The Love Bug filming. The car was later given the name "Herbie" from one of Buddy Hackett's skits about a ski instructor named Klaus, who speaks with a German accent as he introduces his fellow ski instructors, who are named Hans, Fritz, Wilhelm, and Sandor. At the end of the skit, Hackett would say "If you ain't got a Herbie (pronounced ""hoy-bee"), I ain't going." Herbie's trademark "53" racing number was chosen by producer Bill Walsh, who was a fan of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Don Drysdale (Drysdale's jersey number, later retired by the team, was 53). Walsh also gave Herbie his
The Atomic Space Bug Space Bug. The bug costume (designed and constructed by Scott LoBaido) was made mostly of foam, with little ventilation. Colucci would have to take many breaks from shooting to avoid passing out. Filming was completed June 1999. The black-and-white film premiered in New York City on July 16, 1999 at Anthology Film Archives. The Atomic Space Bug The Atomic Space Bug is a 1999 horror film directed by Jonathan M. Parisen and starring Conrad Brooks ("Plan 9 from Outer Space"). "The Atomic Space Bug" is Parisen's homage to such fifties films as "Robot Monster" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space".