Koop was the first Surgeon General I ever remembered and the Eighties wouldn’t have been the same without him. He definitely had a memorable appearance because facial hair was out of fashion after the Seventies, especially for the Republican camp. I’m not sure why the Reaganistas selected the good doctor since Koop really pressed on health issues the GOP didn’t want to discuss: AIDS and smoking; and he didn’t participate in their pogrom against abortion despite his personal objections. I’m glad he proved Senator Kennedy wrong on being a partisan hack.
Thanks to his beard and penchant for wearing the uniform of a rear admiral (yet he was a general?), Koop became a comedic presence in cartoons for me. I’m sure SNL had some fun too.
A Simpson version of Koop appeared in the episode “Bye Bye Nerdie.” It’s the time when Lisa was being bullied by Kathy Griffin’s character Francine. Koop’s involvement was during Lisa’s demonstration of how bullies detect a nerd pheromone, prompting the bully-on-nerd violence. Koop stands up and calls Lisa a witch which is funny given the doctor’s scientific reputation.
King of the Hill used Koop to better comedic effect in “Hank’s Unmentionable Problem.” Due to Peggy watching a video starring Koop explaining digestive problems, the former surgeon general appears in her nightmare; everybody is at Hank’s funeral (he died from constipation) with Dr. Koop conducting the service. The gag that always makes me chuckle is Koop asking the characters to turn in their algebra homework after Hank is lowered into the grave.