| Mr. Burns | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons character | |
 | |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by | Matt Groening David Silverman George Meyer |
| Based on |
|
| Designed by | Matt Groening |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber Burns |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Owner of theSpringfield Nuclear Power Plant |
| Family |
|
| Spouse | Persephone Odair (ex-wife) |
| Children | Larry Burns (son) |
| Relatives | Evelyn Burns (paternal grandmother) Doreena Burns (paternal aunt) Jean-Claude Charles (maternal grandfather) Ophelia Charles (maternal grandmother) |
| Nationality | American |
| Age | 81–120[1][2] |
Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty"Burns,[3][4] usually referred to asMr. Burns orC. Montgomery Burns, is a recurringantagonist in theFox animated television seriesThe Simpsons, voiced initially byChristopher Collins and byHarry Shearer in later episodes. He is the mostly evil, devious, greedy, and wealthy owner of theSpringfield Nuclear Power Plant and, by extension,Homer Simpson's boss where he has been considered the town villain in some episodes like "It's a Blunderful Life". He is assisted at almost all times byWaylon Smithers, his loyal andsycophantic aide, adviser, confidant, and secret admirer. He is around 156 years old, though sometimes it is implied he is much older. His place of birth isPangea, revealed in the season 17 episode "The seemingly never-ending story".[1][2]
Although originally conceived as a one-dimensional, recurring dastardly villain who might occasionally enter the Simpsons' lives and wreak some sort of havoc, Mr. Burns's popularity has led to his repeated inclusion in episodes. He is a stereotype of corporate United States in his unquenchable desire to increase his own wealth and power, inability to remember his employees' names (including Homer's, despite frequent interactions—which has become a recurring joke) and lack of concern for their safety and well-being. Reflecting on his advanced age, Mr. Burns is given to expressing dated humor, making references toJazz Age popular culture, and aspiring to apply obsolete technology to everyday life.Conan O'Brien has called Mr. Burns his favorite character to have written for, due to his arbitrarily old age and extreme wealth.
Mr. Burns's trademark expression is the word "Excellent...", muttered slowly in a low, sinister voice while steepling his fingertips. He occasionally orders Smithers to "release the hounds", so as to let his vicious guard dogs attack any intruders, enemies, or even invited guests. Mr. Burns isSpringfield's richest and most powerful citizen (and also the richest person in Springfield's state; his currentnet worth has been given as $1.3 billion[5] byForbes, though it fluctuates wildly depending on the episode). He uses his power and wealth to do whatever he wants, usually without regard for consequences and without interference from the authorities. These qualities ledWizard magazine to rate him the 45th-greatest villain of all time.TV Guide named him #2 in their 2013 list of the 60 nastiest villains of all time.[6] In 2016,Rolling Stone ranked him #8 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time".[7]
Mr. Burns spends much of his time in his office at the nuclear plant, monitoring his workers viaclosed-circuitcameras installed throughout the plant. In "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble", Mr. Burns revealed that he was the youngest of a wealthy family with eleven children, and all his siblings died of suspicious causes (mostly related to eating poisonedbaked potatoes), leading to him receiving the entire family fortune, although another episode reveals that his surviving younger brother isGeorge Burns. At an early age, Mr. Burns left his family to live with a twisted and heartless billionaire who owned an "atom mill" in Shelbyville (implied to be his grandfather).[8][9] He lived a life of privilege and would amuse himself by injuringimmigrant laborers.[10] Mr. Burns later attendedYale University, where he studied science and business, joinedSkull and Bones, competed in the "etherweight" wrestling class, and graduated in the class of 1914. At his 25-yearcollege reunion, he became romantically involved with the daughter of an old flame. She would later bear his child,Larry Burns, who was placed foradoption and would later enter Mr. Burns's life briefly.[11] Mr. Burns has been engaged at least three times: to a woman named Gertrude who died of loneliness andrabies,[12] toMarge Simpson's motherJacqueline Bouvier,[13] and to ameter maid named Gloria.[14]
