Difference between revisions of "Gil Gunderson"

Latest revision as of 11:07, April 25, 2024

Gil Gunderson Artwork of Gil from The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Character Information Gender: Male ♂ Status: Alive Hair: Gray Occupation: Various Relatives: Ex-wife: Shirley[1] Wife: Elizabeth Hoover[2] First appearance: "Realty Bites" Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta v • d • e • h

Gil Gunderson (usually referred to as Ol' Gil or Gil) is an unsuccessful and unlucky businessman of Springfield.

Biography[edit]

Gil seems to have attended Southern Illinois University, but ended up a few credits short of graduation.^[3][4]

Gil has held many different jobs, all of which he eventually quits because something bad happens to him: For example, being shot in his first day as a bank security guard.

Gil frequently refers to himself in the third person ("C'mon, help ol' Gil out here!"). He has a tendency to punch people violently in the arm while trying to tell a story. Gil has been married, as evidenced by his mentioning that his wife was going to leave him if he didn't start "bringing in the green". Later, when he telephoned his wife and overheard her carousing with his friend, he didn't have the heart to stop her.

He has several health problems, including bronchitis and a bad back. He's also a strong moocher, and is adept at piano singalongs.^[5]

Among the large number of jobs Gil has had is real estate agent. When Marge started working as a realtor, Lionel Hutz told her, "Welcome to the big league, Marge. There's over fifty years of experience right in this room! And forty-two of those years are Gil's!", which seemed to imply that before he ran into Marge, Gil actually kept professions.^[6] He used to be a salesman, but he didn't sell any cars. He was almost going to sell one to Homer, but another salesman took his sale.^[7] He has sometimes tried to be a lawyer, like when he assisted Marge with her anti-sugar campaign, one of his few successful jobs,^[8] though it was not the same when Homer and Marge went to prison.^[9] He once worked at the Kwik-E-Mart, but he slipped and hurt his leg.^[10] He used to work at The Springfield Shopper, trying to sell newspaper subscriptions, but one of the customers on the phone told him to dance for it. Although that person couldn't see Gil, he danced anyway, desperate to sell something.^[11] He tried pitching a product for Amway - a multi-level marketing company - during an AA meeting after supposedly losing three jobs in two days.^[12] He was a "Coleco" computer salesman, asking the school to buy lots of computers to help "Ol' Gil".^[13]

One of his most miserable jobs was one as a bank security guard, where he was shot several times by robbers just as he was entering the bank for his first day of work.^[14]

Gil as a Mall Santa

Another of the few successful moments Gil has enjoyed is when he won a crossword contest, but only because he fooled Lisa by making her take his glasses, which he didn't actually need.^[1]

Gil has had several homes. He once lived at the Springfield Men's Mission (a hostel for down-and-outs) but was forceably ejected from the premises because he had overstayed the "six month occupancy limit." A defiant Gil walked straight into a shady organ donation clinic to sell his eyes for cash.^[15] Gil used to live in a hot-air balloon, which was stolen by Homer and Marge. Gil's lone possession in the balloon is a hot plate (on which he still had two more payments to make).^[16] Gil has also been living in a storage locker.^[17] He was once seen climbing out of a sewer before remembering that he lived there.^[18]

Gil once attempted suicide by hanging himself with Christmas lights. He appears later ice skating near Homer's house with the Christmas lights around his neck.^[19]

Gil nearly hit Snowball V in his car (just before Lisa adopted her), missing her and hitting a tree instead. Lisa saw the near-accident as a sign of good luck and decided to keep the cat, but Gil was left with a smashed-up and burning car. He still danced around celebrating, though, saying that thanks to insurance he'd be eating that night.^[20]

Relationships[edit]

Gil joined a conspiracy group looking for Slow Leonard, who had gone missing from the Springfield Zoo. Elizabeth Hoover was also part of the group. When the two both reached for a ball of Mrs. McClellan's Evidence Yarn, their fingers locked together and the two fell in love with each other. They then eventually got married, with the rest of the group being guests at the wedding. When they found out that Slow Leonard had been found, the group was going to disband, and Gil and Miss Hoover decided that their relationship wouldn't work. However, they then decided to give their relationship a go.^[2]

Non-canon[edit]

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

Gil has also been seen as a farmer. He had a thriving field of corn which would have yielded a bumper crop, but unfortunately, it was completely devoured by Homer's clones. The clones then ate Gil.^[21]

In The Simpsons Road Rage, Gil appears as a pedestrian throughout Springfield and can be run over.

In The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Gil works as a car salesman and in all levels the player character can buy vehicles from him.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out[edit]

This section is transcluded from The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/Special characters. To edit it, please edit the transcluded page.

Gil Gunderson Image Cost Unlock method Unlock message N/A Only shows up for Gil offers (Temporary) N/A Technical Information ID Groups Internal Name 45 N/A Gil Action Offers items for sale

Behind the Laughter[edit]

Gil is based on Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in the 1992 film adaptation of David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross: a nervous, middle-aged man with the inability to hold a steady job due to strings of misfortunes that tend to hit him at the worst times.

Foreign dubs[edit]

Language Voice dubber Čeština Jiří Plachý Italiano Nino D'Agata (season 9) Teo Bellia (seasons 10 - 17) Luca Dal Fabbro (seasons 18+) Enrico Di Troia ('Lisa Gets an "A"') Edoardo Nordio ('Day of the Jackanapes') Massimiliano Plinio ('Treehouse of Horror XIII')

Appearances[edit]

References[edit]

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to Gil Gunderson.

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