Balki Bartokomous
Encyclopedia
Balki Bartokomous is a fictional character on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers
, played by Bronson Pinchot
. Balki is from the island of Mypos, a fictional country in the Mediterranean Sea
.
, who also has an unusual accent. He reconsidered after returning from a trip to Greece, and decided to base the character and the fictional island of Mypos on the people he had encountered in the villages of Greece. Pinchot came up with the name Balki, after his sister's dog; she had named the dog "Balcony" and ended up calling him "Balcy" for short.
and dreamed of a better life in America
. Balki is a naive, optimistic, well-meaning person; as Pinchot once said of his character, "...he looks at the world like a four-year-old" and "sees the world as benevolent". These traits, along with his ignorance of American culture, sometimes get Balki into difficult or dangerous situations, with Larry
, his cousin, invariably coming to his rescue. However, Larry soon realizes that for all Balki's naivety and cultural malapropisms, he otherwise is a very intelligent and courageous man of many talents who often saves the day himself. He is a communist.
Mypos, as described by Balki was a somewhat strange land, with many bizarre customs and traditions. One episode had Larry going duck hunting and the normally gentle Balki surprisingly asks to come along, out of an intense hatred for ducks, which are regarded as vicious predators on Mypos. The description he gives of the ducks on Mypos later in the episode, however, implies that in fact Pterodactyls still exist on the island. It's also described as being something of a primitive, backwards place, with Larry once mentioning that the whole country had just one telephone and only the royal family had indoor plumbing.
Balki's keen sheep keeping skills come up a few times, particularly in the fifth season episode "The Selling of Mypos". In this episode, King Ferdinand sends Balki the Hat of a Thousand Quibbles, in order to negotiate the sale of Myposian land to an American company. Balki saved the island from potential ruin when he realized they wanted to store toxic waste there; he did not let the sale go through, passing up a hefty negotiator's fee for him and Larry.
It's revealed in the sixth season episode "See You in September" that Balki is a licensed nupitiki doctoruthiki, a Myposian marriage counselor. He administers the Myposian marriage test to Larry and Jennifer, to help them get over their fear of getting married. However, no mention was made of this in the second season episode "Since I Lost my Baby", when Balki and Larry attempt to save the Twinkacettis' marriage.
, carrying his meager possessions in a trunk quaintly labeled "America or Burst". A scene depicting this is shown during the opening credits throughout the run of the show, although it was somewhat shortened from season 3 on. In the series pilot "Knock Knock...Who's there?", Balki appears on his Cousin Larry's doorstep in Chicago
, explaining that he had gone to Madison
, Wisconsin
to find Larry, only to find he had just moved to Chicago. The pilot to Perfect Strangers was originally filmed with comedian Louie Anderson
as the Cousin Larry character; however the role was recast with Mark Linn-Baker
playing the part, and the original pilot never aired.
Balki is very close to his mother, whom he calls "Mamma". Balki sends her half of his paycheck and frequently writes her letters. In a season 7 episode (Citizenship), Balki's mother (played by Bronson Pinchot
) came to the United States to see Balki become an American citizen (though due to a mistranslation on Larry's part, Balki's mother originally thought she was coming to see Balki get his driver's license). When Balki's mother learned that Balki was becoming an American citizen, she was hurt because she had hoped that Balki would return to Mypos. Balki's mother gave Balki a "chicken foot" with a missing toe, which meant that unless he did what his mother wished, Balki was no longer her son. Balki returned to Mypos, and Larry followed him to convince Balki's mother to let Balki return to the United States. Balki did so and became an American citizen.
In the season 5 episode "Because They're Cousins", we find out Balki has a cousin named Bartok (also played by Pinchot) who had immigrated from Mypos to Los Angeles
six months earlier. Bartok's experiences in the New World
changed him for the worse. When Bartok visited Balki in Chicago, Bartok conned
money from Balki. Later, Balki convinced Bartok to become the person he was before going to Los Angeles and to return to Mypos.
While Balki mentions his father a few times throughout the series as though he were still alive, he does not come to America with Mamma, nor do we see him when Balki and Larry travel to Mypos.
Balki may or may not have a sister named Yanna. In the episode "Sexual Harassment in Chicago", Balki said his tapestry was a gift from his sister Yanna, and he has also mentioned missing his nieces and nephews at Christmas. However, when Larry and Jennifer get married, Balki says he never had a brother or sister.
Balki began night school
also in Season 1 to earn his high school diploma
. He graduated in a season 3 episode (The Graduate) as valedictorian
of his class.
