Animation cel of Charlie/Cholly from the Mister Magoo animated series
date: label: date made
content: 1960-1962
name: label: performer
content: Rubin, Benny
label: maker
content: United Productions of America
notes: label: Description
content: Animation cel used in the production of the television series Mister Magoo (1960-1962) depicting the character Charlie/Cholly. Magoo's houseboy Cholly (canonically "Charlie" but pronounced with a grotesque Chinese accent) was created as a combination of Asian stereotypes, drawn with pale skin, almond eyes, dark hair styled in a queue, and large buck teeth. His exaggerated, pidgin English pronunciation was played for humor throughout the series. The title character, Mr. Magoo, is an elderly, wealthy, extremely near-sighted man who finds himself in dangerous and comical situations due to his stubborn refusal to admit his sight disability. Cholly played straight man to Magoo, helping him avoid and get out of trouble with the resourcefulness and attentiveness his employer lacked. The Mister Magoo series was produced by the United Productions of America (UPA) animation studio. Benny Rubin provided the voice for Charlie/Cholly. While the series was successful at the time, it did draw criticism for its employment of racial stereotypes and caricature, especially in the years after the initial run, when pressure applied by community groups succeeded in convincing UPA to pull the series from syndication. Some stations aired versions of the series with the racist characters edited out, but for the most part this series and its stereotyped characters has remained obscure since the 1970s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Burbank
topic: label: associated subject
content: Television
label: associated subject
content: Ethnic Stereotype
label: associated subject
content: Animation
label: associated subject
content: Disabilities
label: associated community
content: Chinese
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2023.0178.02
label: accession number
content: 2023.0178
label: catalog number
content: 2023.0178.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: animation cel
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 1/4 in x 12 1/2 in; 26.035 cm x 31.75 cm