Morgus the Magnificent

In 1963, Rideau moved to Detroit, Michigan, joining WJBK-TV. Starting that November, Morgus was seen six times a week, showing horror movies on Morgus Presents Sunday nights, as well as hosting a five-minute-long weathercast at 5:55pm each weekday. (The actual weather report, shown on a screen that resembled a slot machine, took up only 30 seconds of Morgus' show, with a one-minute commercial and the rest of the program featuring the host's mad scientist antics.) The show was initially popular enough to also be seen in Atlanta (with other cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio also mentioned as possible outlets), but declining ratings caused WJBK to let Morgus go by the end of 1964. Rideau moved across the street to WXYZ-TV in January 1965, hosting "Shock Theatre" on Sunday and Friday nights, but by April he was on his way back down south.[4]

In mid-1965, Rideau and Morgus Presents (aka ‘’Morgus The Magnificent’’) returned to New Orleans on WWL-TV and remained on the air for two years. Morgus Presents reappeared as an afternoon show in 1970 on WDSU-TV, but was discontinued in 1971. After another long hiatus, Morgus Presents returned in January 1987, on WGNO-TV. Long-time New Orleans television director and Morgus collaborator, Paul Yacich, directed all fifty-two episodes. By 2005, Morgus Presents had gone into syndication and aired on various stations, such as Cox Cable channel 10, and WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans.[2]

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, fans feared Morgus may have been a victim of the storm, but within weeks, his survival was announced on his official website.[2]

Morgus was said to have descended from a long line of scientists dating back to Morgus the First, who was the architect of the first pyramid in Egypt. He mastered calculus at 5 years of age, and his mother and father (both scientists) sent him to the Vasco da Gama Medical school (the finest in the Caribbean) where he graduated with honors. He is reported to have an I.Q. "in the 300s". Morgus claims to have published several scientific books, including his blockbuster "New Hope for the Dead", and the earth-shaking "Molecules I Have Known". He has discovered the speed of dark, and truly invented the Internet. He rails against "those idiots at the station" and "the idiots of the scientific community". Morgus says he is Earth's main member of the "Higher Order", a super-scientific secret society dedicated to helping the development of intelligence throughout the universe. His Momus Alexander Morgus Institute (M.A.M.I., pronounced "mammy") is (unintentionally) a non-profit organization of science.[5][2]

Morgus' assistant Chopsley, played by actor Tommy George (after his death, played by James Guillot from 1987 on), was a former medical school classmate, and the subject of an early experiment in "face transplant" surgery. Unfortunately this left him without a face when he laughed before the procedure could heal. As a result, he wears a full head mask at all times (with a zippered mouth through which to eat). As the experiment of each episode would go disastrously wrong at the end, Morgus would always yell, "Chopsley, you idiot!", blaming him for the mishap. Actually, the disaster was Chopsley's fault about half the time. The other half, it was entirely due to Morgus' oversight of some critical detail, but Chopsley always got the blame.

Morgus assistant Eric was a talking human skull in early episodes of the show. When the show returned in the 1980s, Eric had become part of the computer known as E.R.I.C. (The Eon Research Infinity Computer). Eric's skull connected to a molecular integrated circuit which holds all the knowledge of the universe in his memory banks (thanks to the oversight of the Higher Order), and whose sepulchral voice introduced the segments and frequently agreed with Morgus with a deep, resonant "Yes, Master". E.R.I.C. is also known for his sharp wit, and sometimes cutting remarks at Morgus. On the set, E.R.I.C. was portrayed by an Apple II with a skull as the speaker.

Mrs. Alma Fetish is Morgus' long-time (and long-suffering) landlady, who often forgets that scientific endeavors do not provide rent money on a regular basis. Veteran New Orleans stage actress Janet Shea portrayed Mrs. Fetish in the 1986-1989 "Morgus Presents" version of the show.

Morgus' manager Wiley Faye tried to bring the good doctor increased exposure and better business opportunities, but they never seemed to work out in the end. Wiley was portrayed in the 1986-1989 version of the program by actor Matt Borel, a familiar face from New Orleans area theater and television commercials. Although he gave up acting in the late '90s, Borel went on to become a highly successful stage producer in New Orleans.