He later enlisted in theU.S. Army and served as a member of Springfield'sFlying Hellfish squad underMaster SergeantAbraham Simpson and saw action in theArdennes during theBattle of the Bulge.[15] During the war, Mr. Burns, Abraham Simpson (father of Homer Simpson and grandfather to Lisa, Bart, and Maggie Simpson) and some of the soldiers found an expensive portrait in a manor in Germany. They locked it in a case and stated the last surviving member would get the painting (he and Abraham tied when the owner's descendant came back for the painting). Later on, he was shipped to thePacific Theater and was a co-pilot along with Abe Simpson and his brother, Cyrus. Mr. Burns and Abe were shot down by akamikaze and stuck on an island. Curiously, in the episode "American History X-cellent", Burns is arrested forart theft, and while he is getting his belongings checked at the prison, a prison guard finds a card that he mistakes as a Social Security card. Burns then yells out "That's just anSS card you dummkopf!" According to The Simpsons Wiki, after Germany had invaded Poland, Burns joined the SS but later defected, and then started service for theUS Army. At the end of World War II, he was personally hired by PresidentHarry S. Truman to transport a specially printed trillion-dollar bill to Europe as the United States' contribution to thereconstruction of Europe. As the United States' richest citizen, Mr. Burns was thought to be the most trustworthy. However, he absconded with the bill and kept it in his possession for many years until it was lost toFidel Castro in "The Trouble with Trillions". In "Homer the Smithers", it is revealed that Mr. Burns's mother is still alive aged 122 years, although Mr. Burns dislikes speaking to her because she had an affair with PresidentWilliam Howard Taft and she refers to him as an "improvident lackwit". Furthermore, because she is so old, the only things she can do (according to Smithers) are pick up the phone, dial, and yell.
Mr. Burns resides in a vast, ornatemansion on an immense estate calledBurns Manor, on the corner ofMammon andCroesus Streets. It is protected by a high wall, anelectrified fence, and a pack of viciousattack dogs known as "TheHounds". Mr. Burns routinely subjects Springfield and its residents to his abuse and a general dislike of him subsists throughout the town. Mr. Burns hasblackmailed andbribed various officials in Springfield, includingMayor Quimby and theNuclear Regulatory Commission. He employed his wealth to make an ultimately unsuccessful run forgovernor to prevent his plant from being closed for safety violations, only to be denied his chance to be Governor byMarge Simpson. He once blocked out the sun to force Springfield residents to increase their use ofelectricity produced by his nuclear plant and was subsequently shot byMaggie when he tried to steal candy from her.[16]
In "Rosebud" from Season 5, his birthday is given as September 15. Mr. Burns's extreme old age is a frequent source of humor on the show. He is occasionally referred to as "Springfield's oldest resident"; in Season 2's "Simpson and Delilah", he told Homer that he is 81, although, in several later episodes, he is shown to be 104.[1][17] When Smithers informs him that Mr. Burns's credit cardPIN is his age, he types four digits in his answer. It is also mentioned that half of his age is 78, making him 156 years old. WhenLisa Simpson is researching her ancestors from theAmerican Civil War, she comes across a Colonel Burns in the journal, presumably one of Mr. Burns's earlier ancestors. However, when Lisa mentions him, Mr. Burns replies by saying that he has not heard his father's name in years. The episode reveals that Mr. Burns's father was aslaveowningSouthern plantation owner who inspired the characterSimon Legree fromHarriet Beecher Stowe's novelUncle Tom's Cabin, and that Homer and Grampa are descended from Colonel Burns'srunaway slave Virgil who fled toBritish Canada with Mabel Simpson on theUnderground Railroad. In other episodes, Mr. Burns's birthplace is apparentlyPangea, his national anthem implies he was both fromAustria-Hungary and unaware of its collapse inWorld War I, and he mentions the possibility of an update on theSiege of Khartoum, implying that he was aware of current events as early as 1884. In other episodes, he has instructed a postal clerk to send a telegram to thePrussian consulate inSiam viaautogyro, and believes anickel will buy "asteak and kidney pie, a cup ofcoffee, a slice ofcheesecake and anewsreel, with enough change left over to ride the trolley fromBattery Park to thePolo Grounds."[18] Mr. Burns frequently answers the telephone with the archaic salutation "Ahoy-hoy", which was proposed byAlexander Graham Bell, but has long since been superseded by "Hello".[19] In "The Old Man and the Lisa", Mr. Burns'sinvestment portfolio is revealed to consist of long-defunct and obsolete companies such as "ConfederatedSlave Holdings", and he learns about theWall Street Crash of 1929 and theGreat Depression for the first time after checking a very oldstock-ticker.
