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Randal Disher
225px Jason Gray-Stanford as Randy Disher
First appearance	"Mr. Monk and the Candidate"
Created by	David Hoberman
Portrayed by	Jason Gray-Stanford (2002-present)
In-universe information
Title	Lieutenant
Occupation	SFPD Robbery-Homicide Detective
Family	Maria Disher (mother) Harvey Disher (uncle)

Lieutenant Randal "Randy" Disher is a fictional character on the television show Monk. He is played by Jason Gray-Stanford.

Characterization

Disher is described as: "Captain Stottlemeyer's eager but bumbling right-hand man. Ambitious, well-intentioned, and devoted to the Captain, Disher is a faithful "Boy Friday." Though competitive and even a little jealous of Monk, Disher lacks brilliance as a detective. Yet his eagerness to please and naïvete is endearing, and despite his often wacky theories and techniques, Disher remains an integral part of the crime-solving team."

"Randy's become definitely a little more of a team player with the rest of the guys. [...] I think you're gonna kinda see him grow up a little bit, too."

Casting

Going back a few years, can you talk a little bit about how you got the role of Randy Disher on Monk?

Yeah, I absolutely can. I was finishing up a miniseries at the time called Taken. I was shooting in Vancouver and I got a script for this pilot that was going to shoot in Vancouver that was called Monk and I looked at it very, very quickly and said, “No, I don’t think I wanna do it.” Because I was asked to come in and read for the character of the deputy mayor, who was gonna be the bad guy in the thing. And I had just gone four months on this miniseries and I was like “Oh forget it. I’m taking a break. I don’t wanna do it.” It was right around holiday season, Christmas time. And then they sent the script to me again and they said “Look.” Tony Shaloub was attached to this thing. You know, Tony being a great actor and coming obviously from a very diverse film and television career I thought I’d go in and audition for this character and I was told, “Great job, that was terrific but you’re not gonna get it. You’re not right for the part.”

At the end of all the auditions, the director said “Hey look, there was another character and they don’t know what they want to do with him yet, he’s not really written yet, so he’s gonna be like the sidekick to the main cop and we just cast Ted Levine as that guy,” and I went “Oh shit. Ted Levine, man. Fantastic. Another great actor.” So, he was like “Can you come in tomorrow just if we have something, will you read for it?” So, sure enough, I went in and read for this character who was at that time was called Lieutenant Deacon, which is a little bit of Monk trivia for anyone out there who cares and I got that part.

Blog

People always think that being a cop is all that defines me. Just because I happen to be really good at one thing, that's the only thing people think of when they think of me. They see me and think, "Here comes Lieutenant Disher, a great cop and the Captain's most trusted advisor." They don't think, "Here comes Lieutenant Disher, who makes a terrific lasagna," or "Here comes Lieutenant Disher, who paints great impressionistic landscapes," or "Here comes Lieutenant Disher, who can freestyle rap like he was raised on the streets of Compton." No, all they see is a cop. But I'll tell you, there's more to Randy Disher than meets the eye. I also, for example, happen to have my own band, The Randy Disher Project. Just because I'm a cop doesn't mean I can't also be a musician, and just because I don't come from the hood doesn't mean I can't rap about life on the streets, and just because I'm white doesn't mean I don't have the soul of a gangsta. I've got mad skillz in the rap department, ask anyone. Well, ask my mom. The woman's got a great ear for meter.

Just recently I got the chance to prove my hip hop skillz when I worked the Extra Large homicide case. Things kind of got off on the wrong foot, with Murderuss disrespecting my rhymes and me accusing him of murder, but now it's all good. At first he was all up in my grill, thinking that just because he's more famous and people actually pay money to hear his music that makes him a more legitimate musician or something. But I explained to him that I don't do this to make bank. It's not about the Benjamins. It's about speaking the truth. I may be the popo but I ain't frontin'. Turns out Murderuss and I, we're actually a lot alike. We were born into this, we weren't sworn into this. We're laying down some tracks together when he finishes his tour. Well, we haven't actually made any formal plans, but I sent him my new demo and he'll be down with it for sure. It's a new version of my hit song "Don't Need a Badge." This version's a lot edgier, and the beats are off the hook.

I've got big things on the horizon, music wise, but I know the Captain really relies on me and I wouldn't want to leave him shorthanded. I figure I'll stay on the force for as long as I can; I may have to take a leave of absence to go on tour, but I hope that I can continue to balance my career in law enforcement with my career as a recording artist. What I'd really like is someday for people to see me coming and say, "Oh good, here comes Lieutenant Disher, a fantastic cop and the Captain's most trusted advisor, and have you seen his band, The Randy Disher Project? What an eclectic sound. Those cats know how to keep it real, fo shizzle!" Or something like that.

Peace out, yo.

Side Note: For all you homies out there who are fans of Murderuss or just fans of music at all, you should check out my band, The Randy Disher Project. Whether you're into rock, hip hop, folk, country, jazz, blues, trance or anything else you'll definitely be feelin' our beats. Copies of the Randy Disher Project's debut album are available now for only $12.99, and to get a list of upcoming gigs, hit up our website. As soon as we have some gigs they'll be listed. Holla at me.

