Dolph Starbeam

Dolph showing Bart the Scream that they stole.

Dolphin "Dolph" Starbeam, also known as Dolph Shapiro, is one of the school bullies of Springfield Elementary, with Shauna Chalmers, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Jimbo Jones, Nelson Muntz, and the Weasels. He is of Jewish origin and can speak multiple languages. Bart Simpson later became friends with Dolph. He is a 14 to 15-year-old sixth grader^[1] and is the youngest of the trio of bullies.

Dolph is considered the "softest" of all the bullies and has sometimes been seen running away once overpowered by the enemy. He is also the smartest education-wise, as he has quite a long list of secondary skills ranging from horse-riding to playing the guitar, and has been held back the least of them.

Biography

The son of aging, die-hard hippies, Dolph had taken all the flower power he could stomach by the age of six. He had given peace a chance but chose that hitting other kids was more fun, so he traded in his Birkenstocks for a pair of Doc Martens. Dolph drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes with Jimbo. Dolph's brutish behavior and distaste for authority eventually led him to kindred souls Kearney, Jimbo, and Nelson. Dolph can frequently be seen in the Springfield Elementary restroom, flushing the toilet while someone's head is in it.^[2]

Dolph is recognized by his asymmetrical haircut which covers one side of his face, and a dolphin-like mouth. He wears cutoff shorts and Chuck Taylor All-Stars style basketball shoes. Dolph is 13-14 years old. He is also left-handed. Depending on the shade used, Dolph's hair can appear either a deep red, or brown.

Getting held back a couple years, Dolph is a sixth-grade student at Springfield Elementary. Dolph once attended Hebrew school^[3], and according to a school profile in "24 Minutes", he speaks "Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean, Latin, Old English, Klingon, and Esperanto", he is "friends with: Jackie Chan (unverified)" and his "special skills" include "horse riding, tap dancing, British accent, stage fighting."^[4].

Dolph is a player in the Mighty Pigs Pee Wee Hockey League Team, and in "Kamp Krusty" he shows that he can play the guitar.

Despite having appeared since the first season of the show, Dolph's name is not mentioned on-screen until the fourth season episode "Kamp Krusty". In the episode, he becomes a counselor at Kamp Krusty with Jimbo and Kearney. He serves the camper's gruel and plays the guitar to force them to sing.

It is implied that Dolph may have suffered from child abuse. In "Black-eyed Please", after getting detention from Ms. Cantwell, Lisa asks Jimbo, Dolph, Kearney, and Nelson why one becomes a bully, and Dolph's response is "abuse". Dolph's mother and father are now divorced and he has two fathers who are presumably homosexual. Theoretically one would be the 'die-hard-hippy' mentioned previously, while the other has an eye-patch and has been seen beating up Homer. When reading the then-recently released Angry Dad comics, Dolph saw Angry Dad's behavior as being similar to those of his own dads (he may have been referring only to the latter). He also has a sister who is constantly watched by the police (via surveillance camera ).

Non-Canon Appearances

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

The Simpsons Game

Dolph appears as one of the three museum thieves that Bart and Homer must defeat^[5].

DS: Bart has to shoot targets in the dark three times before stopping him.

All others: Bart has fire a crystal at a target on a skeleton of a dinosaur, thus trapping him.

Dolph heard about the Duff Eating Contest and would like to enter it but his Trainer would kill him. Later he becomes impressed about Homer and tells it to Bart.

Dolph saw Loggers in the Forrest and doesn't want them to hurt the Trees and later told Bart it was a good thing he did for the Trees.

Afterwards he bought the New Grand Theft Scratchy Game and assisted the other kids in Attacking Anyone that gets in their way. Later When the Aliens Arrive in Springfield Dolph saw the Dolphins, Lard Lad, and the aliens attacking Springfield, sometimes whenever Bart encounters Dolph in Springfield he tells him that he can't believe the Dolphins left without squealing. He then congrats him for Hazing Lard Lad and calls Lard Lad a nerd. And remarks because Bart saved the mall Capitalism can once again Flourish.

Top Trumps

Dolph has a card in The Simpsons Classic Collection Volume One.

