Barney Gumble

Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is the town drunk of Springfield and one of Homer Simpson's friends. His loud belches and desperation for alcohol serve as frequent sources of humor on the show, though Barney sobered up in the Season 11 episode "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" before relapsing three years later. Barney was inspired by the cartoon character Barney Rubble from The Flintstones and by several barflies from other television programs. In 2004, Castellaneta won an Emmy Award for voicing various characters, including Barney. Barney can be seen in The Simpsons opening credits since 2009, passed out under a pile of leaves (but still holding his beloved bottle of Duff Beer) and being awoken by Bart Simpson skateboarding over his stomach, causing him to let out his trademark belch. Role in The Simpsons Barney's father, Arnie Gumble, was a World War II veteran who died in 1979 in a parade float accident. Little is known about his mother, except that she lives in Norway and that she served in the United States Navy, including duty on a submarine. She is seen in the season nine episode "Simpson Tide". In "Treehouse of Horror XVII", Barney stated that he was Polish, after mistakenly saying he was Irish in a drunken stupor. Barney was born on April 20 (which Homer remembers is also Hitler's birthday in "Viva Ned Flanders") In "A Star Is Burns", Barney states that he is 40 years old. Several episodes, starting with The Way We Was, depict him as Homer's best friend in high school. In the episode "$pringfield", he claims that he studied dance for several years, including modern and tap.