Hamburglar

The Hamburglar, McDonald's "burger coveting" mascot. Vital Information Species: Human Gender: Male Hair Color: Bright Red Character

description: "Burglar pilferer", always foiled by Ronald McDonald in McDonald's TV commercials Character information Appeared in: Has appeared in many TV/print ads for McDonald's since 1971

The Hamburglar is a McDonaldland character who features in McDonald's commercials. He is a close friend of Ronald McDonald, Grimace, and Birdie. Even though he has always attempted (and failed) to hoard all the hamburgers in McDonaldland for himself, he has always been looked upon as a valued member of the McDonaldland community.

Hamburglar was voiced by Howard Morris in most commercials, Charlie Adler in some 1980s commercials and "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald"; and Carl W. Wolfe in some 1990s commercials. He was portrayed by Tommy Vicini from 1992-2003 after brief stints in the 1980s sharing the role with 20 year veteran Frankie Delfino (1971-1991).

History

Despite a few changes made to his appearance over the years, he has always been endearingly loved by fans all over the world. A pint-sized burglar who first appeared in March 1971 and was one of the first villains on the commercials, he was dressed in a black-and-white hooped shirt and pants, a red cape, a wide-brimmed hat, and black gloves. His primary object of theft was hamburgers (sometimes cheeseburgers), hence his name. The character, like Grimace, started out as a villain, only he was old, had a long nose, gray hair, and was called the Lone Jogger in some 1970s commercials, sporting a shirt that said "Lone Jogger". Hamburglar spoke in gibberish which was often translated by Captain Crook.

He was revised in 1985, when his look changed from a trollish old man to a red-head Dennis the Menace-type child who spoke and wore a shorter-brimmed hat and a black cape with yellow on the inside. He also wore red and white shoes to go with the look, with four-fingered red gloves. His previously-unintelligible muttering was now the familiar "robble robble." In "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald," he took on a new, sporty appearance wearing green goggles, a leather jacket, striped shirt, shorts and sneakers. He loved playing tricks on his friends and still loved burgers. The last appearances of Hamburglar on television were prime time commercials promoting the dollar menu.

In 2015, new images were released by McDonald's depicting the Hamburglar as a grown man wearing a fedora, a macintosh jacket atop a black-and-white t shirt, with black jeans and with high-top sneakers. He still has a mask, but his face now also sports a good half-inch of designer stubble. The character will be in commercials for the first time since 2002.

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