Doc Kilzum

DOC KILZUM

1940s

Donated by James R. Hinton

Paramount Pest Control started off as a small Los Angeles business in 1935. Their iconic mascot, Doc Kilzum, was conceptualized in 1938 when the company’s owner

sketched a “Doctor” inspired by Western Exterminator’s Little Man. In the 1940s, Paramount Pest Control build and installed the neon pole sign at their Los Angeles office. Doc Kilzum and the slogan “His Patients All Die” were trademarked in 1951. Although the company expanded over the years and opened up offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Northern California, none of the other locations had a neon sign with the company’s mascot. Measuring ten feet tall, the doctor aims his “instrument

of death” directly at the line of rats, while holding his personalized medical bag in his other hand. As the Doctor zaps the rats, the vermin flash sequentially, depicting a less

violent and somewhat whimsical display of pest control. The sign is missing a fifth dead rat, which would have been lying on its back after being zapped by the Doctor. In the 1960s, an employee painted over the rats for a less graphic depiction of the narrative. By that time, the sign was no longer lit. In 1964, the company moved their Los Angeles office to Frogtown, right off the 2 and 5 freeway interchange ramps. Unfortunately, the City did not permit the Doc Kilzum sign to be installed, as its animation would have been a dangerous distraction to drivers on the freeway. Although Doc Kilzum was not displayed, the company’s text panel sign was installed at the new location. Screenwriter Larry Sulkis who currently owns the Frogtown building made the conscious decision to keep the text panel on the building even though Paramount Pest Control has been long gone from that location. Doc Kilzum remained in storage until it was donated to the Museum of Neon Art in 2013.