List of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of recurring characters from the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
.
) is the most frequently recurring character outside of The Gang. She works at a coffee shop
not far from Paddy's, and is introduced in the first episode, "The Gang Gets Racist," as the object of Charlie's affections. The Waitress has absolutely no interest in Charlie but harbors an unrequited crush
on Dennis, who slept with her in the episode "Charlie Has Cancer". She did spend the night with Charlie while they were both at the Jersey Shore but only did so because she was high on Ecstasy, and in the morning she was sickened and ran away from Charlie after accusing him of drugging her. However, Charlie wasn't upset by her reaction and was happy he got to spend any time with her at all. Charlie goes to great lengths to woo her, while she goes to great lengths to attract Dennis' attention. In attempts to make Dennis jealous, she "banged" Frank in the episode "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom" and went grinding
on a homeless man in the episode "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off." Frequently, her infatuation with Dennis causes her to make decisions against her better moral judgment. Also because of her obsession with Dennis, she is often the victim of The Gang's manipulative schemes. She is a recovering alcoholic, a fact referenced first in "The Gang Gives Back," when she becomes Charlie's Alcoholics Anonymous
sponsor, and referenced again in "Who Pooped the Bed" and "The Waitress Gets Married." As a running gag
, none of the characters seem to know her real name; she is simply referred to as "The Waitress," although it was hinted Charlie may know her name in "The Gang Sells Out" when he chides her for liking Dennis when he doesn't even know her real name. The only clues to her real name are that it does not start with "W" and is not "Beautiful"; the name Dennis gave to her when he was accused of not knowing what it was. In "The Waitress Is Getting Married," it is revealed that she went to high school
with the gang, and she and Sweet Dee both dated the same guy in high school. Mary Elizabeth Ellis is Charlie Day's real-life spouse.
) is one of the more frequently recurring secondary characters, introduced in "Charlie Gets Cancer" as Sweet Dee's friend from her acting classes who acts out a scene from Coyote Ugly
(which featured actress Kaitlin Olson in a small part). Artemis is overly serious about her craft and displays bizarre habits and outbursts. She is very open about her sexuality and often offers to perform in the nude, even when it is unnecessary. Recently she was involved in a sexual relationship with Frank and the two shared a food fetish. She likes having sex with bacon bits in her hair because it makes her feel like a cobb salad. She and Frank once had sex in a dumpster behind Wendy's
, where she did something with a roll. She has openly proclaimed that she has a "bleached asshole
".
), also known as "Rickety Cricket", is a former priest
and classmate of the Gang. He wore humiliating giant leg braces in high school, which gave him his nickname. He first appears in "The Gang Exploits a Miracle" to reveal that he still harbors his high school crush on Sweet Dee. He admits he was convinced to eat horse feces for a chance to kiss Dee, which she refused since, as she says, "his breath smelled like shit". Mac and Dennis have been teabagging
Cricket at every opportunity since high school. Dennis claims that he has a shoebox full of pictures of him and Mac doing this, and pictures are surfacing on the Internet
.
One recurring theme in the series is Cricket's downward spiral; due to his involvement with the Gang he leaves the priesthood, begs for change in the streets, becomes addicted to crack cocaine
, has his legs broken by the mob, has his throat injured by Frank in a wrestling match, and is hunted by Mac and Dennis for sport. He has since carried a vendetta
against The Gang and attempts to get his revenge in various episodes, but consistently fails to do so. He shows up in "Mac's Big Break", when he appears on Dennis and Sweet Dee's inaugural podcast, remarking about his life as a homeless person. He also shows up in "Dee Gives Birth" because Frank was trying "to cast a wider net" in finding out the identity of Dee's baby's father and he considered Rickety Cricket to be "the wildcard".
