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{{Otheruses4|the [[Family Guy]] character}}
{{Family Guy character
|name =Peter Löwenbräu Griffin <!-- Mickey McFinnigan didn't raise Peter, so McFinnigan is not a part of his name. Please do not add this. -->
|picture = [[Image:Peter Griffin.png|200px|Peter Griffin]]
|caption = Peter Griffin
|age = Early 40s <!-- Don't change that, Early 40s is the most accurate we are going to get. See the ref for more information. --><ref name="age">In "[[Brian Does Hollywood]]", when Stewie was interviewed for "Kids Say The Darndest Things" he was asked how old Peter was, to which he simply answered "42". Later, in "[[The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou]]", Peter's age is given as 43.</ref>
|relatives = '''Mother:''' [[List of characters from Family Guy#Peter's family|Thelma]]<br>'''Father:'''<br>[[List of characters from Family Guy#Peter's family|Francis]] ''(adoptive; deceased)''<br>[[Peter's Two Dads|Mickey McFinnigan]] ''(biological)''<br>'''Wife:''' [[Lois Griffin|Lois]]
'''Children:''' [[Meg Griffin|Meg]] ''(daughter)''<br>[[Chris Griffin|Chris]] ''(son)''<br>[[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]] ''(son)''
|hair = [[Brown hair|Brown]]
|occupation = [[Shipping]] clerk at ''Pawtucket Patriot Brewery''
|religion = [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]<ref>"[[Holy Crap]]" This episode shows that while Peter is not a regular churchgoer, he is still a nominal Catholic.</ref><ref>"[[The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz]]". Peter does not question Francis's demand that Stewie be baptized into the Catholic faith. Lois tells Peter he shouldn't just blindly accept his father's religion, which is Roman Catholic. Peter founds the First United Church of the Fonz and is its only priest, but the new religion collapses at the end of the episode.</ref>
|heritage = [[Irish American]] <!-- Don't add African American or Mexican American. The show has not established a strict continuity for Peter's ancestry, this is discussed in greater detail in the section titled "Ancestry" below.-->
|appearance = [[Death Has a Shadow]]
|voice = [[Seth MacFarlane]]
|}}

'''Peter Griffin''' <!-- Full name is detailed in infobox. Inessential in lede. --> is a [[Character (arts)|fictional character]] and the [[protagonist]] of the [[List of animated television series|animated television series]] ''[[Family Guy]]''.<ref>The middle name [[Löwenbräu]] is given in the episode "[[Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater]]". This may also be a pun on the term ''[[wiktionary:lowbrow|lowbrow]]'', implying [[low culture]]. </ref> Peter is the patriarch of the Griffin household and the central character in the show. He is married to [[Lois Griffin|Lois]], and is the father of [[Meg Griffin|Meg]], [[Chris Griffin|Chris]], [[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]], and [[Bertram (Family Guy)|Bertram]]. His voice, which has a thick [[Boston accent]], is performed by the show's creator and lead writer, [[Seth MacFarlane]].

{{cquote|The character is [[Archie Bunker]] without the knowledge of what he's doing. He has the mind of a child, basically, and a source of big laughs is when he doesn't realize he's doing something inappropriate.|||Producer [[Seth MacFarlane]]|interview in ''[[The Advocate]]''<ref name="Advocate">{{cite web
|url = http://www.advocate.com/issue_story.asp?id=51793&page=3
|title = BGF: Seth MacFarlane
|accessdate = 2008-02-15
|last = Voss
|first = Brandon
|date = 2008-02-26 <!-- This is correct. Issue date is after online publication. -->
|work = Advocate.com
|publisher = PlanetOut
|archiveurl =
|archivedate =
|quote =
}}</ref>
}}
== Backstory ==
Lois' father [[Pewterschmidt family#Carter Pewterschmidt|Carter]] objected to Peter because of his lower social class &mdash; this resentment remains a theme in Carter and Peter's relationship, as shown in several episodes, like the e-mail Mr. Pewterschmidt sends to Peter, which punches him in the face.<ref name=Screwed>{{cite episode|title=[[Screwed the Pooch]]|series=Family Guy|credits=Dave Collard and Ken Goin (writers)|network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]]|airdate=2001-11-29|season=3|number=13}}</ref> After marrying, Peter and Lois settled in [[Quahog (Family Guy)|Quahog]], where Peter got a job at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory. His birthday is in July.<ref name="s06e06">{{cite episode
|title = Padre de Familia
|episodelink = Padre de Familia (Family Guy episode)
| airdate = 2007-11-18
| network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| series=[[Family Guy]]
| season = 6
| number = 6
}}</ref>