Mr. Burns's state of mind is the subject of frequent jokes on the show. At times, he appears to be completely removed from reality and modern conventions. He continually fails to recognizeHomer Simpson or remember his name, even though many of the recent major events in Mr. Burns's life have involved Homer in some way. Mr. Burns is, for the most part, unaware of the townspeople's general dislike of him. He also displays mannerisms that are considered outdated, such as practicingphrenology, writing with aquill pen, and using an antiqueview camera to take photographs. He is also angered when Springfield Elementary children mock his dated car, saying it was "the first car to outrun a man!" Mr. Burns refers to many celebrities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the present tense, assuming they are still alive. In "Homer at the Bat", Mr. Burns instructs Smithers to recruitdead-ball-era players, such asHonus Wagner andCap Anson for the plant's softball team, and has to be told that all of them died long ago. He also once rewarded Homer for being the first to arrive at work with a ticket to the1939 World's Fair. However, despite his obvious senility and social ineptitude, Mr. Burns is an extraordinarily clever businessman, as he has lost his fortune several times, only to regain it a very brief time later. In the episode "The Old Man and the Lisa", Mr. Burns loses his fortune and regains it by opening arecycling plant, which allows him to regain his nuclear power plant. Additionally, in the episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", Mr. Burns loses both his fortune and nuclear power plant to theRich Texan after losing a scavenger hunt, but eventually gains both back after a series of events that includes him briefly working atMoe's Tavern.
Mr. Burns is physically weak and emaciated and is often shown to have little more strength than an infant. In "The Mansion Family", doctors at theMayo Clinic discover that Mr. Burns has contracted every known human disease, as well as several that were discovered during his checkup, but that they have canceled each other out in a condition they call "Three Stooges syndrome;" although a doctor warns him that his physical health is extremely fragile and that "even a slight breeze" could upset the balance between his diseases, Mr. Burns misinterprets his condition to believe that he is invincible. In the intro ofThe Simpsons Movie, Mr. Burns is seen in his bathroom trying to brush his teeth. After Smithers applies the toothpaste onto his brush, he falls over. In "Rosebud" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", he needed a great deal of effort to wrench items from Maggie. He has difficulty performing such simple actions as giving athumbs-up, and crushing aninsect by stepping on it, or using a door-knocker. In one instance, when he is told to jump out of his burning mansion onto alife net, he drops at the speed of a feather, floats onto somepower lines, and is electrified. He pitched the openingbaseball at a game in "Dancin' Homer", but was only able to throw it a small distance, which drew mocking laughter from the crowd. When Mr. Burns joined Homer'sbowling team in "Team Homer", he was barely able to roll the ball down the lane. In season five's "Burns' Heir", Smithers puts a sponge on Mr. Burns's head before leaving the bathroom, causing him to nearly drown in the tub from its weight. In "Lady Bouvier's Lover", however, he shows himself as a lively, excellent dancer.
Mr. Burns also had ateddy bear named "Bobo" that he loved as a child, revealed in the episode "Rosebud". The stuffed animal was lost and eventually, the stuffed bear became a toy for Maggie. In "American History X-cellent", Mr. Burns gets sent to jail because he is in possession of stolen paintings. In the same episode, it is implied that he was once in theSS. Another episode has him exclaim that he andOskar Schindler had much in common, as they both made shells for theNazis, "but mine worked, damn it!"
