# Who was more influential in American culture: Eugene O'Neill or The Noid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728 "2010-11-24T01:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/1 "2010-11-24T01:29:39Z")
On the one hand, Eugene O’Neill was both a playwright and a Nobel laureate in literature. He won the Pulitzer prize for drama four times in his life, three in one decade alone. He wrote 30 full length plays including such classics as The Iceman Cometh, Lazarus Laughed, and All God’s Chillun Got Wings. He even has an award named after him. On the other hand, The Noid was a mascot/spokesperson/villian for Dominos Pizza advertisements in the mid 1980s. He wore many hats. Say “Avoid the Noid” to anyone and they’ll give you a knowing nod. For you, my friend, are culturally literate. Did Eugene O’Neill get his face on a t-shirt? Did Eugene O’Neill have not one, but two video games centered around him? So what say you? [sub]and in case anyone’s curious this was an actual argument between my wife and I last night.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/2 "2010-11-24T01:38:24Z")
In my high school drama club I did readings from O’Neill. The only dramatic thing I ever did with a pizza was get food poisoning from one. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/3 "2010-11-24T01:55:15Z")
Eugene O’Neill was on the definitive $1 [U.S. postage stamp](http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&mode=2&tid=2028992) for years. So lots of people who can’t name any of his works at least know he existed. Now if you had asked whether O’Neill or [Tom Monaghan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Monaghan) had more impact on the average American’s life, I’d have to go with the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/4 "2010-11-24T02:05:26Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > [sub]and in case anyone’s curious this was an actual argument between my wife and I last night.[/sub] [sub]have you and/or your wife considered electroshock therapy?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/5 "2010-11-24T02:07:20Z")
I’ve never heard of either of them (I’m 24). ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/6 "2010-11-24T02:07:31Z")
O’Neill got loaded at Jimmy the Priest’s. Monaghan took loads from a priest’s jimmy. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/7 "2010-11-24T02:11:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [sub]have you and/or your wife considered electroshock therapy?[/sub] I have. My tongue is large enough but we never have enough 9 volts lying around. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/8 "2010-11-24T02:29:55Z")
I only know the Noid from Family Guy. I think the dramatist dude probably had a bigger impact in the long term. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/9 "2010-11-24T02:48:41Z")
O’Neill has had more influence on the culture at large, no doubt about it. But I’m betting more Americans could tell you who the Noid is than they could O’Neill. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/10 "2010-11-24T03:19:33Z")
I’d say O’Neill, but only because of the many parodies and usages of the name “The Iceman Cometh”. From Bioshock to Letterman to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/11 "2010-11-24T03:38:29Z")
While O’Neill may very well be of greater artistic merit, I think more people would know the Noid if you took a random sample of 100 Americans. I applaud you for even thinking of this question. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/12 "2010-11-24T03:58:40Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > O’Neill has had more influence on the culture at large, no doubt about it. But I’m betting more Americans could tell you who the Noid is than they could O’Neill. > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > While O’Neill may very well be of greater artistic merit, I think more people would know the Noid if you took a random sample of 100 Americans. > > I applaud you for even thinking of this question. I think this is wrong, and every day that passes will see fewer and fewer people percentage-wise who know who the Noid is. If you were a kid while the Noid was current marketing (I’m 30 and remember it/him clearly from TV ads), then you know who the Noid is. If you were a grown-up who watched a lot of TV, or ate at Domino’s a lot, you might remember who the Noid is, but maybe not. If you were born after '86 or so you would have had no experience of the Noid, and really no reason to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/13 "2010-11-24T04:07:07Z")
I wonder why they don’t resurrect his ass (The 'Noid’s not Eugene O’Neill’s). Kinda like how Little Caesers still has their little mascot in their parlors, but when was the last time you heard him say “pizza! pizza!” in a commercial, or any LC commercial for that matter? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/14 "2010-11-24T06:02:35Z")
I spent approximately eighteen million hours reading or discussing _Long Day’s Journey Into Night_ in AP English Lit in 12th grade. In honor of Mr. Hogue, I had to vote for Eugene O’Neill. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/15 "2010-11-24T14:49:31Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I spent approximately eighteen million hours reading or discussing _Long Day’s Journey Into Night_ in AP English Lit in 12th grade. In honor of Mr. Hogue, I had to vote for Eugene O’Neill. But how many times did you order pizza in 12th grade? I’d hazzard to guess eighteen million and one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/16 "2010-11-24T16:04:03Z")
Eugene O’Neill. How many times have you seen the Noid in the past two decades? Trivia: The Noid was animated in Claymation by Will Vinton, and the film **Festival of Claymation** featured many of the Noid commercials. But the video release lacks all of these, along with many other things (like Fogerty’s music video _Vantz Can’t Dance_) that they apparently couldn’t clear the rights for. The only place you can see The Noid now is on YouTube: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qJ7RnXakSXU/hqdefault.jpg "The Noid") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ7RnXakSXU) ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/17 "2010-11-24T17:48:35Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’d say O’Neill, but only because of the many parodies and usages of the name “The Iceman Cometh”. From Bioshock to Letterman to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” I agree for the exact same reason. Although if the next Domino’s Pizza commercial features The Noid with the tagline, “The Noidman Cometh”, then I might have to re-evaluate. As a side-note, I think the OP’s question is sublime and I have every intention of stealing it for all of the upcoming holiday discussions. **Enderw24** , I take it you argued for The Noid? ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/18 "2010-11-24T17:59:34Z")
I was around in the '80s and I remember Domino Pizza but I don’t remember The Noid at all. I like Eugene O’Neill, and I distinctly remember Jack Nicholson playing him in Warren Beatty’s “**[Reds](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/)**”. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/19 "2010-11-24T18:02:06Z")
I think a better question would be would we even have the Noid If Eugene O’Neil didn’t pave the way ahead of time. Just as you can’t discuss Spuds McKenzie without mentioning the obvious influence of Tennessee Williams, we can’t speak of the Noid or Oneil without acknowledging that the two are inextricably intertwined. Sure, Oneil’s work may have come before the Noid’s, but would we have the same understanding of O’Neill without looking through the cut-glass window on our cultural heritage that the Noid gave us? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728/20 "2010-11-24T18:05:59Z")
At first glance I thought this was about Ed O’Neill, in which case he wins handily. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-more-influential-in-american-culture-eugene-oneill-or-the-noid/561728.md?page=2)