Entertainment
Mr. Peanut dead: Planters mascot dies at 104 in pre-Super Bowl commercial
Mr. Peanut, who lived out the entirety of his years as the mascot of the Planters snack food company, has died. He was 104. The iconic brand ambassador died heroically sacrificing himself to save his friends Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. The trio were driving down a desert road in Mr. Peanut’s signature vehicle, the…
Mr. Peanut, who lived out the entirety of his years as the mascot of the Planters snack food company, has died. He was 104.
The iconic brand ambassador died heroically sacrificing himself to save his friends Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. The trio were driving down a desert road in Mr. Peanut’s signature vehicle, the Nutmobile, when Mr. Peanut swerved to avoid an armadillo, sending them flying from the car and ending up dangling from a precarious branch. Mr. Peanut chose to let go of the branch, plummeting into the canyon below, to let his companions live. You can watch the tragic events unfold in the video below.
Mr. Peanut’s funeral will air during the third quarter of Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2.
“Mr. Peanut was more than just a friend — he was a hero. His passing has shook me to my core,” Walsh said in a statement. “I’ll do my best to honor his legacy and be there for my friends like he was always there for me even until our last wild ride together. I’ll pay my last respects during his funeral on Super Bowl Sunday. I encourage our entire nation to do the same.”
Mr. Peanut — full name Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe — was born in 1916, when schoolboy Antonio Gentile submitted his design for an anthropomorphic peanut mascot to a Planters contest. He served as the company’s symbol up until his death, going through many iterations over the intervening decades. In 2010, he was given a voice for the first time, that of erstwhile Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.
Many paid tribute to the beloved legume on Twitter, commemorating his last, selfless act. “Always classy, always crunchy, always cleaned up nicely. We’ll miss him!” wrote fellow mascot Mr. Clean.
“Sending thoughts & prayers to Mr. Peanut’s family if he has a family, I’m not actually sure,” BoJack Horseman tweeted.
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