Mutt & Jeff by Bud Fisher for December 30, 2013

These “updates” are getting out of hand. Any day now, we’ll see Mutt and Jeff dancing Gangnam style.

Looks like he didn’t like it

I thought “Mutt & Jeff” was discontinued before Tom Cruise became famous.

This one is clearly from the 30’ or 40’s, so yes, the Tom Cruise reference is a mistaken attempt to make it more relevant.

Mutt may find that throwing out his own personal radio does not prevent broadcasts.

Reminds me of the fellow who shot his TV because he didn’t like the guy on the screen.

I wonder who the movie star was in the original.

That set-up starts with the lineage of specialty potatoes.

My guess is the original celebrity would have been someone along the lines of Elmer Davis or Edward R. Murrow, (or a young Walter Cronkite), thereby setting up the punch line of "You cant marry him – he’s just a commentator (common ’tater).

I wish they were not “updated”!

How can Jeff’s “show and tell” 3 potatoes ( frames 2/3) work on radio?

Back in the days when Radio was King of the Air Waves – it is VERY unlikely that anyone would have been talking about Tom Cruise. My guess is that the ORIGINAL star being mentioned was either Clark Gable or one of the Barrymores!

A few days ago they referenced Marilyn Monroe. Sometimes they update celebs’ names, sometimes not. Nice job of altering the lettering.

And then Walter Winchell totally destroyed his credibility as a new commentator when spewed so much gangster era mythology as narrator on the Untouchables.

I’ll take that as a No.

xxx

Please…keep the script ORIGINAL…those of us who read the strip will understand…

No commontaters around anymore? I think there are.

I read “Mutt and Jeff” to get away from the idiocy of the 21st century for a little while. I hate it when some tries to seep in. If I want current humor there are other comics to read.

@IGoPogo4, I think your idea is the only one that makes any sense. If so, it seems whoever is “updating” the comic wasn’t even involved enough to understand the original joke.I agree with others that the strips shouldn’t be updated anyway. Anyone taking the time and trouble to read Mutt & Jeff probably knows what they are getting into. I personally wish we could have a date stamp or some way of knowing the original publishing date.