Balki was accepted at Chicago City College in the a season 4 episode (College Bound), and attended until at least Season 6, when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for student body president.
In Season 3, after Larry got a job at the Chicago Chronicle, Balki began working for the mail room of the Chicago Chronicle. Larry and Balki both worked in the same room in the basement
of the chronicle. Balki worked for Sam Gorpley who regularly insulted Balki. In season 7 (Dimitri's World), Balki was promoted (with Larry) at the Chicago Chronicle. His new job was writing Dimitri's World, a comic strip
about his beloved sheep.
. Balki married Mary Anne in 1992. In the first part of the series finale (Up, Up, and Away (Part 1)), Mary Anne gave birth to their son, Robespierre-Boinki Bartokomous.
Some of his other favorite expressions were: "Wow", "Where do I come up with them?", and "Get out of the city!".
Balki has a stuffed sheep named Dimitri. In the seventh season episode "Dimitri's World", Balki explains that the wool used to make the stuffed sheep is from an actual sheep named Dimitri from Mypos, who was killed while saving Balki from being run over by a carriage. Dimitri can often be seen in the background, dressed and posed in a way to reflect what is going on. For example, in the episode "Falling in Love is...", Balki puts out a bowl of wax lips
for his date with Carol; throughout the episode, Dimitri can be seen wearing a pair of wax lips as well. Also, from Season 7 on, there is a framed picture of Dimitri on their mantle
.
Perfect Strangers (TV series)
Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean...
, played by Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
. Balki is from the island of Mypos, a fictional country in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
Character history
Bronson Pinchot was first approached by producers Tom Miller and Robert Boyett to play the role of an immigrant to the United States, in a show tentatively titled "The Greenhorn"; he refused, not wanting to play another character similar to "Serge"—his role in Beverly Hills CopBeverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...
, who also has an unusual accent. He reconsidered after returning from a trip to Greece, and decided to base the character and the fictional island of Mypos on the people he had encountered in the villages of Greece. Pinchot came up with the name Balki, after his sister's dog; she had named the dog "Balcony" and ended up calling him "Balcy" for short.
Personality
The character of Balki was born and raised on the fictional Greek-like island of Mypos, where he eked out a living as a shepherdShepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
and dreamed of a better life in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Balki is a naive, optimistic, well-meaning person; as Pinchot once said of his character, "...he looks at the world like a four-year-old" and "sees the world as benevolent". These traits, along with his ignorance of American culture, sometimes get Balki into difficult or dangerous situations, with Larry
Larry Appleton
Larry Appleton is a fictional character on the television show Perfect Strangers, played by Mark Linn-Baker. Larry was often called Cousin Larry or just Cousin normally pronouncing cousin "cosin" by his cousin Balki...
, his cousin, invariably coming to his rescue. However, Larry soon realizes that for all Balki's naivety and cultural malapropisms, he otherwise is a very intelligent and courageous man of many talents who often saves the day himself. He is a communist.
Mypos, as described by Balki was a somewhat strange land, with many bizarre customs and traditions. One episode had Larry going duck hunting and the normally gentle Balki surprisingly asks to come along, out of an intense hatred for ducks, which are regarded as vicious predators on Mypos. The description he gives of the ducks on Mypos later in the episode, however, implies that in fact Pterodactyls still exist on the island. It's also described as being something of a primitive, backwards place, with Larry once mentioning that the whole country had just one telephone and only the royal family had indoor plumbing.
Balki's keen sheep keeping skills come up a few times, particularly in the fifth season episode "The Selling of Mypos". In this episode, King Ferdinand sends Balki the Hat of a Thousand Quibbles, in order to negotiate the sale of Myposian land to an American company. Balki saved the island from potential ruin when he realized they wanted to store toxic waste there; he did not let the sale go through, passing up a hefty negotiator's fee for him and Larry.
It's revealed in the sixth season episode "See You in September" that Balki is a licensed nupitiki doctoruthiki, a Myposian marriage counselor. He administers the Myposian marriage test to Larry and Jennifer, to help them get over their fear of getting married. However, no mention was made of this in the second season episode "Since I Lost my Baby", when Balki and Larry attempt to save the Twinkacettis' marriage.
Family
Balki traveled to America at the age of 22, to live with his distant cousin Larry AppletonLarry Appleton
Larry Appleton is a fictional character on the television show Perfect Strangers, played by Mark Linn-Baker. Larry was often called Cousin Larry or just Cousin normally pronouncing cousin "cosin" by his cousin Balki...
