Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
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Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is a puppet created and performed by Robert Smigel premiering in 1997 on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Triumph was identified in the early appearances as a Yugoslavian Mountain Hound and he speaks with a fake Eastern European accent. Triumph often puffs a cigar, which usually falls out of his mouth when he begins speaking. The crudeness of the puppetry behind Triumph—Smigel's arm is often clearly visible in the shot—has added to the character's popularity.
Professional career
Triumph's debut was in a comedy skit about unusually talented dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, from which he was permanently banned. In addition to other dog puppets who played banjos and performed magic, Triumph appeared in his trademark persona of an obnoxious and ribald insult comic in the vein of Don Rickles. The character rapidly grew in popularity, and became a recurring fixture on the show, often mocking the show's celebrity guests and leaving the studio to harass the general public in pre-taped remote segments.
Some of Triumph's best known skits involved him visiting the Westminster Dog Show, where he would often be found "humping" (attempting to mate with), and occasionally being humped by other dogs (O'Brien stated at one point that Triumph "swings both ways", i.e. is bisexual). Smigel and Triumph have been ejected from several events for Triumph's antics.
Triumph's longtime catch phrase is "...for me to poop on!" usually spoken to negate a compliment that precedes it, which normally appears at the end of a long diatribe or roast. Example "But seriously, you've been a great audience... for me to poop on!"
In addition to regular appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Triumph has appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards, including a confrontation with Eminem which MTV later removed from rebroadcast airings. Eminem later referred to and impersonated Triumph on the track "Ass Like That" from his 2004 album Encore, and subsequently appeared in the video, with Eminem playing Triumph. Other appearances include Hollywood Squares, The Osbournes (Christmas Special) and Smigel's TV Funhouse.
In February of 2004, there was controversy surrounding a skit where Triumph hurled insults at French Canadians in Quebec during Late Night's special week of shows taped in Toronto. He poked fun at Quebec nationalism, at one point telling a portly French-Canadian that before separating from Canada he should "try separating [himself] from donuts first." New Democratic Party leader Alexa McDonough said that the skit was "vile and vicious" and that the program was "racist filth". However, the objections were not limited to the left-wing, as Stephen Harper also stated that the program was "completely unacceptable".
In June 2005, Triumph went to the Santa Maria courthouse, where fans were awaiting the Michael Jackson verdict. He mocked Michael Jackson by claiming he was guilty, and mocked many fans including a woman who he called a man. Jackson was ultimately acquitted of all charges on June 13, 2005. Triumph also made fun of several foreigners supporting Jackson, including a Bulgarian man who was wearing a bright lime-green shirt. In front of the man there was a sign, stating "the only victim is Michael," to which Triumph replied with, "he's not the only fashion victim, I can see that!", and, "tainted love, 'bee bee boop', tainted love," implying the man was wearing a 1980s wardrobe.
Triumph also made an appearance on Conan's show on a recent Christmas-themed skit where he sang "I Saw Mommy Humping Santa Claus."
Triumph gave his New Year's resolutions and showed a montage of his work over 2005 on Conan's show.
In 2006 Triumph made an appearance on Conan celebrating the Chinese New Year being "The Year of the Dog," stating "It's my year!" and helping himself to various merchandise in New York City's Chinatown.
In March 2006 G4 aired a special, The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog consisting of clips from Triumph's Best of DVD.
Legal issues
In 1999, pets.com filed a lawsuit against Late Night and Robert Smigel claiming that Triumph constituted a trademark violation because of possible confusion with their sock puppet dog mascot (which first appeared two years after the first appearance of Triumph); however, the bankruptcy and closing of the company during the dot-com bust of 2000 terminated this lawsuit before opening arguments had even been heard. Triumph responded in his typical fashion in a skit where he humped the "pets.com" dog in a restroom.
In the fall of 2003, NBC's intellectual property division (the same group that protested David Letterman continuing to use the character Larry Bud Melman and the "Stupid Pet Tricks" skit when he moved from NBC to CBS) threatened legal action against a number of fan websites devoted to Triumph, resulting in them closing down.
Similarities have also been noted between Triumph and Ed the Sock, an earlier Canadian TV personality who is also an insult-hurling, cigar-chomping sock-puppet (though in Ed's case, he is actually a sock).
Album and media releases
In 2003 Triumph released his first album, Come Poop With Me, featuring adult comedy and songs, plus a bonus DVD of live performances by Triumph. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Appearing with Triumph on the album and the DVD were singer-actor Jack Black, comic actor Adam Sandler, Saturday Night Live cast members Maya Rudolph and Horatio Sanz; "Blackwolf the Dragonmaster" -- a real-life fantasy/gaming fan who had once been targeted by Triumph during an infamous encounter with Star Wars fans, and Conan O'Brien himself.
On August 10, 2004, NBC released a DVD featuring select Triumph appearances from Late Night.
Triumph interviews
- ["Hawaiian weather report"] ([file info])
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