View source for Lowly Worm

{{Short description|Fictional earthworm from Richard Scarry's Busytown books and franchise}}
{{Infobox character
| name               = Lowly Worm
| franchise          = {{No italics|[[Busytown]]}}
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| first_major        = <!-- per [[MOS:MAJORWORK]] - major works include TV series, films, books, albums and games -->
| first_minor        = <!-- or |first_issue=; Per [[MOS:MINORWORK]] - minor works include TV episodes, chapters, songs and game missions -->
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| creator            = [[Richard Scarry]]
| voice              = {{ubl|[[Keith Knight (actor)|Keith Knight]] (''[[The Busy World of Richard Scarry]]'')
|Paul Wensley (''[[Busytown Mysteries]]'')}}
| full_name          =
| nickname           = <!-- or |nicknames= -->
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| species            = Earthworm
| gender             = Male
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}}
'''Lowly Worm''' is a fictional character created by [[Richard Scarry]]; he frequently appears in children's books by Scarry, and is a main character in the animated series ''Richard Scarry Presents The Best Series Ever!'', ''[[The Busy World of Richard Scarry]]'' and ''[[Busytown Mysteries]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&pg=PA710 |title=The guide to United States popular culture | first=Pat | last= Browne|isbn= 9780879728212 |year=2001 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.courant.com/1994/05/11/remember-the-lowly-worm-2/|title=Remember the Lowly Worm? |work= [[Hartford Courant]] |date=May 11, 1994}}</ref> In ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry'', he is voiced by [[Keith Knight (actor)|Keith Knight]]. In ''Busytown Mysteries'', he is voiced by Paul Wensley.
Lowly is an [[anthropomorphic]] [[earthworm]]. He usually wears a dark green [[Tyrolean hat]] on his head, similar to the hat which Richard Scarry purchased in [[St. Anton]] in 1950 and often wore during visits to his publishers in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|title=Have A Very Scarry Summer!|url=http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/kids/a-summer-of-scarry| publisher= [[Sterling Publishing]]| accessdate= 2010-07-03| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716141458/http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/kids/a-summer-of-scarry|archive-date=2011-07-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lowly also wears a shoe on the end of his tail, a blue and green tube on his body (intended to resemble a sleeveless shirt and one-legged trousers) over a singular "underpant,"<ref>{{cite web
|title= Lowly Worm Is Back! Richard Scarry Jr. Brings Dad's Manuscript To Life
|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/08/23/342483485/lowly-worm-is-back-richard-scarry-jr-brings-dads-manuscript-to-life
|publisher=[[NPR]]
|date=2014-08-23
|accessdate=2019-05-21}}</ref> and a red [[bow tie]]. His best friend is [[Huckle Cat]], he lives in [[Busytown]], and he has driven an apple-shaped car since ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry.'' In various episodes of ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry'' and ''Busytown Mysteries'' and in the computer games ''[[Richard Scarry's Busytown]]'' and ''How Things Work in Busytown'' it is revealed that the car can also fly much like a [[helicopter]].
Lowly attends school with Huckle and plays with him and his friends, but he also takes part in more adult activities such as driving a car. Hilda Hippo also has a crush on him, which he is reluctant to return, although he does consider Hilda a good friend.
A ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reviewer of ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry'' describes Lowly as "the real star of the series, with his goofily deprecating name and natty ensemble that includes a bow tie and single sneaker".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Busy World of Richard Scarry| work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117902441.html?categoryid=32&cs=1|accessdate=2010-07-03 | first=Tom | last=Bierbaum | date=1994-03-08}}</ref> According to Scarry's widow, Lowly was his favorite fictional creation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Richard Scarry, Author Of Books For Children, Dies| url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940503/1908645/richard-scarry-author-of-books-for-children-dies|publisher=[[Seattle Times]]|access-date=2010-07-03|quote="The Lowly worm was his very favorite character for all the children," she said.}}</ref>
About 500,000 Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat [[finger puppet]]s, distributed by American fast food chain [[Taco Bell]] in 1993, were voluntarily recalled by Taco Bell following complaints that the puppets had become stuck to children's tongues.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taco Bell Corp. Announces Voluntary Recall Of Promotional Items| url=http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml93/93062.html|publisher=[[U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]]| accessdate=2010-07-03| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928013152/http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml93/93062.html| archive-date=2010-09-28|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Busytown}}
[[Category:Anthropomorphic worms]]
[[Category:Fictional worms]]
[[Category:Sidekicks in literature]]
[[Category:Television sidekicks]]
[[Category:Characters in children's literature]]
[[Category:Busytown]]