Morgus the Magnificent

Morgus the Magnificent, also known as Momus Alexander Morgus, is a fictional character on television shows that originated in the New Orleans, Louisiana television market. From the late 1950s into the 1980s Morgus was a "horror host" of late-night science fiction and horror movies, and is back on the air as of October, 2006. Morgus is a quintessential mad scientist, created and portrayed by New Orleans actor Sidney Noel Rideau (Sid Noel). Assisted by executioner-styled sidekick, Chopsley (Tommy George), his well-intentioned experiments served as book-end pieces to the films, and typically go awry at the last minute.

Morgus first appeared on late night television on January 3, 1959, in the House of Shock, hosting the science fiction and horror movies in between experiments. The set was stated to be an upstairs garret over the Old City Ice House, with a fire escape exit into Pirate's Alley in the old French Quarter.

Morgus' first and only appearance on the big screen was in The Wacky World of Dr. Morgus (1962), which introduced his "Instant People Machine" that could transform people into sand and back to their original form. Dr. Morgus was investigated by a wonderfully stereotypical reporter known as "Pencils" and foreign agents from Microvania who sought to enter the United States by using the device. Instead of an invasion, its contents ended up as concrete, which was poured at a dedication ceremony for a new highway called "Peoples' Highway."

The most recent incarnation of the television show was "Morgus Presents" produced between 1986 and 1989. Fifty-two half-hour episodes were produced in the French Quarter studios of WDSU (channel 6). The program was broadcast, beginning in January 1987, on WGNO (channel 26). Long-time New Orleans television director and Morgus collaborator, Paul Yacich, directed all fifty-two episodes, some of which were later aired Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m. on WVUE TV Channel 8.

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".

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