WATCH OUT FOR THE WHAMMY!
Presented here is what several other Press Your Luck sites have: A list of the animated whammies that appeared during the show's run. I've got them separated into 3 categories: Regular, Special Occasion & Whammy Out. One thing you may notice when you read the descriptions for each whammy is that he usually ends up getting blown up, crushed, or otherwise embarrassed. It is all true, and it added to the humor of the show. No matter what, though, the result was still the same: Bye, bye, money.
(Note: Special thanks to Anthony Brancato and others for offering a couple small corrections to these Whammies.)
1. Whammy running with hammer
This whammy was the basis for 4 of the original 5 whammy pictures on the gameboard, and the only one used on the pilot. In a puff of smoke reading "WHAM!", the whammy appeared on the left side, jump around a couple times, then pulled out a hammer and ran across the screen, pounding on the player's score.
This was an abbreviated version of the previous whammy. This one appeared in the same "WHAM!" in the middle of the screen, jumped around a couple times, and disappeared.
This was the 1st whammy animation ever used on the show. The whammy laughed & jumped like crazy on a pogo stick, and then disappeared in the same WHAM! puff of smoke.
Whammy's yellow dog, Fang, also made his 1st appearance on the 1st episode. Whammy walked the chomping dog saying, "Get 'em Fang. Yes, get 'em, sick 'em." Laughing all the way off screen, the whammy was originally - but rarely - heard saying "We got 'em." at the end.
This whammy came onto a screen waving a top hat and dancing back & forth saying "Hee ha ha, watch this one, yes sir. Yes sir, ha ha ha. Whoa!" Upon saying "Whoa!", a hook from the right of the screen pulled the whammy off stage. This was 1st shown when a player hit his 4th whammy on the 1st episode.
Whammy comes out in a hard hat, t-shirt, jeans & a heart tattoo on his arm. He rides a jackhammer across the screen saying, "Yes yes yes, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Whammy comes screeching in on roller skates yelling, "Look out! Look out!" He then fell on his back and slid off screen with those dead X's in his eyes.
Whammy must think the money is grass, because he comes in with a lawn mower and mows it away laughing.
This time, Whammy is pushing a snowblower, laughing at the player. But halfway across the screen, he slips and falls on some ice as a plie of snow falls from the sky onto him.
Whammy, in swimming trunks on a surfboard, rides a wave which falls by the time it reaches the end of the screen. He said 2 things while riding the wave. The 1st quote was "Surf's up! Hang ten! I'm in the curl & I got your money! Ha ha ha..." This later changed to "Surf's up! Hang ten! I got your money! It's a wipeout..."
Whammy comes from the top left in a WW1 biplane, shooting and laughing like crazy while he's taking a nose dive. He crashes to the ground in the WHAM! smoke. Peter was once heard in an outtake early in the show's run saying "Duck! Better duck, Dave." when this whammy showed up.
This whammy has dynamite set up nearby. He says, "Hee hee hee, this oughta do it." & then hits the detonator. But he's too close and gets caught in the explosion. A charred whammy then sighs, "Oh no. Ooohhh..."
This whammy was only seen in the show's early run. Whammy is an astronaut in a rocket ship that reads "PYL83" on the side. Countdown. "3, 2, 1, BIG BUCKS!" But the rocket takes off without him. Sadly, he looks up & says, "But I thought I had the right stuff," after the famous movie of the time. This was later changed to "Hey, you were supposed to wait for me."
This was an early whammy, as can be told by the giant ugly eyes and smile the whammy has. Whammy comes flying in on skis, laughing. (Presumably, he came off a ski jump.) He failed to see the snowman in his path, though... and the snowman wasn't too thrilled about it, either.
This was another whammy drawn like the previous one. This time, he's riding in on a flying carpet wearing a turban. He says, "A 1,001 pardons for taking your money--" At this point, the carpet takes off without him, so he falls out of the sky. "--Aaaahhhh..."
Whammy rides in and across the screen on a giant bulldozer, plowing away the money. Sometimes, though, you could hear the bulldozer go out of control and crash once off screen.
