Lenny Leonard

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The Simpsons character
Lenny Leonard
Lenny Leonard
Gender Male
Job Worker at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Relatives Unnamed mother[1]
Voice actor Harry Shearer
First appearance
The Simpsons "Life on the Fast Lane"

Lenford "Lenny" Leonard, MPhys [2] is a fictional character in the Fox animated series The Simpsons, and is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the best friend of Carl Carlson and friend of Homer Simpson. He works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and possesses a master's degree in nuclear physics, but is portrayed as a simple, often naïve blue-collar working man, who is also a strong believer in the dental plan system.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Despite being shown in the First Church of Springfield, Lenny is a Buddhist.[3] Born in Chicago, he is also a war hero and a three-time juror. His grandmother spent 20 years in a Soviet labour camp, hinting that Lenny may have ancestors from the former Soviet Union.[4] During one episode, he is shown to be an adept guitar player.[5] "Homer the Great" reveals Lenny was member number 12 of the Springfield chapter of the Stonecutters secret society. In the episode "Half-Decent Proposal", Lenny is shown to have little regard for his own life: "Quick and pointless, that's the death for me." Another example of his apathy towards salvation is that he shrugs after being pulled from a ladder which would have seen him and Homer to safety.

Lenny is unmarried (see "love life"). He had plastic surgery when a sudden upswing in the price of power plant stock led to most of the employees (with the exception of Homer) to have a big profit ("Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk"). At some point following his plastic surgery Lenny had a diamond placed on one of his teeth, paid for by the Plant's dental plan; the diamond was later stolen when Homer referred to it and Lenny smiled to show it off.[6] In "Burns' Heir", both Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers refer to him as "Leonard", the same way they refer to Homer as "Simpson", however in The Frying Game, Homer refers to him as "Lenford". Lenny's vices include alcohol (specifically Duff Beer, which he is often seen drinking at Moe's) and dressing up like a baby.[7] In "Homerazzi" Lenny is hinted to be a transvestite when he dresses up like Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager.[8] Lenny drives a green two-door hatch back, whose licence plate reads "DUI GUY".[4] Lenny has a terrible relationship with his mother, who likes Carl and Moe more.[1] Vance Connor donated Lenny a kidney.[9] Lenny has a mysterious medical problem with his eyes, as he has been told (presumably by the doctor) that he can't place various objects in it, like puzzle jiggs and pudding. When he gets hurt he often yells "Ow my eye! I'm not supposed to get (object) in it!". He along with best friend Carl Carlson is usually among the last few survivors in a horror related episode. Two instances of his death are Treehouse of Horror XVI and The Wettest Stories Ever Told.

[edit] Jobs

Lenny works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant alongside Homer Simpson and Carl Carlson.[10] Despite his steady job, Lenny has been featured with several other jobs. On one occasion, he is promoted to head of the power plant when Mr. Burns goes bankrupt; which Smithers later describes to Homer Simpson as a "reign of terror". Homer considers Lenny to be the second richest man he knows.[11] However, Lenny is once shown living in a dilapidated house, and asks Marge to not tell anyone how he lives.[12] In another episode, he is shown living in a fancy, well-furnished modern apartment.... that happens to share a wall with a jai-alai court. In a "future episode", it's shown Lenny is once again in charge of the power plant.[13] On one occasion, it is implied he is an undercover agent whose target is Homer.[14] At the Adult Education Annex, Lenny teaches a class on "How To Chew Tobacco".[15] In one of Homer's daydreams, it's shown that Lenny is the President of the United States.[16] Lenny is also a successful writer who wrote a series of mystery novels, one of them entitled "The Murderer Did It", which are called "scary good fun" by Stephen King. Lenny is also shown to be a member of the NRA as seen in "The Cartridge Family". His weapon of choice appears to be an AR-15 rifle, which he says "are manufactured for a reason: to take out today's modern super animals like the flying squirrel, and the electric eel." [17]

