Difference between revisions of "Gary Chalmers"

Revision as of 11:56, November 11, 2011

This article has been nominated to be a featured article! Vote for it here.

"Skinneeeeer!!!."

―Superintendent Chalmers' catchphrase

Super-duperintendent Gary Chalmers is the super-duperintendent of Springfield's school district.

Biography

Early life

Chalmers originally hails from Utica, New York,^[4] but has also said that he comes from Queens, New York and Intercourse, Pennsylvania. He attended Ball State University and is a proud owner of a red 1979 Honda Accord (and later, a Camry, which Otto Man promptly wrecks).

Teaching days

Chalmers used to teach, until he supervised a group of detention students called The Fight Club and they beat him up when he mistakenly called them "The Breakfast Club". After this, he never taught again and only superintended. Years later, he ended up teaching Bart Simpson and several other students about Theodore Roosevelt when Principal Skinner challenged him to take over Bart's education.^[3]

Personality

Chalmers is a strict, no-nonsense, and largely humorless man, with a short temper and low tolerance for disorder or rule-breaking; his general manner and personality like that of a military officer. Whenever he visits Springfield Elementary, some sort of disaster strikes. He produces extreme anxiety in Principal Skinner, who offers increasingly improbable stories to explain what is happening. Chalmers is known for throwing open the doors to the room and bellowing "SKINNER!!!" or "SEYMOUR!!!", to which Seymour stammers "S-Superintendent Chalmers!". His catchphrase has caused some paranoia in Skinner.^[5] On a few occasions he says Skinner's name this way when absolutely nothing has gone wrong, implying that he probably pronounces Skinner's name this way out of habit.

Chalmers's own competence and dedication to his job are questionable. He let Ned Flanders allow the school to descend into anarchy when he was principal, freely admitting that he had fired Skinner for far less, explaining simply that "Skinner really bugged me." In fact, the only reason Chalmers even allowed Skinner to be reinstated as Principal that time was because Ned Flanders exposed himself to have introduced prayer into the school, and thus was fired as a result (namely because Chalmers feels that religion should never be placed within school walls just as school or government shouldn't be placed in church walls). He seems disturbingly unconcerned with the school's decline, saying that "the way America's public schools are sliding, they'll all be like this in a matter of months. I say enjoy it — it's a hell of a toboggan ride!" He also promotes people based on personal bias as opposed to actual competence, promoting Principal Holloway, described by Skinner as a "drunk" and Chalmers as a "pill-popper", to assistant superintendent, overlooking the efforts made by Skinner to improve his school's standing.

Chalmers with a bald head

When Springfield began erecting surveillance cameras around Springfield and 742 Evergreen Terrace is discovered to be a blind spot and transformed into a crowding place for rebellious activity, Superintendent Chalmers was spotted swinging nunchucks while prancing in a Tutu.^[6]

Romantic Interests

Chalmers once dated Agnes Skinner, much to Seymour's dismay ^[7] (although on other occasions he has mentioned being married). Later, it is revealed that Chalmers is a widower and his wife's name was Rosemary.^[3]

Seymour receives a note by carrier pigeon stating that Chalmers and Edna Krabappel are "doing it".^[8] He has also stated that he is dating one of the children's mothers that is in the Springfield Elementary band.^[9]

Chalmers's star sign is Sagittarius.^[10]

Hair

Chalmers used to have brown hair when he was a younger teacher^[11] however, he has now gone totally bald, his balding hairstyle is actually a toupee.^[1]

Non-canon

The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed.

Future

In one possible future, Chalmers is practically a vegetable, wheelchair-bound and only capable of saying his trademark line: "Skinner!"^[12]

In another possible future, Chalmers is leading a small army on the planet Rigel 7 to fight the Rigellians to get Hillarium, a liquid that makes everything funny. He is defeated after Bart makes him slap himself in a large robot suit he controls by movement and falls off a cliff.^[13]

Behind the Laughter

• In the DVD commentary for "22 Short Films About Springfield", Simpsons creators noted that Superintendent Chalmers seems to be one of the few "normal" characters on the show, and Chalmers is frequently alone in his awareness of the show's zaniness.
• His first name was revealed to be Gary in "Yokel Chords".

Appearances

References