Whoopee cap
A whoopee cap[1] is a style of headwear popular among youths in the mid 20th century in the United States. It was often made from a man's felt fedora hat with the brim trimmed with a scalloped cut and turned up. In the 1920s and 1930s, such caps usually indicated the wearer was a mechanic.[2]
In popular culture
Television and film
- The character Goober Pyle in The Andy Griffith Show wears this.
- In the 1974 film Death Wish, Jeff Goldblum wore one in his screen debut as the truly deviant 'Freak #1'.
- Leo Gorcey wore a similar beanie playing opposite James Cagney in the 1938 film, Angels with Dirty Faces.
- The character Skuzz in The Berenstain Bears wears one in the 2003 show as well as in the books.
- The character Frank Taylor in Black Legion (1937), Humphrey Bogart wears this.
Other media
- Archie Comics character Jughead Jones wears this cap, which remains one of his trademarks even decades after it has gone out of style.
- The Encyclopedia Brown novels have the primary antagonist, Bugs Meany, don this cap.
- They popped up in several popular songs of the day, including "The Whoopee Hat Brigade", which was recorded by many different bands.
- In A. E. Hotchner's Memoir, especially King of the Hill, he refers to it as a 'feltie'. He made it from his father's old fedora, decorated it with buttons he collects and puts it on whenever he leaves the house.
See also
Notes and references
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