) are creepy former elementary-school classmates of Mac and Charlie. They are introduced in "Charlie Gets Molested" when they falsely accuse a former teacher of pedophilia
and Charlie and the rest of the gang foil their plan and turn them in to the police, which sparks the McPoyles' antipathy toward the Paddy's Pub gang. Liam and Ryan have an incest
uous relationship with each other and their deaf-mute
sister Margaret (Thesy Surface). As seen in "The Gang Gets Invincible", they have at least 14 other siblings and family members, who all sport the McPoyle unibrow
s, acne
, and eczema
. The most notable relative is "Doyle McPoyle" (Bob Rusch), an aspiring football player
who lost his chance to play for the Philadelphia Eagles
when a hallucinating Frank accidentally shot him in the leg. Ryan and Liam avenge this in the episode "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" by faking a raid on the bar. The McPoyles also have a strange obsession with milk
and prefer warm, clammy conditions.
) is a male-to-female transsexual who was dating Mac. She first appears in the season 1 episode "Charlie Has Cancer", then reappears in the season 3 episode "Mac Is a Serial Killer". She is attractive but displays an obvious bulge
in her pants. She keeps Mac interested in her with promises of undergoing sexual reassignment surgery and with constant flattery of Mac's physique. In "Mac Fights Gay Marriage", she has completely removed her penis, and has gotten married to Nick, much to Mac's chagrin. In "Dee Gives Birth" it is revealed that Carmen is the father of Dee's baby (she had her sperm frozen before she had her penis removed) and that they used an anonymous egg donor and Dee was merely a surrogate. Dee gave the baby to Carmen and her husband Nick to raise. In the unaired pilot Carmen is portrayed by Morena Baccarin
.
) is first seen in "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead" where The Gang mistake him for having personal involvement as the executor
of Barbara Reynolds' will
. He returns in Season 5, eager to personally stop Frank—he represents a family that Frank is trying to force out of their house. After Charlie makes an attempt to prove that he's more legally apt than the actual lawyer, he challenges him to a duel; the lawyer immediately accepts, claiming to have a loaded gun in his office desk. He also appears again in "Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens" when The Gang goes to him to get patents for products that they have created. He later tricks them into signing a document that grants him all the profits from the products that is also a restraining order against The Gang. He makes hundreds of copies after learning of Mac's tendency to eat such documents. He next appears in "Dennis Gets Divorced" where he represents Dennis's wife Maureen Ponderosa pro bono in their divorce.
) is first introduced in "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" as Dee's online chat buddy "soldier of fortune". He served as an American soldier in Iraq. He is mistaken as a handicapped person while getting off a bus from the airport in a wheelchair. Dee does not want to date a handicapped person so she decides to pretend that he was talking to Artemis over the internet, but soon discovers he isn't handicapped, he just twisted his knee getting off a plane in Germany. Ben is seen again in the episode "The D.E.N.N.I.S system" as Dee's boyfriend. He dumps her, calling her a "mean person" and goes for a pharmacist that dumped Dennis after the latter "Dennis-ed" her. Travis' character recurs again in season six with the episode "Mac's Big Break." Ben is seen chiefly wearing the jean shorts Frank purchased for him as a welcome-home gift. He appears again in "Dee Gives birth" as one of Dee's baby's potential fathers. He is again seen wearing the jean shorts.
) is the senior citizen with a penchant for long rambling stories who played the piano during Charlie's play in the season 4 finale "The Nightman Cometh". Dennis pretends she is his grandmother to win back a former girlfriend in "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System". In her many stories she claims she was friends with Calvin Coolidge
and that her grandmother was the lesbian lover of Susan B. Anthony
.
) is Dennis's high school girlfriend and the sister of Bill Ponderosa. Dennis eventually gets back in touch with Maureen and marries her in "Mac Fights Gay Marriage". She has a dead tooth that makes her breath "smell like she nibbled on little pieces of shit". Dennis gets tired of Maureen fairly quickly and in "Dennis Gets Divorced" she hires the Lawyer as a divorce lawyer who gets her alimony.
) is the high school principal who hires Dee as a substitute teacher and Charlie as a janitor in "The Gang Gets A New Member". He fires both of them in the next episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth" because Dee took her students on a field trip to Paddy's Pub to watch Mac and Dennis's Lethal Weapon 5 movie and because Charlie's mentoring of a student named Richie led to him dressing up in blackface after watching the movie. The principal laments that he probably won't be employed at the school much longer either due to their shenanigans.
