Clancy Bouvier

“When that Simpson boy showed up, it took years off my life!”

―Clancy Bouvier in The Way We Was

Clarence "Clancy" Bouvier^[1]^[2], occasionally referred to as Grandpa Bouvier or Mr. Bouvier,^[3] was the husband of Jacqueline Bouvier, the father of Patty, Selma, and Marge Bouvier, the brother-in-law of the late Gladys Gurney, the son-in-law of Ferdinand Gurney and Alvarine Gurney, the father-in-law of Homer Simpson and the maternal grandfather of Ling Bouvier and Maggie, Lisa, and Bart. He was of French origin.^[4]^[5]

Biography

Like Patty and Selma, he was a chain-smoker. When he was first trying to catch his future wife's eye, he sent a box of candy with his photo in it to her. After that, she never forgot him. Marge suggested try the same thing when Homer was upset because Mr. Burns did not remember his name.^[6] Before his death, Clancy was the only recurring member of the Bouvier family to have no hatred of his son-in-law Homer and it has been hinted that he even supported the idea of him marrying his daughter Marge.

Jobs

Clancy Bouvier (2F08) — Clancy Bouvier as a flight attendant in "Fear of Flying"

He was one of the earliest male flight attendants, although he was ashamed of it. This was discovered when Marge boarded his plane to see her "pilot" father, but when she sees him performing stewardess duties, he barks at her not to look at him. This, along with several other plane-related mishaps, may have resulted in Marge's fear of flying.^[7] At some point, he also served in the United States Navy where he picked up a swearing problem, which nearly cost him his job as a baby photographer^[8].

Swear jar

In the season 3 episode "Bart the Lover", Ned Flanders and Marge think Homer swears too much. Marge tells Homer the above story of her father almost losing his job due to his swearing problem. To solve this problem, Jacqueline put a swear jar in the kitchen. then every time he said a bad word he put in a quarter. It worked for Homer, and apparently it worked for Clancy, too.

Approval of Homer

Clancy first met Homer when he showed up at the Bouvier home claiming to be Marge's prom date. He was kind and complimentary to Homer, saying, "From what she's told me, I'm sure you're a solid citizen." Sadly for Homer, it was obvious he was describing Artie.^[9]

It is revealed later that his behavior towards Homer was still prevalent, even after Artie's arrival: When Marge returned home after the prom, she overheard her father stating that "when that Simpson boy showed up, it took years off [his] life", to which her mother replied, "Will you stop? She went with the good one." (referring to Artie).

ClancybouvierIV — Aged Clancy (right), together with his family at the Springfield Town Hall

Later life

Ever since his children were little, Clancy went to Springfield Town Hall to sing the City Anthem, and continued to do so as he aged. He was still alive when his grandchildren Bart and Lisa were toddlers.^[10]

We understand that Clancy is deceased, since Homer mentioned that he had bought Marge a "white-noise machine" to help her deal with her father's death.^[11] It was later revealed by Jacqueline that he died of lung cancer.^[12]

It can be suggested that Clancy died at some point before Maggie was born.

Clancy lost his leg sometime between "Fear of Flying" and "The Way We Was".^[13]

Deaths

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

The cause or time of his death is undetermined. In an issue of the comic Simpsons Illustrated, Lisa reveals that Clancy died in an accident in 1985. What is known is that his death occurred some time after Lisa and Bart reached a toddler/preschooler age, since he still appeared alongside little Bart and Lisa in "Walking Big & Tall". Clancy is also known to be dead because he never appears with Jacqueline, who is portrayed as a single woman.

However, in Season 27, Episode 3 "Puffless", it is revealed that his smoking lead to Lung cancer and he lost his fight with it. In that same episode Patty and Selma try to quit for the father but relevantly went back to their old smoking ways.

In one Treehouse of Horror episode, he was eaten by King Homer at his and Marge's wedding.

In The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Clancy's ghost comes to warn Homer during the episode tie-in quest line "Ghouls and Gluttons".

Appearances

As Clancy is deceased, and only a minor character, he is rarely seen or referred to. Episodes in bold are incidences when Clancy had a major role or featured heavily in the episode's storyline.

Episode – "The Way We Was" (flashback)
Episode – "The War of the Simpsons" (mentioned)
Episode – "Bart the Lover" (mentioned)
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror III"
Episode – "Fear of Flying" (flashback)
Episode – "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)" (mentioned)
Episode – "Jazzy and the Pussycats" (mentioned)
Episode – "Wedding For Disaster" (name seen on certificate of marriage)
Episode – "The Color Yellow" (mentioned)
Episode – "Walking Big & Tall" (flashback)
Episode – "Puffless" (seen on slideshow and mentioned)
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" (as a ghost in samurai clothes in "Homerzilla")
Episode – "Bart's Not Dead " (angel and mentioned)

Book – The Marge Book
Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out
Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album
Comic book – Simpsons Illustrated #4 (mentioned in "The Simpsons: Loused Weekend")

Notes

In the serie, he first appears with brown hair. However, he later appears with blue hair, to match with the hair color of his wife and daughter. In the latest episodes, he again appears with brown hair, except in "Puffless".