Clancy Wiggum
SeriesThe Simpsons
First minorHomer's Odyssey
First dateJanuary 21, 1990
CreatorMatt Groening
DesignerMatt Groening
VoiceHank Azaria[1]
GenderMale
OccupationPolice chief of Springfield
FamilyIggy Wiggum (father)
Mark (cousin)[2]
Unnamed brother[3]
SpouseSarah Wiggum

Chief Clancy Wiggum[4] is a character from the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah Wiggum.

Gluttonous, irresponsible, and immature, Wiggum is often too lazy, cowardly, and corrupt to bother fighting crime. His more responsible subordinate officers Eddie and Lou play the straight men to his shenanigans.

Character development

His surname "Wiggum" is Matt Groening's mother's maiden name and her parents were Norwegian immigrants.[5] As "a conscious pun", Wiggum was designed to look like a pig.[6][7] Hank Azaria first based his voice for Wiggum on David Brinkley, but it was too slow and he switched it to an Edward G. Robinson impression.[6][7] The first use of his first name being Clancy was in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", but in the script for "The Telltale Head" his name was Abner Wiggum.

Biography

Many episodes have dealt with the back story of how Wiggum, despite his incompetence, occupies such a high rank in the Springfield Police Department. However, these jokes tend to contradict one another, as is typical with side characters on The Simpsons.[8] Wiggum was temporarily promoted to Commissioner of Police for the state in which Springfield resides during the 2005 episode "Pranksta Rap".[9] He also appeared on a Halloween novel depicting Netflix's Stranger Things Chief Jim Hopper.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Sam Simon's Iconic 'Simpsons' Characters". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 March 2015. Archived November 20, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Italian Bob"
  3. ^ The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - Wiggum: "What about military school? It set my brother straight. Now he owns and operates a famous cave."
  4. ^ Groening 2010, pp. 189, 1199.
  5. ^ Rose, Joseph (2007-08-01). "The real people behind Homer Simpson and family". The Oregonian. Archived June 9, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  6. ^ Rhodes, Joe (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide. Archived September 12, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Reiss, Mike & Klickstein, Mathew (2018). Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons. New York City: Dey Street Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-0062748034.
  8. ^ Whiton, Christian (September 30, 2018). "'The Simpsons' turns 30 -- a big milestone for Gen X and America". Fox News. Archived September 11, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Sokol, Tony (March 25, 2019). "The Simpsons Season 30 Episode 18 Review: Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy". Den of Geek. Archived July 23, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Yeates, Cydney (July 15, 2019). "The Simpsons to spoof Stranger Things in Treehouse Of Horror XXX this Halloween". Metro. Archived July 16, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 29, 2024.

Bibliography

  • Groening, Matt (2010-10-28). Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20. 1st ed. McCann, Jessie L.; Seghers, Christine; Bates, James W. (eds.). HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061711282.