"With long, greasy brown hair, slovenly attire and a soul to match, Dolph is the perfect yes-man, provided your questions involve petty thievery, cheesing people off, and beating up science geeks. Yet, Dolph's sensitive side is sometimes revealed when he lies on his back and talks to clouds." Favorite job: Serving pine cones to the campers at Kamp Krusty.

Good Listener: 2
Personal Hygiene: 5
Intelligence Quotient: 91
Shamelessness: 40
Huggability: 3
Prone To Mayhem: 78

Zombie Dolph also has a card in The Simpsons Horror Edition.

"As a zombie, Dolph is slack-jawed and sullen. A greasy hank of hair slashes across his pale face. His speech is guttural and filled with a hungry moaning. And without a trace of conscience, he preys upon the small and the weak. In other words, not much has changed."

Stupendous Strength: 72
Sheer Evil: 37
Blazing Speed: 4
Graveyard Compatibility: 164
Brains: 1
Fashion Sense: 31

Future

In "Days of Future Future", he, Jimbo, and Kearney attempt to rob Milhouse and Lisa but Milhouse fights by using Ralph Wiggum to knock them out and later cook their brains.

In "Barthood", he, Jimbo, and Kearney are seen at Milhouse's graduation party.

Behind the Laughter

Dolph was named after one of Matt Groening's classmates from Lincoln High School named Dolph Timmerman. Groening stated that Timmerman was not a bully but just a real cool guy.

During much of the series, Dolph was generally regarded as the most mysterious of the bullies and never really had a big part. We learn he is Jewish as shown in See Homer Run. He is also considered the best looking out of them. He's starting to have more speaking parts and he could be the softest out of the primary bully trio, although this is mainly due to less development. Some fans have offered criticism for the show's writers, citing that in The Simpsons' nearly twenty-year run, Dolph is one of the very few characters to be almost entirely undeveloped and has significantly fewer lines than Jimbo or Kearney despite sharing adequate screentime with them. However, in more recent seasons he is gradually speaking more and we are finally learning more about him.

Family name

Dolph's family name was revealed in Simpsons Comics #75. However, in the Simpsons World episode guide, Dolph is listed only by his first name along with Kearney (page 156). However in Season 25 Episode 7 "Yellow Subterfuge" his name is shown as Dolph Shapiro, which is a name with Jewish origins.

Gallery

The full image gallery for Dolph Starbeam may be viewed at Dolph Starbeam/Gallery.

