Rant #1,418: Herman

Being a child of the 1960s, there were two people named Herman that were important to me.

Well, they were kind of named Herman, but read on and you will get my drift.

First, there was Herman Munster.

Herman was the patriarch of the Munster clan, and he became something of a folk hero on "The Munsters," the CBS sitcom showcasing this rather ghoulish, yet completely normal, family.

Played by Fred Gwynne to the hilt, Herman Munster, in my mind, is one of the top characters in TV history, even though the show lasted but two seasons.

The show was a goof on "Leave It To Beaver," which was created by the same people--Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher--and when you lampoon something, it is so much easier to lampoon something that you have created yourself, and they did just that with "The Munsters."

There have been imitators, other actors that played Herman, but Fred Gwynne really owned that role.

Heck, he WAS Herman Munster.

The other Herman that was important to me wasn't named Herman at all, but he kind of became that name because of his affiliation with a group that was one of the most successful pop acts of the 1960s.

Herman was Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits.

Noone was Herman, Herman was Noone. People knew Herman before they realized that Herman was Peter.

He kind of latched onto the Herman monicker because he somewhat resembled the Sherman character from "Sherman and Peabody" of "Fractured Fairy Tales" cartoon fame.

Thus, Herman's Hermits were created, and really, the rest is history.

Between 1964 and 1968, they placed 19 songs on Billboard's Hot 100, and had two Number One tunes, "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter."

They were really more British music hall than rock, and that is why to this day, many supposedly musical know it alls look in disdain at their success. I don't. I loved their music, and their kind of boy next door persona.

They also toured with the Who, and to his dying breath, Keith Moon would tell you that all the legendary rabble rousing that the Who was known for was actually taught to them by Herman and the boys. They were banned from several hotel chains because of their behavior, but when they came on TV, or you heard them on the radio, they came off as squeaky clean as a new plunger.

Whatever the case, after 1969, they focused on their native England, and continued to have hits, including one of my favorites, "My Sentimental Friend."

And Peter Noone continues to tour, and if you haven't seen him, by all means, go! He puts on a terrific show, much different than you would think, very high energy and he sings better now than ever.

And although they do not tour with him anymore, the surviving Hermits also tour, and they also put on a good show.

Why am I speaking about Hermans today? (And by the way, I also knew another Herman, but it was his last name that was Herman, not his first, and unlike Peter and Mr. Munster, it was his real name.)

I don't know. The name just came to mind, and why not write a column about the name Herman?

I couldn't do the same thing with other names, like, let's say, Chauncey or Yigal.

So Herman it is today.

Maybe tomorrow it will be about John Smith.

Let's see where this takes us ...