Hugh Brannum
Hugh Brannum (January 5, 1910 - April 19, 1987) was an American TV actor, best known for playing the character Mr. Green Jeans on the children's TV show Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984).
In the 1940s, Brannum also played bass with Fred Waring & his Pennsylvanians. In 1951, he hosted his own children's TV show, Uncle Lumpy's Cabin.
Frank Zappa and Hugh Brannum
In 1969, Zappa named two tracks after Mr. Green Jeans, misspelling him as Genes, namely Mr. Green Genes on Uncle Meat and Son Of Mr. Green Genes on Hot Rats. This led to an urban legend that Zappa was indeed related to actor Hugh Brannum, despite the fact that they don't even share the same last name.
"Because I recorded a song called Son Of Mr. Green Genes on the Hot Rats album in 1969, people have believed for years that the character with that name on the Captain Kangaroo TV show (played by "Lumpy" Brannum) was my real Dad. No, he was not." - Frank Zappa in The Real Frank Zappa Book.