) are Frank's bizarre friends that he met under a bridge. They appear in "Charlie Kelley: King Of The Rats" where Frank wants the gang to invite them to go to the gang's luau
. They later appear in "Dee Gives Birth" to provide music for their party/interrogation of Dee's potential baby's daddies.
) Frank's older brother who ran a nightclub from the 1960s throughout the 1980s. During the 1970s he sent Frank to Colombia to be his cocaine quality control. After years of writing letters to Shadynasty, his girlfriend who he was going to propose to, and doing copious amounts of cocaine, Frank returned to confront Geno. Upon returning he finds that Geno has stolen Shadynasty from him, ostensibly due to her considerable cocaine habit. Years later, Geno returns to Paddy's to settle their feud once and for all, but Shadynasty eventually spurns both of them.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
.
Mac
Mac is Charlie Kelly's childhood friend and Dennis's high school friend and later roommate. He is a co-owner of Paddy's and its bouncer. He brags about his incredible hand-to-hand combat skills, though it is quite obvious he lacks any real skill or even a sense of proper athletic balance.Dennis Reynolds
Dennis is a co-owner of Paddy's and is Deandra's twin brother. Dennis is extremely narcissistic, selfish, histrionic and vain perpetuated by his Ivy League education at the University of Pennsylvania. His sense of self-worth is entirely dependent on what others think of his appearance and he often suggests the best way to sleep with a woman is to make her think she may get raped.Charlie Kelly
Charlie is co-owner at Paddy's and a childhood friend of Mac and Dennis. He is also Frank's roommate. Charlie is the janitor at the pub and an illiterate alcoholic and huffer who suffers from deep psychological problems and lives in squalor. Charlie's intentions are often pure but his plans are almost always foiled. Charlie has anger management issues and often screams to get his point across.Deandra 'Sweet Dee' Reynolds
Dee is Dennis' twin sister, the main bartender at Paddy's and the show's main female character. She is often subject to ridicule from the rest of The Gang. Dee dreams of becoming an actress even though she has no acting experience and lacks talent. Like her brother, Dee is very egocentric.Frank Reynolds
Frank is the legal (but not biological) father of twins Dennis and Dee, and possibly the biological father of his roommate Charlie. He used to be a successful businessman with a long history of illegal operations and dealings with sordid characters. Though he has the money to live elsewhere, he chooses to live in squalor with Charlie.The Waitress
The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth EllisMary Elizabeth Ellis
Mary Elizabeth Ellis is an American actress and writer best known for her recurring role as "The Waitress" on the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia...
) is the most frequently recurring character outside of The Gang. She works at a coffee shop
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
not far from Paddy's, and is introduced in the first episode, "The Gang Gets Racist," as the object of Charlie's affections. The Waitress has absolutely no interest in Charlie but harbors an unrequited crush
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
on Dennis, who slept with her in the episode "Charlie Has Cancer". She did spend the night with Charlie while they were both at the Jersey Shore but only did so because she was high on Ecstasy, and in the morning she was sickened and ran away from Charlie after accusing him of drugging her. However, Charlie wasn't upset by her reaction and was happy he got to spend any time with her at all. Charlie goes to great lengths to woo her, while she goes to great lengths to attract Dennis' attention. In attempts to make Dennis jealous, she "banged" Frank in the episode "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom" and went grinding
Grinding (dance)
Perreo is a Puerto Rican dance associated with reggaeton music, that focuses on grinding, with the man facing the back of the woman. The word 'perreo', meaning dancing doggystyle, derives from the Spanish word perro, meaning "dog". This is also known as "booty dancing" or "grinding" in the United...
