Ted Mosby
Encyclopedia
Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby (born April 25, 1978) is the titular fictional character
of the U.S.
television sitcom How I Met Your Mother
, portrayed by Josh Radnor
. Ted serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget
, as he tells his children the long version of how he met their mother.
(like show creator Carter Bays
), a graduate of Wesleyan University
(like Bays) and an architect
. After his best friend Marshall Eriksen
gets engaged, Ted decides to try and find his soul mate. This quest informs the general direction of the show, and Ted's relationship with the other main characters Marshall Eriksen
, Lily Aldrin
, Robin Scherbatsky
, and Barney Stinson
.
Prone to socially questionable romantic gestures, he steals a blue French horn (nicknamed "The Smurf Penis") that was a topic of conversation in his first date with Robin Scherbatsky
. In a similar vein, he also dresses up as a "hanging chad" every year for Halloween, in the hopes of meeting the "Slutty Pumpkin
," a woman dressed as a jack-o'-lantern (complete with strategically placed holes) whom he once met at a Halloween party.
For a time in the first season, he dates a baker named Victoria, whom he meets at a friend's wedding. She accepts a culinary fellowship in Germany
, prompting a long-distance relationship, which does not last, due in large part to his persistent feelings for Robin. Ted upsets Robin by implying that Victoria broke up with him when she didn't. Ted and Robin make out before both women realise they've been deceived. Ted and Robin ultimately reconcile as friends, and Ted makes one last attempt to win her over, hiring a chamber orchestra with blue instruments to play in her apartment while he makes his appeal. She finally acquiesces some time later when Ted apparently summons a storm with a complicated rain dance. After nearly a year together, they break up upon realizing that they want different things from life, and Ted no longer sees Robin as "The One", but doesn't reveal the identity of his future wife. Robin, however, does act as an "Aunt" to his future children.
Ted comes from Shaker Heights, Ohio (in real life, Josh Radnor grew up in the Columbus, Ohio
area). He was seen cheering for the Cleveland Indians
when they were playing the New York Yankees
at a baseball game in the episode "Where Were We?
" and also alluded to once being trapped under a fake rock at a mall in Ohio when he was 9 in the episode "Slap Bet
." He also wears a Cleveland Indians t-shirt in the episode "Sandcastles In The Sand
". He and Marshall were randomly assigned as freshman year roommates at Wesleyan but became friends on a long road trip that was deemed both "Fieroasco" (by Marshall) and the "100k Fiasco" (by Ted). This story was told in "Arrivederci, Fiero
".
For a while Ted claimed to be "vomit-free since '93", meaning he had not vomited for any reason since 1993. However, in the episode "Game Night
", he reveals that this is not true, and that he vomited on Robin's door mat. He knows sign language
(presumably American Sign Language
), and has a strong tendency to correct everything that people around him say.
It is revealed in "No Tomorrow" that at a St. Patrick's Day party he and Barney attended, his future wife was also present, although he (fortunately) did not meet her that night. Once he returns to the room of the party the morning after, he picks up a yellow umbrella
which can be seen blowing in the wind in the season promo. Also, he becomes the second main character to actually own a car (a blue Toyota Camry
Hybrid) after getting a raise at his job in "The Chain of Screaming
." By the end of the episode, Ted decides to get rid of the car to help Marshall with his money problems.
In "The Goat," Ted tells Barney that he no longer wants to be friends after Barney breaks the "bro code" by sleeping with Robin. The two eventually reconcile in the Season Three finale "Miracles", after both were in accidents (Ted in a taxi crash, Barney being run over by a bus on the way to visit Ted in the hospital). At the end of season 3, it is also revealed that by Ted's 31st birthday, Robin will be living in the apartment.
