Lenny Leonard
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Lenford "Lenny" Leonard is a fictional character in The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and is known for getting various objects stuck in his eyes. Lenny possesses a master's degree in Nuclear Physics, but is not portrayed as an academic. Lenny is generally a simple-minded, white-collar, working man, who tends to be rather naïve. His best friend is Carl Carlson.
He is also a war hero, a three-time juror and a Buddhist (although he is often shown in Reverend Lovejoy's church, suggesting that he may also be a Christian). During one episode, he showed himself to be an extremely adept guitar player. Lenny was also a member of the Stonecutters until the society was disbanded, at which point he joined the "No Homers" society.
Statistics
Lenny is an unmarried Chicago native, 35 years old (born the week of a massive bloody battle in Laos), and weighs approximately 164 pounds (75kg). He looks to be around 5' 11" (1.8m), and is often described as "plain looking". He had plastic surgery when a sudden upswing in the price of power plant stock led to most of the employees (with the exception of Homer) to have a big profit. In one episode it is revealed his real name might actually be 'Lenford Leonard', though the audience cannot be certain if this was just a joke.He was also known to have a diamond in one of his teeth which was shown in the "Dental Plan" episode which was stolen by one of his co-workers when he displayed his toothy smile.
Address
Lenny's address is unknown, although he once lived in an extremely run-down house that was falling apart – literally (it was also for sale at the time of appearance). It appears to have just one room with a roof. The wall facing the street falls down with exceptional timing, when Maude Flanders suggests that they (Ned Flanders, Marge Simpson and herself) should look inside the house before buying it. The house has not been seen since, and Lenny has moved out. This was humorously featured in one episode where Homer made reference to 'New Year at Lenny's' (apparently he "didn't even have a clock").Lenny was later seen living in a well-furnished apartment sharing a wall with a jai alai court; the Simpson family seem to dislike the sound of the ball hitting the wall but Lenny finds it to be a "soothing calmness".
In The Girl Who Slept Too Little, Lenny was once again seen living in a run-down home right next to the Stamp Museum, allowing the front lawn to be used as a parking lot.
In Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife, Lenny is shown again living in a well-furnished apartment, which includes a newly purchased plasma TV.
In Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore, when Mr. Burns announces that he is shutting down the power plant and shifting operations to India, Lenny cries out that he just bought a 3-million dollar house.
Job
Lenny works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant alongside Homer Simpson and Carl Carlson. In one episode he is promoted to head of the Power Plant when Mr. Burns loses all his money. He was described as having a "reign of terror", though all we see him do is sit at Mr. Burns' desk and say "work harder" over the loudspeaker. During this time, Homer did something bad, and Lenny told him to go home and think about what he did. However, Homer forgot was it was that he had done, so he just watched TV instead. Lenny is also considered the second richest man Homer knows. In an episode set in the future, Lenny is once again in charge of the Power Plant. In an interesting twist, in episode The Wandering Juvie it is revealed that he also is an undercover agent whose target is Homer.Friends
Lenny's most obvious friend is Carl Carlson (see below), as they are rarely seen apart. Other friends are Homer, and the regulars at Moe's Tavern, including Barney Gumble and Moe Szyslak. In one episode Lenny's friends attempt to throw a surprise party for him at Moe's, which is ruined by Homer, who then sits on a cake shaped like Lenny's favorite barstool, ruining it completely. Homer repeatedly confuses Carl and Lenny, and is on one occasion surprised to find out that Lenny is white and Carl is black. In Helter Shelter, Homer exclaims, "That's Lenny? I wanted the black one!", in another he has, "Lenny = White, Carl = Black," written on his hand, and in another episode, he remarks to Lenny while intoxicated that "I never held anything against you based on the color of your skin". Lenny is very popular with the Simpson family - in one episode, when Homer reports that Lenny has been taken to the hospital as a result of an explosion (a story Homer made up so he could go bowling), Marge and the kids all respond with "Oh no! Not Lenny! Not Lenny!" and build a prayer shrine for him. After the hoax is revealed, Marge says she is just relieved Lenny is all right. This joke is also used as a MacGuffin in certain episodes, for example in an episode with Lisa trying to lose weight, she discovers a cake inscribed "Happy Labor Day Lenny".Romantic Life
In Team Homer, Moe asks why Lenny and Carl are not there, to which Homer replies that they don't have time because they're with their mistresses. Lenny is a persistent bachelor who has poor luck with women. Lenny is seen in one episode Marge on the Lam shaving the legs of an overweight woman. She scolds him in this episode for not shaving in an upward direction, and calls him an idiot. Whether Lenny was in a relationship with this woman is unclear. Carl did mention singing "The Best Is Yet to Come" at Lenny's wedding, but in another episode, Lenny punched Carl for giving a bad speech at his wedding. Marge may have a crush on Lenny as she was once obviously distressed when Homer falsely told her he had died. She later was found to have a framed photo of him hidden in her hair. In Bart Star, it is revealed Lenny had dated Marge.Relationship with Carl
Lenny's relationship with Carl is complicated. Carl appears to be the dominant party and generally regards Lenny coolly. Nonetheless, they are constant companions. Despite Lenny and Carl appearing to be best friends, as of the Eighth Season, in the episode "In Marge We Trust", Carl had yet to meet Lenny's beauty-queen wife (In reality, Lenny was not married, he just told Carl he was to seem like a "Big Shot"). This may suggest that Carl had never been to Lenny's home before, or, at minimum, that Lenny and Carl are not as good of friends with one another as they appear to be. It has been hinted several times that Lenny and Carl might be gay, though this is likely a self-referential joke based on the fact that the two almost always appear together. The most notable occurrence is when Lenny tells Homer about Mt. Carlmore, a mountain that he carved Carl's face into during "one wonderful summer". Season 16 contains several hints that they might be gay. In one episode (GABF04), when Homer runs out of homosexual couples to marry, he speculates that Lenny and Carl might be interested. Marge scolds him, saying that the two need to work things out for themselves. In a different episode, when Lenny asks Chief Wiggum if he will be his "Rapture Buddy", Wiggum responds by saying, "What's wrong with Carl? Trouble in paradise?"
Also, in a Halloween episode where Lenny dies and sees Heaven, the angels all take the form of Carl. They chorus, 'Lenny! Hurry up! We'll be late for work at the plant!" In another Halloween episode, after being crushed by a helicopter, Lenny begs Carl to let him die first as he "couldn't bear" to watch Carl die. In several episodes where Lenny reveals his deepest desires, such as when Mayor Quimby switches off the town lights, and Lisa shouts "for eons people have gazed into the stars and have seen their deepest desires" - when Lenny looks up, he sees Carl's face in the stars. It has been hinted that although Lenny may feel sexually close to Carl, Carl himself may not feel the same, and it is often hinted that he thinks only about himself. For example, once again when Lisa tells the towns people to look into the stars, Carl sees an image of himself, not of Lenny. This may just suggest that there actually was Carl's face in the stars.
Political views
Lenny is most likely a Republican, due to the fact he has a tattoo on his chest supporting Bob Dole and Jack Kemp from the 1996 presidential election. However, a few years earlier he had described himself as "politically correct" and that local talk show host Birch Barlow's right-wing views made him feel "uncomfortable".Lenny's sensitive eye
Lenny has a very sensitive eye; his doctor states that he is not allowed to get pudding or jigsaw puzzle pieces in it. Lenny succeeds in getting a spring caught in his eye (the other end of which is caught in Moe's eye). This has become a running gag – in a later episode Homer makes a photo cube for Lenny and files down the edges so it will not hurt Lenny's eye. Lenny has also been referenced to having a rubber band shot into his eye, and he was in a movie (the Re-Deadening) where buttons were held onto his eyes with hot wax.
Stardom
Lenny once had a small part in a horror film called The Re-Deadening, a horror movie about a doll named "Baby Button Eyes" who is possessed by the spirit of a psychotic killer. In the movie, Lenny is a gardener who is killed by the doll. The performance he delivers is poor, either from a bad script or a failure to recite his lines correctly. Lenny was also featured in a publication of The New Yorker.Original source
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