on a homeless man in the episode "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off." Frequently, her infatuation with Dennis causes her to make decisions against her better moral judgment. Also because of her obsession with Dennis, she is often the victim of The Gang's manipulative schemes. She is a recovering alcoholic, a fact referenced first in "The Gang Gives Back," when she becomes Charlie's Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
sponsor, and referenced again in "Who Pooped the Bed" and "The Waitress Gets Married." As a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, none of the characters seem to know her real name; she is simply referred to as "The Waitress," although it was hinted Charlie may know her name in "The Gang Sells Out" when he chides her for liking Dennis when he doesn't even know her real name. The only clues to her real name are that it does not start with "W" and is not "Beautiful"; the name Dennis gave to her when he was accused of not knowing what it was. In "The Waitress Is Getting Married," it is revealed that she went to high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
with the gang, and she and Sweet Dee both dated the same guy in high school. Mary Elizabeth Ellis is Charlie Day's real-life spouse.
Artemis
Artemis (Artemis PebdaniArtemis Pebdani
Artemis Pebdani is an actress best known for her work as Artemis on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She is a foul-mouthed friend of Sweet Dee....
) is one of the more frequently recurring secondary characters, introduced in "Charlie Gets Cancer" as Sweet Dee's friend from her acting classes who acts out a scene from Coyote Ugly
Coyote Ugly (film)
Coyote Ugly is a 2000 romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City. The film stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia...
(which featured actress Kaitlin Olson in a small part). Artemis is overly serious about her craft and displays bizarre habits and outbursts. She is very open about her sexuality and often offers to perform in the nude, even when it is unnecessary. Recently she was involved in a sexual relationship with Frank and the two shared a food fetish. She likes having sex with bacon bits in her hair because it makes her feel like a cobb salad. She and Frank once had sex in a dumpster behind Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, where she did something with a roll. She has openly proclaimed that she has a "bleached asshole
Anal bleaching
Anal bleaching is the process of lightening the color of the skin around the anus. It is done for cosmetic purposes, to make the anus more uniform with the surrounding area....
".
Rickety Cricket
Matthew Mara (David HornsbyDavid Hornsby
David Hornsby is an American television and film actor and writer.-Early life and education:Hornsby was born in 1973 in Houston, Texas...
), also known as "Rickety Cricket", is a former priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and classmate of the Gang. He wore humiliating giant leg braces in high school, which gave him his nickname. He first appears in "The Gang Exploits a Miracle" to reveal that he still harbors his high school crush on Sweet Dee. He admits he was convinced to eat horse feces for a chance to kiss Dee, which she refused since, as she says, "his breath smelled like shit". Mac and Dennis have been teabagging
Teabagging
To tea bag is a slang term for the act of a man placing his scrotum in the mouth of a sexual partner or onto the face or head of another person. The practice resembles dipping a tea bag into a cup of tea when it is done in a repeated in-and-out motion...
Cricket at every opportunity since high school. Dennis claims that he has a shoebox full of pictures of him and Mac doing this, and pictures are surfacing on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
One recurring theme in the series is Cricket's downward spiral; due to his involvement with the Gang he leaves the priesthood, begs for change in the streets, becomes addicted to crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, has his legs broken by the mob, has his throat injured by Frank in a wrestling match, and is hunted by Mac and Dennis for sport. He has since carried a vendetta
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
against The Gang and attempts to get his revenge in various episodes, but consistently fails to do so. He shows up in "Mac's Big Break", when he appears on Dennis and Sweet Dee's inaugural podcast, remarking about his life as a homeless person. He also shows up in "Dee Gives Birth" because Frank was trying "to cast a wider net" in finding out the identity of Dee's baby's father and he considered Rickety Cricket to be "the wildcard".
The McPoyle Brothers
Brothers Ryan McPoyle (Nate Mooney) and Liam McPoyle (Jimmi SimpsonJimmi Simpson
James Raymond "Jimmi" Simpson is an American actor. He has had recurring roles on the television shows 24, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Psych, My Name Is Earl, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Late Show with David Letterman...
