Alfred E. Neuman
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine Mad. The character's distinct face, with his parted red hair, gap-tooth smile, freckles, protruding nose, and scrawny body, had actually first emerged in U.S. iconography decades prior to his association with the magazine, appearing in early twentieth-century advertisements for painless dentistry— the origin of his "What, me worry?" motto. He also appeared in the early 1930s, on a presidential campaign postcard with the caption, "Sure I'm for Roosevelt". The magazine's editor Harvey Kurtzman claimed the character in 1954, and he was named "Alfred E. Neuman" by Mad's second editor, Al Feldstein, in 1956. Since his debut in Mad, Neuman's likeness has appeared on the cover of all but a handful of the magazine's over 550 issues. Rarely seen in profile, Neuman has almost always been portrayed in front view, silhouette, or directly from behind.
