Douglas Corrigan - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Corrigan's "error" caught the imagination of the depressed American public and inspired many jokes. The nickname "'Wrong Way' Corrigan" passed into common use (sometimes confused with the memory of 1929's "Wrong Way" Riegels football incident) and is still mentioned (or used as satire) when someone has the reputation for taking the wrong direction. For example: Corrigan was directly referenced in the 1938 Three Stooges short Flat Foot Stooges. Curly states, "Hey, we're doing a Corrigan!" after realizing they are heading in the wrong direction to get to the fire they need to extinguish. Corrigan was indirectly referenced in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show; "Wrong Way" was the name used for Captain Peter "Wrong Way" Peachfuzz, the world's worst sailor. Corrigan was indirectly referenced in the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, in first-season episodes titled "Wrong Way Feldman" and "The Return of Wrongway Feldman". He was portrayed by character actor Hans Conried. Libertarian economist Murray Rothbard was sometimes referred to as "Wrongway Rothbard" due to his frequently shifting political alliances and strategies.

Jean Shepherd discussed him and his book in a radio broadcast originally aired August 4, 1969. He says James Thurber based one of his short stories on Corrigan's adventure. Charles Hammer authored the book "Wrong-Way Ragsdale" about a child who accidentally steals an airplane. In the fourth chapter, the child narrator mentions that he liked to think of himself as sneaky as Wrong-Way Corrigan and so called himself Wrong-Way Ragsdale. Corrigan appeared as himself in the long-running television game show, To Tell The Truth, one day shy of 19 years to the day after his famous takeoff: on July 16, 1957. During that show, he said that "I had my pilot's license suspended for 5 days while I was on the boat coming back home... That's all." As noted above, however, his license was actually suspended for 14 days, much longer than a transatlantic boat trip ordinarily took. He also said that his only cargo was water, cookies, and gum. He is directly referenced in the Gobots toy line and animated series Challenge of the Gobots in the heroic, if navigationally challenged Guardian Gobot named Wrong Way, who himself turns into a helicopter that often has to be told which way to head by his companions.