Whammy flies in inside a UFO. Unlike the rocket ship, this one doesn't leave without him. Instead, the UFO electrocutes him as it flies away.
Whammy's girlfriend, Tammy Whammette, debuted in the summer of '84 in this sequence. The two are having a picnic, and love is in the air. The two then share one of 2 conversations. The 1st one they used went as follows:
Tammy: "Isn't this romantic? Our first picnic."
Whammy: "A lovely day...A beautiful girl...And--"
When Spring of '85 came along, the dialogue was changed to this:
Tammy: "Springtime is so romantic."
Whammy: "Spring. When a young whammy's fancy turns to--"
In both instances, when the whammy pauses, he opens the picnic basket, only to find Fang eating the chicken. Both scream "FANG!" and cry their eyes out.
This was the other major instance of Fang making a major appearance. This time, we find a cat running across screen, followed by Fang in pursuit. The Whammy, who's flying through the air while being pulled by Fang, yells, "Hold it, Fang! Hold it! Don't forget the money!"
A very determined Whammy is sweating profusely as he tries to lift a heavy barbell. When he finally succeeds, the floor breaks beneath him. Whammy, still holding the barbell in the air, sighs "Not again."
A platform lowers from the top of the screen, where we find Whammy dressed as a window washer. He squeegees the scoreboard clean while singing to himself. He then yells, "OK! Take it away!". The platform then lifts up off screen, and you hear glass shattering. Whammy sighs, "Aw, gee."
One of the whammy's many musical impersonations. He comes spinning in dressed with Michael's traditional greasy black hair, seguin jacket and glove. He dances around to an acoustic version of "Billie Jean", & in one final spin, smiles with stars in his eyes.
This was a groaning favorite among many PYL fans. Whammy is dressed as Boy George in his Culture Club days. He's singing "Who Would Ever Hurt A Whammy?" (similar to "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?"). While singing, a giant hammer smacks him on the head and crushes him into goo.
Whammy is dressed as Liberace playing the piano. While he plays, the giant -- and very obvious -- chandelier above his head crashes down on him.
3 whammies appear dressed as the Supremes, or some bouffant-haired 50's girl group. The lead has the mic and sings, "All I need is cash. Gimme all your money." The backups echo, "Give back the money." "I said gimme all your money" "Give back the money." "Give back the money..."
Female Whammy decked out like Tina Turner, wild hair and all. Walks across the screen to the cheering crowd, snapping her fingers and singing, "Ah... ow... I got money! It's everything. Ah, ah.....ow."
Or at least we all think it was Cyndi Lauper. This female whammy was dressed like her from the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video. Dances across singing, "I want money! I want money! I want money! Cash! Woo! Woo!"
A group of whammies are playing a dixie-like tune on various instruments (banjo, tuba, horns, etc.). At the end, the whammy with the cymbals make the final bash. Too bad he sandwiched the banjo player's head in the cymbals.
Easier to describe this one after you listen to it. These 4 whammies are dressed in purple suits. When a fanfare of music erupts, they come dancing across screen signing like this: "Ooooooooo.......... wahhhhhhhhhh.......". At music's end, they all point in the air as they sing "Ooooooooo....." one last time to the cheers of the crowd.
To the cheers of many wild teenage girls, these 4 whammies dressed as the Beatles start the music. They sing, "Ooooooo..... I love to take it back from you!" The music finishes, and the 4 bow their heads to more cheers from the screaming ladies.
Whammy comes in dressed as Elvis, with the jumpsuit, hairdo and guitar. He sings like Elvis, too, although I couldn't figure out what he sang. After he sings, he tries to juke and jive like Elvis did, but you hear a loud crack and Whammy yells "OW!" He slowly leaves in pain grumbling, "Oh no. Oh boy..." The stars you see behind him indicate that he probably threw his back out.
This sequence shows how Whammy's girl, Tammy Whammette, got her name. The two show up in country and cowboy gear, with Whammy playing country music on guitar. Tammy (based on country singer Tammy Wynette) sings, "It's good to have your money back again..." As she holds the last word, Whammy yells "Ladies and gentlemen, Tammy Whammette!" Someone from off screen throws a pie at his face for his interjection.