) are creepy former elementary-school classmates of Mac and Charlie. They are introduced in "Charlie Gets Molested" when they falsely accuse a former teacher of pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
and Charlie and the rest of the gang foil their plan and turn them in to the police, which sparks the McPoyles' antipathy toward the Paddy's Pub gang. Liam and Ryan have an incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship with each other and their deaf-mute
Deaf-mute
For "deafness", see hearing impairment. For "Deaf" as a cultural term, see Deaf culture. For "inability to speak", see muteness.Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was both deaf and could not speak...
sister Margaret (Thesy Surface). As seen in "The Gang Gets Invincible", they have at least 14 other siblings and family members, who all sport the McPoyle unibrow
Unibrow
A unibrow is a "confluence of eyebrows"; that is, the presence of abundant hair between the eyebrows, so that they seem to converge to form one long eyebrow. The condition of having a unibrow is synophrys.-Beauty culture:...
s, acne
Acne
Acne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...
, and eczema
Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
. The most notable relative is "Doyle McPoyle" (Bob Rusch), an aspiring football player
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
who lost his chance to play for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
when a hallucinating Frank accidentally shot him in the leg. Ryan and Liam avenge this in the episode "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" by faking a raid on the bar. The McPoyles also have a strange obsession with milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
and prefer warm, clammy conditions.
Carmen
Carmen (Brittany DanielBrittany Daniel
Brittany Ann Daniel is an American television and film actress. She is the twin sister of actress and photographer Cynthia Daniel...
) is a male-to-female transsexual who was dating Mac. She first appears in the season 1 episode "Charlie Has Cancer", then reappears in the season 3 episode "Mac Is a Serial Killer". She is attractive but displays an obvious bulge
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
in her pants. She keeps Mac interested in her with promises of undergoing sexual reassignment surgery and with constant flattery of Mac's physique. In "Mac Fights Gay Marriage", she has completely removed her penis, and has gotten married to Nick, much to Mac's chagrin. In "Dee Gives Birth" it is revealed that Carmen is the father of Dee's baby (she had her sperm frozen before she had her penis removed) and that they used an anonymous egg donor and Dee was merely a surrogate. Dee gave the baby to Carmen and her husband Nick to raise. In the unaired pilot Carmen is portrayed by Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-born American actress most widely known for roles in several American science fiction television shows: as Inara Serra in the series Firefly; as Adria in the series Stargate SG-1; and as Anna in the 2009 version of the series V...
.
Nick
Nick (Windell Middlebrooks) is Carmen's portly African-American husband. Mac is initially annoyed that Carmen had moved on to Nick instead of calling him after she had her penis removed. Mac does not agree with gay marriage and quotes the Bible verse Romans 1:27 to Nick, to which Nick responds with the Bible quote Exodus 21:20 endorsing slavery. Nick later appears in "Dee Gives Birth" where it is revealed that Dee is a surrogate for the couple since Nick cannot have kids but Carmen had frozen her sperm before her operation.Ernie
Ernie (David Zdunich) is the "Barfly" who is commonly seen in the background in the bar. He is in every single episode that is shot in the bar, but he is noticed in the episode "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia." handing over the paper to the "gang" for them to see the journalist's article.The Lawyer
The Lawyer (Brian UngerBrian Unger
Brian Unger is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and commentator.-Biography:Born in Granville, Ohio in a family with Romanian ethnic heritage, Unger graduated from Ohio University in 1987, where he majored in communication...
) is first seen in "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead" where The Gang mistake him for having personal involvement as the executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
of Barbara Reynolds' will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
. He returns in Season 5, eager to personally stop Frank—he represents a family that Frank is trying to force out of their house. After Charlie makes an attempt to prove that he's more legally apt than the actual lawyer, he challenges him to a duel; the lawyer immediately accepts, claiming to have a loaded gun in his office desk. He also appears again in "Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens" when The Gang goes to him to get patents for products that they have created. He later tricks them into signing a document that grants him all the profits from the products that is also a restraining order against The Gang. He makes hundreds of copies after learning of Mac's tendency to eat such documents. He next appears in "Dennis Gets Divorced" where he represents Dennis's wife Maureen Ponderosa pro bono in their divorce.
Ben Smith
Ben Smith (Travis SchuldtTravis Schuldt
Travis Schuldt is an American actor. He originated the role of Ethan Winthrop on the NBC soap opera Passions from 1999 to 2002, and played a recurring role of Keith Dudemeister in the sitcom Scrubs from 2006-2008.-Career:...
