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Carlton "Carl" Carlson is the supervisor of Sector 7-G at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and the best friend of Lenny Leonard.

Carl is an African-Icelandic-American, and a Buddhist with a master's degree in nuclear physics, fond of bowling and drinking at Moe's Tavern. Carl demonstrated his talent for science and is frequently said to be among the most attractive men in Springfield. It is suggested that he might be diabetic.

There is a constant allusion to homo-eroticism in Lenny's and Carl's relationship, although no one seems to care much about it. Lenny dreamily recalled carving "Mount Carlmore", a huge bust of Carl in the side of a hill, during "one wonderful summer". When Homer asks Lenny what Carl thought of it, Lenny replies "You know, we've never discussed it.

Carl was given up for adoption when he was too young to remember his parents. His biological father was Wyatt, a man who was descended from cowboys and became a bull rider. Wyatt's ancestor Ellis was a slave at a ranch in Texas before he was freed and became a cowboy. When Carl was given up for adoption, the only thing he had from his birth parents was a belt buckle with an engraving of his father fighting against a bull. Carl was adopted by an Icelandic couple, Carl Carlson, Sr. and Sigrin Siguðardóttir.