Difference between revisions of "Richard Nixon (character)"

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Richard Nixon (1913-1994) was a former President of the United States who twice appeared as a character on The Simpsons.

Biography

Nixon was the 37th President of the U.S., serving from 1969 to 1974. He was also the 36th Vice President, serving in that office from 1953 to 1961. Nixon holds the historical distinctions of being the only President to resign from office and the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and Vice Presidency. After his time as President, Nixon became a prolific author and an elder statesman in the area of foreign affairs, being consulted by both Republican and Democratic successors to the Presidency. He died of a stroke in 1994.

On The Simpsons

Richard Nixon received an honorary degree from Springfield A&M, conferred on him by the school mascot Sir Oinks-A-Lot. Nixon remained a supporter of both the school and the pig. When Sir Oinks-A-Lot was kidnapped as a prank by Springfield University students, Nixon was one of the pig's "powerful friends" who exerted influence on the Springfield University dean to expel the pranksters.^[1]

Mr. Burns said he let Nixon beat him at golf in 1974, apparently because he felt sorry for Nixon. Burns said that Nixon "just looked so forlorn" and was concerned about possibly going to jail.^[2]

Non-Canon

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

When Homer was put on trial for his soul by the Devil Flanders, Nixon was summoned to appear as a member of the Devil's hand-picked "Jury of the Damned." Nixon protested that he wasn't dead yet (and had just written an article for Redbook), but agreed to serve after the Devil reminded him that he owed the Devil a favor. ^[3]

Historical Notes

Nixon's and Burns' golf game probably would have taken place while Nixon was still in office, or shortly after he resigned. Nixon formally resigned from the Presidency on August 9, 1974, after announcing his resignation in a televised speech the evening of August 8. Before that, he was dealing with the Watergate scandal, which led to his resignation. He would certainly have been concerned about going to jail, and quite possibly would have looked forlorn enough to move Burns to let him win at golf. On September 8, Nixon received a full pardon from his successor Gerald Ford, which eliminated the possibility of his going to jail. The same day he was pardoned, Nixon suffered a severe attack of phlebitis, from which he didn't fully recover until early 1975 and which probably would have prevented him from playing golf.

Nixon was in fact still alive at the time of his appearances on The Simpsons, but died just a few months after the episodes in which he appeared first aired.

Appearances

• Episode – "Homer Goes to College"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror IV"
• Episode – "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" (Mentioned)

External Links

• Richard Nixon at Wikipedia

References