One of the last Whammies, and another bow to country music. Whammy rides in on a horse looking like the famous country singer Willie Nelson. His voice, while originally sounding like the Whammy, was later made to sound like Willie as well. He strums the guitar, singing, "I've got your bucks again. I just can't wait to get your bucks again." (Similar to "On the Road Again") After he sings, he rides off yelling, "YEEHA! YEEHA! How do you like that, Peter?" I don't think Peter ever DID like it that much.
This wrinkly female Whammy came on screen dressed in gypsy clothing with her hands over a crystal ball showing a dollar sign crossed out. Invoking her "powers" she exclaims, "It's coming to me now. I see financial disaster in your future." She then vanishes in a puff of smoke.
This Whammy rode in on Fang, both having a colonial look to them. Whammy, carrying a lantern, yells through the streets, "One if by check! Two if by cash! The Whammies are coming to steal your stash! HAHAHAHAHAHA..."
Whammy is sitting in a director's chair with his name on it. Looking over it to the screen, he says, "Now that I'm a star, I need makeup. MAKEUP!" As he calls for makeup, a giant powder puff comes flying in, smacking him in the face.
A $1 bill (or to be correct, a 1 "Whammy" bill) slides in to the sound of a cash register. Whammy is in the center dressed in the George Washington wig. He laughs and says, "Hee hee hee. I cannot tell a lie. You lose!" The bill then slides off to another cash register sound.
Whammy came ready to fight. He's in trunks and boxing gloves punching away while yelling, "I'm ready! Bring on Rocky! Bring on Rocky! I want him! I want him!" However, a giant boxing glove with a spring sends him plunging back. Guess he wasn't ready. :-)
Whammy is coming in swinging again, this time on a vine yelling like Tarzan. After flying across the screen however, he hits an elephant who is none too happy.
After hearing the players shout for big bucks all the time, this Whammy comes walking in with his personal commentary. "All I hear is 'Big Bucks! Big Bucks!' I got your big buck!" Here, you see the leash that he's dragging behind him reveals a buck deer. Whammy and the buck walk off laughing.
The Hawaiian music plays, and Whammy comes in dancing the hula across the screen, complete with grass skirt. He dances a bit too far, though, because as he goes off screen, you can hear him fall into the ocean with a splash. This Whammy would often be shown to Hawaiian contestants or anyone who busted after winning a Hawaiian trip.
An orchestra led by a Whammy resembling a wacky music teacher plays the 1812 Overture. During the tune, a large grinding sound is heard as a cannon is wheeled in from stage left. The conductor gets a worried look on his face when he sees the cannon, which blows the entire orchestra up in a big "BLAMO!" at tune's end.
This Whammy appears in a puff of smoke wearing a top hat and cape and holding a giant red cape. He covers the player's score with the cape, which is erased while it's covered. Thus, when he pulls the cape back, the scoreboard is blank. He then disappears in a puff of smoke laughing.
Whammy's got the chef hat on and the Italian accent going. Tossing the dough above him, he says, "We got the cheese, pepperoni, tomato, sau--". At this point, Whammy drops the pizza which falls on his face. Embarrassed, Whammy asks, "How 'bout some spaghetti?"
The theme music from "Jaws" plays, and Whammy emerges riding on the famous chomping shark as the shark chomps away at the player's score. Whammy is wearing a scuba mask as he laughs the whole way.
Whammy comes riding in some sort of clown car with calliope music playing in the background. He places a firecracker in front of the car and says, "Fire in the hole!" Whammy then goes to leave, but the car conks out and it won't start. The firecracker explodes in a loud "BLAMO!", taking the car and Whammy with it.
Whammy is under the cloth behind an old-style camera, complete with the birdie that you hold the flash powder in. He says to the player, "I want to get a picture of you losing your money. Say 'Cheese'!" As the player occasionally smiles, Whammy takes the picture. But there was too much powder in the birdie, so it explodes so brightly that Whammy winds up seeing stars and such.
