Hi Julia,
I should have thought of this before Halloween. Well better late than never. Could you run a photo of Sid Noel NOT as Morgus the Magnificent but what he really looked like as himself, not Morgus. Secondly, could you give us the names and some information on the actors who played Chopsley and voiced Eric? Morgus was way better than Svengoolie!!!
-Thomas “T” Diemer, Kenner
It is OK to ask about Morgus during the Christmas season, Thomas. He was played by Sid Noel Rideau who was given the middle name Noel because he was born on Christmas Day, 1929. Coincidentally, Morgus and Maison Blanche’s Christmas elf, Mr. Bingle, were both New Orleans creations. Bingle was a snowman and Morgus always claimed to live above “the old city icehouse.” I don’t want to start any unverified gossip but it could it be that Bingle, the snowman, might have found an icehouse to be a cool place to live too.
Anyway, to your question: the late Sid Noel, who personified Morgus, was a local radio personality and entertainer. As you can see, he was a handsome man, far different than the ghoulish Morgus.
Chopsley, the house mummy-like character, was played by Tommy George, a St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy. (According to the script the totally bandaged Chopsley was a former medical school student who badly failed a face transplant experiment.) After George’s death in ’87, the role was assumed by actor James Guillot. E.R.I.C., the wired talking skull had the voice of Ed Hoerner, a program director for WWL radio and TV.
There is uncertainty to the rumor that Chopsley still prowls the streets of the French Quarter looking for the old city icehouse as a place to open a snowball stand.
Hey Julia,
I have a correction to suggest for an answer in the September issue of New Orleans Magazine. You said that Toulouse Street was named after Toulouse Lautrec. I beg to differ. Toulouse Street and Dumaine Street were named after two out of wedlock sons of King Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.
– Irvin T Diemer II,New Orleans
There is a lesson to be learned here Irvin: never let a parrot do your research. I took one afternoon off to go skydiving and Poydras botched a question.
It was not uncommon for monarchs of the 17th century to have many mistresses, partially for amorous pleasure but also for political alliances. Among XIV’s collection was Françoise-Athénaïs, better known as Madame de Montespan. Louis fathered seven kids (commonly whispered about as the “royal bastards”). All of the males were given the last name Bourbon. Among those were two whose names would be attached to New Orleans French Quarter streets: Louis Auguste de Bourbon (1670-1730); legitimized as Duc de Maine (Dumaine) and Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (1678-1737); legitimized as the Comte de Toulouse. By being legitimized an offspring was acknowledged by the king and received royal benefits and title. New Orleans has streets named after generals and saints plus, uniquely, royal bastards.
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