Moe Szyslak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Simpsons character | |
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| Moe (your Momma) Szyslak | |
| Age | 44 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Curly and black, later grey |
| Job | Owner and proprietor of Moe's Tavern |
| Relatives | Mother: (unnamed) |
| First appearance | "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |
| Voice actor | Hank Azaria, Christopher Collins |
Morris "Moe" Lester Szyslak (pronounced /'sɪz.læk/) is a fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Hank Azaria. Moe is the proprietor and bartender of "Moe's Tavern", a Springfield bar frequented by Barney Gumble, Homer Simpson, Carl Carlson, Lenny Leonard and others.
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[edit] Biography
- See also: Moe's Tavern
Moe's ancestry is of uncertain origin, being noted throughout the series as Polish, Italian, and Dutch. His ancestors supposedly included the bartenders of the Russian tsar [1]. In the episode Springfield Up, Moe reveals to Declan Desmond that his father was a circus freak but he never knew him. He also revealed that as a child, he lived with his mother.
Moe Szyslak either immigrated to the United States [2] or was born in Indiana [3]. As a child, he played the part of "Smelly", a tough kid, on The Little Rascals until he killed Alfalfa for stealing his bit and was fired. At some unspecified time during his childhood, his parents dropped him off at summer camp, never to return to pick him up. [4] As a young man, Moe became a professional boxer, going by the names "Kid Gorgeous", "Kid Presentable", "Kid Gruesome", and "Kid Moe". Moe blames his boxing career for making him ugly. According to Moe, his boxing career ended because of politics, and because he was knocked out 40 times in a row. Moe's ugliness caused him to audition unsuccessfully for a part in "It Never Ends," a soap opera. His current appearance has been described as consiting of "cauliflower ear, lizard lips, little rat eyes, caveman brow and fish snout" in Pygmoelian.
After attending bartending school at Swigmore University (a play on Swarthmore College), Moe opened up his own drinking establishment, "Moe's Tavern." [5] As an adult, Moe's life centers around running Moe's Tavern where, except for the few instances where he hires temporary help, he is the only employee. His most loyal customer is Barney Gumble, with other regulars including Homer Simpson, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Sam, and Larry. Moe is notoriously cheap with his customers, refusing to give them free drinks, or throwing them out when they are out of money.
Moe generally serves Duff beer on tap, having little knowledge of liquors or wines; the liquor bottles visible behind the bar are said to be "painted on," and in one instance, he unknowingly sells a bottle of Château Latour for a few dollars. He enthusiastically abandons his bar, its regular customers, and his friends when a better opportunity comes along, such as the drink "The Flaming Moe", the opening of his postmodern bar "M", and the conversion of his bar into a family-themed restaurant called Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag.
Moe is often engaged in shady or illegal activities at his tavern, including smuggling pandas and orcas, hosting Russian roulette games, operating an unlicensed casino, serving liquor without a license (his expired in 1973), running a speakeasy during Springfield's brief flirtation with Prohibition, and performing unlicensed surgery in his bar.
Moe's temperament is characterized by a short, violent temper, coupled with homicidal and suicidal tendencies and a proclivity towards obsessive behaviors. These traits are exhibited in his behavior, including frequently attempting suicide (including an annual attempt on Christmas), keeping an enemies list nearly identical to that of Richard Nixon, assuming a leading role in many of Springfield's angry mobs, kidnapping Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne, using his b-boy skills for self-defense, shooting at Carl with a shotgun, robbing Homer of expensive pants, keeping Hans Moleman under his bar's floorboards in a subterranean torture chamber, perpetrating insurance fraud ("Dumbbell Indemnity"), and stalking various townspeople.
Moe has a strained love life due to his vulgarity towards women and his ugly appearance. Despite this, Moe has had a number of romantic experiences, including sleeping with his bartender Collette [6], planning to elope with Edna Krabappel [7], dating a woman named Renee [8], dating a woman named Betty [9], and enjoying the company of many women after he had plastic surgery to correct his ugly appearance. [10] He has long been infatuated with Marge Simpson and has on occasion professed his love for her and tried to win her away from Homer. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Moe's romantic attractions have resulted in criminal behavior and run-ins with the law; he has stalked Maude Flanders and other townspeople, he must register as a sex offender, and he had a restraining order placed upon him. At one point he is seen on his way to a "V.D. clinic".[16] Moe has also proposed marriage to a WNBA mascot, even knowing that the character inside the mascot is a male, Gil.
On occasion, Moe expresses genuine love and sentimentality. He has a cat named Mr. Snookums, of whom he is very fond. Moe is also kind towards the rats that live in his bar. On Wednesday nights, he reads to the homeless in a local soup kitchen and he also reads to sick children at the hospital. Until it was destroyed, Moe had a fondness for a jar of pickled eggs. He saved the owner of King Toot's music store and his wife from a flaming car. He saved the life of Maggie Simpson and took efforts to protect her. Moe engaged in charity work in South America or Africa, using a flying fan to fight forest fires and deliver medical supplies to peoples devastated by floods. Moe has demonstrated knowledge of automobiles [17] and dancing.
[edit] Prank calls
In the early years of The Simpsons, Moe was the frequent target of Bart Simpson's prank phone calls. Bart would call Moe's Tavern and ask for an individual by his or her name. Unbeknownst to Moe, the name was a double entendre. When Moe would call aloud the individual's name (always in the context that makes the double entendre funny -- for example, "Hey, fellas, I need Amanda Hugginkiss!"), the bar's patrons would laugh and Moe, realizing he had been had, would utter a series of threats into the phone. Some of the names used by Bart in these phone calls include:
- Al Coholic ("Alcoholic")
- Oliver Clothesoff ("All of her clothes off")
- I.P. Freely ("I pee freely")
- Jacques Strap ("Jock strap")
- Seymour Butz ("See more butts")
- Homer Sexual ("Homosexual")
- Mike Rotch("My crotch")
- Hugh Jass ("Huge ass" This actually backfired on Bart when a man with the same name answered the call)
- Bea O'Problem ("B.O. problem")
- Amanda Hugginkiss ("A man to hug and kiss")
- Olly Tabugar ("I'll eat a booger") (when Homer was running the tavern)
- Heywood U. Cuddleme ("Hey would you cuddle me") (via morse code)
- Ivanna Tinkle ("I wanna tinkle")
Bart's prank calls were essentially self-parodied on Treehouse of Horror II when Moe called out "Uh, hey, everybody! I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt."
When Moe acted as a substitute teacher at Springfield Elementary School, he unknowingly took attendance aloud in a similar manner, calling for students Anita Bath ("I need a bath") and Maya Butreeks ("My butt reeks"). [18]
Moe has received calls from others, including from Homer Simpson, asking for Eura Snotball ("You're a snotball"). Moe said the phrase out loud, which prompted Homer to threaten him in the same manner Moe threatens Bart. One occasion, he has misinterpreted honest queries to be prank phone calls, including Mr. Burns asking for Waylon Smithers and Marge Simpson, as a child, asking the child Moe for Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabbar (young Homer's pseudonym). Also in one episode Moe mistakes Tom Wolfe for a prank call although it is not clear why.
[edit] Origin of character
Moe's character was based on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch as well as comedian Rich Hall.[citation needed] Hank Azaria stated that Moe's voice was based on that of Al Pacino's character in Dog Day Afternoon with a raspy tinge, and a bar going by the name Moe's Tavern can be seen opposite the bank in the film. According the commentary to "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" (Part 1), the creators used the last name 'Szyslak' (which they got from a phonebook) so the character would have the initials M.S., and hence could be a suspect in the Burns shooting.
