Shortly after his debut in 1985 as Mario's main foil in Super Mario Bros., Bowser became a huge star in the video game world. In those days, only the heroes of the big titles became major celebrities. Characters like Pac-Man, Pitfall Harry, General Custer, and Jumpman were the kings of gaming, but few people could name or recognize any game villains. However, things changed when Bowser hit the scene. Gamers took note of his ferocity, his impeccable fashion sense, and his evil genius. (Back in the 80's, capturing a princess was actually a new and exciting strategy in the villainy field.)

Bowser became a video game star in his own right, reaching the rarefied air of celebrity that few bad guys had ever seen. His success paved a way for a whole new generation of villains. Dr. Wily, Dracula, Glass Joe, The Duck from Duck Hunt, and countless others owed their fame to the path that Bowser had paved.

Super Mario Bros. was a smash hit and naturally a sequel was quickly green-lighted. Bowser had become accustomed to living the high life thanks to his fame, and the promise of a second big payday encouraged him to continue his high-priced lifestyle without worry. Bowser spent his fortune on fast karts, wild parties, big houses, and other numerous vices. But his dreams would soon be shattered.

In 1986, Super Mario Bros 2 was released for the Famicom Disk System. Predictably, it was a big hit, but Nintendo of America executives were worried about the game's extreme difficulty. Super Mario 2 was much harder than its predecessor and it was thought that American gamers would be turned off by this and abandon the series. However, Nintendo needed another Mario title in the US and quickly. A little known game called Doki Doki Panic was ported to the NES and changed to incorporate Mario characters. Inexplicably, Bowser was not given the lead villain role in the new Mario 2. A never before seen character named Wart stepped in to the role.

With the American release of his second game suddenly canceled, Bowser found himself in a difficult financial position. He had spent all of his Mario 1 earnings thinking that he was about to get another big payday. But he suddenly found himself unable to afford the lifestyle he had been living. Bowser lived off of the residuals from his earlier work and the less-that-expected profits from the Japanese version of Mario 2, but his fortune slowly dribbled away. By 1989, he had to sell most of his possessions and was in danger of losing everything. Late that year, Bowser was offered a job hosting a local kids show in Los Angeles. Desperate for money, Bowser agreed to do the show...

Welcome to King Koopa's Kool Kartoons. Every day after school, children from around the LA area would turn to FOX 11 and watch Mario's main foil prance around in horrible plaid pants and an oversize bow tie. The show consisted mainly of old 20's and 30's era public domain cartoons, with Bowser playing the role of emcee. The studio audience was made up of small children, dressed in "Koopa's Troopa's" shirts and plastic turtle helmets. At the end of the show, Bowser would give away popular Nintendo themed prizes like Power Gloves, Nintendo gift certificates, and copies of Yo! Noid.

Although he was definitely not in his element, Bowser still brought a touch of his trademark evil to the show. The kids in the audience would all be given cool turtle helmets to wear, which certainly would have made them the coolest kids on their block. However, after the show, cruel stagehands would take the poor kids' helmets so they could reuse them for the next episode. The opening credits also feature Bowser ripping the mustache off of a studio security guard. These small acts of mayhem were all he could do to keep from going crazy.

Luckily for Bowser, his network TV purgatory would not last for long. A few months after the show began, Bowser was contacted by Nintendo representatives. He was told that work was about to begin on Super Mario Bros. 3, and they wanted him to return as the main villain. Mario 3 was to be the greatest Mario title yet, and unlike Mario 2, it was going to be the same in both Japan and the US.

Bowser gave his notice that very day and returned to Japan a changed turtle. Gone was the hard partying, hard spending Koopa of the past. Bowser settled down and started a family, his kids even joining him in starring roles in Mario 3. Bowser had learned an important lesson in Los Angeles, fame and money can be fleeting, and if you're not careful, you can end up dancing around with a dog-weasel hybrid in front of thirty 8-year olds on daytime TV.