) is first introduced in "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" as Dee's online chat buddy "soldier of fortune". He served as an American soldier in Iraq. He is mistaken as a handicapped person while getting off a bus from the airport in a wheelchair. Dee does not want to date a handicapped person so she decides to pretend that he was talking to Artemis over the internet, but soon discovers he isn't handicapped, he just twisted his knee getting off a plane in Germany. Ben is seen again in the episode "The D.E.N.N.I.S system" as Dee's boyfriend. He dumps her, calling her a "mean person" and goes for a pharmacist that dumped Dennis after the latter "Dennis-ed" her. Travis' character recurs again in season six with the episode "Mac's Big Break." Ben is seen chiefly wearing the jean shorts Frank purchased for him as a welcome-home gift. He appears again in "Dee Gives birth" as one of Dee's baby's potential fathers. He is again seen wearing the jean shorts.
Jack Kelly
Uncle Jack Kelly (Andrew Friedman) is Charlie's uncle (the brother of Charlie's mother Bonnie). He first appeared in the season 1 finale "Charlie Got Molested" wherein Charlie's family gives him an intervention to get him to admit he had been molested by his elementary school teacher (this belief was fostered by the scam the McPoyles were running to extort money from the school system). Uncle Jack appears again in the season 5 episode "The Great Recession." When Charlie tries to move back in with his mother after Frank kicks him out of their apartment, she reveals that she sublet Charlie's room to Uncle Jack to earn extra money. Jack insists they share the room and spend time wrestling there. In the season 6 episode "Dennis Gets Divorced," Charlie and Frank call in Jack, who is revealed to be a lawyer, to handle their divorce. Later, Dennis and Mac use him to try to get their apartment back from Dennis' ex-wife, only to find that she hired The Lawyer. Jack proves to be incompetent, getting the apartment back in exchange for Dennis taking his wife's $90,000 debt. It is heavily implied that Uncle Jack is a pedophile and wants to have sex with his nephew. Charlie has mentioned how, as a child, he would stay awake at night because Uncle Jack would want to sleep in his bed, and Charlie's lyrics to "Nightman" seem to revolve around a man sneaking into his room at night and raping him.Gladys
Gladys (Mae LabordeMae Laborde
Mae Laborde is an American television and film actress, who began her career at the age of 93 and who is, as of 2010 at age 101, still active .-Background:...
) is the senior citizen with a penchant for long rambling stories who played the piano during Charlie's play in the season 4 finale "The Nightman Cometh". Dennis pretends she is his grandmother to win back a former girlfriend in "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System". In her many stories she claims she was friends with Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
and that her grandmother was the lesbian lover of Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
.
Lil Kevin
Kevin Gallagher (Kyle Davis) a potentially retarded rapper who dates Dee in "Sweet Dee Is Dating A Retarded Person". Dennis convinces Dee to dump Kevin because he's retarded only for her to later discover he isn't. He later returns as one of Dee's potential baby's fathers in "Dee Gives Birth".Rex
Rex (TJ Hoban) first appears in "America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest" as one of the male models vying for the spot on Paddy's Pub's billboard. Although an early favorite of Frank's eventually Frank himself appears on the billboard. Rex returns in "Dee Gives Birth" where it is revealed he has slept with Dee after she insulted him.Maureen Ponderosa
Maureen Ponderosa (Catherine ReitmanCatherine Reitman
Catherine Marcelle Reitman is an American actress.Reitman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is French-Canadian actress Geneviève Robert and her father is director Ivan Reitman...
) is Dennis's high school girlfriend and the sister of Bill Ponderosa. Dennis eventually gets back in touch with Maureen and marries her in "Mac Fights Gay Marriage". She has a dead tooth that makes her breath "smell like she nibbled on little pieces of shit". Dennis gets tired of Maureen fairly quickly and in "Dennis Gets Divorced" she hires the Lawyer as a divorce lawyer who gets her alimony.