At the beginning of the third season, Ted, while drunk, gets a tattoo on his lower back (his "tramp stamp"). He goes to see a doctor in order to have it removed, and goes on a date with the doctor in "The Platinum Rule." In "Ten Sessions
," he falls for his doctor, Stella Zinman, and after the tattoo is removed, Ted takes her on a two-minute date. They begin dating, and at the end of "Miracles" Ted proposes to Stella. She says yes at the beginning of the fourth season. Ted invites Stella's ex-boyfriend to his wedding, which unbeknownst to him, causes Stella and her ex-boyfriend's feelings to reemerge for each other and Stella leaves Ted at the altar.
Ted's life continues to see a negative turn during the fourth season. After being left at the altar, Ted has trouble getting back into the dating world, and his job becomes a source of trouble as well. After being hired to design a project for Goliath National Bank, he is fired after weeks of unsuccessful work. He attempts to remedy this by starting his own firm, Mosbius Designs, but continues to be unable to get a client. In the season four finale "The Leap
", Ted ultimately accepts a job as an architecture professor offered to him by Stella's ex-husband Tony as a peace offering, though Tony's movie The Wedding Bride
, released in the next season, pits a caricature of Ted as its villain against a romanticized version of Tony and Stella.
Recently it has been established that he is a big fan of Weird Al. Supposedly he wrote Weird Al a letter when he was a kid with the suggestion for Weird Al's parody "Like a surgeon"
Some clues given are that Ted's future wife is a college student learning economics, who was in the classroom on Ted's first day as a professor, is the roommate of Ted's one-time-girlfriend Cindy, and that their meeting involves her yellow umbrella
. It was also mentioned that she was at the same nightclub as Ted and Barney on St. Patrick's day. There are indications that Ted meets his future wife at a wedding in which he is the best man, and there is a very strong implication that Barney will be the groom at said wedding.
There is some reason to believe that the titular "Mother" will have the first name of Tracey. This is reasoned by an episode in Season One where he meets a stripper named Tracey, and then tells his children "..and that is the true story of how I met your mother" - where the kids react with a shock before he dismisses it as joke.
There are some significant clues as to the identity of Ted's future wife. For example, in the fourth season finale, Ted alludes to the fact that he met his future wife on his first day as a professor. Later on, he also states that Cindy's roommate was his wife, implying that he has seen her (only her foot) prior to meeting her. When Barney meets his real father, Jerome Whitaker, Jerome states that he has a daughter by the name of Carly who is currently in college. In the first episode of the sixth season, Ted tells his kids that he met their mother at a wedding and the wedding is later revealed to be Barney's wedding in which Ted was his best man, implying that he may have met Barney's step-sister while at the wedding.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television sitcom How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, portrayed by Josh Radnor
Josh Radnor
Joshua Michael "Josh" Radnor is an American actor, director, and writer, best known for portraying the main character Ted Mosby on the popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he has received worldwide fame and recognitions.He made his writing and directorial debut...
. Ted serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget
Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
, as he tells his children the long version of how he met their mother.
Character history
Ted, the central character of the show, is from Shaker Heights, OhioShaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
(like show creator Carter Bays
Carter Bays
Carter Bays is an American television writer. Along with writing partner Craig Thomas, he is best known as creator, writer, and executive producer of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He has 70 episodes of the show under his belt from 2005-2009, and has been nominated for six primetime Emmy...
), a graduate of Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
(like Bays) and an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. After his best friend Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.-Character profile:Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota...
gets engaged, Ted decides to try and find his soul mate. This quest informs the general direction of the show, and Ted's relationship with the other main characters Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.-Character profile:Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota...
, Lily Aldrin
Lily Aldrin
Lillian "Lily" Aldrin is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is the wife of Marshall Eriksen and the best friend of Robin Scherbatsky...
, Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders.- Early life :...
, and Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson
Barnabas "Barney" Stinson is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. The character has been extremely well received by critics and has been credited for much of the show's success...
.
Prone to socially questionable romantic gestures, he steals a blue French horn (nicknamed "The Smurf Penis") that was a topic of conversation in his first date with Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders.- Early life :...
