List of Recess characters

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The main characters from Recess (TV series)

This article lists characters from the Disney-created animated children's television show, Recess. The show focuses on the students of Third Street School and their outlook on the world. Most of the characters on the show are German-American, suggesting a Midwestern location.

Main characters

Theodore Jasper "TJ" Detweiller

T.J. is the short (somewhat chubby), German-American main protagonist of the series. He is the ringleader of his five best friends, and usually spends time planning pranks against the teachers (at which he is quite talented). He is rarely seen without his red baseball hat, which he always wears backwards. His siblings include an older sister (around 17 or 18) named Becky, who was seen in Recess: School's Out (voiced by Melissa Joan Hart); in "The Great Jungle Gym Standoff", he claims to have an older brother, though this is never confirmed.

T.J. has good leadership skills, a talent for public speaking, and in "Good Ol' T.J.", his talent for charming his way out of any situation is revealed. Despite his troublemaking acts, he is very concerned about the well-being of his fellow students and often rallies them and convinces them to work together to stand up for their rights. T.J. is a kind, generous kid who has done incredible things for the sake of his friends, as seen in "Mama's Girl", "A Great State Fair", "Mikey's Pants" and many other episodes.

A defender of the common kid, he seems to have an implied crush on Spinelli, though this is only barely hinted at; in "The Experiment", scientific curiosity causes him and Spinelli to share a first kiss. He created the word/phrase "this whomps" which he uses as a synonym for something unpleasant (though in "The Story of Whomps", he reveals it to be a word simply made up to stay out of trouble). His friends, mostly Vince, address to him as "Teej".

He was voiced by Ross Malinger from 1997–1998, Andrew James Lawrence from 1998–2001 and Myles David Jeffrey in the direct-to-video releases. In Family Guy, a character who looks very similar to TJ appears in the background of several episodes.

Ashley Funicello Spinelli

Spinelli is a wrestling fan and is Italian-American. Although small for her age, Spinelli maintains a tough-guy image,is strong and often tries to use her fists to solve her problems. During the gang's endeavors, Spinelli is the one who gets reluctant kids to talk, usually by threatening or intimidating them. With her reputation, a lot of Spinelli's problems happen when she is shown to have a weakness, as she prefers to be feared and respected.

Spinelli has a small crush on T.J.; her mother mentions it in the episode "Parent Night". In the episode "That Stinking Feeling" she becomes infatuated with Johnny "Baby Tooth". At first it bothers her, but after some advice from Miss Finster she feels okay, though neither Johnny nor her crush has been mentioned afterward. Spinelli's first kiss is with TJ in the episode "The Experiment".

In the episode "Spinelli's Masterpiece", it is revealed that she has an incredible talent for art, though she claims she "only does it to blow off steam". Her aggressive and tough personality has gotten on the good side of Miss Finster: once when Miss Finster babysat her for the weekend, once when she rescued Miss Finster's cat from a tree and a few other times. Several times, Spinelli mentions her big brother Joey, though he never appears, stating she wears his boots. She has a rivalry with a group of girls, known as The Ashleys; though ironically she herself is an Ashley, the frou-frou girls of the playground turn her first name into something she detests. Spinelli's second name is a parody of the last name of former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. Spinelli was voiced by Pamela Adlon. She is shown to be pretty in "Beauty Contest" when she is not dressed like a tomboy or boy. Also, although Spinelli's birthday is never known, in the episode "Mama's Girl" Miss Grotkey mentions that she is a Libra, meaning that her birthday must fall between September 24 and October 23.

Vincent Pierre "Vince" LaSalle

Vince is African American and the most athletic student at Third Street School. In "I Will Kick No More Forever" he loses confidence in himself (which happens only once) and regains it by kicking a kickball into space. Along with his superior athletic ability comes a bit of an ego that has been displayed in "The Bet" and "The Ratings Game", but in the end he always knows his friends are the most important. His athletic/competitive skills are far superior, so much so that he seems to excel at most, if not all, challenges, such as cooking, golf, and even made-up playground games. He has a rivalry with fifth grade smart aleck Erwin Lawson. He has an older brother named Chad who he thinks is the coolest boy he knows, but he is revealed to be a nerd in "Big Brother Chad". Vince also likes getting dirty. He often says "Whompinbobyulah!" to exclaim surprise. Popular and proud, he is T.J.'s right-hand man in nearly everything. Vince was voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins. He loves Señor Fusion, a comic book hero, as seen in "The First Picture Show".

