Pop Literate

Sure, we want our kids to say “no” to drugs.  But that doesn’t mean they need to say “no” to drunks — especially of the fictional variety.

Some of the best characters in pop culture have been on the sauce. And if your kids never learn about them, they’ll be at a disadvantage when it comes time to make fun of their drunken friends in college. So in honor of the drunken free-for-all happening this evening at family get-togethers across the country, here are Pop Literate’s Top 3 pop culture drunks.

1. Otis Campbell: he’s the only guy on this list who was ever drunk enough to ride a cow. A cow! Otis was the town drunk in Mayberry, on The Andy Griffith Show.  He locked himself in jail after a bender. And he sometimes served as an emergency deputy. Hal Smith’s characterization is the quintessential “town drunk.”

2. Arthur Bach: Dudley Moore was the most likeable alcoholic millionaire ever.  Everyone around him told him to grow up. But in Arthur’s own words, “That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t got 50 pairs of short pants hanging in your closet.”

3. Norm Peterson: Norm is Otis Campbell with better alcohol tolerance. The man could hang out at Cheers and drink for hours on end, and never get drunk.