[edit] Friends

Lenny's best friend is Carl Carlson (see below), as they are rarely seen apart; his other friends are Homer, and regulars at Moe's including Barney Gumble and Moe Szyslak.[18] On Lenny's birthday, his friends attempted to throw a surprise party for him at Moe's, which is ruined by Homer, who then sits on a cake shaped like Lenny's favorite barstool.[18] Homer repeatedly confuses Lenny and Carl, and is shocked to learn on one occasion that Lenny is white, and Carl is black. To guide himself, Homer has "Lenny = White, Carl = Black" on his hand. He once muttered to himself, "Is that right?" while reading it.[19] In "Helter Shelter", Homer exclaims, "That's Lenny? I wanted the black one!" When Mr. Burns appears on a radio show in an attempt to boost his popularity in "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", Homer tells him that he has a list of jokes explaining the differences between white and black people; Homer later states, "White guys have names like Lenny, whereas black guys have names like Carl." Lenny appears to be well liked by the Simpson family - on one occasion, Marge and the kids build a prayer shrine for him when learning he was taken to the hospital. In "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder", Homer goes bowling but tells Marge that Lenny was hospitalized; when Marge informs the kids, they respond the same way she did and shout, "Not Lenny!". In "Sleeping with the Enemy", the Simpson family has a cake inscribed "Happy Labor Day Lenny".[20] In "Pranksta Rap", it's revealed Marge has a picture of Lenny in her hair.[21]

[edit] Love life

Lenny is apparently divorced - in "Bart of War", Carl says that he sang "The Best Is Yet to Come" at Lenny's wedding,[20] although in another episode Lenny punches Carl for giving a bad speech at his wedding. Lenny is a persistent bachelor who has poor luck with women. In "Marge on the Lam", Lenny shaves the legs of a woman who calls him an idiot for not shaving in an upward direction.[22] In "Team Homer", Homer mentions to Moe that both Lenny and Carl are with their mistresses. In "Bart Star", it is revealed Lenny had dated Marge.[23] In "Homer the Smithers" he is seen in the opening scene with his arm around a woman who appears to be his girlfriend.[24] In "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", it's revealed that he had dated a woman in a Woody Woodpecker outfit at a fairground for three months until she left him for the man who cleans the vomit on the roller coaster.[25]

[edit] Relationship with Carl Carlson

Lenny (Left) and Carl (Right)

In the non-canon episode "Behind the Laughter", Lenny and Carl are constant companions, and Bart had apparently paid the two to kiss one another.[26]. Despite Lenny and Carl appearing to be best friends, as of the eighth season, Carl had yet to meet Lenny's alleged beauty-queen wife.[27] A running gag through the series is the possibility of a sexual relationship between Lenny and Carl. When Marge's Popsicle stick sculptures of Lenny and Carl are destroyed and mashed together, Lenny states, "I don't know where Carl ends and I begin!", to which Carl replies, "See, it's statements like that that make people think we're gay".[28]

Carl tells Seymour Skinner that "Marriage is gonna be great. Now you'll have someone who'll rub your back - without being asked" while glaring at Lenny, who sighs "Oh, not this again." Carl then responds "Yes, this again."[29] In one episode, Homer runs out of gay couples to marry; he speculates that Lenny and Carl might be interested, and Marge responds with "Don't you push them - they've gotta work that out for themselves."[30] In "Treehouse of Horror XVI", Lenny dies and sees the angels in Heaven take the form of Carl (although they're saying, "Hurry up or we'll be late for work at the plant!").[31] Once, Chief Wiggum remarks that Lenny's relationship with Carl is on the rocks.[32] In "Fat Man and Little Boy", Homer quotes to Lisa "You and science go together like Lenny and Carl - the science is Carl".[33] In "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play", Lenny and Carl see Homer and Marge kiss, prompting Lenny to remark, "Remember when we used to kiss like that, Carl...with our respective girlfriends?" They then discuss what happened to them. Apparently one turned out to be a prostitute and one died.[34]

Lenny's hero worship over Carl has reached a mounting point. In "Half-Decent Proposal", it's shown he carved Carl's face on a mountain, and called it Mount Carlmore. He later leaves a burning oil field, only because Carl arrived.[35] On one occasion, the residents of Springfield see the stars, and see deep within their hearts and souls; Lenny sees Carl's face in the stars (Carl also sees himself there).[36] Lenny publishes a newspaper called The Lenny-Saver with the headline: "The Truth About Carl: He's Great." After displaying this, he sheds a tear and states that "it had to be told."[37] In the episode "Lisa the Drama Queen", Lenny and Carl are pictured driving a sports car through the woods with two children in the back of contrasting background (either noting they are both single parents have separately or otherwise adopted children). Lenny and Carl are shown with their arms slung around each other in a scene of The Simpsons Movie.[38]