Gretchen Priscilla "Smart Girl" Grundler

Gretchen is an academically talented and extremely intelligent student of Irish descent. She is usually known as the "Smart Girl" on the playground. A child prodigy, she has shown the ability for academic feats that other students in her grade find complicated, and even finished a 45-minute test in 10 seconds. She is still a kid at heart and her imagination sometimes gets the better of her, as she is still very naive despite her IQ. She is assisted by an interactive, calculator-sized, hand-held machine called a Galileo, which she loves very much. In "Good Ol' T.J." she is shown not to be very good at getting out of trouble, as she is too trustworthy and honest. She says her birthday is March 23, making her an Aries. Though her friends don't share her scientific curiosity, Gretchen considers the gang much more important than finding intellectual colleagues. She also has a unique talent with yo-yo's. Gretchen was voiced by Ashley Johnson, and Galileo was voiced by Eric Idle.

Michael "Mikey" Blumberg

Mikey is an overweight, mild-mannered, and philosophical 10-year old. Like T.J., he is German-American. He is good at playing goalie in soccer due to his height and weight. He writes poetry, performs ballet, and believes in notions of peace that are often dismissed by the others. Though Mikey is known for being a "sweet-souled giant," there have been times where Mikey is revealed to have a dark side (particularly apparent when others take advantage of him or do not take him seriously). Mikey is the only member of the Recess Gang whose middle name is never revealed.

Mikey's speaking voice was provided by Jason Davis, who provided the speaking voice of Mikey throughout the entire run of the series, even as Davis went through puberty and his voice began to change, and his singing voice was provided by Robert Goulet. Mikey Blumberg was named after Disney employee Barry Blumberg, who defended the production of the show with creators Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere. Mikey also has an adequate vocal talent although he sounds good in the bathroom and sounds horrible other places. His music teacher in "The Voice" whom Mikey had a crush on decided to move their practice into the Bathroom. After a few weeks of practice and getting over his fear, Mikey became an astounding singer and really impressed everyone at a concert.

Gustav Patton "Gus" Griswald

Gus is a new student in Third Street Elementary, and is Polish-American. He was absent in the first episode "The Break In" because the episode was made before "The New Kid," where he would make his first appearance. He was also absent from the episode "The Great Jungle Gym Stand Off" either because he was absent from school that day or the events took place before he came to the school. Gus is usually naive to the rules of the playground and its traditions. Gus comes from a military family, and therefore had to move around frequently (he has attended 12 schools in six years before he began attending Third Street). He is an ace dodgeball player nicknamed "El Diablo", but gave up the game after he made a little boy cry by hitting him in the face with a dodgeball. Even though he is a very good dodgeball player, Vince mentions that Gus is the worst kicker in the school in the episode "The Lost Ball". Gus is learning to play the guitar, and is typically a timid/unpopular boy. However, he has great leadership abilities when they are drawn out of him, and his sense of right and wrong is equal to TJ's in these instances. He was voiced by Courtland Robert Mead.

Muriel P. Finster

Miss Finster (voiced by April Winchell) is the children's constant nemesis on the playground and the main antagonist (and sometimes an anti-hero) of the series. Miss Finster is of German descent. Archetypal authoritarian teacher personality, Miss Finster has a strong desire for a school in which children are not allowed to have fun or act like children. She is feared by all the children, and is always closely followed by her teacher's pet, the equally nefarious Randall C. Weems, who is also largely disliked by the other students. Nevertheless, Muriel plays a crucial role at keeping the kids of Third Street in line, as evidenced in one episode where, after getting sidetracked with her relationship with Hank, her attitude towards the students laxed so much that they rove beyond what TJ and his gang could handle. In terms of interpersonal relationships, Miss Finster has been shown to have a crush on the school's janitor, Hank, and is friends with Spinelli's parents. Of particular note is that she used to have a much sunnier disposition and, as she stated in the Recess movie, she could never date a man who didn't love recess (an indication that she once had a soft spot for it). Throughout the series, glimpses of this are seen with occasional references to her experiences in Guam. Despite her old age, Miss Finster is an accomplished boxer and is generally in excellent physical condition. She keeps a punching bag in her bedroom. She was a Navy commodore from 1952 to 1954 (Korean War). Her surname "Finster" is the German word for "dark". In one episode it is revealed that she also owns a cat and that she loves it. Despite her cruel behavior, there is an extent that there is some good in her, as she does care about her students, and that she never exerts any physical or mental pain on them. This is shown when she tells a bully to stop picking on Gus, as well as telling a girl to splash some water on her burned hands before going to the nurse. Miss Finster is also willing to defend children from harm's way: such as defending TJ from an evil administrator named Dr. Slicer (who turns out to be more worse than her), and telling Phillium Benedict to leave the students alone after he threatens them in the movie. She started out on the show as an administrative assistant, much like (and much to the dismay of) Ms. Lemon. The two are frequently at odds with each other. While Ms. Lemon's responsibilities are mostly clerical, Ms. Finster's assignments are all disciplinary (and somewhat autonomous) as she is in charge of all lunch, recess, hall, and detention tasks. She later becomes the gang's teacher in 5th grade.

