I found the following paragraph on some TV nostalgia website, and it seemed to stir up some vague memories of a “Burger King” who appeared on TV commercials as a sort of counterpart to McDonald’s “Ronald McDonald”:
There was actually a Burger King who wore a crown and did parlor-style magic tricks. He had a supporting cast of characters, among them his nemesis the Duke of Doubt. “I’m the marvelous magical Burger King, I can do most anything, I love magic and food that’s fun… soooo… Take this burger, put it over here, make it move like magic, now watch it disappear! Toss these potatoes, see what’s up? Lots of juicy french fries, it’s magic, not luck! He’s the marvelous magical Burger King, He can do most anything, He loves magic and food that’s fun, He makes fun fun fun for everyone!”
Does anyone know how long this ad series was on? As I recall it was around the late 70s or early 80s. In a way, the ad text sounds like a knockoff of Jim Morrison’s “Lizard King”, with the line, “He’s the marvelous magical Burger King, He can do most anything.”
Oh, yes, the flashbacks have begun. I recall a cartoony version, but I would place it definitely in the 70’s. Will take a look for it. BKHQ is here in town, and I have some friends on the inside.
I don’t remember Burger King. I do remember Jack-in-the-Box having Jack, the Shakes, his back up band, and a bunch of other characters that will come back to me in tonights dreams. This was in about 72. I even had the board game for it.
I remember! One of his sidekicks was “Sir Shakes-a-lot.” A guy in armor who trembled constantly and, I think, stuttered. His shaking etc. was supposed to be funny, but I remember my parents commenting about how he looked like he had Parkinson’s Disease. My mom & dad aren’t really famous for deeming things offensive (Mom’s pretty open-minded, Dad just isn’t into “popular” media), but this sticks out because they were both bothered by Sir Shakes-a-lot.
I don’t know if other people thought the same thing, but if memory serves he didn’t last very long. Of course, neither did the Burger King himself…
Yeah, I remember the nemesis (I’ll take Philo’s word on his name) saying “Make me a shake.” DING! He was a big shake cup with head and hands sticking out.
So that’s where the Duke of Doubt was from! He pops into my head from time to time and I could never remember where he was from…and it always happened at a time when I was nowhere near a computer to search for his identity.
I considered asking once when it happened at work, but then I reminded myself that these were the people who didn’t know what Weebles were, and I didn’t bother.
