| Hugh Brannum | |
| Birth Date: | 5 January 1910 |
| Birth Place: | Sandwich, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Place: | East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania |
| Yearsactive: | 1951–1984 |
| Othername: | Lumpy |
Hugh Brannum (January 5, 1910 – April 19, 1987) was an American vocalist, arranger, composer, and actor known for his role as Mr. Green Jeans on the children's television show Captain Kangaroo. During his days with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, Brannum used his childhood nickname "Lumpy".[1]
Brannum was born in Sandwich, Illinois, in 1910 to a Methodist minister. He attended Maine Township High School in suburban Chicago, where he played sousaphone in the school's marching band, later learning the bass violin.[2]
Brannum went to college at University of Redlands, where he became interested in jazz; after graduation in 1931, he played bass in various bands.[2]
During World War II, Brannum enlisted in the US Marine Corps and joined a Marine band led by Bob Crosby.[3] [4] After the war, he joined the Four Squires, and later moved to Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians; Waring's group had a regular radio show on NBC, where Brannum met fellow Marine Bob Keeshan, who was working at the network, and who later hired Brannum for Captain Kangaroo.
Before his time on Captain Kangaroo, Brannum hosted a local children's TV series called Uncle Lumpy's Cabin, seen weekday afternoons at 5 on WJZ-TV, (now WABC-TV) in New York City during the 1951 season.
Mr. Green Jeans earned his moniker from his distinctive apparel, a pair of farmer's overalls (later, jeans and a denim jacket) in his signature green (although, since the show was broadcast in black-and-white until 1967, this was lost on viewers during its first years). He was a talented and inquisitive handyman who provided assistance at the Treasure House. He frequently visited the Captain with the latest addition to his menagerie of zoo animals.
Aside from Mr. Green Jeans, Brannum played a number of characters on Captain Kangaroo from 1955 to 1984, including the Professor, Greeno the Clown, the New Old Folk Singer, and Mr. Bainter the Painter. His role as Mr. Green Jeans was partly based on stories about a farm kid named "Little Orley" that he told with the Fred Waring orchestra, on the radio and on 78-rpm records under the pseudonym "Uncle Lumpy". According to Bob Keeshan, Mr. Green Jeans was an extension of Brannum's real personality. During one episode of Captain Kangaroo, a lion cub bit Brannum's finger and drew blood. Brannum stuck his bleeding hand into his pocket and never broke character for the remainder of the episode.[5] [6]
Brannum died of cancer in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1987.[7]
Soloist and/or composer and/or arranger, as Hugh (Lumpy) Brannum, on the following Fred Waring recordings:[10]