History Main / DepravedKidsShowHost

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' film WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers, one of the BlandNameProduct shows is a ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' parody called Clint's Hints. The Steve analogue, Jeff, is [[LaughingMad visibly insane.]]

** During the Golden Age of Radio, a legend was created whereby a local children's radio host named Uncle Don uttered the comment, [[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/radio/bastards.asp "That ought to hold those little bastards!"]] after one of his shows. Uncle Don was the genial grandfatherly type gent who would read a bedtime story for children at 7 p.m. (local time), after which he said a gentle good night ... until the night where after his show he snarled the infamous remark, unaware his radio mike was still on and could clearly pick up his statement; the story goes on to claim that a flood of calls to the radio station's management resulted in Uncle Don's swift cancellation and his dismissal from radio. The legend has been told about many radio and television performers over the course of several decades and predates Uncle Don's career by a few years.

** Subverted with a skit in which Mister Rogers (Carrey) visits a store and hits on the female customers as a prelude to holding the place up, but the policeman brought in to stop him doesn't believe he's capable of such a thing, and he goes on to pick up a hooker with his ill-gotten gains. The subversion comes in the punchline: He's actually an excellent impersonator using the real deal's clean reputation to get away with his crimes!

* In the flash game ''VideoGame/{{Pico}} vs. Bear'' from {{Website/Newgrounds}}, Pico takes on Big Brown Bary, the host of one of his favorite shows. Bary forces the other residents to labor to his benefit and is suspected of molesting his daughter Hoe-Joe. His costars are equally messed up.

Unlike his [[ExcitedKidsShowHost zany-go-lucky cousin]], who is excitable but pretty nice off-set as well, the Depraved Kids' Show Host is at the very least a {{Jerkass}}. When he's on air, he's Mr. Snuggles, happiest figure in Friendlytown. But when the cameras ''aren't'' rolling, he (and it's [[AlwaysMale almost always a he]]) is a sex, drug, and [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addict]] who drinks, cavorts, and swears enough to make a sailor blush. He smokes like a chimney, lashes out at techies, and above all, he absolutely ''[[ChildHater hates]]'' kids. That, or he [[PaedoHunt likes them a bit too much]].

-->'''Steve {{Expy}}:''' Hi kids, I'm Jeff! Ignore the shaving cut and the five o'clock shadow. I'm really a kid just like you! Hey, let's go find some hints! Some "Clint's Hints"! Come on!

