Leavelle
Leavelle
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Character Information
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Leavelle is a professional bodyguard trainer who owns and operates Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy. Judging by his accent, he seems to be from Texas.
At the Bodyguard Acadamy, Leavelle's teaching style is based on constantly berating the cadets, as seen when Homer took the training course. In the end, Leavelle let them pass, and rewarded the entire graduating class by singing for them an impromptu rendition of "I Will Always Love You", the theme song from The Bodyguard (although this seemed to be the students cue for them to leave, as his impromptu rendition was apparently was badly sung).
Behind the laughter
Leavelle appears to be based upon, and probably named after, Detective Jim Leavelle, who was tasked with protecting Lee Harvey Oswald when the Texas State Police were transporting him to the county jail after the assassination of President Kennedy. In the photograph of Oswald's murder, Leavelle is the large man in a white cowboy hat handcuffed to Oswald. The picture was taken just as Jack Ruby shot Oswald, mortally wounding him. The photo won a Pulitzer Prize and achieved iconic status, due in part to the shocked expression on Leavelle's face.
In the DVD commentary for the episode, Mark Hamill admitted that he really enjoyed doing the voice of Leavelle, and not so much on voicing himself.
Appearance
Episode – "Mayored to the Mob"
