Clifford Burns Sr. was Charles Montgomery Burns' biological father. He was married to Daphne Burns. His mother was Evelyn Graycomb. He was also the paternal grandfather of Larry Burns.
Biography[]
In a flashback, he burned down an entire comic book company to "teach his son a lesson" after he saw Montgomery reading comic books, as he saw them as a bad influence and would make Montgomery anti-social, and wanted him to socialize by playing outdoors.[1] In one episode, Clifford was kindly and Montgomery's origins of his miserly nature was because of the corruption of his twisted, heartless billionaire grandfather that forcibly adopted him.[2] In a different episode, Montgomery did not appear to be taken in by a billionaire, but his parents themselves were rich and appeared unaffectionate. Clifford was friends with Bill Mattel and Fred Hasbro and disliked Santa Claus undercutting them by giving children free toys. When Montgomery asked a mall Santa Claus for a hug from his mother and a smile from his father, Montgomery's parents sent him to boarding school on Christmas Day 1935 instead, which broke Montgomery's heart and caused his bitterness. The next time Montgomery saw his parents was at their funeral, and by then it was too late to hug them.[3] However, in another episode, during a medical check up, Montgomery Burns once listed the cause of his parents' deaths as "got in my way".[4] Sideshow Bob, disguised as Santa, later told Montgomery that they loved him with something better than hugs and kisses, which was to make him richer and stronger than the other tycoons of his day.[3]
Children[]
Clifford had over fifteen children: Montgomery, George, Clifford Jr., Dominique, Archibald, Ernest, Sarah, and 10 other unnamed children.
Trivia[]
- He speaks with a southern accent in "Dark Knight Court" but has a "regular" American accent in "Rosebud". He also has brown hair in "Dark Knight Court" and grey hair in "Rosebud", which is probably due to him being younger in the flashback of the former.
- His children Zeph, Cornelia, and Cornelius have "father unknown" listed under their names in the Simpsons Family Album. This may mean that he adopted the children at a young age, or that Daphne either cheated on him or had an affair with another man before she met Clifford.
- He may have been a Stonecutter since his son was a Stonecutter.
Behind the Laughter[]
The references to Clifford being friends with Bill Mattel and Fred Hasbro are allusions to the toy manufacturers Mattel and Hasbro, which in the real world were not founded by those people.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Episode – "Rosebud" (flashback)- Episode – "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble" (seen in picture)
- Episode – "Dark Knight Court"
- Episode – "Pork and Burns"
- Episode – "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" (flashback)
- Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album
- Book – C. Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination
| The Simpsons: Season Five | ||||
| "Homer's Barbershop Quartet": | "Cape Feare": | "Homer Goes to College": | "Rosebud": | "Treehouse of Horror IV": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor | Absent |
| "Marge on the Lam": | "Bart's Inner Child": | "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood": | "The Last Temptation of Homer": | "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Homer the Vigilante": | "Bart Gets Famous": | "Homer and Apu": | "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy": | "Deep Space Homer": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Homer Loves Flanders": | "Bart Gets an Elephant": | "Burns' Heir": | "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song": | "The Boy Who Knew Too Much": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Lady Bouvier's Lover": | "Secrets of a Successful Marriage": | |||
| Absent | Absent | |||