In season 18 episode "Little Big Girl", Carl Carlson states that he and Lenny have the same mother when a major fire is closing in on her work.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Mona Leaves-a". Joel H. Cohen (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2007-05-11. No. 11, season 19.
  2. ^ a b "Homer's Enemy". John Swartzwelder (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1997-05-04. No. 23, season 8.
  3. ^ "She of Little Faith". Bill Frielberger (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2001-12-16. No. 23, season 8.
  4. ^ a b "Midnight Towboy". Ian Maxtone-Graham (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2007-10-07. No. 03, season 19.
  5. ^ "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation". Mike Scully (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2002-11-02. No. 2, season 14.
  6. ^ "Last Exit to Springfield". Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1993-03-11. No. 17, season 4.
  7. ^ "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story". Ian Maxtone-Graham (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2006-03-12. No. 13, season 17.
  8. ^ "Homerazzi". J. Stewart Burns (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2007-03-25. No. 16, season 18.
  9. ^ "Take My Life, Please". The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2009-02-17.
  10. ^ "Life on the Fast Lane". John Swartzwelder (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1990-03-18. No. 09, season 1.
  11. ^ "Mountain of Madness". John Swartzwelder (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1997-02-02. No. 12, season 8.
  12. ^ "Realty Bites". Dan Greaney (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1997-12-07. No. 9, season 9.
  13. ^ "Lisa's Wedding". Greg Daniels (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1995-03-19. No. 19, season 6.
  14. ^ "The Wandering Juvie". John Frink, Don Payne (writers). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2004-03-28. No. 16, season 15.
  15. ^ "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". Greg Daniels (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1994-05-19. No. 22, season 5.
  16. ^ "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace". John Swartzwelder (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1998-10-20. No. 02, season 10.
  17. ^ "The Boys of Bummer". Michael Price (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2007-04-29. No. 18, season 18.
  18. ^ a b "Don't Fear the Roofer". Kevin Curran (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2005-05-01. No. 16, season 16.
  19. ^ http://www.snpp.com/episodes/BABF20 SNPP: Lenny = White, Carl = Black
  20. ^ a b "Sleeping with the Enemy". Jon Vitti (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2004-11-21. No. 03, season 16.
  21. ^ "Pranksta Rap". Matt Selman (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2005-02-13. No. 09, season 16.
  22. ^ "Marge on the Lam". Bill Canterbury (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1993-11-04. No. 06, season 5.
  23. ^ "Bart Star". Donick Cary (writer). The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1997-11-09. No. 09, season 6.
  24. ^ http://snpp.com/episodes/3F14.html SNPP; Homer the Smithers
  25. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4120569.stm BBC; Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
  26. ^ The Simpsons "Behind the Laughter" May 21, 2000
  27. ^ The Simpsons "In Marge We Trust" April 27, 1997
  28. ^ The Simpsons "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)" November 26, 2006
  29. ^ The Simpsons "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" April 18, 2004
  30. ^ The Simpsons "There's Something About Marrying" February 20, 2005
  31. ^ The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror XVI" November 6, 2005
  32. ^ The Simpsons "Thank God It's Doomsday" May 8, 2005
  33. ^ The Simpsons "Fat Man and Little Boy" November 12, 2004
  34. ^ The Simpsons "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play" May 21, 2006
  35. ^ The Simpsons "Half-Decent Proposal" February 10, 2002
  36. ^ The Simpsons "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" March 30, 2003
  37. ^ The Simpsons "Fraudcast News" May 23, 2004
  38. ^ The Simpsons The Simpsons Movie July 21, 2007
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Celebrities · Itchy and Scratchy · Kent Brockman · Krusty the Clown · Troy McClure · Radioactive Man · Rainier Wolfcastle
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Montgomery Burns · Carl Carlson · Lenny Leonard · Waylon Smithers Simpson family · Flanders family · Van Houten family
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