A rumor has been circulating for many years, that

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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Jim Backus

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scorpiomensan — 10 years ago(April 02, 2016 01:25 AM)

A rumor has been circulating for many years, that
Jim Backus
suggested the name of
Thurston Howell III
for his character, and that the producers agreed that the name sounded
"snobbish enough."
What most folks at the time didn't know, was that the name was an homage to
Jim
's very good friend, fellow actor
Thurston Hall
, who had died in 1958.
http://www.imdb.com/board/20356159/
And now you know

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telegonus2 — 3 months ago(December 31, 2025 05:55 AM)

I've heard that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the role model for Jim Backus as Howell, but then Backus often sounds that way, and did long before the Minnow was lost.