Appearances

Episode – "The Telltale Head"
Episode – "Dead Putting Society" (Pool Hall)
Episode – "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment"
Episode – "The War of the Simpsons"
Episode – "Three Men and a Comic Book"
Episode – "When Flanders Failed"
Episode – "Lisa's Pony"
Episode – "Lisa the Greek"
Episode – "Separate Vocations"
Episode – "Kamp Krusty"
Episode – "Homer the Heretic"
Episode – "Lisa the Beauty Queen"
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror III" (Dial "Z" for Zombies)
Episode – "New Kid on the Block"
Episode – "Selma's Choice"
Episode – "I Love Lisa"
Episode – "Whacking Day"
Episode – "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood"
Episode – "The Last Temptation of Homer"
Episode – "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)"
Episode – "Homer the Vigilante"
Episode – "Bart of Darkness"
Episode – "Sideshow Bob Roberts"
Episode – "Lisa on Ice"
Episode – "The PTA Disbands"
Episode – "Bart Sells His Soul"
Episode – "Marge Be Not Proud"
Episode – "The Homer They Fall"
Episode – "Lisa's Date with Density"
Episode – "In Marge We Trust"
Episode – "The Joy of Sect"
Episode – "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
Episode – "Sweets and Sour Marge"
Episode – "Helter Shelter"
Episode – "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot"
Episode – "The Wandering Juvie"
Episode – "Marge's Son Poisoning"
Episode – "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)"
Episode – "Marge Gamer"
Episode – "24 Minutes"
Episode – "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind"
Episode – "The Debarted"
Episode – "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?"
Episode – "The Blue and the Gray"
Episode – "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts"
Episode – "The D'oh-cial Network"
Episode – "Beware My Cheating Bart"
Episode – "Whiskey Business"
Episode – "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
Episode – "Dangers on a Train"
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXIV"
Episode – "The Kid is All Right"
Episode – "Yellow Subterfuge"
Episode – "Specs and the City"
Episode – "Diggs"
Episode – "The Man Who Grew Too Much"
Episode – "The Winter of His Content"
Episode – "Days of Future Future"
Episode – "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting"
Episode – "Pay Pal"
Episode – "Bart's New Friend"
Episode – "The Musk Who Fell to Earth"
Episode – "Walking Big & Tall"
Episode – "Waiting for Duffman" (Springcycle)
Episode – "Peeping Mom"
Episode – "The Kids Are All Fight" (flashback)
Episode – "Bull-E"
Episode – "Cue Detective"
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" (Telepaths of Glory)
Episode – "Friend with Benefit"
Episode – "Paths of Glory"
Episode – "Barthood"
Episode – "Teenage Mutant Milk-caused Hurdles"
Episode – "Gal of Constant Sorrow" (photo montage)
Episode – "Lisa the Veterinarian"
Episode – "The Burns Cage"
Episode – "Simprovised"
Episode – "The Serfsons"
Episode – "Haw-Haw Land"
Episode – "Homer Is Where the Art Isn't"
Episode – "No Good Read Goes Unpunished" (School cafeteria)
Episode – "King Leer"
Episode – "Lisa Gets the Blues"
Episode – "Flanders' Ladder"
Episode – "Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy"
Episode – "Girl's in the Band"
Episode – "Woo-hoo Dunnit?"
Episode – "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion"
Episode – "The Winter of Our Monetized Content"
Episode – "Marge the Lumberjill"
Episode – "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"
Episode – "Bobby, It's Cold Outside"
Episode – "Hail to the Teeth"
Episode – "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson"
Episode – "Frinkcoin"
Episode – "Bart the Bad Guy"
Episode – "Screenless"
Episode – "Better Off Ned (episode)"
Episode – "Warrin' Priests (Part One)"
Episode – "Warrin' Priests (Part Two)"
THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXXI"
Episode – "Three Dreams Denied"
Episode – "Sorry Not Sorry"
Episode – "Diary Queen"
Episode – "The Star of the Backstage"
Episode – "Lisa's Belly"
Episode – "The Longest Marge"
– The Simpsons Movie
Music video – "Deep, Deep Trouble"
Comic story – On The Bubble
Comic book – Comic Fan No More
Video game – Apoom
Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Video game – The Simpsons Game
Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out