, carrying his meager possessions in a trunk quaintly labeled "America or Burst". A scene depicting this is shown during the opening credits throughout the run of the show, although it was somewhat shortened from season 3 on. In the series pilot "Knock Knock...Who's there?", Balki appears on his Cousin Larry's doorstep in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, explaining that he had gone to Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to find Larry, only to find he had just moved to Chicago. The pilot to Perfect Strangers was originally filmed with comedian Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
as the Cousin Larry character; however the role was recast with Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
playing the part, and the original pilot never aired.
Balki is very close to his mother, whom he calls "Mamma". Balki sends her half of his paycheck and frequently writes her letters. In a season 7 episode (Citizenship), Balki's mother (played by Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
) came to the United States to see Balki become an American citizen (though due to a mistranslation on Larry's part, Balki's mother originally thought she was coming to see Balki get his driver's license). When Balki's mother learned that Balki was becoming an American citizen, she was hurt because she had hoped that Balki would return to Mypos. Balki's mother gave Balki a "chicken foot" with a missing toe, which meant that unless he did what his mother wished, Balki was no longer her son. Balki returned to Mypos, and Larry followed him to convince Balki's mother to let Balki return to the United States. Balki did so and became an American citizen.
In the season 5 episode "Because They're Cousins", we find out Balki has a cousin named Bartok (also played by Pinchot) who had immigrated from Mypos to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
six months earlier. Bartok's experiences in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
changed him for the worse. When Bartok visited Balki in Chicago, Bartok conned
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
money from Balki. Later, Balki convinced Bartok to become the person he was before going to Los Angeles and to return to Mypos.
While Balki mentions his father a few times throughout the series as though he were still alive, he does not come to America with Mamma, nor do we see him when Balki and Larry travel to Mypos.
Balki may or may not have a sister named Yanna. In the episode "Sexual Harassment in Chicago", Balki said his tapestry was a gift from his sister Yanna, and he has also mentioned missing his nieces and nephews at Christmas. However, when Larry and Jennifer get married, Balki says he never had a brother or sister.
Occupation
In the pilot (Knock Knock... Who's There), Larry got Balki a job at the Ritz Discount store, a store at which Larry was already employed. They worked for Donald Twinkacetti.Balki began night school
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
also in Season 1 to earn his high school diploma
High school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
. He graduated in a season 3 episode (The Graduate) as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his class.
Balki was accepted at Chicago City College in the a season 4 episode (College Bound), and attended until at least Season 6, when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for student body president.
In Season 3, after Larry got a job at the Chicago Chronicle, Balki began working for the mail room of the Chicago Chronicle. Larry and Balki both worked in the same room in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
of the chronicle. Balki worked for Sam Gorpley who regularly insulted Balki. In season 7 (Dimitri's World), Balki was promoted (with Larry) at the Chicago Chronicle. His new job was writing Dimitri's World, a comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
about his beloved sheep.
Love life
In a season 2 episode (Hunks Like Us), Balki met his girlfriend Mary Anne Spencer at a health clubHealth club
A health club is a place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.-Main workout area:...
. Balki married Mary Anne in 1992. In the first part of the series finale (Up, Up, and Away (Part 1)), Mary Anne gave birth to their son, Robespierre-Boinki Bartokomous.
The Dance of Joy
Whenever Balki is immensely pleased by something, he does the "Dance of Joy" with Larry. This is always preceded by Balki exclaiming, "Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy!" The dance consists of leg kicks, jumping, and alternating chants of "Hey," ending with Larry jumping into Balki's arms.Personal
His favorite catchphrase is: "Well, of course not, don't be ridiculous!"Some of his other favorite expressions were: "Wow", "Where do I come up with them?", and "Get out of the city!".
Balki has a stuffed sheep named Dimitri. In the seventh season episode "Dimitri's World", Balki explains that the wool used to make the stuffed sheep is from an actual sheep named Dimitri from Mypos, who was killed while saving Balki from being run over by a carriage. Dimitri can often be seen in the background, dressed and posed in a way to reflect what is going on. For example, in the episode "Falling in Love is...", Balki puts out a bowl of wax lips
Wax lips
Wax lips are the common name of a candy product made of colored and flavored wax, molded to resemble a pair of over-sized red lips. The lips have a bite plate in the back; when the plate is held between the teeth, the wax lips cover the wearer's own lips, to comic effect...
for his date with Carol; throughout the episode, Dimitri can be seen wearing a pair of wax lips as well. Also, from Season 7 on, there is a framed picture of Dimitri on their mantle
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
.