Mr. Burns's character, appearance, and mannerisms are based on several different people. The show's creatorMatt Groening principally based Mr. Burns on his high school teacher Mr. Bailey.[21] Drawing further inspiration from oil tycoonJohn D. Rockefeller and his grandsonDavid Rockefeller, Groening made Mr. Burns the "embodiment of corporate greed".[20] AnimatorDavid Silverman modeled Mr. Burns's appearance onFox founderBarry Diller, and modeled his body on a prayingmantis.[20] The idea of Mr. Burns reading employee names off cards in "There's No Disgrace Like Home" came from an article aboutRonald Reagan that writerAl Jean had read.[22] In some episodes, parallels have been drawn between Mr. Burns and moguls such asHoward Hughes and, more frequently, fictional characterCharles Foster Kane fromCitizen Kane.[23] WriterGeorge Meyer lifted Mr. Burns's "Excellent!" hand gesture from his formerSaturday Night Live colleagueJim Downey.[24] While perhaps not intentional, Mr. Burns's physical characteristics and mannerisms are cited as a modern example of thecommedia dell'arte characterPantalone.[25][26]
Al Jean revealed on a DVD commentary track thatSam Simon used his father's nickname, Monty, when he named Mr. Burns.[27][28] Matt Groening claimed that Mr. Burns's middle name is from aMontgomery Ward department store inPortland,Oregon'sNorthwest Industrial district[29] and his surname is from Burnside Street, a main thoroughfare in Portland.[20] Mr. Burns's first name, Charles, is a reference to Charles Foster Kane.[20] The names Plantagenet and Schicklgruber appear to refer to theHouse of Plantagenet andAlois Schicklgruber, the father ofAdolf Hitler. In the script for "There's No Disgrace Like Home", Al Jean andMike Reiss referred to him as "Mr. Meanie".[22] In the second season, the writers started to enjoy writing aboutSmithers and Mr. Burns's relationship, and they often pitched episodes with them as the focus, but many never came to fruition.[30]
Mr. Burns was originally voiced byChristopher Collins in the episodes "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Homer's Odyssey", "There's No Disgrace Like Home" and "The Telltale Head".[32] He was soon replaced byHarry Shearer becauseSam Simon found Collins "difficult to work with". Shearer re-recorded Mr. Burns for all the above episodes and has voiced the character since.[31]
Shearer modeled the voice onLionel Barrymore andRonald Reagan.[31] Shearer is also the voice ofSmithers and is able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take.[33] Shearer said he found Mr. Burns the most difficult character to voice because it is rough on his vocal cords and he often needs to drink tea and honey to soothe his voice.[34] He said Mr. Burns was his favorite character: "I like Mr. Burns because he is pure evil. A lot of evil people make the mistake of diluting it. Never adulterate your evil."[35] In 2014, Shearer won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his performance on "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" for voicing Mr. Burns.[36]
In 2006,Wizard rated Mr. Burns the 45th-greatest villain of all time.[37] They also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple".[38] In a 2003 article,EW also named "Last Exit to Springfield" the greatest episode ofThe Simpsons. Other episodes which feature Mr. Burns placed on the list, including "Rosebud", at number two, and the two-part episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", at number 25.[38]Vanity Fair placed "Rosebud" first on their list of the top 25Simpsons episodes.[39]
Forbes estimates Mr. Burns's net worth at $1.3 billion, placing 12th on the 2008Forbes Fictional 15 list.[40] Mr. Burns has been on the list since 1989 and has previously placed fifth in 2005,[41] second in 2006[42] and sixth in 2007 when he was estimated to be worth $16.8 billion.[43] Mr. Burns's evil has made him a popular example of terrible television bosses. In 2006, outplacement firmChallenger, Gray & Christmas released a report saying that Mr. Burns was one of the eight worst bosses on television.[44]The News & Observer named Mr. Burns the third worst boss, calling him "heartless, greedy and exceptionally ugly, Mr. Burns makesEbenezer Scrooge seem downright lovely."[45]
In the run-up to the New York City's2009 mayoral election, several posters appeared throughout the city, showing Mr. Burns and accompanied by the words "No Third Terms, Vote for Burns"—a reference to MayorMichael Bloomberg's run for a third term that year—in the style ofShepard Fairey'sObama poster. The city's Board of Elections announced that December that Mr. Burns had received 27 write-in votes out of 299 write-in votes cast.[46] As the chief of "Springfield Republican Party" Mr. Burns endorsedMitt Romney in the 2012 US presidential election.[47] TheIG Group, a financial corporation in theCity of London, use a recording of Mr. Burns's catchphrase "Excellent" as an alert that an order has been completed.[48]
Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber Burns.
Oh, Monty, this must be the son I've heard so much about.
Bibliography