=== Jobs ===
Peter has primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory, as a fisherman using his own boat, and in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot [[brewery]] as an office worker and "that guy who fishes out the dead rats". Peter was temporarily promoted to the position of "Head of Toy Development" in the episode "[[Mr. Saturday Knight]]" before the company was demolished and replaced by a terminal illness research centre. In the following episode, "[[A Fish out of Water (Family Guy)|A Fish out of Water]]", after two weeks of [[unemployment]], he won a boat at an auction and became a private fisherman. He held this position until the episode "[[Perfect Castaway]]" in which his ship was demolished in a hurricane. Two episodes later he got a job as a brewer at the Pawtucket Patriot Brewery, but became intoxicated against regulations within the first five minutes working there and was demoted to working as a clerk for the brewery's shipping department, which he currently practices.

Throughout the series, he regularly mentions that he has had many different odd jobs. He has also had a few periods of unemployment. He has also had a number of jobs that only lasted for one episode, such as becoming a jouster, or playing for the New England Patriots, before going back to his usual jobs.

=== Ernie the Giant Chicken ===
In a running gag, storylines are randomly interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and a giant chicken. These battles parody the action film genre, with explosions, high-speed chases, and immense devastation to the town of Quahog. The sequences always conclude with Peter the victor leaving the giant chicken for dead, only for a sudden movement to show that the chicken is still alive.

In the episode "[[Da Boom]]", the feud starts over a trivial incident where the chicken gives Peter an expired coupon at the grocery store.<ref name="s02e03">{{cite episode
| title = Da Boom
| episodelink = Da Boom
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 1999-12-26
| season = 2
| number = 3
}}</ref> The fight resumes in "[[Blind Ambition (Family Guy)|Blind Ambition]]";<ref name="s04e03">{{cite episode
| title = Blind Ambition
| episodelink = Blind Ambition (Family Guy)
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2005-05-15
| season = 4
| number = 3
}}</ref> in "[[No Chris Left Behind]]",<ref name="s05e16">{{cite episode
| title = No Chris Left Behind
| episodelink = No Chris Left Behind
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2005-05-08
| season = 5
| number = 16
}}</ref> the chicken is identified as "Ernie", and he is given a wife named Nicole, also a giant chicken. Ernie makes a brief, non-fighting appearance in the [[time travel]] themed episode "[[Meet the Quagmires]]", in which Peter unwittingly assaults the giant chicken at an 80s dance,<ref name="s05e18">{{cite episode
| title = Meet the Quagmires
| episodelink = Meet the Quagmires
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2007-05-20
| season = 5
| number = 18
}}</ref> [[Retroactive continuity|retroactively]] providing Ernie with a grudge against Peter. The chicken is planned to appear in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' parody episode "[[Something, Something, Something Dark Side]]," as the infamous [[bounty hunter]] [[Boba Fett]],<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Something, Something, Something Dark Side
| episodelink = Something, Something, Something Dark Side
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate =
| season =
| number =
}}</ref> nemesis of Peter's [[Han Solo]].

