I saw this ridiculous headline claiming some “patriotic” Chicken McNugget sold for thousands on eBay, and being a good American, I simply had to look at the story. I mean, after all, it has everything, right? It’s got empty patriotism, greed, fast food, and TMZ-level journalism, so how could I resist? But when I saw the picture, I realized I had been duped; for this Chicken McNugget trying to pass itself off as George Washington doesn’t look like George Washington at all, but rather, it looks like George Arliss!
Some of you reading this might not know who George Arliss was, but he was one of the greatest stars of the early 20th Century Theater, and he also became a huge movie star: in the early 1930s. Most people probably don’t even know who he is today, but in his time, he was practically as celebrated as George Washington. He is perhaps best-remembered for his role(s) in the 1934 drama The House of Rothschild, where he plays the lead character banker, as well as this guy’s father in an early set-up scene. Well, in this scene, as the father, he has a beard and moustache like this Chicken McNugget has, and from his profile, he looks just like this Chicken McNugget. It’s true!
I will attach a picture of George Arliss to this, but as he is so old (or, rather, his fame is so old at this point), he’s not very well represented on the Internet. The picture I will link to doesn’t have him in profile or with a beard and moustache, but still you will be able to see that this Chicken McNugget is indeed intended by McDonald’s to represent George Arliss, and not, as has been so fraudulently reported, George Washington. I’m sure they’ll make one that looks like George Washington someday, but until then, we shouldn’t insult the memory of one of Hollywood’s (and Theater’s) greatest stars by claiming his McNugget is someone else’s. And that’s only fair, don’t you think? To do otherwise would be like giving a lifetime achievement award for a dead actor to some dead politician instead. I mean, I realize that both careers involve a lot of acting and posturing, but shouldn’t we at least credit the things we’re referencing to the correct individuals?
Here is the story, with the picture of George (Washington) Arliss:
And here’s a picture of George Arliss (Seriously: slap a beard on that guy, and isn’t he really this Chicken McNugget? Maybe George Arliss has done this thing to try to get TCM to do a George Arliss film festival. Hey: you never know! The only thing I don't understand is why he didn’t put his likeness on some ham, as it would have been so much more appropriate and understandable! And anyway, isn’t this story basically calling George Washington “chicken”? And there isn’t much that’s less patriotic than that!):