. In a similar vein, he also dresses up as a "hanging chad" every year for Halloween, in the hopes of meeting the "Slutty Pumpkin
Slutty Pumpkin
"Slutty Pumpkin" is the 6th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on October 24, 2005.- Plot :...
," a woman dressed as a jack-o'-lantern (complete with strategically placed holes) whom he once met at a Halloween party.
For a time in the first season, he dates a baker named Victoria, whom he meets at a friend's wedding. She accepts a culinary fellowship in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, prompting a long-distance relationship, which does not last, due in large part to his persistent feelings for Robin. Ted upsets Robin by implying that Victoria broke up with him when she didn't. Ted and Robin make out before both women realise they've been deceived. Ted and Robin ultimately reconcile as friends, and Ted makes one last attempt to win her over, hiring a chamber orchestra with blue instruments to play in her apartment while he makes his appeal. She finally acquiesces some time later when Ted apparently summons a storm with a complicated rain dance. After nearly a year together, they break up upon realizing that they want different things from life, and Ted no longer sees Robin as "The One", but doesn't reveal the identity of his future wife. Robin, however, does act as an "Aunt" to his future children.
Ted comes from Shaker Heights, Ohio (in real life, Josh Radnor grew up in the Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
area). He was seen cheering for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
when they were playing the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at a baseball game in the episode "Where Were We?
Where Were We?
Where Were We? is the seventh album by The Lucksmiths released in 2002 on Candle Records It is a compilation of tracks released between 1999 and 2001.-Track listing:# "The Cassingle Revival" – 3:17# "Myopic Friends" – 1:52...
" and also alluded to once being trapped under a fake rock at a mall in Ohio when he was 9 in the episode "Slap Bet
Slap Bet
"Slap Bet" is the 9th episode in season 2 of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on November 20, 2006. This episode was originally titled "Robin Sparkles."- Plot :...
." He also wears a Cleveland Indians t-shirt in the episode "Sandcastles In The Sand
Sandcastles In The Sand
"Sandcastles in the Sand" is the 16th episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 60th overall. It originally aired on April 21, 2008.- Plot :...
". He and Marshall were randomly assigned as freshman year roommates at Wesleyan but became friends on a long road trip that was deemed both "Fieroasco" (by Marshall) and the "100k Fiasco" (by Ted). This story was told in "Arrivederci, Fiero
Arrivederci, Fiero
"Arrivederci, Fiero" is the 17th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on February 26, 2007.- Plot :...
".
For a while Ted claimed to be "vomit-free since '93", meaning he had not vomited for any reason since 1993. However, in the episode "Game Night
Game Night
"Game Night" is the 15th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on February 27, 2006.- Plot :...
", he reveals that this is not true, and that he vomited on Robin's door mat. He knows sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
(presumably American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
), and has a strong tendency to correct everything that people around him say.
It is revealed in "No Tomorrow" that at a St. Patrick's Day party he and Barney attended, his future wife was also present, although he (fortunately) did not meet her that night. Once he returns to the room of the party the morning after, he picks up a yellow umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
which can be seen blowing in the wind in the season promo. Also, he becomes the second main character to actually own a car (a blue Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
Hybrid) after getting a raise at his job in "The Chain of Screaming
The Chain of Screaming
"The Chain of Screaming" is the 15th episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 59th overall. It originally aired on April 14, 2008.- Plot :...
." By the end of the episode, Ted decides to get rid of the car to help Marshall with his money problems.
In "The Goat," Ted tells Barney that he no longer wants to be friends after Barney breaks the "bro code" by sleeping with Robin. The two eventually reconcile in the Season Three finale "Miracles", after both were in accidents (Ted in a taxi crash, Barney being run over by a bus on the way to visit Ted in the hospital). At the end of season 3, it is also revealed that by Ted's 31st birthday, Robin will be living in the apartment.
At the beginning of the third season, Ted, while drunk, gets a tattoo on his lower back (his "tramp stamp"). He goes to see a doctor in order to have it removed, and goes on a date with the doctor in "The Platinum Rule." In "Ten Sessions
Ten Sessions
"Ten Sessions" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of How I Met Your Mother, and the 57th episode overall of the series. It originally aired on March 24, 2008 on CBS...
