Both humble and loveable

Today we mourn the passing of William Watts Biggers, the co-creator of the popular “Underdog’’ cartoon from the 1960s about a caped superhero and his shoeshine-boy alter ego.  For those of you with more stringent parents or who grew up outside the United States, Underdog was a humble but loveable shoe shine boy with a super energy pill in a secret compartment of a ring which transformed him into the unstoppable Underdog.  As a shoeshine boy he was in love with Sweet Polly Purebred, who sadly had eyes only for Underdog himself.  (Does this sound at all familiar?).  Possibly the greatest episode was where Underdog battled the evil Overcat who sought world domination and the virtue of Sweet Polly Purebred.  If you have any fond memories of this, or are at all curious, check out various clips on You Tube.  But avoid at all costs the live action movie version from a couple of years ago.  As far as I can tell, no one has actually seen it but the trailers look horrible.  Some childhood memories should remain sacred.