The Simpsons: Season One
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire":	"Bart the Genius":	"Homer's Odyssey":	"There's No Disgrace Like Home":	"Bart the General":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Moaning Lisa":	"The Call of the Simpsons":	"The Telltale Head":	"Life on the Fast Lane":	"Homer's Night Out":
Absent	Absent	Major	Absent	Absent
"The Crepes of Wrath":	"Krusty Gets Busted":	"Some Enchanted Evening":
Absent	Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Two
"Bart Gets an "F"":	"Simpson and Delilah":	"Treehouse of Horror":	"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish":	"Dancin' Homer":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Dead Putting Society":	"Bart vs. Thanksgiving":	"Bart the Daredevil":	"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge":	"Bart Gets Hit by a Car":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish":	"The Way We Was":	"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment":	"Principal Charming":	"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Bart's Dog Gets an F":	"Old Money":	"Brush with Greatness":	"Lisa's Substitute":	"The War of the Simpsons":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Three Men and a Comic Book":	"Blood Feud":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Three
"Stark Raving Dad":	"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington":	"When Flanders Failed":	"Bart the Murderer":	"Homer Defined":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent
"Like Father, Like Clown":	"Treehouse of Horror II":	"Lisa's Pony":	"Saturdays of Thunder":	"Flaming Moe's":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk":	"I Married Marge":	"Radio Bart":	"Lisa the Greek":	"Homer Alone":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bart the Lover":	"Homer at the Bat":	"Separate Vocations":	"Dog of Death":	"Colonel Homer":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent
"Black Widower":	"The Otto Show":	"Bart's Friend Falls in Love":	"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Four
"Kamp Krusty":	"A Streetcar Named Marge":	"Homer the Heretic":	"Lisa the Beauty Queen":	"Treehouse of Horror III":
Minor	Absent	Cameo	Minor	Cameo
"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie":	"Marge Gets a Job":	"New Kid on the Block":	"Mr. Plow":	"Lisa's First Word":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent
"Homer's Triple Bypass":	"Marge vs. the Monorail":	"Selma's Choice":	"Brother from the Same Planet":	"I Love Lisa":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Cameo
"Duffless":	"Last Exit to Springfield":	"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show":	"The Front":	"Whacking Day":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor
"Marge in Chains":	"Krusty Gets Kancelled":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Five
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet":	"Cape Feare":	"Homer Goes to College":	"Rosebud":	"Treehouse of Horror IV":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo	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	Minor	Minor	Cameo
"Homer the Vigilante":	"Bart Gets Famous":	"Homer and Apu":	"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy":	"Deep Space Homer":
Cameo	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	Cameo	Absent
"Lady Bouvier's Lover":	"Secrets of a Successful Marriage":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Six
"Bart of Darkness":	"Lisa's Rival":	"Another Simpsons Clip Show":	"Itchy & Scratchy Land":	"Sideshow Bob Roberts":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo
"Treehouse of Horror V":	"Bart's Girlfriend":	"Lisa on Ice":	"Homer Badman":	"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy":
Cameo	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Fear of Flying":	"Homer the Great":	"And Maggie Makes Three":	"Bart's Comet":	"Homie the Clown":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent
"Bart vs. Australia":	"Homer vs. Patty and Selma":	"A Star is Burns":	"Lisa's Wedding":	"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds":
Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent
"The PTA Disbands":	"'Round Springfield":	"The Springfield Connection":	"Lemon of Troy":	"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)":
Minor	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Seven
"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)":	"Radioactive Man":	"Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily":	"Bart Sells His Soul":	"Lisa the Vegetarian":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent
"Treehouse of Horror VI":	"King-Size Homer":	"Mother Simpson":	"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming":	"The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular":
Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Marge Be Not Proud":	"Team Homer":	"Two Bad Neighbors":	"Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield":	"Bart the Fink":
Cameo	Cameo	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Lisa The Iconoclast":	"Homer The Smithers":	"The Day The Violence Died":	"A Fish Called Selma":	"Bart on the Road":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"22 Short Films About Springfield":	"Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"":	"Much Apu About Nothing":	"Homerpalooza":	"Summer of 4 Ft. 2":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Eight
"Treehouse of Horror VII":	"You Only Move Twice":	"The Homer They Fall":	"Burns, Baby Burns":	"Bart After Dark":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Minor
"A Milhouse Divided":	"Lisa's Date with Density":	"Hurricane Neddy":	"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)":	"The Springfield Files":
Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent	Absent
"The Twisted World of Marge Simpson":	"Mountain of Madness":	"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious":	"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show":	"Homer's Phobia":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Brother from Another Series":	"My Sister, My Sitter":	"Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment":	"Grade School Confidential":	"The Canine Mutiny":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Cameo	Absent
"The Old Man and the Lisa":	"In Marge We Trust":	"Homer's Enemy":	"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase":	"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson":
Absent	Minor	Absent	Cameo	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Nine
"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson":	"The Principal and the Pauper":	"Lisa's Sax":	"Treehouse of Horror VIII":	"The Cartridge Family":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo
"Bart Star":	"The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons":	"Lisa the Skeptic":	"Realty Bites":	"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent
"All Singing, All Dancing":	"Bart Carny":	"The Joy of Sect":	"Das Bus":	"The Last Temptation of Krust":
Absent	Cameo	Minor	Absent	Absent
"Dumbbell Indemnity":	"Lisa the Simpson":	"This Little Wiggy":	"Simpson Tide":	"The Trouble with Trillions":
Absent	Cameo	Minor	Cameo	Absent
"Girly Edition":	"Trash of the Titans":	"King of the Hill":	"Lost Our Lisa":	"Natural Born Kissers":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Citations

Characters voiced by Tress MacNeille

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[4] 24 Minutes

[5] Bartman Begins

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