Lowly Worm

Lowly Worm as depicted on the title screen of Richard Scarry's Busytown

Lowly Worm is a fictional character created by Richard Scarry; he frequently appears in children's books by Scarry, and is a main character in the animated series The Busy World of Richard Scarry and Busytown Mysteries.[1][2] In The Busy World of Richard Scarry he is voiced by Keith Knight.

Lowly is an anthropomorphic earthworm. He usually wears a Tyrolean hat on his head, which pays homage to the hat which Richard Scarry purchased in St. Anton in 1950 and often wore during visits to his publishers in New York City.[3] Lowly also wears a shoe on the end of his tail, a blue and green tube on his body (intended to resemble a sleeveless shirt and one-legged trousers), and a red bow tie. His best friend is Huckle Cat, he lives in Busytown, and he drives an apple-shaped car. In various episodes of The Busy World of Richard Scarry and in the computer games Richard Scarry's Busytown and How Things Work in Busytown it is revealed that the car can also fly much like a helicopter.

Lowly attends school with Huckle and plays with him and his friends, but also takes part in more adult activities, such as driving a car. Hilda Hippo also has a crush on him, which he's reluctant to return, although he does consider Hilda a good friend.

A Variety reviewer of The Busy World of Richard Scarry describes Lowly as "the real star of the series, with his goofily deprecating name and natty ensemble that includes a bow tie and single sneaker."[4] According to his widow, Lowly was Scarry's favorite fictional creation.[5]

About 500,000 Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat finger puppets, distributed by Taco Bell in 1993, were voluntarily recalled by Taco Bell following complaints that the puppets had become stuck to children's tongues.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Pat Browne, The guide to United States popular culture
  2. ↑ "Remember the Lowly Worm?", Hartford Courant, May 11, 1994
  3. ↑ "Have A Very Scarry Summer!". Sterling Publishing. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  4. ↑ Bierbaum, Tom (1994-03-08). "The Busy World of Richard Scarry". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  5. ↑ "Richard Scarry, Author Of Books For Children, Dies". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2010-07-03. "The Lowly worm was his very favorite character for all the children," she said.
  6. ↑ "Taco Bell Corp. Announces Voluntary Recall Of Promotional Items". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
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