His father, Arnie Gumble, died in a 1979 parade float accident along with Sheldon Skinner, Iggy Wiggum, Etch Westgrin, and Griff McDonald, all of whom had served in Abe Simpson's WWII squad, the Flying Helllfish. In 2004, Castellaneta won an Emmy Award for voicing various characters, including Barney.īarney was born on April 20, sharing his birthday with Adolf Hitler. Barney was inspired by the cartoon character Barney Rubble from The Flintstones and by several barflies from other television programs. Barney sobered up in the episode 'Days of Wine and D'oh'ses', which was co-written by Castellaneta, and stayed sober for several episodes.
His capacity for alcohol is a frequent butt of jokes on the show. He is the town drunk and he is obese because of it and he is Homer Simpson's best friend. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.
~ Barney Gumble's famous belching catchphraseīarnard Arnold 'Barney' Gumble is a recurring character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons.