Bill Ponderosa
Bill Ponderosa (Lance Barber) first appears in "Mac Fights Gay Marriage" and the follow-up episode "Dennis Gets Divorced" as Dee's high school crush and the brother of Dennis's high school girlfriend Maureen Ponderosa. He has put on a lot of weight since high school. Dee eventually becomes his mistress when Dee thinks he bought her a new car when in fact the car belongs to another of Bill's mistresses. Bill returns to his wife. Bill later returns in "Dee Gives Birth" as one of Dee's potential baby's daddies. Bill reveals that he tells girls he's had a vasectomy so he doesn't have to use a condom. He also displays an affinity for cocaine.Korean busboy
The Korean Busboy (Maxie J. Santillan Jr.) worked at the Korean restaurant that threatened to steal business away from Paddy Pub's in "The Gang Solves The North Korea Situation". Dee sleeps with him to get information about their secret microbrew recipe. He laters returns as one of Dee's potential baby's fathers in "Dee Gives Birth".Principal Brian McIntyre
Principal Brian McIntyre (Dave FoleyDave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
) is the high school principal who hires Dee as a substitute teacher and Charlie as a janitor in "The Gang Gets A New Member". He fires both of them in the next episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth" because Dee took her students on a field trip to Paddy's Pub to watch Mac and Dennis's Lethal Weapon 5 movie and because Charlie's mentoring of a student named Richie led to him dressing up in blackface after watching the movie. The principal laments that he probably won't be employed at the school much longer either due to their shenanigans.
Duncan & Z
Duncan (David Gueriera) and Z (Chad ColemanChad Coleman
Chad Coleman is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing the character Dennis "Cutty" Wise from The Wire.-Life and career:...
) are Frank's bizarre friends that he met under a bridge. They appear in "Charlie Kelley: King Of The Rats" where Frank wants the gang to invite them to go to the gang's luau
Luau
A luau is a Hawaiian feast. It may feature food, such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia, and beer; and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula...
. They later appear in "Dee Gives Birth" to provide music for their party/interrogation of Dee's potential baby's daddies.
Rum Ham
The Rum Ham is a anthropomorphized ham soaked in rum that Frank somehow obtains in "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore." Mac estimates that it is about 90-proof. Rum Ham accompanied Frank and Mac on their ill-advised inflatable raft ride. While Frank and Mac are passed out Rum Ham somehow ends up in the water, and floats away. Frank is crushed by the loss of his friend, and goes so far as to try to stab Mac yelling "It should have been you!" The ham is later serendipitously recovered by an Italian fisherman, at which point Frank and Mac resume eating it. The remains of the Rum Ham can be seen in the background of "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties" in Frank and Charlie's apartment.Geno Reynolds
Geno Reynolds (Jon PolitoJon Polito
Jon Polito is an American actor and voice artist, who is known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing. He also appeared in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of...
) Frank's older brother who ran a nightclub from the 1960s throughout the 1980s. During the 1970s he sent Frank to Colombia to be his cocaine quality control. After years of writing letters to Shadynasty, his girlfriend who he was going to propose to, and doing copious amounts of cocaine, Frank returned to confront Geno. Upon returning he finds that Geno has stolen Shadynasty from him, ostensibly due to her considerable cocaine habit. Years later, Geno returns to Paddy's to settle their feud once and for all, but Shadynasty eventually spurns both of them.
Parents
- Barbara Reynolds (Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
) — Frank's gold-digging ex-wife, Dennis and Dee's mother. She is a cold, cruel, selfish woman with little affection for her family. Frank refers to her as his "whore wife". The finale of season two revealed that Barbara tricked Frank into raising the twins because she thought he was wealthier than their biological father, Bruce Mathis (played by Stephen Collins). She dies of a botched neck-lift in the third season; Frank, ecstatic over the news, delivers the news to The Gang armed with champagne. - Bruce Mathis (Stephen Collins) — Dennis and Dee's biological father. The antithesisAntithesisAntithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
of Frank Reynolds, Bruce devotes his time and money to charities and philanthropic efforts, including adoptingAdoptionAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
several suffering children in AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. He reconnects with his twins through Sweet Dee's MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page (in the episode "Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad"), but they are unable to have a successful relationship with him because of his good nature. He returns in "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead", in which he inherits Barbara's fortune and calls The Gang "the most horrible people alive". - Bonnie Kelly (Lynne Marie StewartLynne Marie StewartLynne Marie Stewart is an American film and television actress, best known for her performance as Miss Yvonne, the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land. She originated the role in the 1981 stage show The Pee-wee Herman Show and on the CBS television show Pee Wee's Playhouse...
