Osler's Razor

Grimace is a member of a little-known species called Purplus Nurplus. He lived on the moons of Endor, and his natural enemies include the Grapist, the Predator, and bees (he's allergic).
 

Grimace is a large, purple character who was first introduced in November 1971 as the "Evil Grimace". In his first two appearances, he was depicted with two pairs of arms with which to steal milkshakes and sodas. "Evil" was soon dropped from his moniker, and he was reintroduced in 1972 as one of the good guys. In 1974, he was redesigned, going from two pairs of arms to the single pair he has today. His role continued to grow, and by the mid 1970s, he was a major character in McDonaldland. Commercials and merchandise generally portray Grimace as a well-meaning simpleton whose clumsy antics provide a comic foil to Ronald McDonald. The character was retained after the streamlining of the characters in the 1980s, and soon details of Grimace's background and family life began to emerge. His Uncle O'Grimacey first appeared in 1986 [see below] and would visit only one month per year, around St. Patrick's Day, bringing Shamrock Shakes. Additional family were revealed in a McDonaldland VHS tape "The Legend of Grimace Island": He has an unnamed mom, an unnamed dad, a grandma named "Winky", a great, great grandma named Jenny Grimace, and a might be brothers with "King Gonga", who is the king of all Grimaces. In "Grimace's Oddysey", Grimace is portrayed as a ham radio enthusiast who uses a homemade transmitter made from a colander. Grimace's physical appearance is difficult to describe, even for the other denizens of McDonaldland. Ronald says Grimace has his mother's eyes, while Birdie says he has his father's prominent chin, and Hamburglar jokingly says he has his Grandma Winky's fat ankles. Despite his massive girth, Grimace took ballet classes. Grimace was played by Terri Casille and voiced by Frank Welker in the commercials and by Kevin Michael Richardson in "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald."
 

Early Birdie was weirder. Did she eat worms? Yuck!
 

I just remember that time that Grimace and Goro saved the Shire from the Nazis after they defeated Rodan. That was an awesome commercial.
 

You know I have a 6 year old, and until recently, we spent a great deal of time in McDonald's. We have since stopped eating fast food. However, in all the time i spent IN McDonald's in Play Land, That Clown is just not around. Seriously There are harldy any pics of the clown or any of the McD characters. I think maybe people have finally come around to my way of thinking, that clown are just creepy.
 

As a small child I loved Grimace. Then again, I also thought my uncle was a stunt-double for Mac Tonight, so I may not have been the best authority on this one.
 

Ronald McDonald is the creepiest of them all. In fact, all clowns are downright scary. If you want to maintain a permanent smile, wipe off that awful makeup and just get Botox for heaven's sake!
Denise
 

Grimace is a good guy?

I still think of him as "The Evil Grimace" and did not realize he does not still have four arms. I remember him stealing fries and shakes. Then again, I don't think I've seen a McDonald's ad in many a year.

I always figured he and the Hamburgler were to Ronald McDonald as the Riddler and the Joker were to Batman-- alternate villains for different episodes.

Changes in McDonaldland? Is Mayor McCheese still the Mayor? Is Big Mac still the Police Chief?
 

Anonymous 11:15 was my hero until I realized (s)he simply cut and pasted Wikipedia. Boo.

But this quote, "Some kind of relative to Oscar the Grouch that got out of his can?" made me spew milk across the lunchroom. LOL
 

Ginger, are you working in a middle school?
 

What's wrong with cutting and pasting from Wikipedia? I've seen lawyers cite it in briefs. (really)
 

I can't imagine McDonald's hiring stoners to do their ads when their food is primarily craved by... well... stoners.

Taking another gigantic leap, I can't believe that the advertising industry might be riddled with stoners.
 

Anonymous 3:50- Kinda, the capitol.

IPLaw- True, it's right up there with the History channel as a scholarly source.