole Sullivan
Antonia Antonia Nicole Sullivan
Antonia Roger Phil LaMarr
Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson Bunifa Debra Wilson
Blake Edwards Blake Jeremy Williams
The Klumps Aries Spears Jameel
The Son of Dolemite Dolemite, Jr. Aries Spears
The Son of Dolemite Cocoa Latite Debra Wilson
The Son of Dolemite Black Belt Jones Phil LaMarr
The Son of Dolemite Sheriff Will Sasso
The Son of Dolemite Deputy Pat Kilbane
The Son of Dolemite Nympho Mo Collins
Will's Little Sister Jameel Aries Spears
Miss Swan Ms. Bunny Swan Alex Borstein
The Rocket Revengers Nick Bendix/Captain Dutch Anderson Pat Kilbane
The Rocket Revengers Lincoln Willis/Lt. Abraham Jefferson Phil LaMarr
The Rocket Revengers Big Roy Rasmussen/Lt. Tiny Malone Will Sasso
The Rocket Revengers Aries Spears
The Rocket Revengers Tukah, Queen of the Chinese Debra Wilson
The Rocket Revengers Professor Betty Mo Collins
Susan Whitfield Susan Whitfield Lisa Kushell
Susan Whitfield Mrs. Whitfield Nicole Sullivan
The Parker Sisters Vonda Parker Chris Hogan
The Parker Sisters Wanda Terry-Ann Lainier Parker Lisa Kushell
Stan the Java Man Stan McNer Pat Kilbane
Lorraine Swanson Lorraine Swanson Mo Collins
Lorraine Swanson Karl Swanson Paul Vogt
Stuart Larkin Stuart Larkin Michael McDonald
Stuart Larkin Doreen Larkin Mo Collins
Rusty Miller Rusty Miller Michael McDonald
Marvin Tikvah Marvin Tikvah Michael McDonald
Marvin Tikvah Shelly Mo Collins
The Stick Chicks Champagne Nicole Sullivan
The Stick Chicks Autumn Debra Wilson
The Stick Chicks Echo Alex Borstein
The GAP Troll GAP Troll Alex Borstein
Behind the Song Jasmine Wayne Wayne Alex Borstein
Behind the Song Michael Macleod Will Sasso

[edit] Recurring celebrity impressions

The following is a series of lists of some of the most popular celebrity impressions (from the worlds of music, film, television, sports and entertainment), that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

Celebrity Cast Member(s) Season(s) Other notes
Fiona Apple Lisa Kushell 3
Tisha Campbell Debra Wilson 1, 5
Tommy Davidson Phil LaMarr 3-5
Sheila E. Debra Wilson 3-5
Mel Gibson Pat Kilbane 3-5
Danny Glover Aries Spears 3-10
Mary Hart Mo Collins 4-9
Ice Cube Orlando Jones 1-2
Ice Cube Aries Spears 3-10
Janet Jackson Phil LaMarr 3-8
LaToya Jackson Debra Wilson 2-8
Michael Jackson Phil LaMarr 1-5
Tito Jackson Phil LaMarr 3
Martin Lawrence Phil LaMarr 1-2
Martin Lawrence Aries Spears 5-10
Rosie O'Donnell Alex Borstein 3-7
Kobe Bryant Jeremy Williams 3-9
Kenny Rogers Will Sasso 3-7
William Shatner Will Sasso 3-7
Joel Schumacher David Herman 1-3
Snoop Dogg Orlando Jones 1-2
Jennifer Love Hewitt Brooke Totman 5
Keanu Reeves Andrew Bowen 5

[edit] Public figure impressions

The following is a series of lists of some of the most public figure impressions (from the worlds of politics, business, news and the media), that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

Celebrity Cast Member(s) Season(s) Other notes
Mary Bono Alex Borstein 3-5
Bill Clinton David Herman 1
Bill Clinton Bryan Callen 2
Bill Clinton Will Sasso 3-7, 9
Bob Dole David Herman 1-3
Al Gore Bryan Callen 1-2
Al Gore Pat Kilbane 3-5
Kenneth Starr Chris Hogan 3
Kenneth Starr Andrew Bowen 4
Clarence Thomas Orlando Jones 1
Newt Gingrich Artie Lange 1
F. Lee Bailey Artie Lange 1
Timothy McVeigh Bryan Callen 1
Tim Allen David Herman 1

[edit] Recurring animated sketches

The following is a list of some of the most popular sketches featuring recurring characters that premiered during the Alfred E. Neuman era of MADtv.

For more details on this topic, see MADtv recurring characters.
Sketch Cast Member Voice(s) Season(s) Other notes
Spy vs. Spy None 1-3
Clops David Herman, Nicole Sullivan, Phil LaMarr, Pat Kilbane and Aries Spears 1-5

[edit] Sources

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
MADtv
Current cast
Seasons
One • Two • Three • Four • Five • Six • Seven • Eight • Nine • Ten • Eleven • Twelve • Thirteen
History
1995–2000 • 2000–2005 • 2005–present
Recurring Sketches