Gil Gunderson

Gilbert Gunderson
Gender/Sex	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Male ♂ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
Status	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Alive ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
AKA	Ol' Gil Gil
Hair Color	Gray
Occupation	Various Red Blazer Realty (former)
Relations	Parents: Unnamed (Deceased) Brother: Unnamed Wife: Elizabeth Hoover Ex Wife: Shirley Gunderson Children: Rodney Gunderson, Adam Gunderson and Tara Gunderson Child-in-Law: Unnamed Granddaughter: Unnamed Other Relatives: Gunderson Family
First episode appearance	"Realty Bites"
Portrayed by	Dan Castellaneta

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

Biography

At the age of six, Gil was hired by his eight-year-old brother to run his sidewalk lemonade stand for the afternoon. By the end of the day, he had bankrupted his brother's business and drank all of the remaining inventory. Since then, Gil has not managed to hold down one job for longer than a few days. He kept his job at Red Blazer Realty for over twenty years by selling his own house to himself several thousand times. Eventually, the house was destroyed in the Great Springfield Flood of '99, and with no other sales prospects, he was fired.

Gil has held many different jobs, usually involving sales, all of which he either eventually loses due to an inability to perform or make any sales or quits because something bad happens to him (for example, him being shot on his first day as a bank security guard). In almost every instance where it seems like he will succeed, it will almost certainly be ruined by the Simpsons.

Gil frequently refers to himself in the third person ("C'mon, help Ol' Gil out here!"). Gil has been married, as evidenced by him mentioning that his wife was going to leave him if he didn't start "bringing in the green". Later, when he telephones his wife and overhears her carousing with his friend Fred, he doesn't have the heart to stop her, and in fact cheerfully greets Fred when he comes to the phone.

He has several health problems, including bronchitis and a bad back. In "Super Franchise Me", it's revealed that he has scaly chicken-like legs due to an infection.

Homer thinks he is a loser. Being very poor, he never misses a chance to mooch off the more fortunate. He even went as far as nearly doing anything he could to get Marge to get him to stay for eleven months, leading to her yelling and confronting him in the middle of one of his few successful jobs.

Gil is commonly found in various jobs ranging from car salesman to real estate agent. He has encountered bad luck in all of these jobs.

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. 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.

Gil working as a car salesman

He has sometimes tried to be a lawyer, like when he assisted Marge with her anti-sugar campaign, one of his few successful jobs, though it was not the same when Homer and Marge went to prison. He once worked at the Kwik-E-Mart, but he slipped and hurt his leg. He also tried to persuade Bart to let him be his manager when he joined a jazz band in Jazzy and the Pussycats but was unsuccessful. 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. He tried pitching a product for Amway - a multi-level marketing company - during an AA meeting after supposedly losing three jobs in two days. He was a "Coleco" computer salesman, asking the school to buy lots of computers to help "Ol' Gil". He also once had a job at Swapper Jack's, though it's unclear what specific role he had while he worked there.

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.

Gil as a Mall Santa

Gil got a job as a mall Santa, where he brought a Malibu Stacy out of the back-room stock for Lisa as a Christmas present, but it was for Mr. Costington's daughter, so he fired him. The Simpsons let him stay in their house for one night, but he brought all his stuff in and made it into an extended stay. He got on the entire family's nerves, but Marge found herself unable to kick him out because she could not say "no" to him. After an entire year, Gil finally moved to Scottsdale because he got a job as a real estate agent. Marge still had to say "no" to him, so the family went to Scottsdale to talk to him. There, they discovered Gil was actually successful at this job, as everyone acclaimed him. But when Marge finally confronted Gil and shouted at him because of his being so annoying, Gil's co-workers' thought was a miserable man, so he was fired. He stayed in a hotel with the Simpsons after that.

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.

Gil has had several homes. He once lived at the Springfield Men's Mission (a hostel for down-and-outs) but was forced out of 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. 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). Gil has also been living in a storage locker and in the sewers.

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.

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 would be eating that night. His car then explodes.

