The Herman File

        Bart: D-did you lose your arm in the war?
        Herman: My arm? Well let me put it this way: next time your
                teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus
                window, you do it!

                -- "Bart the General (7G05)"

Description

Herman is the one-armed paranoid owner of Herman's Military Antiques, a shop in Springfield. He wears combat boots, military pants, a blue long-sleeve shirt, and an olive green or brown vest. He also wears a medal on the vest but it is unknown what he did, if anything, to earn the medal. It is also common for Herman to be sucking on a cigarette. Herman's voice has been described by the creators as a parody of George Bush, Sr., and is provided by the talented Harry Shearer.

Background Information

Name: Herman, last name unknown.
Birth Date: Unknown.
Childhood Information: Lost an arm in a tragic school bus accident.
Criminal History: Sale of false historical merchandise; sale of nukes to civilians; sale of counterfeit designer jeans; arrested for restraining one police chief and one known felon.
Accomplices: Abraham "Grandpa" Simpson, Homer J. Simpson, Snake, Moe Syzlak, Lenny Leonardson, Carl Carlson.
Current Status: Owner of Herman's Military Antiques; under surveillance by Springfield P.D.

Major Appearances

7G05	Helping Bart and Grandpa to get revenge on Nelson and his gang. We also find out how he lost his arm.
7F17	Helping Grandpa find a gift for his girlfriend, then selling him a fez worn by Napolean
9F21	Selling military antiques at the flea market
1F09	Homer and his vigilante group stop by his shop to buy weapons. Herman also shows Homer a nuclear missile.
2F21	Joining in on the poker games at Homer's house. It is revealed that he was using Homer's car hole as a front to sell counterfeit jeans.
3F18	Keeps Chief Wiggum and Snake tied up in his shop. They are rescued when Milhouse accidentally whacks Herman with a medieval mace.
5F02	Showing a bomb shelter to Homer before being blown up by a nuke.

Minor Appearances

Intro	Seen in the crowd during the introduction sequence.
7F10	With the guys at Moe's Tavern.
7F75	In the conga line.
8F03	At the court during Bart's sentencing.
8F08	At the dog track on "Eye on Springfield".
8F09	At Moe's Tavern.
8F11	Digging at the well.
8F12	Playing pool at Moe's Tavern.
8F18	Playing a sailor in the stage musical.
9F10	In the couch gag. In the crowd during the Monorail song.
1F01	In the mob.
1F05	Mentioned in an ad for a "Fat Boy Bomb"
2F09	A member of the Stonecutters.
2F16	At the town hall meeting.
2F17	???
3F20	In the mob of people.
3F21	In the concert crowd at Lollapalooza.
3F24	At the chili cook-off.
4F05	In the crowd of people.
4F06	At the burleque house and later in the mob of people.
4F13	Talking with Snake in the background of the South Street Squidport.
5F09	At city hall.
5F10	In the comedy club audience.
AABF07	In the crowd at the billboard.
AABF09	In the court room.
AABF17	At the antiques show.
AABF22	In the crowd at the school.
BABF02	At Barney's Bowl-A-Rama.
CABF19	Inside the wailing wall at Lord Montymort's lair..
DABF22	At the Rolling Stones' Rock 'N Roll fantasy camp.
EABF17	In the crowd at the flower opening.
FABF23	One of the vagrants at the opium den.

Herman vs. Lt. Dan

So I was watching Forrest Gump one day and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Herman and Lt. Dan. Physical similarities aside, note they both tend to exude paranoid and erratic behavior, and both smoke and have that grizzled appearance. Maybe one's based off the other, or maybe they're charicatures of Hollywood's typical war veteran. The mystery lives on...

Origins of Herman

Straight from the commentary for Bart the General and Old Money on the DVD sets:

Matt Groening: Well, the design of this character is, other than the one arm, pretty much inspired by [Simpsons writer] John Swartzwelder. The voice for instance is a little George Bush.
David Silverman: Thanks to Harry Shearer.

Matt Groening: The original idea with Herman was that every single time we saw him on the show (the original plan was that he would be a regular character) he would explain how he lost his arm and it would be different every time. 'When you see a sign that says don't stick your hand in the ball return at the bowling alley, you believe it!'

Jay Kogen: This is a character that's kind of disappeared a little bit.
Al Jean: I think with all the militia and bombing stuff it seemed a little less funny.
Wallace Wolodarsky: Also, all the antique military stores in Santa Monica seem to have disappeared as well.
Jay Kogen: No, no one is still there (laughing).