| Swami River | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
River |
|
First Appearance |
Hamateur Night (January 28, 1939) |
|
Original Publisher |
Warner Bros. |
|
Created by |
Tex Avery |
Origin[]
Swami River is portrayed as an exotic, mystic showman - a tongue‐in‐cheek stereotype of Eastern spiritual types of the era. He appears as a pompous, self-styled "Hindu Mystic" who performs a basket trick. His act involves calling an audience member (in this case, Egghead) to step into a wicker basket, after which he dramatically impales the basket with a sword several times. The trick, of course, goes humorously awry when his volunteer fails to cooperate as expected, being fatally wounded by the mystic's blade, forcing the Swami to refund the money he earned for the act.
Public Domain Animated Appearances[]
- Hamateur Night (1939)
Notes[]
- This short entered the public domain in 1967 due to United Artists failing to renew the copyright in time.
- Despite Egghead being heavily featured in in the cartoon, the character will not enter the public domain until 2033 due to his debut cartoon still being under copyright.