He sues Homer for running over him, but the lawsuit settled in Homer's favor when he said he had to hit either him or a dog and the court officially and legally decided that the dog's life is more valuable and important than his.

Like the other citizens of Springfield, he was fed up with the Simpsons and wanted them kicked out of town. When Homer and Marge snuck back into Springfield and was confronted by the townspeople, Gil suggested that they shoot them, which they were about to do until Homer and Marge decided to leave town on their own.

He went to work for Mother Hubbard's Sandwich Cupboards as a costumed mascot. As a mascot he worked several jobs including handing out flyers for a strip club and advertising for apartments. When Marge sees him changing, she sees he has dried legs with bird talons, and he says those are his real legs. In the episode he mentions that his father worked for one company for his whole career in the company basement mail room and ended his life by jumping out the window of the first floor. It is also revealed that he fell two credits short of graduation at Southern Illinois University.

Another of his more successful moments was when he worked as an insurance agent for Springfield Conglomerate Insurance and the First Church of Springfield burned down. When he told Reverend Timothy Lovejoy that the church's insurance covers everything except the acts of God, Lovejoy responded that they believe everything is an act of God, to which he happily stamped "REJECTED" on the insurance policy, saving his company from a $1,500,023 liability payoff, before breaking into Saluki Strut with Homer and Bart.

After Gil met Miss Hoover on an online social media group in support of Slow Leonard the tortoise, Gil formed a romantic relationship with her; he proposed to her, and they got married.

Criminal Record

• Drug crimes - In the 1990s, Gil was hiding numerous packets of meth/cocaine in a pizza shop and was wanted by the FBI. He was caught.

Non-Canon Appearances

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

Hoover and Gil arriving to the Springie Awards as a couple in Marge's dream in "The Tell-Tale Pants".

During Marge's dream in Season 35 episode "The Tell-Tale Pants", Gil and Ms. Hoover arrive as a couple to the 35th Annual Springie Awards.

Treehouse of Horror

Gil has also been seen as a farmer in Treehouse of Horror XIII. He had a thriving field of corn, which would have yielded a bumper crop; unfortunately, it was completely devoured by Homer's clones. The clones then ate Gil.

Future

In "Days of Future Future", he frequently goes to MovingOn.

Video Games

Homer Clones running at Gil

In The Simpsons: Hit and Run, Gil appears in six of the seven levels (not the last level) and characters can purchase cars from him to "help Ol' Gil out".

In The Simpsons Game, Gil can be seen walking around the Springfield main hub.

Behind the Laughter

Gil is based, in voice and appearance, on Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in the film version of Glengarry Glen Ross: a nervous, middle-aged man with the inability to hold a steady job due to strings of misfortune that tend to hit him at the worst times.

Ever since the death of Phil Hartman, he has occasionally replaced Lionel Hutz as The Simpsons' lawyer.

Trivia

• He was once referred to as the "Springfield's Pepé Le Pew, but minus the charm".
• He is a pretty popular character, even though he was not introduced until much later on in the series.
• He was once a federally wanted drug dealer in the 1990s.
• He has died a few times (including being shot to death in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", trampled by bulls in "Million-Dollar Abie", crushed by a wall in "Them, Robot", and was presumably incinerated after his car exploded in "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot") but is inexplicably shown to be alive in subsequent episodes.
• He has a much lighter skin color in some episodes, similar to Sherri and Terri.
• Coincidentally, Gil’s first appearance was the final appearance of Lionel Hutz, due to the fact that his voice actor died.

Appearances

• Episode – "Realty Bites"
• Episode – "The Last Temptation of Krust"
• Episode – "The Trouble with Trillions"
• Episode – "Natural Born Kissers"
• Episode – "Lisa Gets an "A""
• Episode – "Mayored to the Mob"
• Episode – "Viva Ned Flanders"
• Episode – "Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers""
• Episode – "Maximum Homerdrive"
• Episode – "Monty Can't Buy Me Love"
• Episode – "E-I-E-I-D'oh"
• Episode – "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"
• Episode – "Eight Misbehavin'"
• Episode – "Faith Off"
• Episode – "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses"
• Episode – "Day of the Jackanapes"
• Episode – "Homer the Moe"
• Episode – "Sweets and Sour Marge"
• Episode – "The Frying Game"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XIII"
• Episode – "Special Edna" (cameo)
• Episode – "'Tis the Fifteenth Season"
• Episode – "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
• Episode – "Moe'N'a Lisa" (Name Seen)
• Episode – "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2"
• – The Simpsons Movie
• Episode – "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
• Episode – "Beware My Cheating Bart"
• Episode – "Funeral for a Fiend"
• Episode – "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words"
• Episode – "No Loan Again, Naturally"
• Episode – "Coming to Homerica"
• Episode – "The Bob Next Door"
• Episode – "The Blue and the Gray"
• Episode – "A Midsummer's Nice Dream"
• Episode – "A Tree Grows in Springfield"
• Episode – "Changing of the Guardian"
• Episode – "What Animated Women Want"
• Episode – "Pulpit Friction"
• Episode – "500 Keys"
• Episode – "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" (Seen at church and town square)
• Episode – "Days of Future Future"
• Episode – "Pay Pal"
• Episode – "Super Franchise Me"
• Episode – "Sky Police"
• Episode – "Waiting for Duffman" (Picture at Moe's Tavern)
• Episode – "The Kids Are All Fight" (Flashback)
• Episode – "Halloween of Horror"
• Episode – "Paths of Glory"
• Episode – "Barthood"
• Episode – "The Girl Code"
• Episode – "Gal of Constant Sorrow"
• Episode – "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back"
• Episode – "Simprovised"
• Episode – "Orange is the New Yellow"
• Episode – "The Cad and the Hat" (brief speaking cameo)
• Episode – "Dogtown"
• Episode – "The Serfsons"
• Episode – "The Old Blue Mayor She Ain't What She Used To Be"
• Episode – "Springfield Splendor"
• Episode – "Throw Grampa from the Dane"
• Episode – "My Way or the Highway to Heaven" (flashback)
• Episode – "'Tis the 30th Season"
• Episode – "I'm Dancing As Fat As I Can"
• Episode – "101 Mitigations"
• Episode – "Girl's in the Band"
• Episode – "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh"
• Episode – "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion"
• Episode – "Go Big or Go Homer"
• Episode – "The Fat Blue Line"
• Episode – "Gorillas on the Mast"
• Episode – "Bobby, It's Cold Outside"
• Episode – "Frinkcoin"
• Episode – "Better Off Ned (episode)"
• Episode – "Undercover Burns"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXXI"
• Episode – "Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?"
• Episode – "Manger Things"
• Episode – "The Wayz We Were"
• Episode – "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire"
• Episode – "Habeas Tortoise"
• Episode – "One Angry Lisa"
• Episode – "Hostile Kirk Place"
• Episode – "Write Off This Episode"
• Episode – "Homer's Crossing"
• Episode – "McMansion & Wife"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXXIV" Wild Barts Can't Be Token
• Episode – "Night of the Living Wage"
• Episode – "The Tell-Tale Pants" (dream)
• Episode – "The Tipping Point"
• Episode – "Bart's Brain"
• Episode – "Bart's Birthday"
• Episode – "The Yellow Lotus"
• Episode – "Shoddy Heat" (Name on Card)
• Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run
• Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Non-playable character)
• Commercials – Hard Times

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	Absent
"Bart Star":	"The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons":	"Lisa the Skeptic":	"Realty Bites":	"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent
"All Singing, All Dancing":	"Bart Carny":	"The Joy of Sect":	"Das Bus":	"The Last Temptation of Krust":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor
"Dumbbell Indemnity":	"Lisa the Simpson":	"This Little Wiggy":	"Simpson Tide":	"The Trouble with Trillions":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor
"Girly Edition":	"Trash of the Titans":	"King of the Hill":	"Lost Our Lisa":	"Natural Born Kissers":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor

Gallery

The full image gallery for Gil Gunderson may be viewed at Gil Gunderson/Gallery.