- āThank you! Come again!ā
- ―Apu's catchphrase
Dr. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon II, Ph.D. (born September 6, 1953), also known as Apu Du Beaumarchais[2], Slime Q Slimedog [3] and Steve Barnes [4], is the operator of the Kwik-E-Mart.
Biography
Apu's wedding with Manjula
During the 1960s, while still living in India, Apu spent some time as a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in which capacity he became a friend of Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. Apu's friendship with the McCartneys caused him to be referred to by some (mainly himself) as "The Fifth Beatle". They visited Apu in Springfield around the time he became naturalized. He says that he Graduated from Calcutta Technical university, where he was the top of his class of 7 million and got a scholarship in the United States at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.).[5] In the United States he got a doctorate in computer science by designing the world's first tic-tac-toe program that only the top human players could beat (which Bart promptly broke years later). He then took a job at the Kwik-E-Mart to pay back his student loans. He has great remebrence.
During the mid-1980s, Apu was a member of the barbershop quartet called The Be Sharps, which also
Apu's Convenience Store the Kwik-E-Mart
consisted of Homer Simpson, Seymour Skinner, and Barney Gumble, who replaced Chief Wiggum.[6] Upon the advice of Nigel, the band manager, Apu took the stage name Apu du Beaumarche (a pun, as "du beau marchƩ" means "of the beautiful market" in French) and denied that he was actually a Hindu.
Apu and Manjula married after two years. Despite trying to wriggle out of the situation, Apu was won over soon after meeting Manjula and the two actually did fall in love. Later, Manjula gave birth to eight children after receiving a larger-than-recommended dose of fertility drugs.[7] Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage, despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature, the strain of caring for eight children, and two instances of infidelity by Apu. He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha, and Vishnu. At Apu's wedding, Homer, in a misguided attempt to play on the bride and groom's families' fear of the gods, arrived dressed as the Hindu god Ganesh. The impersonation was seen through by one of Apu's relatives and failed miserably. Before his marriage, Apu became known as the leading ladies' man in Springfield, because he holds a Ph.D. and runs his own business. He also admitted, "I'm not much of a talker, but I love to listen. I also like to design and build furniture and then to have a discussion about where it could be placed in a room," which made the single women of Springfield go crazy for him. Despite his hectic marriage and home life, however, his first love is still to work in the Kwik-E-Mart, sometimes taking shifts long enough to send him into sleep deprived hallucinations in which he thinks he is "...a hummingbird of some kind." Also after Apu had an affair with the Annette, Manjula made him legally change his name to Slime Q Slimedog. He is revealed to have slept with Selma Bouvier after Homer and Marge's second wedding.
Apu in Yahtzee
He said he knows pi's 40000th digit (5), and claims that the last digit is 1.
Snake Holding a shot gun at Apu
When he becomes old, he looks like Sanjay.
Personality
Apu is generally polite towards his customers, always saying thank you. He is also a dutiful worker to the point of being a virtual workaholic, often spending more time at his workplace than even with his own family, to Manjula's irritation, especially when she finds out that in America, workplaces normally have weekends off, a practice that Apu evidentially never told her. However, he has had some negative traits, sometimes manipulating customers into buying things they don't really need, and also sometimes having some snideness slip out in his polite greetings. He also has a bit of a paranoid nature, as evidenced by his once jumping behind a counter and then shouting threats to Bart and Lisa who were walking in to investigate a robbery that Krusty was framed for, and at least twice went up to the roof and started shooting his rifle at potential customers.
Heritage
In addition to being Brahmans, Apu and Manjula appear to be South Indian, because of their last names and especially dark complexions. The name Apu means loving child in Tamil. However, Apu has also been shown to be Bengali.[8] However, Manjula speaks Hindi (interpreted as "baby talk" by Marge), to Maggie, as opposed to Tamil or Bengali, further complicating the matter. Still, Apu's parents very strongly appear to be Tamil.[9][10] Apu has a cousin named Kavi, who lives in Bangalore, which is part of Karnataka, South India; this would suggest that they are actually Kannadigas.[11]
Immigrant Status
Apu is a naturalized U.S. citizen and holds a Ph.D. in computer science. He graduated first in his class of seven million at the Calcutta Institute of Technology, going on to earn his doctorate at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology. His doctoral dissertation was the world's first computer program to play perfect tic-tac-toe (Bart Simpson ruined it years later by plucking a random punch card out of the box along with several others). Apu began working at the Kwik-E-Mart during his college years to help pay off his student loans.
Sanjay, Apu's brother, helps him run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay's daughter (and Apu's niece) is Pahusacheta. Sanjay's son is Jamshed. They all share the Nahasapeemapetilon surname. Apu has another younger brother, who is only mentioned in the episode of his marriage. When Apu's and Manjula's parents were first arranging their marriage, Apu was shown as the oldest of three on a chart. Apu also has a cousin living in India named Kavi, who helped Homer while he was in India. He works for many American companies taking service calls and can speak with American, Western, and Jamaican accents.[12] This episode, seeing that it takes place in Bangalore, strengthens the theory that Apu was born in South India.
Non Canon appearances
Video Games
Apu is the only non-Simpson family playable character in the video game The Simpsons: Hit and Run, and his standard vehicle is a yellow version of his Pontiac Firebird called "Longhorn". He is in the fifth level which is downtown Springfield at night. He appears walking around Springfield in The Simpsons Game but is a non-playable character. He is also a driver and passenger in The Simpsons Road Rage.
Futurama
Although he did not appear fully in person in The Simpson's sister show, Futurama, his head could be seen in the head museum in "Space Pilot 3000" and "Bender's Big Score".
Behind the Laughter
Apu is voiced by Hank Azaria. Apu's surname, Nahasapeemapetilon, is a spoonerism of the name Pahasaneemapetilon, the surname of a schoolmate of Simpsons writer Jeff Martin.
Merchandising
Apu has had four action figures in the World of Springfield line. There is also an Apu figure in the Kidrobot
World of Springfield Apu with Kwik-E-Mart
figure line.
Trivia
- Apu is Matt Groening's favorite character.
- Apu is a vegetarian.
Appearances
Gallery
External links
References
- ā Homer's Barbershop Quartet
- ā Homer's Barbershop Quartet
- ā The Sweetest Apu
- ā All's Fair in Oven War
- ā Much Apu About Nothing
- ā Homer's Barbershop Quartet
- ā Eight Misbehavin'
- ā 22 Short Films About Springfield
- ā Much Apu About Nothing
- ā The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons
- ā Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore
- ā Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore