This is a list of characters in the ''
Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...
'' comic strip, created by
Jim Davis, organized by category and date of first appearance.
Main characters
Garfield
First Appearance: June 19, 1978
Garfield is Jon's orange cat. Among his personality traits are his laziness, his cynicism and sarcasm, his hatred of Mondays, his tendency to be annoyed by Jon's dog Odie, and his love of lasagna, and his hatred of Nermal.
In February 2017, a dispute arose on the talk page of the character's Wikipedia page as to the character's gender. Although other characters have persistently referred to Garfield with male pronouns, owing to comments that the character's creator, Jim Davis, made in 2014 to
Mental Floss
''Mental Floss'' (stylized as ''mental_floss'') is an online magazine and its related American digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media and based in New York City, United States. mentalfloss ...
, in which he said, "Garfield is very universal. By virtue of being a cat, really, he's not really male or female or any particular race or nationality, young or old. It gives me a lot more latitude for the humor for the situations. Davis explained that although Garfield is neither male nor female, he does use male pronouns.
[
]
Jon Arbuckle
Jon Arbuckle is Garfield's owner.
First Appearance: June 19, 1978
Lyman
First Appearance: August 7, 1977
Last Appearance:
* As a regular: April 24, 1983
* Cameo in the tenth anniversary strip: June 19, 1988
In ''The Garfield Show'' episode "Long Lost Lyman" (season 3), effort is made to explain what became of the character in-continuity. Lyman is said to have left Odie with Jon, before moving away to work as a wildlife photographer in a distant jungle. When Jon learns that Lyman disappeared while searching for a mythical Bigfoot-like creature, Jon, Garfield, and Odie travel to the jungle to find him. The "Long Lost Lyman" version of Lyman has round eyes resembling Jon's, rather than the dot-eyes of his traditional comics design, and is voiced by Frank Ferrante
Frank Vincent Ferrante (born April 26, 1963) is an American stage actor, comedian and director known for his inspired improvisation and audience interactive comedy. His lengthy, acclaimed stage runs as the legendary American comedian Groucho Mar ...
.
Odie
Odie is a dog that resides with Jon and Garfield.
First Appearance: August 8, 1978
Pooky
First Appearance: October 23, 1978
Pooky is Garfield's toy bear that was found in a drawer by Garfield. Garfield often carries Pooky around and makes him interact with Jon.
Dr. Liz Wilson
First Appearance: June 26, 1979
On ''Garfield and Friends'', Liz was voiced by Julie Payne, occasionally appearing in the first two seasons and once in the fourth season. In the live-action/animated movies, she is played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her first, albeit brief, television appearance was on the second TV special, ''Garfield on the Town
''Garfield on the Town'' is a 1983 animated television special, directed by Phil Roman and based on the ''Garfield'' comic strip by Jim Davis. It once again starred Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield (who also co-wrote the special with Davis) ...
''.
In ''The Garfield Show
''The Garfield Show'' is a CGI animated television series produced by Dargaud Media and Paws, Inc.. It is based on the American ''Garfield'' comic strip created by Jim Davis. The animated series focuses on a new series of adventures for the ...
'', she is once again voiced by Julie Payne.
Nermal
First Appearance: September 3, 1979
Nermal is a small grey male tabby cat with thick eyelashes. Despite being an adult cat, he is smaller than most and prefers to call himself "the world's cutest kitten". Nermal was first introduced as Jon's parents' kitten.
In ''Garfield: The Movie'', Nermal is portrayed as a Siamese cat in the neighborhood, and is voiced by David Eigenberg
David Eigenberg (born May 17, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Steve Brady on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' and its revival series '' And Just Like That...'' and as Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann on NBC's '' Chic ...
. Nermal is voiced by Jason Marsden
Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director, producer and YouTuber, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He has been the official voice of ...
in ''The Garfield Show'', as well as in the films ''Garfield Gets Real
''Garfield Gets Real'' (also known as ''Garfield 3D'' in some regions) is a 2007 American direct-to-video computer-animated comedy film based on the comic strip ''Garfield''. It was produced by Paws, Inc. in cooperation with Davis Entertainment ...
'', '' Garfield's Fun Fest'', and '' Garfield's Pet Force''.
Arlene
First Appearance: December 17, 1980
Arlene is a pink cat with thick eyelashes, large lips, and a gap between her two front teeth. She is a love interest for Garfield and is often made fun of by him for her tooth gap.
In the ''Garfield'' film, she appears as a (purple shade) Russian Blue cat
The Russian Blue Cat (russian: Русская голубая кошка, Russkaya golubaya koshka), commonly referred to as just Russian Blue, is a cat breed with colors that vary from a light shimmering silver to a darker, slate grey. The short ...
, voiced by Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as '' Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...
.
Squeak
First Appearance: October 30, 1984
On ''Garfield and Friends'', the character was named ''Floyd'' and voiced by Gregg Berger
Gregory Alan Berger (born December 10, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jecht from ''Final Fantasy X'' and the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' games, Grimlock from '' The Transformers'', Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter from '' ...
, who also reprises the role in ''The Garfield Show.''[
]
Arbuckle Family
Mom
First Appearance: February 13, 1980
Dad
First Appearance: February 13, 1980
In ''The Garfield Show'', he is voiced by Frank Welker.
Aunt Gussie
First Appearance: August 14, 1981
Grandma
First Appearance: January 25, 1982
Jon's grandmother appears in ''Garfield's Thanksgiving
''Garfield's Thanksgiving'' is a 1989 American animated television special based on the ''Garfield'' comic strip. It once again featured Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield. The special was first broadcast November 22, 1989 on CBS and was nomi ...
'' and ''A Garfield Christmas Special'', in which she is voiced by Pat Carroll
Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...
.
Doc Boy
First Appearance: May 17, 1983
In ''A Garfield Christmas Special'', he was voiced by David Lander
David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...
.
Doc Boy also appears in six episodes of ''The Garfield Show'', with Lander reprising his role.
Garfield's family
Garfield's mother
Garfield's mother first appeared in the animated specials ''Garfield on the Town'' and '' Garfield: His 9 Lives.'' She has since made several cameos in the comic strip, including a December 1984 story that is a loose adaptation of ''Garfield on the Town
''Garfield on the Town'' is a 1983 animated television special, directed by Phil Roman and based on the ''Garfield'' comic strip by Jim Davis. It once again starred Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield (who also co-wrote the special with Davis) ...
''. She also appeared once on ''Garfield and Friends,'' in an episode called "The Garfield Rap." Sandi Huge provided her voice in the specials.
Garfield's grandfather
First Appearance: November 10, 1980
Garfield's grandpa first appeared in the strip on November 10, 1980.
In ''Garfield on the Town'', a different-looking, rougher maternal grandfather is seen living with Garfield's mother. Whether the comic strip's version is Garfield's paternal grandfather has not been explicitly clarified.
Minor recurring characters
Herman Post
First Appearance: July 19, 1978
Jon Arbuckle's mailman was a character on the first four seasons of ''Garfield and Friends''. In "The Mail Animal", he is fired because his boss, the postmaster, perceives him as being weak-willed. However, Garfield treats the postmaster even worse, resulting in the postmaster begging Post to return to work.
In ''The Garfield Show'' episode "Mailman Blues", he goes on vacation to Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. Before Post goes on vacation, he warns his replacement, Stu, about Garfield, describing him as a " monster". While Herman Post is on his vacation, Garfield torments Stu. However, Stu quits, and Herman returns early only after receiving a raise. He reveals that this has happened every year for 13 years.
In ''Garfield and Friends'', the mailman was voiced by Gregg Berger.
Irma
First Appearance: June 9, 1979
Binky the Clown
First Appearance: September 17, 1986
A television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" He appears to be a parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to te ...
, and in the cartoons shares an exaggerated raspy voice with the Bob Bell portrayal of Bozo. He is often compared to Krusty the Clown
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...
from ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
,'' who is also portrayed with an exaggeratedly raspy voice, based on Bell's.
The character first appeared in the animated TV special '' Garfield's Halloween Adventure''.
He was first mentioned in the comic strip on March 13, 1985. Other clowns are seen prior to this mention, but appear to be different characters. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986, then appeared in person on September 17, 1986.
The Big Vicious Dog
First Appearance: September 12, 1995
Hubert and Reba
Hubert and Reba are an elderly couple who live near Jon. Hubert is often portrayed as an older man, while Reba is often either unseen or tending to household chores. The couple made an appearance in ''Here Comes Garfield
''Here Comes Garfield'' is a 1982 animated television special based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. It was the first half-hour ''Garfield'' TV special. It is directed by Phil Roman and features Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield ...
''. In the animated cartoon, Hubert is portrayed as hostile towards Garfield and Odie, after Garfield tore up their yard and knocked flowers and dirt on Hubert's head. He calls the animal shelter
An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would ...
personnel to remove them. In the strips, Hubert is less hostile towards Garfield.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield
Lists of comic strip characters
Lists of characters in American television animation