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Show Top 100!
Click HERE for Whammy-related video clips!
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The answer? Most contestants! These little creatures, designed by "Savage Steve Holland", were little red devilish creatures that winked, had an evil smile, wore a yellow cape, and brandished a "$" on their front, a la Superman. Over 50 whammies were developed throughout the years, and whenever they were hit on the board, a computer animation would appear in front of the unfortunate contestant, mocking them in several ways. Throughout the years, the Whammy added friends, including his wife Tammy Whammette in 1984. He was also often accompanied by Fang, his evil dog. Surprisingly, most Whammy cartoons ended up with the Whammy being blown up or embarrassed in some way, but the net result was the same: zip for the player that hit him.
Different Whammy characters appeared on the board for players to hit...Whammy carrying a hammer, Whammy sticking his tongue out at you, Whammy walking like an Egyptian...but they all meant the same bad news for contestants.
When some episodes ran a bit short, Whammy filler videos would air at the end. One included a "Boss" Whammy lamenting about the onslaught of prizes they had stolen, while another one included a simple shot of an audience full of Whammies clapping.
Here is a list of the majority of the Whammies, in no particular order of annoyance. Special thanks to, of course, Todd Hunter, and thanks goes out on 1/7/01 to Woodie Belk who helped with the last 10 or so descriptions. Thanks, guys!
Hula Whammy
This whammy is dressed in traditional Hawaiian head
gear...but hulas a bit too far and lands right in the Pacific!
Whammy Walking Dog
"Go Fang! Get him! Get him!" this Whammy taunts his faithful dog.
Whammy Aboard Cruise Liner
"Hasta Luego! Arrivaderci! Bon Voyage! That means good-bye!"
lamented this Whammy, waving a white handkerchief and situated
aboard a cruise ship with a $ sign on it. This Whammy was used
after a contestant hit his/her fourth Whammy, which really did
mean goodbye!
Whammy as Boy George
A la Boy George's famous song, "Do You Really Want to Hurt
Me?", this gender bending Whammy came out and sang, "Who
would ever hurt a Whammy? Who would ever want--OW!"--at that
point, he was crushed into an amorphous mold.
Whammy as Liberace
This Whammy, dressed in the same ornate clothes as the Famous
One, is happily playing at a piano when, all of a sudden, the
chandelier above his head (which looked verrrrrrry obvious the
whole time) drops right on his head!
Whammy as Paul Revere
An historic Whammy! This Whammy is riding off on a horse, holding
a lantern in his hands, yelling, "One if by check, two if by
cash, the Whammy is coming to steal your stash! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Whammy Baby--1984/Whammy Baby--1985
These Whammies, shown during the New Year's Episodes of their
respective years, were basically huge Whammy Babies, wearing a
banner proclaiming the New Year, blowing on a party favor. Very
dull.
Whammy Baseball Player
This Whammy is at the plate in a baseball game, taunting the
pitcher as follows, "Give me everything you've got; I'll
knock it out of the park!" The ball then proceeds to hit him
right in the stomach, knocking him back for miles, I'm sure.
Whammy Boxer (with a story seldom told)
This Whammy, brandishing boxing gloves, is waving fists,
shouting, "Bring on Rocky! Bring on Rocky! I want him, I
want him!" He is then subsequently knocked to Kingdom Come
by an odd and immense floating boxing glove with coils on the end.
Whammy Breakdancing
It was a mid-'80s game show, what do you expect? This Whammy is
breakdancing up a storm with his ghetto blaster nearby. All of a
sudden, everything explodes. End of Whammy.
Whammy Fortune Teller
This Whammy is sitting in front of a crystal ball, telling a
likely tale: "It's coming to me now, I see financial
disaster in your future!"
Whammy with Pogo Stick
This Whammy, the first one ever hit, bounces around on a pogo
stick and laughs. Hee hee!
Whammy Riding Bulldozer
This Whammy is sitting in a huge bulldozer, rolling across the
screen, laughing and waving.
Whammy on dollar-bill
A dollar bill with the Whammy in the center speaks, "I can
not tell a lie--you lose!"
Whammy with a credit card
Mocking an old American Express ad, this Whammy says, "Hello?
Do you know me?" At that point, the word "Whammy"
appears on the green credit card he his holding in his hand.
Whammy with Mallet, Running Amok
One of the first Whammies, and the only one that was seen in the
pilot. This Whammy starts off by jumping up and down, following
that by running across the screen, banging his mallet everywhere.
Whammy as Tina Turner
Tina's the one whose hairstyle ne'er ceased to amaze Peter
Tomarken. She sang, "Ah ahhhh . . . I got money . . . it's
everything . . . ah ahhhhh ah!"
