Barney Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. Barney is the town drunk of Springfield and one of Homer Simpson's friends.
Created for Fox, The Simpsons is a satirical take on American life, epitomized by the Simpsons family. The show is known for caricaturing society and all the popular things that exist within it.
Who is Barney in The Simpsons?
Barney was inspired by another iconic animated character, Barney Rubble from The Flintstones. Barney Gumble is the town drunk of the fictional city of Springfield, and he's one of Homer Simpson's closest friends. Barney used to be an intelligent student before he had his first Abe’s beer while studying for the SATs. He also served in the United States Navy Reserve for a while, under his mother as a superior officer. Barney is mostly seen at Moe’s Tavern, and he's a regular there. Moe once had to send Barney’s beer tab to NASA to be calculated. His broken voice, loud belch, and wandering eyes make him stand out more than the others. Despite his misfortunes in life, Barney is mostly seen as a friendly and good-natured person.
Barney might be a drunk, but he shows glimpses of his early potential from time to time. He has been the owner of a successful snow ploughing business, where he managed to get Linda Ronstadt to sing on his commercial. Barney also worked in NASA as an astronaut, and sadly, he fell into a relapse after tasting a non-alcoholic champagne.
Who voices Barney Gumble?
Dan Castellaneta voices Barney Gumble in the show, and he's also voiced some other iconic characters like Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, and Louie. Early on, Dan Castellaneta recorded a fresh belch for Barney in each episode but found it difficult to replicate consistently. He eventually picked his best belch and asked the producers to use it as the standard belch.
Castellaneta is known for lending his voice to various characters in television shows and films like Darkwing Duck, The Adventures of Dynamo Duck, Back to the Future: The Animated Series, Aladdin, and Hey, Arnold! The actor has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.
FAQs
No; though Barney was a brilliant student who was Harvard-bound, Homer introduced him to beer before his SATs.
Barney's favourite drink is Duff beer.
American actor Dan Castellaneta voices Barney Gumble.
