Photo of Frank Blair, Dave Garroway, J. Fred Muggs and Jack Lescoulie from the television program Today. The photo was issued to mark the beginning of the program’s second year on the air. By NBC Television, via Wikimedia Commons.
“Television, which certainly made monkeys out of some famous stars, now is making famous stars out of monkeys.” This comment, from Hal Boyle of the Associated Press, ran in 1953. It referred to J. Fred Muggs—a chimpanzee that starred on NBC’s Today show with Dave Garroway.
That’s right, a monkey co-hosted the Today show. For four years.
Today debuted in 1952 with host Dave Garroway, but ratings were low and by the start of 1953 network executives took action to boost viewership. J. Fred Muggs, born in March of 1952, had recently appeared on The Perry Como Show and caught the Today show’s attention. By February 3, the chimp debuted, dressed in a diaper.
Audiences quickly fell in love with his antics and the show took off. Garroway, however, wasn’t thrilled at having a monkey co-host. Neither was Jim Fleming, the newsreader. He quit. But J. Fred Muggs didn’t and became a fixture on Today.
“Garroway works hard for his money. All J. Fred does is mug a bit, snub Garroway, toy with his socks and look as much as possible like any other chimpanzee,” Boyle wrote.
For all that mugging and toying, the chimp earned nearly $2,000 a month by 1954. He owned more than 300 suits and received hundreds of fan letters every week. Many letters were from adults, including one from a wealthy woman who offered Muggs her limousine—provided she could ride along with him.
J. Fred Muggs makes headlines in the San Bernardino Sun, July 7, 1954.
In the summer of 1954 Muggs began a worldwide promotional tour for Today. Flying on Pan Am, he made stops in Paris, Rome, Cairo, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mexico City, Africa and more. He was a hit wherever he went. In Tokyo, for example, newspapers reported that “Muggs found himself a guest of honor at a geisha house, the first such pretty party ever given for an animal in Japan. Muggs, attired in a kimono, wooden clogs, and carrying a parasol, was fanned by the geisha girls, served saki, and relaxed on pillows while the young ladies danced for him.”
Muggs continued monkeying around on the Today show until 1957. Garroway reportedly never became a fan. He threatened to leave the program if the network didn’t get rid of the chimp. Despite his popularity, NBC caved. In a 2004 interview with the New York Observer, Muggs’ owner, Gerald Preis, said of Garroway, “He had to live with the issue that it took a quote-unquote monkey to save his show. And that bothered him very much throughout television history. And in a way, I don’t blame him, but Muggs was an animal that saved a TV show that is still in existence today.”
Muggs continued a life in showbiz until 1975, even finger painting a cover of Mad magazine (issue #38) and starring in his own short-lived children’s variety show, The J. Fred Muggs Show.
Since then, he’s remained in retirement. Yes, he’s still alive, and relaxing in Florida with his girlfriend, Phoebe B. Beebe. A chimpanzee living the American Dream.
