The temptation yesterday was to post this then. But it’s something so offbeat and unique that I felt the original article at Ain’t It Cool News deserved 24 hours to stand on its own. But I really could not possibly be more giddy about sharing this…

In 1959, dancing legend Fred Astaire had a televised special called… well, Another Evening With Fred Astaire. And during it he did a routine with Barrie Chase.

And for whatever reason, Astaire chose to perform as Alfred E. Neuman. Yup, the gap-toothed ever-grinning mascot of MAD Magazine.

Astaire went all-out. The costume was spot-on Neuman. And for good measure he brought aboard makeup and prosthetics genius John Chambers (who went on to create the ape makeup and appliances for Planet of the Apes a few years later) to bring Neuman to life.

How did it turn out? Here’s Fred Astaire as ...