7. The Gerald Factor
When the character of Gerald showed up, serious trouble ensued. Gerald was a 12-year-old kid, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and devious as all get out. Gerald’s goal on every appearance was to take over the show. The man who wrote Bill Thomson’s biography captured it best. “Wallace would never see what was going on between Ladmo and Gerald,” said Ruelas. “So it frustrated the audience so much, and that’s what he did to kids, who would see Gerald do something mean to Ladmo and then see Wallace, having no clue of what was going on, think about punishing Ladmo instead of Gerald. Kids would go crazy. And you really, honestly hated Gerald so much.”