![]() In some early first season episodes, Barney had yellow hair. So, of course, we went right for it." The writers also patterned the character after Norm Peterson (George Wendt), a character from the sitcom Cheers. Part of the reason the writers went in that direction, according to Groening, was because of "a sort of unspoken rule about not having drinking on television as a source of comedy. The writers drew further inspiration from Crazy Guggenheim, a character played by comedian Frank Fontaine on The Jackie Gleason Show. "Barney was taking the standard sitcom sidekick and just making him as pathetic as possible," said Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons. The writers originally wanted the character to be Homer Simpson's sidekick and next-door neighbor, but instead, they decided to make him an alcoholic. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, cleans up his appearance, and attends helicopter-flying lessons.īarney was inspired by Barney Rubble, Fred Flintstone's best friend and next-door neighbor from the animated series The Flintstones. In "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", after watching a video of his drunken antics at his birthday party, Barney resolves to get sober. Barney served in the United States Navy Reserve as a submariner on the USS Jebediah, alongside his mother, in "Simpson Tide". However, he reverted to his old ways when he was presented with a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne. Under their alcohol-ban, he quickly developed superior skills and was selected to fly with Buzz Aldrin. In "Deep Space Homer", Barney trained to become an astronaut for NASA. It won the top prize at the Springfield Film Festival. ![]() However, a heat wave hit Springfield at that exact moment, driving them both out of business.Īfter being forced to spend a sober night at Moe's Tavern serving as designated driver, Barney left town in Homer Simpson's car to, among other things, give a guest lecture at Villanova (although, by his own admission, the guest lecture could just have likely occurred on a street corner).Ī gag in "Selma's Choice" suggests that Barney is the father of many local babies born through (presumably, paid) donation of semen and the resulting artificial insemination.īarney made a documentary film about his life as an alcoholic, titled Pukahontas. The friends resolved their differences and agreed to work together. ![]() When Homer saw a news report showing that Barney had been trapped in an avalanche, Homer immediately drove to the mountain and rescued Barney. As revenge, Homer fooled Barney into plowing a driveway on Widow's Peak, a treacherous mountain outside of Springfield. Barney's commercial defamed Homer, causing Homer to lose his customers. The group realized that they were no longer popular and split up.īarney started a snowplowing business rivaling Homer's in "Mr. Soon, creative disputes arose, and Barney left the group in all but name when he began dating a Japanese conceptual artist. In 1986, the Be Sharps won a Grammy Award for Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year. Barney was asked to join when the other members heard him singing in a beautiful tenor voice in the restroom of Moe's Tavern, replacing the group's original fourth member, Clancy Wiggum, who was kicked out. In "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Barney formed a barbershop quartet with Homer, Apu, and Seymour Skinner called the Be Sharps. However, Season 16's "She Used to Be My Girl" attributes his drinking to his high school girlfriend Chloe Talbot leaving Springfield to pursue a journalism career. He had his mind set on going to Harvard University until Homer introduced him to beer the day before they were to take the SATs. ![]() Plow suggests that Barney was considered to have potential. Two different episodes give different reasons for his alcoholism. Barney himself was born on April 20 in 1956 (which Homer remembers as being on the same day as Lassie's and Barney's entry into the Springfield Film Festival in A Star Is Burns where Barney states that he is 40 years old), however in the original broadcast version of "Viva Ned Flanders". Little is known about his mother, except that she lives in Norway in later years and that she served in the United States Navy, including duty on a submarine. Barney's father, Arnie Gumble, was a World War II veteran who died in 1979 in a parade float accident.
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