Whammy is in the full football gear running for a pass. He yells, "I'm open! I'm open! Throw me the bomb!" On cue, a bomb (and it's not a football) is thrown to Whammy which he catches. "Throw me the--" BAM! Whammy, up in smoke, yells his usual "Oh no!" sigh.
2 Whammies, female and male, are leading the cheers of the football crowd. The whammies cheer together, "Give me a W-H-A! Give me an M-M-Y!" However, the megaphone that the female whammy is carrying slams on the male one's head when they say "Y!" This causes his voice to echo "Y..Y..Y.."
From off screen, the motorboat starts as Whammy yells, "Hit it, Tammy!" The two ride in, Tammy driving the boat and Whammy on water skis behind. He's yelling, "I'm up! I'm up! I'm up!" Then, out of nowhere, a shark swallows the two and the boat and swims away. This is the whammy cartoon that played when Cathy Singer lost $31,408. You can see a snapshot of the infamous moment in her contestant profile.
Whammy is dressed as a Native Amercian, paddling across the water on a canoe, trying to speak like the NA's. Midway across the water, the canoe springs a leak and capsizes with the Whammy. Overall, Whammy's impersonation through the whole thing sounds like this: "Mo-ney mo-ney, aye yi yi yi, mo-ney mo-ney, oh no..." You get the picture.
A looney Whammy is up behind a court podium in judge's robes. Slamming his gavel repeatedly, he's yelling, "Order! Order! I sentence you to poverty!" Then, with one last slam of the gavel, the podium breaks and Whammy stands there on the stool in his underwear. "Oh boy..." he sighs."
Whammy comes running up the lane ready to roll the ball. He says, "I'm bowling for bucks! And it's a STRIKE!" With that, he rolls the ball. Then, from behind, a giant bowling ball emerges. Whammy goes "Uh oh." as the ball rolls him out to pasture.
This female Whammy is in an aerobics leotard ready to start the class. "All right, girls, I wanna see sweat! And one and two, and one and two..." she says as she leads the exercises. Partway through, she takes a flying leap and lands in a pretzel on her face.
A very quick one. Whammy comes speeding in out of control on a skateboard laughing. He fails to see the smiling tree in front of him, and he crashes into it to the sound of crashing and birdies.
This Whammy doctor stands in front of a special eye chart. He calls to the player, "Can you read this? U L-O-S-E! Ha ha ha ha--" As he laughs, the eye chart rolls up and taked the whammy with it.
A tall, lanky Whammy comes in bouncing a basketball. As he dribbles, he says, "Look out, Bird. Look out, Kareem. Look out, Magic. Hee hee hee hee!" Once off screen, though, you hear him crash into the lockers.
Remember the old tale of how Ben Franklin flew the kite in the storm with the key attached? Well, Whammy revives the whole moment. He says, "The chances of you winning this game are about as good as my getting hit by--" Lightning nails him at this point, needless to say, as Whammy is shocked in pain.
In a bow to the 80's dance craze, Whammy breaks out a giant boombox & starts going to the music. After several moves, he spins himself off the screen and crashes into something as the boombox explodes.
Whammy comes on a standard bicycle trying to look impressive, yelling, "Look ma! No hands and no bucks!" Unfortunately, the bike must've hit something because he starts to wheelie out of control. "WHOOOOOAAAAA!!!" He crashes off screen, and afterward, you can hear him say, "Whoops."
Whammy is up to bat waiting on the pitch. While waiting, he taunts the pitcher. Normally, you heard, "Gimme everything you got or I'll knock it out of the park." Occasionally, you heard an extended version where he said, "Gimme a fastball. Gimme a screwball. Gimme a knuckleball. Gimme everything you got or I'll knock it out of the park." Either way, the result is the same. The pitch comes rocketing in, pounds Whammy in the stomach, and sends him flying.
This whammy is in the Spanish arena as a matador calling "Toro, eh, toro!" to the bull while branighing a yellow cape. However, since the Whammy is RED, the bull comes from behind and snags him as the crowd cheers "Ole!"