) — Charlie's mom, a sweet and timid woman who is attracted to cruel men, but not to Dennis. She had a one-night stand with Frank Reynolds 30 years ago, possibly making him Charlie's biological father. She later reconnects with Frank, enjoying his harsh treatment and becoming his "bang-maid", but she quickly transfers her affections to the intimidating Luther Mac after meeting him at a dinner party thrown by Mac and Charlie. Quite neurotic and emotional, she is prone to dramatic episodes. There is evidence (as shown in the Christmas special) that Bonnie may have once been a prostitute, a fact which greatly upsets Charlie. In "Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down", Mrs. Mac accidentally burns her house down and goes on to move in with Bonnie, the two bonding over mutual racism. - Luther Mac (Gregory Scott Cummins) — Mac's father, a convicted felon. He is tall and has numerous tattoos and a generally intimidating appearance because he never blinks. Possibly due to his past imprisonment and intimidating presence, he is one of the few people The Gang does not immediately try to manipulate or exploit. The warm and gentle Bonnie Kelly is attracted to Luther's aloof behavior and criminal past. In his first appearance ("Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad"), he attempts to get Mac and Charlie (who have come to visit him in prison and bond with him) to smuggle heroin into the prison. In "Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender", he is out on parole and convinces Mac to help him "take care of some people" he has listed, including former witnesses in his trial and the judge who sentenced him. Charlie and Mac become convinced that he is using them as drivers while his murdering the people on his list (similar to the movie CollateralCollateral (film)Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie. It was Mann's first feature film to be shot mostly with high-definition cameras. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and for his CBS drama...
) and try to sabotageSabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
Luther's parole. They fail to do so and Mac is initially relieved when Luther is arrested for violating the parole on his own, but Mac is horrified to learn that A) Luther was APOLOGIZING to the people on his list and didn't harm any of them and B) the parole violation occurred when Luther made proscribed plane reservations to leave the state and take Mac and Charlie to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Luther calmly tells Mac he had no plans to hurt him before, but once he gets out of prison again, he's definitely going to murder him and Charlie. When he is paroled anew, Mac and Charlie fake their deaths to escape what they believe is an unstoppable wrath. Luther forgives Mac for this in a note which also tells Mac to stay far away from him and that he loves him and always had. He now spends his days sunning on a MexicanMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
beachBeachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
. - Mrs. Mac (Sandy MartinSandy MartinSandy Martin is an actress who has over 60 film credits and has been an actress, producer, director and writer in professional theater productions....
) — Mac's mom first appears in "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom". Like Bonnie, she thinks Dennis is unattractive. She is usually seen smoking and watching television on the front porch of her home. She is extremely apathetic, demonstrated by her falling asleep at her son's "funeral" with a portable TV on her lap and remaining the same as usual when Luther is out on parole. In "Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down", she accidentally burns her house down and goes on to move in with Mrs. Kelly, the two bonding over mutual racism. - Pop Pop (Tom Bower): "The Gang Finds a Dead Guy" found Dennis and Dee's grandfather languishing in a nursing home, rarely visited by relatives. He was a former Nazi of whom Dennis is the spitting image. Charlie pretended to be Pop Pop's grandson when he and Dee visited him; after Pop Pop's death, Charlie appropriated Pop Pop's Nazi-uniform cap. It is not stated whether Pop Pop is Dennis and Dee's paternal grandfather or maternal grandfather. It's more likely that he is their maternal grandfather, for it is seen in a picture of his young self that he looks a lot like Dennis.