Ernie appears in the [[Family Guy Video Game!|video game]] as the final boss.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}

== Personality ==
Peter appears to be unintelligent and consistently depicted as crude and lowbrow. He enjoys activities such as going to up-market tailors and farting inside the suits. His favorite pastime is watching TV. A running gag on the show is Peter's preference for [[Pauly Shore]] movies over classic films such as ''[[The Godfather]]'' and ''[[Citizen Kane]]''. He is also a huge [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] fan and followed them during the KissStock shows and even got a copy of ''Kiss Saves Santa'' for [[Christmas]]. Peter is also a huge fan of [[Barry Manilow]], though this is a fact he has been known to deny in public (to a certain extent, anyway). Despite his love of these musicians, Peter's favorite song ever, told by Peter in the episode [[I Dream of Jesus]], is [[Surfin' Bird]] by [[The Trashmen]] (and after aquiring the record from a 1950's themed restaurant, he annoys the whole family by playing it non-stop until Stewie and Brian steal it).Peter also mentions in an episode that he wears the male deodorant [[Speed Stick]] to his wife Lois quoting, "Smell my Speed Stick?" while he is rubbing her shoulders and trying to convince her to have sex with him in his office at the brewery.

An [[Intelligence quotient|I.Q. test]] confirms that his low intellect places him in a category below [[Mental retardation|mentally retarded]], but above [[Creationism|Creationists]].<ref name=Petarded>{{cite episode|title=[[Petarded]]|series=Family Guy|credits=Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild (writers)|network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company]]|airdate=2005-06-19|season=4|number=6}}</ref> His mental shortcomings have resulted in various accidents and deaths to other people; most notably to his surrogate father [[List of characters from Family Guy#Peter's family|Francis Griffin]], and on multiple occasions, his wife [[Lois Griffin]]. His attention span is also incredibly short; when he discovers his [[mental retardation]] in "[[Petarded]]", he closes his eyes while driving, wishing [[Suicide|"it would all be over"]] (hitting [[Tom Tucker (Family Guy)|Tom Tucker]] with his car instead).

Peter also has a habit for proving his [[masculinity]], not wanting Lois to fall for another man. He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude that tends to get out of hand in most cases; in "[[Stuck Together, Torn Apart]]", he goes so far as to punch his reflection in the mirror after Lois comments on his reflection being handsome.<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Stuck Together, Torn Apart
| episodelink = Stuck Together, Torn Apart
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2002-01-31
| season = 3
| number = 19
}}</ref> In "[[Brian Sings and Swings]]", he tells Lois, "Remember what I always tell you, if I come home in the middle of the day and catch you having sex with someone, I'll kill you both" (though when he catches her in bed with [[Bill Clinton]] in "[[Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey]]", he takes no hostile actions whatsoever). However, he seems not to mind the fact that she, of course, slept with other men before they met, just so long as she doesn't do so again; he is particularly proud of the fact that she once slept with [[Gene Simmons]] of [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] when he discovers this in "[[Road to Europe]]", but forbids any sexual actions between the two now as seen in "[[Don't Make Me Over (Family Guy)|Don't Make Me Over]]".

Peter seems to find it frustrating when he is "wrong" while Lois is "right" about issues all the time, and apparently takes these issues competitively, just waiting for the day she slips up. This day finally comes in the episode "[[PTV (Family Guy)|PTV]]" after settling a conflict with Lois about censorship on television that she appeared sure to win. In an ironic twist that forces Lois to concede defeat, Peter celebrates by opening a secret compartment within the ceiling containing balloons, streamers, confetti, and a banner reading "PETER'S RIGHT!"; Peter then claims that he set up the stall 15 years ago, suggesting that this was a pretty major issue for him for quite some time (there was also a clown in the stall, but he had since died after being in there for so long). Curiously, in the non-canon episode "[[Da Boom]]", after Lois admits he was right about the end of the world and she was wrong, Peter makes no reference to the compartment, though he had been bragging about his "victory" for two weeks straight.

Among the members of his family, he tends to treat his [[daughter]], [[Meg Griffin|Meg]] with the least amount of respect; in "[[Peter's Daughter]]", for example, he reminisces to various [[practical joke|pranks]] he played on her, including tripping her, flicking her nose with his finger, and even [[shooting]] her at one point. He is known to embarrass her at times and with things that mean the most to Meg; the entire family once huddled together to read her diary and continues after Meg catches them. However, later episodes of the series show Peter developing greater respect and unity between himself and his daughter (such as in "[[Hell Comes to Quahog]]", "[[Road to Rupert]]" and the aforementioned "[[Peter's Daughter]]"), though these moments tend not to last for very long.

