The original set consisted in three prank calls; in these, the presenter of the show (which itself is known for making prank calls of this nature), called a person named Manuel (original for Manolo), a superintendent of a New York City building.
Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super"
church (building) | Church (building) | Empire State Building | Baxter Building | superintendent | building | U.S. Green Building Council | Woolworth Building | Chrysler Building | San Francisco Ferry Building | Flatiron Building | Superintendent | Building restoration | Vehicle Assembly Building | Thomas Jefferson Building | Superintendent (police) | Superintendent (education) | Seagram Building | National Building Museum | Capitol Records Building | Building insulation | Auditorium Building | Yorkshire Building Society | Reichstag (building) | Reichstag building | Parliament of Norway Building | Hoover Building | Green building | Chicago Board of Trade Building | Woman's Building |
He first made his mark with the independently made Spanish-language feature, El Super (1979), based on an Off-Broadway play about an immigrant building superintendent trying to make his way in New York City.
The creators of the show took the name from the 1941 book with that title by Harnett Thomas Kane, an examination of the "Louisiana Hayride" scandals of 1939-1940 that sent to prison such notables as Louisiana State University President James Monroe Smith and former Louisiana building superintendent George A. Caldwell.