A Montrose man who inspired his dad to create Bananaman has died suddenly aged 49.
Scott Donaldson, who had spent time living in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, died at home on September 18.
His dad David Donaldson says Scott was “infuriatingly funny” and admits he “still can’t believe he’s gone”.
Following his passing, David – a former children’s editor at DC Thomson – has revealed for the first time how a six-year-old Scott inspired the creation of his superhero character Bananaman.
David said: “I was living in Carnoustie at that time and Scott was just at school age and would watch TV like any other kid.
“And he was always interested in the Incredible Hulk.
“At that point, I was in the process of putting together a new comic which I wanted to be called ‘Bananas’, but I wasn’t too sure how to play it.
“But wee Scott loved the transformation scene in the show, when he goes from Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk.
“After that, I thought why not have someone who eats bananas and turns into Bananaman?”
On February 16 1980, Bananaman was introduced to fans in the newly launched Nutty comic.
Alongside David, writer Steve Bright had worked to develop the character which poked fun at the ‘why so serious?’ portrayals of superheroes in America at the time.
‘No Bananaman without Scott’
Bananaman went on to great success, with the BBC airing a cartoon series based on the comic from 1983 to 1986.
The character has even been painted in a mural on the DC Thomson printing plant at Kingsway in Dundee.
David, 80, said: “Scott was obsessed with Bananaman once it all started and he was always very proud of the fact he was associated with the character.
“Lots of people jumped on the bandwagon but it was a highly personal thing. Had it not been for wee Scott there would be no Bananaman.
“Over the years the origins of Bananaman have been contentious but I’ve always just kept quiet about it.
“But I thought it would be nice to mark his passing by sharing my story, I think it needs telling and now is the right time.”
The cause of Scott’s death is unknown and his family are still waiting on the results of a post-mortem, though he had suffered ill health for some time before his passing.
‘The Scott we knew was infuriatingly funny’
David, a keen cyclist, learned of his son’s death while on a biking holiday in northern Spain.
He added: “The Scott we knew was infuriatingly funny, he just never stopped telling jokes.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone and the last few weeks have been tough.
“My phone has never stopped since Scott died.
“People will turn up in their droves (for his funeral) on Friday – people Scott assumed didn’t speak to him any longer.
“There are people who haven’t seen Scott in decades coming from all over the world to the funeral – he would be quite chuffed.”
Scott is survived by David along with mum Helen, brother Paul, and sisters Hannah and Amy.
His funeral will be held at 11am on Friday at Emslie S Collier and Son in Montrose.
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