Corny Collins

"'This is the future.' – Corny Collins, Hairspray (2007)"Cornwallis "Corny" Collins is the host of The Corny Collins Show, which airs on WZZT-TV in Baltimore every afternoon at four o'clock.

Pre-1962
Corny was raised on classical music. He played the violin until he was a sophomore in high school (1945), when he ended up succumbing to his rock-n-roll side and started playing the drums.

In 1957, Corny went into the broadcasting business and landed his first job at WZZT-TV. Before getting his own program on the airwaves, he performed the early morning weather reports, until he was fired a year later for falling asleep on the air.

1962
The Corny Collins Show is the hippest, most popular teenage dance program in Baltimore, June of 1962. Moreover, this year, the annual Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant will be broadcast all over the country, potentially expanding the Corny Collins brand from local to national overnight.

After a talent search for the show's newest teen dancer, Corny takes a liking to Tracy Turnblad, while hosting Patterson Park High School's sophomore sock hop, and decides to give her the open spot, much to the disgust of Velma and Amber Von Tussle and the president of Ultra Clutch, The Corny Collins Show's sponsor, Harriman F. Spritzer.

He attempts to convince Mr. Spritzer that this is the right choice for the future of both of their careers. Velma, nevertheless, doesn't buy into it and pathetically threatens to fire Corny from his own show. He, in turn, threatens her position as the show's producer, suggesting they can always move the show to another station.

Behind Velma's back, Corny secretly hatches a (successful) plan to get Tracy out of prison and win her the crown.

Post 1962
Ultimately, in 1967, Corny goes through a mustache and sideburns phase. Consequently, The Corny Collins Show is quickly taken off the air. His time away from the spotlight doesn't last long, however. In 1970, he hosts a new network game show called ''What's Your Bag?  . ''Six years later, he is elected as the governor of California, putting a "more music, less talk" policy into effect.