George Lindsey as Goober Pyle wearing a typical whoopee cap

A whoopee cap[1] is a style of headwear popular among youths in the mid 20th century in the United States. It was often made from a man's felt fedora hat with the brim trimmed with a scalloped cut and turned up. In the 1920s and 1930s, such caps usually indicated the wearer was a mechanic.[2]

In popular culture edit

Television and film edit

  • The character Goober Pyle in The Andy Griffith Show wears this.
  • In the 1974 film Death Wish, Jeff Goldblum wore the Jughead hat in his screen debut as the truly deviant 'Freak #1'.
  • Leo Gorcey wore a similar beanie playing opposite James Cagney in the 1938 film, 'Angels with Dirty Faces'.

Other media edit

  • The Archie comics have Jughead Jones wear this cap.
  • The Encyclopedia Brown novels have the primary antagonist, Bugs Meany, don this cap.
  • They popped up in several popular songs of the day, including "The Whoopee Hat Brigade", which was recorded by many different bands.

See also edit

Notes and references edit

  1. ^ Also referred to as Jughead's hat, palookaville cap, devils cap, clubhouse hat, dink or a rat cap, or Kingpin.
  2. ^ Jughead and Friends Digest Magazine. Archie Comic Publications, Inc. February 2008.