J. Fred Muggs (1952-) is a chimpanzee born in modern-day Cameroon. Muggs rose to stardom as the mascot on NBC's Today show from 1953-57. A New York pet store offered a "name that chimp" contest which led to his being named Mr. Muggs. Two former NBC pages bought him when he was 10 months old and the Today show simply added "J. Fred" to his name. Despite his off-set tantrums or violent behavior, he was a rating boost in the early years of the show. Muggs was a sensation with children, and later their parents. Muggs received countless letters from fans and, for a time, was more popular than the show's host, Dave Garroway (above). For saving the floundering Today show, he was given a monthly salary of $2000. Stuffed dolls were created of Muggs and those still in excellent condition, have become collector items. But by the end of the 1950s, the chimpanzee fad fell out of favor with television audiences and executives.
Note: Muggs worked in several television shows, toured the world and worked at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. He officially retired at age 23. Shown above in the left photo with Muggs is his "girlfriend" Phoebe B. Beebe. As of March 2018, Muggs was still living in Citrus Park, Florida.
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