Piker's Peak question: What is a Cronkite?

[Kent Broyhill]

In the cartoon Piker's Peak, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam race to climb the Schmatterhorn mountain (obviously a play on the Matterhorn in Switzerland) for a prize of 50,000 Cronkites. I can see where Schmatterhorn came from, but what kind or monetary currency is a Cronkite?! Apparently, this cartoon is set in a ficticious European country with a Swiss/Bavarian flavor whose currency was (more than likely) named after a (then) popular network news anchor as a joke!

Any thoughts?

 

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by Kent Broyhill
In the cartoon Piker's Peak, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam race to climb the Schmatterhorn mountain (obviously a play on the Matterhorn in Switzerland) for a prize of 50,000 Cronkites. I can see where Schmatterhorn came from, but what kind or monetary currency is a Cronkite?! Apparently, this cartoon is set in a ficticious European country with a Swiss/Bavarian flavor whose currency was (more than likely) named after a (then) popular network news anchor as a joke!

Any thoughts?

Kent~

Imagine if Friz had opted to use Mr. Cronkite's first name... Walter!! Both Disney and Lantz would have thought they were being ribbed, and we'd have been puzzled why Friz was mocking either of them.

 

[Kent Broyhill]

Re: Re: Piker's Peak question: What is a Cronkite?

Originally posted by Sogturtle
Kent~

Imagine if Friz had opted to use Mr. Cronkite's first name... Walter!! Both Disney and Lantz would have thought they were being ribbed, and we'd have been puzzled why Friz was mocking either of them.

LOL! But I did want to know if the Cronkite was a made-up unit of money currency, or did Switzerland or any of the neighboring countries at one time have money called Cronkites.

And if it was made up, was it actually named after Walter Cronkite as a joke?!

Inquiring minds would like to know!

 

[danR2]

I guess you've pretty well answered your question; but the European currency alluded to in the cartoon is one of the variant names of 'Kroner' used in the Scandinavian states. The Swiss Franc might have been more appropriate, but harder to make a funny name with any famous American at the time; there was no Euro of course, in those days.

"50,000 Cronkites!?" has stuck with me all my life. It's one of the funniest cartoon lines I ever heard.