Reception

if you had to choose, which Randy would you single out for a possible Emmy nomination?— Karen Matt Roush: That's easy. I often cringe at how stupid and bumbling they make Disher on Monk. His behavior is too often too predictable. It's not my favorite part of that show, so he takes a distinct backseat to the brilliant childlike idiocy of that gentle giant Randy on Earl. I'll be shocked if Ethan Suplee (and Jaime Pressly, for that matter) isn't nominated for Earl. As sweet as Earl himself is on his road to redemption, he's often humbled by the utter guilelessness of Randy. It's a hilarious, but more importantly endearing, performance in a role that could so easily have been a caricature of a white-trash dim bulb.

Old article

Disher is Captain Leland Stottlemeyer's second-in-command and employed at the San Francisco police force. He is characterized as a naïve, loyal, overly ambitious but not necessarily bright assistant to Stottlemeyer. His far-fetched theories and comments about the cases Monk works on are a running gag of the series. Apart from his truly ridiculous theories, which often involve defying the very laws of physics, Disher appears rather competent within his own range of abilities. He has proven himself to be trustworthy, courageous, and capable of providing valuable insights into the cases they tackle. Indeed, in the pilot Mr. Monk and the Candidate while there was a naive aura about him -- and somewhat resentful of Monk --he was not depicted as much as a bumbler as he would be in later episodes. A running gag is the awkwardly ceremonial way in which he delivers news to Stottlemeyer, asking him to guess what it is or sit down for it. As noted above, his personality was dramatically changed from the pilot episode of the series. In the pilot, he was not only skeptical of Monk, but he seemed to find Monk a joke. One could assume that he was jealous of Monk, by his actions toward Monk himself and to the captain about him. However, he was still bumbling, as he gave Monk his gun during a frantic scene.

In the book Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu, Captain Stottlemeyer, in a covert meeting with Natalie and Monk, reveals that Randy has a high clearance and conviction rate. While teaching Monk how to be a Captain and delegate, he tells how Randy is a people person, who gets people to say things they wouldn't say otherwise. They aren't high profile or unusual like the cases Monk gets, but it is how Stottlemeyer delegates cases. The implication is that Stottlemeyer is a good captain for matching staff to cases, and Disher, while incapable of solving a weird case, is good at others.

Relationships

Like Stottlemeyer, Disher used to be wary of Monk's abilities, but as the series progressed, he came to admire and respect them.

During the series, Disher lost his entire life savings during a trip to Las Vegas (which prompted Monk and Stottlemeyer to come to his rescue, using Monk's abilities to win the money back), acted once as Natalie Teeger's bodyguard, and helped Monk find clues for the Trudy Monk case by traveling to New York with him. Randy used to argue regularly with (but was secretly attracted to) Monk's first assistant, Sharona Fleming, and maintains a friendly, professional behavior towards Monk's second assistant, Natalie Teeger. He seems to always harbor crushes on Monk's assistants, writing a personal ad fitting the first assistant Sharona Fleming ("Mr. Monk and the Paperboy")—which he unsuccessfully tried to hide from her, and when told by the second assistant Natalie Teeger that she had news, he guessed that she was wanting to say she loved him, leaving her in a dumbstruck state while Monk delivered the actual news.

His lack of luck getting dates is so notorious that when he does get a girlfriend, nobody believes him. In "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month" he shows the cast a generic picture of a woman. Sharona confirms that it was included with his wallet. They dismiss his claims that his girlfriend is a wallet model named Crystal Smith. It is revealed to the viewers (but not to the cast) that Randy was telling the truth. In "Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever" it's revealed his new girlfriend was part of a Chinese mob hit crew sent to kill Monk. He states that he would have to arrest her and it would put a damper on their relationship.

Background

Disher was born in San Diego. He attended Temple University and lived in Philadelphia briefly, where he was a sergeant in that city's police (Mr. Monk Goes to a Wedding). It was revealed in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Leper" that as a teenager he suffered from an extreme case of acne and attempts to steal the picture from the doctor's office. He joined the police force nine years before the sixth season. His mother had to be rescued from a fortune hunter (Mr. Monk Gets Married).

The Randy Disher Project

In high school, he was part of a rock band, the Randy Disher Project, which he resurrected with his fellow bandmates in the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist". The band created a music video entitled "Don't Need a Badge", trying to justify Randy's leaving the police force. The band broke up and Disher returned to the SFPD shortly afterwards. The song was reprised in the February 23, 2007, episode, Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy. Disher was placed as a decoy to try to attract the attention of the perpetrator, playing the erstwhile rock song (while forgetting most of the lyrics) with the instruments of a one-man band. Further, in Mr. Monk and the Rapper, Randy climbs the stage in a rap club, shouting: "If you enjoyed that, check out Therandydisherproject.com!". However his rapping abilities are questionable and he gets offended when Murderuss (Snoop Dogg) calls him the "whitest white guy".

• In Mr. Monk and the Candidate, Disher was credited as Lt. Deacon

References

Category:Monk characters Category:Fictional lieutenants Category:Fictional characters from California Category:Fictional police detectives Category:Fictional police officers

it:Randy Disher