Jasper Beardley
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| The Simpsons character | |
 |
|
| Jasper Beardley | |
| Age | 79 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | White |
| Job | Retired, living at Springfield Retirement Castle |
| Relatives | Granddaughter: Megan |
| First appearance | Homer's Odyssey |
| Voice actor | Harry Shearer |
Jasper Beardley is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is one of the more elderly residents of Springfield, and a resident of Springfield Retirement Castle, along with Abe Simpson and Old Jewish Man. His most distinguishing trait and the origin of his name is his waist-long beard. He is voiced by Harry Shearer.
[edit] History
According to "The Sweetest Apu", Jasper is a veteran of World War II. Jasper also tried to avoid the draft by disguising himself as a woman and staying in Springfield to play in the local women's baseball league, along with his friend Abe, who was also avoiding the war.
Jasper unsuccessfully auditioned for The Be Sharps (Homer's Barbershop Quartet) by singing "Theme From A Summer Place".
It is implied that Jasper is slowly going blind. This ailment was once cured by a laser fired by a house's security protection equipment, but he was blinded again almost immediately. He accepted this very quickly: "Oh well. Easy come, easy go." Despite the sight problem, Jasper is both a light sleeper and is still quick with his reflexes. When Abe Simpson tried to steal Jasper's dentures one night, Jasper turned on the light immediately and, with a gun aimed at Abe, foiled the nocturnal theft.
Also, in the episode The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show, when everyone comes to watch the show, Jasper looks down to Bart and asks "Hey little girl, is this seat taken?" Bart replies angrily with "I'm not a little girrrl!! Are you blind?!" In which Jasper replies sadly with "Yes.."
Jasper was shot in his artificial leg, by Waylon Smithers, on the same night of the nearly fatal shooting of Mr. Burns. He also claimed to have "broke" his beard during a Death Race accident with Abe Simpson and Old Jewish Man and even managed to get his beard stuck in a pencil sharpener while substituting for the striking teachers of Springfield Elementary.
Jasper was put in crude "suspended animation" in the Kwik-E-Mart's freezer, and under advice from Dr. Nick Riviera, Apu kept him frozen. When Jasper's frozen form became popular with customers, Apu started exploiting the spectacle, and transformed the Kwik-E-Mart into a special interest store dealing with weird items, or perfectly ordinary ones which had been made out to be abnormal (for example, a cash machine that dispenses pictures of "dead presidents"). Jasper (or "Frostillicus," as Apu renamed him) was accidentally unfrozen, and stepped out into what he thought was a future world, just as Apu was considering selling him to the Rich Texan.
A deleted and thus non-canon scene from the episode "In Marge We Trust," contained on the The Simpsons Eighth Season DVD, reveals that Jasper preceded Reverend Lovejoy as minister at the Simpsons' church in Springfield.
[edit] Jasper's Paddling Rules
When The PTA Disbands, Jasper briefly becomes a substitute teacher at Springfield Elementary, where he establishes his own set of rules:
- "Talking out of turn...that's a paddling."
- "Looking out the window...that's a paddling."
- "Staring at my sandals...that's a paddling."
- "Paddling the school canoe...ooh, you better believe that's a paddling."