," he falls for his doctor, Stella Zinman, and after the tattoo is removed, Ted takes her on a two-minute date. They begin dating, and at the end of "Miracles" Ted proposes to Stella. She says yes at the beginning of the fourth season. Ted invites Stella's ex-boyfriend to his wedding, which unbeknownst to him, causes Stella and her ex-boyfriend's feelings to reemerge for each other and Stella leaves Ted at the altar.
Ted's life continues to see a negative turn during the fourth season. After being left at the altar, Ted has trouble getting back into the dating world, and his job becomes a source of trouble as well. After being hired to design a project for Goliath National Bank, he is fired after weeks of unsuccessful work. He attempts to remedy this by starting his own firm, Mosbius Designs, but continues to be unable to get a client. In the season four finale "The Leap
The Leap (How I Met Your Mother)
"The Leap" is the 24th and final episode of season 4 of the How I Met Your Mother TV series and 88th overall. It originally aired on May 18, 2009.- Plot :...
", Ted ultimately accepts a job as an architecture professor offered to him by Stella's ex-husband Tony as a peace offering, though Tony's movie The Wedding Bride
The Wedding Bride
"The Wedding Bride" is the 23rd episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and is the 111th episode overall. It originally aired on May 17, 2010...
, released in the next season, pits a caricature of Ted as its villain against a romanticized version of Tony and Stella.
Recently it has been established that he is a big fan of Weird Al. Supposedly he wrote Weird Al a letter when he was a kid with the suggestion for Weird Al's parody "Like a surgeon"
Future Ted
Future Ted, voiced by Bob Saget, narrates the entire series to his children in 2030, framed as the story of how he met their mother. As of Season 6, the kids only know that Robin, Stella, Victoria and Zoey are not their mother, and the real mother has yet to be revealed.Some clues given are that Ted's future wife is a college student learning economics, who was in the classroom on Ted's first day as a professor, is the roommate of Ted's one-time-girlfriend Cindy, and that their meeting involves her yellow umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
. It was also mentioned that she was at the same nightclub as Ted and Barney on St. Patrick's day. There are indications that Ted meets his future wife at a wedding in which he is the best man, and there is a very strong implication that Barney will be the groom at said wedding.
There is some reason to believe that the titular "Mother" will have the first name of Tracey. This is reasoned by an episode in Season One where he meets a stripper named Tracey, and then tells his children "..and that is the true story of how I met your mother" - where the kids react with a shock before he dismisses it as joke.
There are some significant clues as to the identity of Ted's future wife. For example, in the fourth season finale, Ted alludes to the fact that he met his future wife on his first day as a professor. Later on, he also states that Cindy's roommate was his wife, implying that he has seen her (only her foot) prior to meeting her. When Barney meets his real father, Jerome Whitaker, Jerome states that he has a daughter by the name of Carly who is currently in college. In the first episode of the sixth season, Ted tells his kids that he met their mother at a wedding and the wedding is later revealed to be Barney's wedding in which Ted was his best man, implying that he may have met Barney's step-sister while at the wedding.
External links
- Ted Mosby is a Jerk - website set up by one of Barney StinsonBarney StinsonBarnabas "Barney" Stinson is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. The character has been extremely well received by critics and has been credited for much of the show's success...
's one-night stands after Barney gave "Ted" as his fake name in the episode Ted Mosby: ArchitectTed Mosby: Architect"Ted Mosby: Architect" is the fourth episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on October 9, 2006.- Plot :... - DOCTOR X - website of Ted's radio personality at Wesleyan University introduced in the episode The PossimpibleThe Possimpible"The Possimpible" is the 14th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 78th overall. It originally aired on February 2, 2009.- Plot :...
. - CULPA - Ted Mosby - Columbia students review Ted Mosby's teaching ability.