See also NiceCharacterMeanActor; VillainWithGoodPublicity. He may also HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight. Contrast with "ContractualPurity", if the character in question is being restricted into living a wholesomely clean life by his employment contract. (In fact, a severe enough contract might end up creating a Depraved Kids' Show Host, when they get frustrated from being barred from acts that many normal adults are permitted to engage in). May exist in a SubvertedKidsShow, but most often they're villains in regular shows. Surprisingly, not related to the DepravedHomosexual or DepravedBisexual, although sometimes they overlap. Compare RepulsiveRingmaster, which is similar, only with a [[CircusOfFear circus or carnival]] instead of a kids' show, and EvilPuppeteer, with a puppet show.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' features "America's Dad", Bobby Stark, in the episode "Pretty Dead". While not guilty of murder, his off-air persona is a comically drug-addled, skirt-chasing, abusive man who bears no relation to his wholesome on-air characters.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Krusty the Clown: When the cameras are rolling, he's the zany clown kids love! In his off-hours, he's cynical, in debt to the mob, willing to do anything to his show for money, lewd, rude, and addicted to everything. He also treated his former sidekick, Sideshow Bob, extremely poorly, which led Bob to frame Krusty for a robbery so that he could be the one in charge of the show. Of course, considering that ''[[SubvertedKidsShow Itchy and Scratchy]]'' is on his show, that's not very surprising.
** Krusty's first TV appearance – on a ''[[Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow Tracey Ullman Show]]''-era ''Simpsons'' short called "The Krusty the Clown Show" – sees the clown portrayed as boorish and having a normal voice, wearing normal hair and no face makeup. His over-the-top characteristics were not added until the show was picked up for a series and the season 1 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E12KrustyGetsBusted Krusty Gets Busted]]."
** Even on-air, Krusty can often show his scummy side. Examples include openly cursing and chewing out his audience in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled Krusty Gets Kancelled]]", frequently hocking his own merchandise (in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E4ItchyAndScratchyLand Itchy and Scratchy Land]]", he orders viewers to beg their parents to go to the titular theme park while he bets on horse races) and frankly discussing his sexual harassment lawsuit - even attempting to flirt with "Ms. No-Means-No" - in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E22RoundSpringfield Round Springfield]]".
** Gabbo and his puppeteer, who briefly got Krusty kicked off the air in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled Krusty Gets Kancelled]]"; Bart produced a film of Gabbo referring to the kids as "little S.O.B.s.", which [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity didn't quite work]] -- it actually caused a public outcry until Kent Brockman made the same flub while ''reporting the Gabbo story'', everyone got angry at HIM, and instantly forgot about Gabbo. His ratings actually went ''up'' when all was said and done. (In the world of the Simpsons, it's true that the ViewersAreGoldfish.)
*** Of course, next time that Gabbo and his puppeteer appeared on the show, they had become a ''very'' poor (and that is figurative and literal- Gabbo has deteriorated to the point he's falling apart) vaudeville act. [[NoodleIncident It is somewhat implied]] that the second time Gabbo was caught being a jackass after the above episode, he ''didn't'' dodge the bullet.
** {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in "White Christmas Blues", where he blocks out an episode of ''Itchy & Scratchy''. At first, he's reluctant to do so, but then he sees just how violent the show is and scrambles to get it off the air. While he ''does'' make an effort to get it off of his show, he outright admits he's been either drunk or stoned even in front of the camera.
--->'''Krusty:''' (apathetic) Hey hey, Due to modern sensitivity, we've been asked to block any violent images that appear in this children's cartoon. (looks at the screen and panics) Oh my god! I never watched one of these sober! I gotta get this bloodbath off my kids' show!
** Homer becomes one of these in the season 13 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E20ChildrenOfALesserClod Children of a Lesser Clod]]", keeping the kids under his care entertained with distinctly non-G-rated means like a version of "If you're happy and you know it" where they are encouraged to swear, and abusively exploiting his own biological children when not neglecting them.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had a rare female example in Miss Carol, the host of "Miss Carol's Happy House." When Angelica gets the chance to audition for her show, she overhears Miss Carol's assistant Stephanie saying the new "Fun Phrase" for the show: ''"Miss Carol thinks they're are all swell-o-matic"''. Miss Carol comments that the ''real'' Fun Phrase should be ''"(She) thinks they're all litte--([[SoundEffectBleep random loud noise]])"''. Angelica, [[InnocentSwearing being a three-year-old]], assumes that Miss Carol actually meant that. She is temporarily grounded by her parents and almost pulled out of the show, only returning if she doesn't say the phrase anymore. Since she was late to hear the ''actual'' Fun Phrase, she ends up on the show with nothing to say. HilarityEnsues--along with an EngineeredPublicConfession (Angelica tells Miss Carol that it was exactly what she said, and the host loses it, claiming that Angelica was right, and she repeats it)--and the show eventually becomes "Miss Stephanie's Happy House."
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' had a parody of this when ''Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?'' host Kevin Shinick (voicing himself) goes crazy after finding out his girlfriend is cheating on him. He drives them to her house and makes them memorize the day they met, the day she said she loved him. The skit ended with him crashing his car and dying. This is more amusing when you realize that A. Schinick was actually a writer, creative director, and voice actor for ''Robot Chicken'', and B. Most fans of ''Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego'' disliked ''Where in Time...''', so this dark bit of AdamWesting was well received by those that caught on.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'', the BigBad, V.V. Argost, actually has his own TV show, of which the Saturdays' young GenreSavvy son Zak [[VillainWithGoodPublicity is a fan]]. Unusually for this trope, Argost is the same on-camera as he is off-camera... a FauxAffablyEvil LargeHam with [[NightmareFetishist a fondness for weird monsters]].

** Season 10's "You Can't Do That On Television, Peter" had Peter host his own risqué "children's" program, "Petey's Funhouse," where all of his material is clearly unsuitable for children's ears (and in the real world, would have him jailed if not at least banned from television forever). Later, when Peter and Lois are arguing about devoting all his time on the show, Peter makes a sick, perhaps ([[IdiotBall unintentionally]]) very revealing if not very dark comment about himself: "I can have all the 3-year-old girls I want!"

* Quacky the Duck from ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'' used to be the host of the most popular children's TV show in Petropolis, but [[FaceHeelTurn becomes evil]] after his show is cancelled in "Lucky Duck" and is depicted as a recurring adversary to the agents of T.U.F.F. for his remaining appearances while still maintaining the facade of an amiable kids' show host.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' film WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers, one of the BlandNameProduct shows is a ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' parody called Clint's Hints. The Steve analogue, Jeff, is [[LaughingMad visibly insane.]]
-->'''Steve {{Expy}}:''' Hi kids, I'm Jeff! Ignore the shaving cut and the five o'clock shadow. I'm really a kid just like you! Hey, let's go find some hints! Some "Clint's Hints"! Come on!
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FiremanSam'' special "Alien Alert", we have Buck Douglas, a television presenter of the TV show "Alien Quest". Lots of fans love him, even Norman Price, and want to be on his show. But, when fans are not around and/or he's off-screen, [[spoiler: he dresses up like an alien and remote-controls toy [=UFOs=], starts fires (both by accident) and sends a huge space signal to outer space to surprise everyone in Pontypandy. Although he's not that mean, he's not even against "The Hero Next Door", nor his fans. He feels sorry for what he has done after Fireman Sam caught him and showed his fans that he's a ''mean person''.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'' episode "Everyone Loves Uncle Bob" had Hector Con Carne attempt to commandeer a children's show in order to mold the children of the world into his future soldiers. His plan fails because the children like the old host Uncle Bob better and Uncle Bob himself isn't the least bit happy about Hector taking over his show and attempting to corrupt his audience.
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/BlackDynamite'', where Fred Rogers is portrayed as both a soft-spoken FriendToAllChildren as well as a brutal PapaWolf who lives up to the urban legends of being a badass commando whenever a child is about to come into harm. Upon learning that PBS intends to use his name to sell unhealthy snacks and merchandise to his audience, he proceeds to murder them and kidnaps the children in his audience to train them as his personal guerrilla unit. [[spoiler:After Black Dynamite makes him realize that he himself has corrupted the youth, he proceeds to snap his own neck (which he somehow survives)]].
** A straighter example would be That Frog Kurtis, a Jive talkin' parody of Kermit the Frog, who grew tired of teaching kids on TV for free, went rogue and used his influence over children to have them rob adults for him. After [[spoiler:Black Dynamite gruesomely kills him in front of a live TV audience]], Kurtis' son [[WellDoneSonGuy That Bastard Kurtis]] vows revenge on BD, and starts his own Nation of Islam-style sect of disgruntled frog puppets to do so.