As the heavy metal influence began, so came this Whammy. Looking like a punk rocker, he starts wailing away on the electric guitar. After several riffs, he gets an wild electric shock. Afterward, all that's left is a small pile of dust with Whammy's eyes and bandanna.
The announcement is heard over the loudspeaker: "Now appearing in the center ring, THE GREAT WHAMINI!" Whammy appears waving from inside a cannon with the sign bearing his name on the side. As he tucks into the cannon for the blast, the cannon goes off, and blows up. Whammy is left sitting there with half the cannon still around him grumbling, "Holy smokes, guys...no..."
As Big Ben chimes in the background, Whammy comes in dressed as Sherlock Holmes. He's looking with one eye through a magnifying glass while Fang sniffs the ground in front of him like a bloohound. Whammy comments, "Elementary, my dear Fang. It was greed that got it."
This Whammy followed the commercial ads for American Express in the mid 80's, and it has always been my sister Tracy's all-time favorite cartoon. Whammy appears in a business suit holding up the card as he wiggles his ears & says the famous line, "Hello, do you know me?" Then, as he smiles, his name prints on the bottom of the card in quotation marks. The cash register sound is heard when it finishes.
1. Halloween Whammy
Tammy Whammette is seen standing alone. Whammy comes on screen in a ghost costume saying "Trick or treat." repeatedly. When he gets to Tammy, he pulls the sheet off his head, causing Tammy to scream at the top of her lungs.
Appeared during Thanksgiving week in '83 & '84. Whammy is dressed as a pilgrim confronting a turkey with a musket pop gun. He says, "Sweet potatoes, cranberries and--". He shoots the gun, which misses the turkey and shoots the whammy back and off the screen. Whammy groans saying, "--the turkey." The turkey then laughs and says in a Clint Eastwood-like voice, "Hee hee ha ha. Better luck next time, pilgrim." (Note: This line was edited out in '84.)
One of 3 Christmas whammies to be seen during the December months over the years. Whammy's dressed like Scrooge, whacking his cane and saying, "Humbug! Give me your money. There'll be no presents this year."
Another Christmas whammy, Whammy is dresses in a Santa cap & beard. He's riding in a sleigh filled with money being pulled by Fang. Waving money, he says, "On Donner! On Blitzen! On Fang! Get your money! Get your money! Ha ha ha ha..."
The 3rd Christmas whammy, Whammy walks toward a Christmas tree singing "My Christmas Tree" or "I Wish Me A Merry Christmas". As he puts a present labeled "TO ME" under the tree, the tree falls over and crushes him.
One of 2 whammies used for New Year's Day shows. This was simply a big Whammy baby wearing a diaper, a sash with the year on it, and blowing a party favor.
This New Year's Whammy tries to uncork a giant champagne bottle. As he uncorks it with a rousing "Whoopie!", he is blown off screen by the pressure in the bottle. "Aaaahhhh..."
One of 2 whammies used during the days of the '84 Summer Olympics. He's running across the screen carrying the torch, panting heavily. At the other side of the screen, a pair of hands throw a bucket of water on him, putting out the torch. Whammy then says, "Anybody got a match?"
The other Olympic whammy, he comes running with the pole for the pole vault, yelling, "This is it! A new world's record..." As he says it, he plants the pole in the ground and springs off the top of the screen.
This whammy showed for most of '84, since there was a Presidential election. Whammy appears wearing a pink blazer and tall hat, and a sash saying "VOTE". He proclaims, "If elected, I will raise your taxes!" He gets a pie in the face as a result.
This whammy was dressed as an umpire watching a baseball play off screen. The ball is heard landing in the glove, and Whammy yells, "YOU'RE OUT!"
Whammy waves a hankerchief from a sailing cruise ship saying, "Hasta luego. Arivederci. Bon voyage. That means goodbye. Heh heh heh heh heh heh..."
Three mustached whammies and Fang are dressed as a barber shop quartet. They sing in one by one, "You're out. You're out. You're out. You're out." All then yell, "YOU'RE OUT!"
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