Of all the beatniks on T.V., there are only two that I can think of that were regular recurring
characters. I've already covered Maynard G. Krebs from The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis, and the
other one is Gerald Lloyd Kookson III, but most of us just know him as Kookie. The character of
Kookie is a beatnik of a different sort, Kookie is more of a teenage heart throb, if you can imagine
Elvis as a beatnik...which he was, in Easy Come, Easy Go...but thats another post.
He digs jazz, and he makes the scene, but he also digs the finer things in life as well,
like broads and cars and the like.
In the pilot episode of 77 Sunset Strip, Edd Byrnes plays Kookie, but he's a hit man, hired by the
mob to off a dame who witnessed a murder, he gets caught in the end and sent off to prison,
but the character was so well liked that they revised him as the good natured, hip talking, car
hop of Dino's Lounge that Jeff Spencer and Stu Bailey rely on for much of their info and often
slide him a little long green to do some surveillance work for them.
"I DIG!!"
In 1959, The studios were quick to capitalize on Kookie's good looks and quirky character,
releasing a novelty album simply called Kookie!. The song Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb
was a minor hit and featured a duet with Connie Stevens.
Like, dig it here....it's the ginchiest!
