# Mr. Clean retires! What's that you say? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [February 25, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959 "2026-02-25T16:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/21 "2026-02-26T13:34:12Z")
The moment I heard about Mr. Clean’s retirement, out of the deep recesses of my mind sprang a familiar tune… _“Mister Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute. Mister Clean will clean your whole house and everything that’s in it. Mister Clean Mister Clean Mister Clean!”_ This was the jingle that introduced Mister Clean to America, and like lots of other commercial jingles from my childhood days, it’s still taking up valuable brain cells. I remember a childhood friend dressing up as Mr. Clean for Halloween. That’s how effective that ad campaign was. Mr. Clean is an icon. Mark my words, he’ll be back. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/22 "2026-02-26T13:48:51Z")
Guess he got tired of leaving a sheen where you clean. Picture in post #6 — he should really trim those eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/23 "2026-02-26T14:51:00Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > This is funny. Ever since moving to Europe, I’ve stopped thinking of him by his original name. > > Now, for me, he’s “Mister Proper.” In Germany, he’s not a mere Mr. Proper, but _Master_ Proper (Meister Proper). [![](https://www.eoffice24.com/images/thumbnail/produkte/large/A009211F.jpg) ](https://www.eoffice24.com/images/thumbnail/produkte/large/A009211F.jpg) > [@JoseB](#): > > I don’t know why, but Mr. Clean (or Mr. Proper as they call him over here) always struck me as “GAY” (with all capital letters), visible from a couple of kilometers away. The kind of person that pings gaydars all over. First thing I thought when reading the OP: the current administration is behind it, getting rid of another gay icon. He looks like the guys from Right Said Fred modeled their looks after him. [![](https://starsandmore.info/cms/images/stories/kuenstler/rock_pop/right_said_fred.jpg) ](https://starsandmore.info/cms/images/stories/kuenstler/rock_pop/right_said_fred.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/24 "2026-02-26T16:07:11Z")
I’m too sexy for my cleaner, too sexy for my cleaner, you pathetic weiner. And I shake my little brush on the catwalk. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/25 "2026-02-26T16:35:09Z")
I wonder how many actors played the character in the national tv commercials? I vaguely remember Mr. Clean as an older guy. His eyebrows had turned white. He’s younger now. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/26 "2026-02-26T17:14:07Z")
Now we finally know his first name: “ **Veritably** ”. > **[Mr. Clean on Instagram: "The name’s Veritably - Mr. Very if you’re clean 😎...](https://www.instagram.com/mrclean/reel/DVGozBXjjCk/?hl=en)** > > mrclean on February 23, 2026: "The name’s Veritably - Mr. Very if you’re clean 😎 #TheRealMe > > \#MrCleanRetires #NewBeginnings > \#Explore". ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/27 "2026-02-26T17:17:06Z")
The New York Times article in the OP mentioned his first name, which originated in a 1962 ad campaign. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/28 "2026-02-26T17:19:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The New York Times article in the OP mentioned his first name, which originated in a 1962 ad campaign Yep, but no one here mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/29 "2026-02-26T17:24:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wonder how many actors played the character in the national tv commercials? Looking back through a bunch of old Mr. Clean ads, he was nearly always portrayed as an animated character, though I did find one ad (from the early '60s, it appears) in which he was portrayed by a flesh-and-blood actor. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/30 "2026-02-26T17:41:41Z")
Several years ago, they had an African American Mr. Clean for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/31 "2026-02-27T01:28:44Z")
As a kid I presumed that Mr. Clean was supposed to be a genie who came out the bottle and made everything magically clean. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/32 "2026-02-27T02:06:15Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > As a kid I presumed that Mr. Clean was supposed to be a genie who came out the bottle and made everything magically clean That’s what he was designed to be. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959/33 "2026-02-27T02:12:00Z")
You get it: Genie in a bottle. 😀 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-clean-retires-whats-that-you-say/1027959.md?page=1)