* Invoked in-universe in ''WesternAnimation/GrizzlyTalesForGruesomeKids'': Uncle Grizzly is clearly enjoying the horrific fates of each episode's victim(s) and makes no bones about abusing his pet spider Spindleshanks but unlike most examples, this [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools compliments]] the [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids decidedly child-unfriendly]] tone of the show. In addition, we never see him when he's not presenting the show, so for all we know it's [[MeanCharacterNiceActor just an act]].
* Invoked for [[Creator/NickJr Face]] during the early days of Creator/NickRewind. Since the block targets adults, he has a habit of telling very mature jokes, some of which are very inappropriate for his original target audience of preschoolers. The 2012 New Year's Eve bumpers make this even more egregious, where he ''gets visibly and audibly drunk on camera'', much to [[Creator/{{SNICK}} Stick Stickly's]] dismay.

* Outback Ollie from ''WesternAnimation/KangarooJackGDayUSA''. On camera, he might seem friendly but off-camera, he's an AxCrazy animal smuggler.

* ''Film/SpyKids1'': Floop is a subversion. The movie paints him as the AffablyEvil BigBad almost immediately: his "Fooglies" are actually secret agents subjected to ForcedTransformation, and he's building an army of super-powered robots to take over the world. However, it's [[HeelFaceTurn later revealed]] that [[spoiler:neither of those were his ideas, they were [[DragonAscendant Mr. Minion's]]. Floop is too preoccupied with genuine concern for his show.]]
* ''{{Film/Garfield}}'': Well, actually a ''pet'' show host. While Happy Chapman may ''look'' like he lives up to his name, in reality, he is very arrogant, allergic to cats, and wants a dog to star in his show to overshadow his more successful twin brother newscaster Walter.
-->'''Happy Chapman:''' Oh, please, what a know-it-all! And everybody always said I was the handsome one, I was the smart one, and I was born first. But there you are "live from the Hague". And here I am working with this sack of dander on a dead-end regional morning show.
* Mr. Jingles from ''Jingles the Clown'' was the host of a children's [=TV=] show, as well as a Satanist and serial killer who butchered roughly thirty children before being shot to death by the police, though not before filming himself murdering his co-host (whose wife he was having an affair with) and most of the man's family. It's also mentioned that he was born of an incestuous relationship between his mother and grandfather, who the mother killed with a cleaver before committing suicide.
* Chuckles the Chipmunk (a.k.a., Leo Herman) from the theatrical and film versions of ''Film/AThousandClowns'' is not so much depraved as he is egotistical, boorish, insulting, self-hating, neurotic, and desperately unfunny. He also, by his own admission, doesn't "get along too good with kids." ([[MerchandiseDriven The self-named brand of potato chips he shills on his program]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking is lousy too.]])
* Koko the Clown from ''Film/TheGrooveTube''. His show at first looks nice and wholesome, but during "Make-Believe Time" he asks for the adults to leave the room. After he's sure there are no adults watching, he then proceeds to stop talking in his high-pitched voice, gets out a cigarette and some eyeglasses, and starts reading excerpts from erotic literature. Then again, he isn't out to corrupt children-- he merely reads what [[DirtyKid the children]] request him to read.

* Floop from the first ''Film/SpyKids1'' film was a subversion. The movie paints him as the AffablyEvil BigBad almost immediately: his "Fooglies" are actually secret agents subjected to ForcedTransformation, and he's building an army of super-powered robots to take over the world. However, it's [[HeelFaceTurn later revealed]] that [[spoiler:neither of those were his ideas, they were [[DragonAscendant Mr. Minion's]]. Floop is too preoccupied with genuine concern for his show.]]
** Even before he turns, he clearly cares more about the quality of the show than about the plans of world domination. [[spoiler:When he turns a spy into one of the creatures on his show, the first thing he comments on is how the new "character" will be a holiday rush favorite.]]