Whammy Mardi Gras Band
A four or five piece band (I can't remember) pumps out some jazzy
notes before the big BOING! of the Whammy card appearing on the
podium.
Whammy in Car, Tossing Firecracker
I never really got the grasp of this one; a Whammy in a small car
has a firecracker and says, "Fire in the hole!" He then
drops the firecracker, and as he tries to leave, his car won't
start. He's then blown up. Huh?
Whammy with Lawnmower (cold weather)
A Whammy is apparently mowing the grass during the winter, when
he slips on a pile of snow, and then has another snow pile (or is
it a cloud?) fall on his head.
Whammy Dive Bomber in Biplane
Another lifeless outing. A Whammy in a plane descends, shooting
and laughing. In an early episode, Peter tells a contestant,
"Duck! Better duck!" when this Whammy comes by.
Whammy in Canoe
Whammy in Canoe. Canoe springs leak. Canoe sinks.
Whammy Jumping (edit)
Exactly like "Whammy with mallet, running amok,"
without the running amok.
Whammy with UFO
In typical Whammy fashion, this Whammy descends in a UFO and then
gets electrocuted.
Whammy Cheerleaders
I like this one...many Whammies are cheering, "Give me a W-H-A
give me an M-M-Y!" On saying, "Y", the head
cheerleader is conked over the head with a megaphone, causing a
reverberation of the "Y."
Whammy Running for Office
"If elected, I will raise your taxes!" shouts this
Whammy politician from his pulpit.
Whammy Pilgrim
A freaky one. Our whammy pilgrim, toting a musket, says, "Sweet
potatoes, cranberries, and..." at this point, the gun
misfires, and he's blown away. An evil turkey, positioned
conveniently nearby, and probably the voice of James Earl Jones
barks, "Better luck next time, pilgrim!"
Whammy with Lawnmower (plain)
No snow here, just your average mow the money away whammy.
Whammy Astronaut
A rare one, but I gots it on tape. A small whammy is in the
spaceship "PYL83" (not too hard to figure that one out)
and it takes off without him..."Hey, you were supposed to
wait for me!" he whines.
Whammy Matador
Toro! Toro! Olé! Olé is followed by the Whammy getting slammed
by a bull. How fitting.
Whammy Riding Shark
A la Jaws, this Whammy is bucking a big shark as it takes your
money away.
Whammy Roller-skater
"Look out! Look out!" screams this Whammy. Then
he splats on the ground. One of the first Whammies.
Whammy with Old-fashioned Camera
"I want to take a picture of you losing your money.
Say cheese!" This Whammy is standing behind the curtain of
an old camera, and upon hitting the button, he is electrocuted.
Just like in real life.
Whammy Window-cleaner
After this Whammy wipes your money, he asks his partner, "Take
it away!" The Whammy then falls off the apparatus.
Whammy Tarzan
Whammy give loud yell on vine. Whammy hit tree. Ouch.
Whammy Umpire
Here's the pitch--"you're out!" And you really
are out. It's a four-Whammy Whammy.
Whammy Supremes
I love this one. A Supremes-esque female Whammy quartet sings:
"All I need is cash, give me all your money...give back the
money! I said, give me all your money...give back the money!"
Whammy Barbershop Quartet
Another four-Whammy Whammy. "You're out...you're out...you're
out...YOU'RE OUT!" Get the message?
Whammy with jack-hammer
Another dull outing. A Whammy jack-hammers his way across
the cash.
Whammy with Olympic Torch
To celebrate the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Whammy,
carrying torch, falls into some body of water and then asks,
"Anybody got a match?"
Whammy with elk
The punniest Whammy ever. "Big Bucks, Big Bucks," the
Whammy mocks, "I've got your big buck." The joke is,
the elk is the buck. Get it?
Whammy detective
Sherlock Holmes-esque Whammy walking Fang with a magnifying
glass, notes, "Elementary, my dear Fang, it was greed that
did it..."
Whammy Magician*
This magician Whammy covered up the contestant's score with a
sheet, and magically, when the sheet was removed, the score was
gone. Looked pretty neat when the people in the booth were savvy
enough to time the disappearance of the score with the Whammy.
Whammy with Both Dog and Cat
Fang is just a normal dog, and in this skit we see him chasing after a cat,
with the Whammy in toe. Whammy yells, "Hold it Fang, hold it! Don't
forget the money!!"
Whammy with Electric Guitar*
This rock star Whammy is jamming on his boss electric guitar as he steals
your money--and gets electrocuted at the end. Ouch!
Whammy with Tammy Whammette Singing
"It's good to have your mon-eee, back...again!" croons
Tammy. "Ladies and gentleman, Tammy Whammette," her Whammy
husband boasts proudly.