=== Health ===
Despite being [[fat]], a [[alcoholism|heavy drinker]], and accident-prone, Peter appears to be in good health. Periodically, in [[cartoon physics|typical cartoon fashion]], Peter is shown recovering quickly from serious injuries,<ref name="s05e05">{{cite episode
|title = Whistle While Your Wife Works
|episodelink = Whistle While Your Wife Works
| airdate = 2006-11-12
| network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| series=[[Family Guy]]
| season = 5
| number = 5
}} Peter loses all the fingers on his right hand while handling [[M-80 (explosive)|M-80 firecrackers]]. In spite of the injury, he has no visible scarring on his hand.</ref> with [[McStroke]] being a notable exception, where he suffered the side effects of a stroke for two months, and only recovered due to [[Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation]]. In some episodes, he displays enormous strength, such as when singlehandedly challenging a professional football team in "[[Patriot Games (Family Guy)|Patriot Games]]". In the episode "[[The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz]]" it is revealed that Peter played high school football as a full back as well.

He underwent a [[vasectomy]] in the episode "[[Sibling Rivalry (Family Guy episode)|Sibling Rivalry]]."

Occasionally Peter [[feces|soils himself]], prominently featured in "[[Death Lives]]" and "[[When You Wish Upon a Weinstein]]". After he does these accidents, he never seems to notice that he did it due to his behavior.

Episodes like "[[Mr. Saturday Knight]]", "[[Model Misbehavior]]", "[[Deep Throats]]", and "[[Peter's Two Dads]]" show that Peter has used various drugs such as [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]], [[Methylenedioxymethamphetamine|ecstasy]], [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]], [[steroid]]s, [[cocaine]], and [[crack cocaine]], but has managed to avoid [[incarceration]] and long-term effects from the use of these drugs.

In the episode "[[McStroke]]", Peter suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body after eating thirty hamburgers at once. For the next three months he walked with a limp as his arm and leg hung lifelessly from his body, and his eye and part of his mouth slid down his face, giving him a speech impediment. This damage was reversed completely after a five minute session at a stem cell research facility (to which he exclaims "Why are we not funding this!?").

=== Musicianship ===
While the extent of Peter's musical training has never been made clear (except for trombone lessons he took in Junior College as referenced by Lois in the episode "[[Fast Times at Buddy Cianci, Jr. High]]"), Peter is given in several storylines various music skills, such as playing the piano only while intoxicated,<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Wasted Talent
| episodelink = Wasted Talent
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2000-07-25
| season = 2
| number = 20
}}</ref> and playing guitar while singing.<ref name="s04e05">{{cite episode
| title = The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire
| episodelink = The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2005-06-12
| season = 4
| number = 5
}}Peter plays an acoustic version of [[The B-52's]] song "[[Rock Lobster]]"</ref> ''Family Guy'' also has frequent musical sequences which show Peter playing various instruments.<ref name="s04e02">{{cite episode
| title = Fast Times at Buddy Cianci, Jr. High
| episodelink = Fast Times at Buddy Cianci, Jr. High
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company
| airdate = 2005-05-08
| season = 4
| number = 2
}}</ref>

=== Ancestry ===
Whereas Lois's [[Old Money]] lineage is well-defined, Peter's ancestry is obscured by several ancestors used only for one-time jokes. Only a few of Peter's ancestors are confirmed by repeated references in different episodes.

One of them is a black ancestor Peter discovered in the episode "[[Peter Griffin: Husband, Father...Brother?]]." A pre-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] era [[African American]] named Nate Griffin was a [[slavery|slave]] owned by [[Pewterschmidt family|Lois']] ancestors (this is the first of several episodes which have Peter related to Lois’ family in various ways). Nate Griffin is shown again in the "[[Untitled Griffin Family History]]", where it was revealed that he had had children with one of Lois' ancestors; this implies that Peter and Lois are distant relatives. (In the same episode, Peter lists other ancestors who have not appeared again since).

