3835. Grimace

Grimace is a large, purple character who was first introduced in November 1971 as the "Evil Grimace". In Grimace's first two appearances, he was depicted with two pairs of arms with which to steal milkshakes and pops. "Evil" was soon dropped from Grimace's moniker, and Grimace was reintroduced in 1972 as one of the good guys. In 1974, Grimace was redesigned, going from two pairs of arms to the single pair he has today. Grimace's 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. His appearance also changed to accommodate this factor in 1985, from a giant purple slob with a pink mouth and small pupils, to a gentle giant with movable eyebrows and eyelids, and a more kid-friendlier smile with a black mouth and a pink tongue. 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. The character's 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": Grimace has an unnamed mom, an unnamed dad, a grandma named "Winky", a great-great grandma named Jenny Grimace, and might have a brother named "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 was played by Patti Saunders (1971–1984) and voiced by Frank Welker in the commercials, Larry Moran in some commercials, and by Kevin Michael Richardson in "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald."