Rich "Uncle" Pennybags is the round old man in a top hat who serves as the mascot of the game Monopoly. Rich "Uncle" Pennybags was rechristened Mr. Monopoly (the nickname by which he was already popularly known) in a Hasbro marketing effort in 1999. He also is known as Whiff from all the casino slot machines. He also appears in the related games Advance to Boardwalk, Free Parking, Don't Go To Jail, Monopoly City, Monopoly Junior, and Monopoly Deal.
The character first appeared on Chance and Community Chest cards in U.S. editions of Monopoly in 1936. The identity of the artist who designed the character has remained a mystery. Historian and author Philip Orbanes wrote in 2004 that it is believed that the character is based on either the calling cards of Albert Edward Richardson (Parker Brothers' first traveling salesman), the character of "Little Esky" from Esquire magazine, or a combination of the two. Orbanes later wrote, in 2006, that the character was also partially influenced by the stature and dress of financier and banker J. P. Morgan.
The unnamed character made his first appearance outside of Monopoly within the Parker Brothers' game Dig, released before the U.S. entered World War II. The character did not receive a name until 1933 when the game Rich Uncle was published by Parker Brothers. His likeness appeared on that game's box lid, game instructions, and currency.
Between 1985 and 2008, the character appeared in the second "O" in the word Monopoly as part of the game's logo. While this logo has generally been adopted worldwide, the character still only appears on only original U.S. versions, though not in certain themed releases.
In 1988, Orbanes published the first edition of his book The Monopoly Companion. In the book, all of the characters that appear on the Monopoly board or within the decks of cards received a name. Uncle Pennybags' full name was given as Milburn Pennybags, the character "In Jail" is named "Jake the Jailbird", and the police officer on Go to Jail is named "Officer Edgar Mallory".
In 1999, Rich Uncle Pennybags was renamed Mr. Monopoly. During the same year, a Monopoly Jr. CD-ROM game was released within cereal boxes as part of a General Mills promotion. This game introduced Mr. Monopoly's niece and nephew, Sandy and her brother Andy.
According to the book, Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game & How It Got That Way and The Monopoly Companion, Mr. Monopoly has a second nephew named Randy, although it should be noted the Monopoly Companion mistakenly refers to Sandy as a boy. Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game & How It Got That Way also states that Mr. Monopoly has a wife named Madge.[1][2] He is named as the sixth richest fictional character in the 2006 Forbes Fictional 15 list on its website and the ninth richest in 2011.[3]
Rich Uncle Pennybags has influenced or been parodied in popular culture. The movies Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Mr. Deeds, featured characters who resemble Rich Uncle Pennybags, prompting the main characters to refer to each of them as "The Monopoly Guy". An animated character resembling Rich Uncle Pennybags has appeared numerous times in The Simpsons, often alongside fellow aristocrat Montgomery Burns. These episodes include "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" and "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love". A 1986 Saturday Night Live sketch featured Jon Lovitz portraying Mr. Monopoly as a criminal lawyer who used his "Get out of Jail Free" cards to constantly frustrate the police.
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