In the episode "[[Peter's Two Dads]]", Peter discovers that his real father is not the late [[List of characters from Family Guy#Peter's family|Francis Griffin]], the stern Roman Catholic [[Irish American]] patriarch of the first five seasons, but an [[Ireland|Irishman]] named [[Mickey McFinnigan]], a town drunk who resembles his son in every aspect, save red hair and an aged face.<ref>{{cite episode
| title = Peter's Two Dads
| episodelink = Peter's Two Dads
| airdate= 2007-11-02
| season = 5
| number = 10
| series = Family Guy
| network = Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX
}}</ref>

Another episode, "[[Padre de Familia]]", Peter discovers that he was actually born in Mexico, due to his mother finding out that she was pregnant with him and had gone there to get an abortion, but was born and she decided to keep him. However, when returning back to the states she was afraid of being judged, so she never filled out the paper work to make him a citizen, thus making him an illegal immigrant.

Peter's middle name "[[Löwenbräu]]" is actually the name of a brand of German beer, which directly translates to "Lion's Brew." This would seem appropriate, since the [[griffin|creature of his surname's namesake]] is part-lion and Peter's favorite beverage happens to be beer. However, the phonetics of such a name appear to be the writers' highbrow use of the term "Lowbrow", in association with Peter's comedy style.

== Video game ==
In the [[Family Guy Video Game!|''Family Guy'' video game]], Peter restarts his [[PTV (Family Guy)|PTV]] television station and broadcasts a [[Mr. Belvedere]] marathon, which he watches for three days. His [[satellite]] eventually falls on him and he develops severe head trauma. When Peter awakes in the hospital, he believes Mr. Belvedere has kidnapped his family and goes on a rampage to find them. Once Peter discovers his family is safe, he goes to the Drunken Clam to get drunk. This is where Peter discovers Ernie, the giant chicken, who is the final boss battle in the game. After another epic battle that takes them throughout the city, Peter defeats Ernie and escapes as the building he is in explodes, landing safely on top of Meg. He believes Ernie to be dead once again, not noticing that he was actually blown to safety on top of another building (where it is revealed [[Adam West (Family Guy)|Mayor West]] is making shadow puppets of Belvedere in a searchlight) and fully recovers, vowing revenge again.<ref> {{cite video game|title = Family Guy Video Game! | developer = High Voltage Software | publisher = 2K Games and Fox Interactive | date = 2006-10-16 | platform = Xbox, Playstation 2 and PlayStation Portable}} </ref>

== Appearances in other media ==
Peter had several appearances outside ''Family Guy'', often in the form of direct [[parody]]. ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has had several depictions of Peter Griffin, usually premised on ''Family Guy'' being a ripoff of ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="simps14e01">{{cite episode
|title = Treehouse of Horror XIII
|episodelink = Treehouse of Horror XIII#Send in the Clones
| airdate = 2002-11-03
| network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| series=[[The Simpsons]]
| season = 14
| number = 1
| minutes =
}} In the first segment, "Send in the Clones", Peter appears as one of Homer's clones.</ref><ref name="simps17e08">{{cite episode
|title = The Italian Bob
|episodelink = The Italian Bob
| airdate = 2005-12-11
| network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| series=[[The Simpsons]]
| season = 17
| number = 8
| minutes =
}} In an Italian book of criminals, Peter is depicted under the alias "[[plagiarism|Plagarisimo]]."</ref> ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' (produced by ''Family Guy'' cast member [[Seth Green]]) has depicted Peter (voiced by Macfarlene) in several cameos, and the Griffin family are also parodied in the "[[Cartoon Wars Part I|Cartoon Wars]]" episode of ''[[South Park]]'',<!-- Least important here since South Park was parodying the show, not the character. --> implying that Peter's flashbacks are ''Family Guy'''s sole source of humor.

Peter has also appeared on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' and in advertisements for [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway Restaurants]].

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

<!-- Please do not add categories based on single-episode situations or gags. -->

==External links==
*{{FGwiki}}

{{Family Guy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Peter}}
[[Category:Family Guy characters]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Fictional Irish-Americans]]
[[Category:Fictional toymakers and toy inventors]]

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Revision as of 01:38, 4 November 2008

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