A conversation with P.S. Mueller and Ray Lesser about Pete’s work with The Onion, how he coined the phrase “Batshit Crazy” and the many odd jobs he’s taken on
This discussion is excerpted from The Funny Times Podcast, which explores the history of humor — and the relationships and stories our paper has cultivated over the past 40 years in print.
Pete Mueller, veteran cartoonist and Funny Times contributor, is also the voice behind Doyle Redland and the originator of the term batshit crazy. Here are some excerpts from his discussion with Funny Times founder Ray Lesser:
The Birth of Doyle Redland
Raymond Lesser: How did you become involved with The Onion? I know that they used to live in Madison and you had been there for a long time, right?
Pete Mueller: I met the owners, Scott Dikkers and Peter Haise, at some sort of gathering or group. Scott Dickers had a group called the Radio Pirates, a recording radio comedy troupe, and I wrote and recorded bits with them. After they ended and Scott left the company, Rob Siegel talked me into becoming Doyle Redland. He came out of Onion Sessions and I was there for 10 years.
Raymond Lesser: Doyle Redland was the anchor voice of the Onion Radio News, right?
Pete Mueller: Yes, I co-wrote, edited, and did all 3,500 recordings.
Raymond Lesser: I think we used to put links to your radio news in our website or our newsletter. I can’t remember anymore. It was good stuff, and you did a lot of them.
Pete Mueller: Howard Stern used to run us. We thought it would carry on for about 2 or 3 months and it lasted 10 years. We had sponsors in a network and it just wouldn’t stop.
Raymond Lesser: So was it on a lot of college radio stations? What would the network have been?
Pete Mueller: All over.
Raymond Lesser: All over, when there was still independent radio that could pick up things like that, I’m guessing.
Pete Mueller: Yes.
The Origins of Batshit Crazy
Raymond Lesser: Let me ask you, can you tell us about the birth of the phrase, “batshit crazy?”
Pete Mueller: I walked into Chicago Reader in 1979 with a handful of cartoons. I put them on their desks, they looked through them and they said, “Yeah, we can use some of these.” I said, “Okay” and I started with them. They ran that until around 1983.
Raymond Lesser: That cartoon that had the phrase Batshit Crazy in it.
Pete Mueller: Full-blown batshit crazy and still holding down my productive job.
Raymond Lesser: Full-blown batshit crazy, and still holding down a productive job. That’s the line.
Pete Mueller: I never made a dime off it. Now I hear it every day on TV.
Raymond Lesser: Yes, there you go. You started a movement, I’m afraid.
Pete Mueller: Incidentally, yeah.
Mueller’s Odd Jobs
Raymond Lesser: So how did you get into being a songwriter?
Pete Mueller: I got to be friends with a group of musicians. I started writing lyrics for one of them, the guitar player, and he set them to music. Eventually, we made a record called The Blue God which is still available.
Raymond Lesser: And you did the cover art, I’m sure.
Pete Mueller: Yeah. I also did the lyrics and the art too. They’re still at it.
Raymond Lesser: The band’s still playing. Was it a Madison band?
Pete Mueller: Yeah. Andy Ewan was the guitarist and he wrote the songs. His nephew, Paul, did a film about them called When the World Runs Fast. It was about a really good band that chose not to pursue the big time. I think that’s available on Spotify, or something like that. I made a couple of movies, huh?
Raymond Lesser: Well, you made a couple movies, too. This is one I didn’t know. As an actor, or as a director?
Pete Mueller: Actor, and they’re small parts. I did a scene with Chevy Chase. I was also in something to do with an astronaut. They’re both very forgettable. Bad meat.
Raymond Lesser: How did they come across you as an actor?
Pete Mueller: I’m an idiot.
Raymond Lesser: I’m an idiot, you’re an idiot, we’re all idiots. That’s the three jokes in life. Did they read your cartoons and think “This guy’d be good in a movie” or…
Pete Mueller: No, it was Scott Dickers. He just kind of forced me into them.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This conversation is an excerpt from The Funny Times Podcast, a series celebrating the 40th anniversary of Funny Times. Listen to the full episode:
