John Nerdelbaum Frink, Sr.,[1] or Jonathan Frink, Sr.,[3] was the father of Professor Frink.
History[]
Frink Sr. was the father of the second test tube baby, Professor Frink. Frink Sr. and Frink's Mother had "good chemistry", which Frink Jr. clarified meant there was no love, but they were chemists. They only noticed the younger Frink when he changed the pitch of his voice and did science, but he never had a breakthrough that made him famous.[4]
A photo of Frink Sr. was displayed in Professor Frink's house while he attempted to teach Bart Simpson how to play a musical instrument.[5]
Non-canon history[]
Treehouse of Horror[]
Frink Jr.'s mother said that he and his father got along like positrons and anti-neutrinos. Frink Sr. always saw Frink Jr. as a disappointment. He was a he-man scientist who worked on the atom bomb by day, slept with Marilyn Monroe by night, and sold secrets to the Russians at lunch. He was killed by a shark while testing a blood-based suntan lotion. Years later, his son, using his Nobel Prize-winning hammer with a screwdriver on the other end, revived Frink Sr.'s frozen body, replacing his organs including his penis with mechanical parts. Frink Sr. went on an organ theft rampage, replacing his body parts with stolen ones. Lisa convinced him to get rid of all the stolen organs and go to Stockholm, to see his son win the Nobel Prize. After he finished his speech, he walked around stealing people's brains which increasing his intelligence dramatically. Frink Jr. stopped him by kicking him in the crotch. Frink Sr. died again soon after, but Frink Jr. put his soul in a soul container he invented.[1]
Trivia[]
- He is voiced by Jerry Lewis who was also the inspiration for Professor Frink.
- His stolen body parts include Snake and Mr. Burns' arms, Comic Book Guy's butt, Sideshow Mel's hair, Krusty's neck, Ned Flanders' internal organs, a right leg from one of Marge’s sisters, Kearney Zzyzwicz’s thighs, Nelson’s torso, and Principal Skinner's spine. However, he has slightly different parts in Tapped Out.
- He looks almost identical to his son.
- He may have been a Stonecutter since his son was a Stonecutter.
- Frink appears to have been ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish. From the box, his soul asks his son to "throw in a little matzo" and then says "that's a good shmendele", which Frink does not understand. "Shmendele" appears to be a humorously made up Yiddish term of endearment.
- This character trait is undoubtedly a reference to his voice actor, Jerry Lewis. Lewis was born "Joseph Levitch" and was the son of a Polish Jewish mother, and a father who was himself the son of Russian Jewish immigrants.
Behind the Laughter[]
Like Üter, Professor Frink, Sr. was a character introduced in a Halloween special that moved to the normal canon. Unlike Üter, he has appeared far less frequently in canon Simpsons, and never in a present-day scene. He appeared in a photo in season 24's "The Fabulous Faker Boy", ten years after his only prominent appearance in the non-canon "Treehouse of Horror XIV" from season 15. He also appeared in a flashback to Frink Jr.'s infancy in season 31's "Frinkcoin", which he was not voiced in, and which aired in 2020, three years after Jerry Lewis died.
What little is known from his canon cameos and references by his son is he has been photographed in similar costumes to the adventurer outfit (similar to Indiana Jones) and his black-tie outfit in "Treehouse of Horror XIV" and had no romantic chemistry with Frink Jr.'s mother, also mentioned in "Treehouse of Horror XIV".
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XIV" Frinkenstein
- Episode – "The Fabulous Faker Boy" (photo)
- Episode – "Frinkcoin"
- Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Frinkenstein appearance)
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Treehouse of Horror XIV"
- ↑ Simpsons Comics 216
- ↑ Inferred from Professor Frink's first name according to "The Fool Monty"
- ↑ "Frinkcoin"
- ↑ "The Fabulous Faker Boy"