Whammy as Michael Jackson
It was the mid-80's, and the height of Jackson's heyday. This Whammy
salutes the King of Pop by moonwalking across the money and emitting high
pitched sighs.
Whammy Skier
This Whammy is skiing happily along and suddenly smacks right into a
snowman.
Whammy Producer
This Whammy is cockily sitting in a director's chair and says, "Now that
I'm a star, I need makeup...Makeup!" As he calls for a makeup, a pan of
makeup is thrown at his face.
Whammy Big-time Vocalist Group
Are they the Beatles? Four Whammies with dangerous haircuts croon,
"Ooooh...I'd love to take it back from you!"
Whammy Carnival Chef
Tossing pizza dough, this Whammy shouts, "We got your cheese,
pepperoni, sausage...", the dough falls on his head, "...how about
some spaghetti?"
Whammy with Flying Carpet
This Arabian Whammy on a flying carpet apologizes, "1001 pardons for
taking your money!" then promptly falls of the carpet.
Whammy Bad Dancer
This Whammy is putting on a dance show and doing it poorly. Consequently, he
gets the hook.
Whammy Ebenezer Scrooge
Part of a trio of Christmas Whammies, this miser yells, "Bah,
humbug! Give me your money! There will be no presents this
year!"
Whammy Riding in Sleigh
Christmas Whammy #2. This "Santa" rides in his sleigh,
calling "On Donner, on Blitzen...on Fang! Get the money, get the
money!"
Whammy Football Player
This would-be Heisman Trophy winner yells, "I'm open, I'm open!
Throw me the bomb, throw me the bomb!" And so, they throw him a bomb,
and he blows up.
Whammy as Willie Nelson
Cute. This Whammy croons from a horse, "Your bucks again...I can't
wait to get your bucks again..."
Whammy Orchestra
A July 4th themed cartoon. The Whammies play the 1812 Overture, while a
cannon is aimed right at the conductor and orchestra. The cannon fires,
blowing them to smithereens.
Whammy Physician with Eye Chart
I didn't see this very often, but if memory serves me, the eye chart said:
U
L O S E
Whammy Picnickers
This was the debut of Whammy's wife Tammy. Tammy says, "Isn't
this a lovely day?" Whammy says, "A lovely day! A lovely
day with you and....FANG!!!! ARRRGGHHH!!!" Fang, Whammy's dog,
had stowed away in the picnic basket.
Whammy Riding Bicycle
Whammy rides bicycle saying, "LOOK MA! NO HANDS AND NO BUCKS!!!
WHOOOAAA!!!" A crashing sound occurs after Whammy leaves the screen.
Whammy Scoring a New World Record
Whammy weightlifter struggles to pick up the barbell, manages to pick it up
and the weight crashes him through the
floor. He was saying, "UH...UH...UH....AH!!...CRASH!...NOT
AGAIN!"
Whammy Water-skiers
Another Tammy & Whammy cartoon, where Whammy says, "Hit it,
Tammy" Tammy drives the speedboat and says, "I'M OFF! I'M
OFF! I'M OFF!" Then the shark eats them both. In a 1984
episode, out of coincidence, this cartoon played after a woman, with a homemade
shark puppet on her right hand, hit a Whammy. After the cartoon, she used
her puppet to chomp on one of the Whammy cards that popped up. Classic!
Whammy with Champagne
It's New Year's Eve and Whammy is licking his lips for some bubbly.
However, Whammy struggles getting the cork to pop off and when he finally does,
the bottle sends him flying off screen, a la Wile E. Coyote.
Whammy with Christmas Tree
There were two versions. One was where Whammy sung, "I Wish Me A
Merry Christmas! I Wish Me A Merry Christmas! I..." Then the
tree falls down on him. The other version has the Whammy putting up a star
on the tree, singing, "O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
O..." until he falls over. I don't know if the same thing occurs on
both scenes.
Whammy with dynamite
PYL classic. Whammy is about to blow up the contestant's winnings, saying,
"HEHE! THIS OUGHT TO DO IT!" The detonator blows into his
face.
Whammy as Cyndi Lauper
A female Whammy sings, "I WANT MONEY! I WANT MONEY! I
WANT...MONEY!!!! CASH!!!! BOP! BOP!"
Whammy Basketball Player
Whammy dribbles basketball saying, "LOOK OUT BIRD! LOOK OUT
KAREEM! LOOK OUT MAGIC! HEHE!" Then he crashes into a
wall after leaving the screen.
Whammy Bowler
Whammy bowls bowling ball, then a Monster Truck-sized ball steamrolls over the
Whammy behind him!
Coming soon, descriptions of the following whammies!
Whammy with Ghost Costume
Whammy Exercise Coach
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