Shazam, the sequel…

So, which show made the word shazam famous?

I did a bit of homework yesterday, and this one was tougher than I thought!

When I asked the question, I thought the answer was simple. Gomer Pyle – USMC was a show I enjoyed as a kid, and I knew I’d heard Gomer use the expression frequently.  I kind of picked up on that phrase and it’s stuck with me as an expression of wonderment ever since.   When my good friend Joseph Lee first came over to my place with a bright red California Scooter Classic, my first reaction was Shazzzzzam! (in my mind, I could even hear Gomer Pyle’s voice).  I spent a lot of time, though, trying to find a YouTube with that phrase in it…

Carl and Jim sent a couple of responses indicating the correct answer was Captain Marvel, and when I looked into the YouTube library, I sure was surprised…

Sergeant Carter and Private Pyle

This is pretty interesting stuff, but the key question is:  Which one was first?

Here’s what I was able to learn from my internet research…

Captain Marvel first appeared in comic book format in 1939.  He was the most popular comic book

Captain Marvel

superhero in the 1940s (he actually sold more comic books than Superman), and Captain Marvel appeared in the 1941 film, The Adventures of Captain Marvel.   Billy Batson was a seemingly ordinary young radio reporter who morphed into Captain Marvel when he uttered the word shazam! (Billy Batson should not be confused with Billy Buster, another character who indirectly influenced creation of the California Scooter Company).  The Captain Marvel character made it to the small screen with Shazam!, a television show that ran for three seasons on Saturday morning TV back in the early 1970s.

Gomer Pyle – USMC, on the other hand, ran on TV from 1964 to 1969, and the Gomer Pyle character first appeared on The Andy Griffith Show the year before that.

After considering all of the above, the answer to my original question is:  I don’t know.  This created a real dilemma for me…the stakes were high…who gets a free California Scooter Company T-shirt?  I called Steve late Saturday morning to tell him about this situation I’d put myself in, and he saved the day with a great answer…just give a T-shirt to each of the guys who responded! 

Shazzzaammmm!

Dave, Carl, Lynn, John, and Matt, shoot me your snail mail address and T-shirt size (jberk@californiascooterco.com), and your T-shirts will be on their way!