Morgus the Magnificent, also known as Momus Alexander Morgus, is a fictional character created and portrayed by actor Sidney Noel Rideau (aka Sid Noel). From the late 1950s into the 1980s Morgus was a "horror host" of late-night science fiction and horror movies and television shows that originated in the New Orleans, Louisiana market. Morgus is a quintessential mad scientist, assisted by executioner-styled sidekick, Chopsley (Tommy George). Morgus' well-intentioned experiments often served as book-end pieces to the late-night films being shown, and typically went awry at the last minute. Sidney Noel Rideau A native of New Orleans, Sidney Noel Rideau (aka Sid Noel; December 25, 1929 - August 27, 2020) attended broadcasting school and worked for radio station WWEZ-AM before joining WSMB-AM in 1956. While at WSMB, Rideau led a vocal group that recorded a novelty song called “Humpty Dump” with Atlantic Records. While Rideau was working as a disc jockey at WWL (AM) radio in 1958, he auditioned for a job hosting the new WWL-TV show, House of Shock. Rideau was awarded the job, and agreed to do it "only if he could make the show funny". He created and performed as the host character "Doctor Morgus", however Rideau did not want to reveal his real-life identity. According to Rideau, "being Morgus brought with it some challenges to say the least". For approximately 50 years, Rideau tried to keep his identity private, and reportedly didn't even tell his children he was Morgus. Show history Morgus first appeared on late night television on January 3, 1959, in the House of Shock that aired on WWL-TV in New Orleans, hosting science fiction and horror movies "in between experiments". The set was styled to look like an upstairs garret supposedly located over the old city ice house, with a fire escape exit into Pirate's Alley in the old French Quarter. Move to Detroit In 1963, Rideau moved to Detroit, Michigan, joining WJBK-TV. Starting that November, Morgus was seen six times a week, showing horror movies on Morgus Presents Sunday nights, as well as hosting a five-minute-long weathercast at 5:55pm each weekday. (The actual weather report, shown on a screen that resembled a slot machine, took up only 30 seconds of Morgus' show, with a one-minute commercial and the rest of the program featuring the host's mad scientist antics.) The show was initially popular enough to also be seen in Atlanta (with other