Which one? Oscar F. Mayer, Oscar G. Mayer, Oscar G. Mayer Jr., or Little Oscar? This last Oscar is the only alumnus, but he’s not a Mayer. He’s Meinhardt Raabe 1937, a longtime spokesman for Oscar Mayer and the Munchkin who declared the Wicked Witch dead in the Oscar-winning film, The Wizard of Oz. Oscar G. Mayer and Oscar G. Mayer Jr. did receive honorary degrees from the UW in 1951 and 1977, respectively. The company had a presence in Madison for nearly a century, beginning with the purchase of a processing plant in 1919. Headquartered in Madison between 1957 and 2016, Oscar Mayer relished its proximity to world-class meat science and engineering experts on campus. Long after Raabe’s Little Oscar had retired, UW engineering students created a completely unrelated — frankly, we couldn’t find a link — “Little Oscar” robot as part of the 1987 Engineering EXPO. This doll-faced wiener waiter cooks and serves hot dogs with a side of horror. Shout-out to Jim Thorstad ’87, one of Little Oscar’s creators, for directing us to this video of the Wienertron in action. There’s also a better-known Oscar Mayer machine that you might see speeding down the freeway. The company’s iconic fleet of Wienermobiles is still based in Madison, and their drivers, known as Hotdoggers, travel the country to spread "the joy and love of meat". Even though none of the Oscar Mayers officially attended the UW, there are many Badgers who have proudly borne the Hotdogger title. And thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Society, a 1969 Wienermobile and the banjo-ukulele used to record the original Oscar Mayer wiener jingle have been preserved for future generations. Such artifacts will never be allowed to meat their end.

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