Principal Peter Prickly

Principal Prickly (voiced by Dabney Coleman) is the principal of Third Street School and is generally a cold authority figure and is the secondary antagonist of the series. However, just like Miss Finster, it is shown that he cares about his charges, showing leniency and kindness on occasion. He has an older brother- Paul Prickly- who crops up from time to time, a rival elementary school principal. Prickly's brother is significantly older and nastier. As a child, he also attended Third Street Elementary, during which time he was referred to as "Petey", a name that is sometimes referenced. His ultimate dream is to be a principal at a middle school - although when offered this opportunity he accepts, but then changes his mind when he sees his replacement, the evil Dr. Slicer, putting the students down. He was shown to be pleased with this decision. In School's Out, its revealed he went into teaching to help kids because he actually cared and that he lost that along the way. He ended up as Principal of Third Street when he exposed the former Principal and his former best friend Benedict's plot to get rid of recess. When Benedict tries to get rid of the biggest recess of them all, summer vacation, Prickly teams up with TJ to stop him, actually bonding with TJ a bit along the way with them calling each other by their nicknames (Teej and Petey) at the end, though Prickly promises to remember and punish TJ for a prank he pulled when school starts again. In Miracle on Third Street, he blames TJ and his friends for a lot of problems when he, Ms. Finster and Miss Grotkey are stuck in a snowbank, but after the kids rescue them, he admits that they aren't so bad after all. It is also revealed he is a huge fan of the comic book character, Señor Fusion, and has vast knowledge on him.

Randall J. Weems

Randall (voiced by Ryan O'Donohue) is the resident snitch of the playground. He is at the beck and call of Ms. Finster, who rewards him with various confiscated items and candy. He pesters T.J. and the children and seems to enjoy his position on the playground. He is hunched over and almost always seen with a notepad or recording device, waiting to report troublemakers. His job as a playground snitch, however, has made him greatly disliked by the playground. Because of this, the children have gotten wise to Randall's spying tactics, and became able to avoid him, threatening his position as Ms. Finster's spy on some occasions. However, he is shown to exert some sympathy toward others, and has helped out with T.J. and the gang a few times (albeit for his own personal gains), such as helping them in exposing a 40-year-old spy posing as a student for pulling a prank on the school superitendent. While his parents are both relatively kind, they have also been shown to be spying and snitching on their neighbors.

Minor characters

Aaron Kelso

Kelso is a shopkeeper of a local corner store. He often gives advice and acts as a voice of reason to the kids.

Adam Abel

Adam is the boy always called upon first by the teachers in school, because he is first in alphabetical order, before Ashley A. He is usually a background character who doesn't speak, although he has spoken in some episodes and (in the episode "The Telltale Head") commented, "I'm always first. Why couldn't I have been born Zedidius Zwick?"

Artie Kid

Artie Kid "Vito" is a boy who has a talent for visual art. He is a background character and is only mentioned by name in two episodes, "Stand Up Randall" and "Mundy Mundy".

The Ashleys

The Ashleys are a secretive group of students, consisting of Ashley A. (voiced by Anndi McAfee), Ashley B. (voiced by Francesca Smith), Ashley Q. (voiced by Rachel Crane), and Ashley T. (voiced by Rachel Crane for three episodes in the first season, Ashley Jonhson starting with "Speedy, We Hardly Knew Ye" onward), four gossip girls who are known by their catchphrase, "Scandalous!", which they say in unison. On the playground, their secret clubhouse is in a pile of tires, with a lavish interior. They were the mean girls of Recess. They each have a younger brother named Tyler, who have a catchphrase they also say in unison ("Notorious!"); the Ashleys also each have a sister in Kindergarten named Britney. (The Megans, who are four girls very similar to the Ashleys, were only seen in the episode "Dance Lessons", with their catchphrase being "Ludicrous!".) The Ashleys have mothers who dress alike and also say in unison, "Scandalous!". Spinelli is/was (loosely) a member of the group, but only by name association. More often, they have a rivalry with Spinelli. As often shown, Spinelli has a strong dislike for the Ashleys, as she thinks of them as snotty and prissy. The Ashleys, in turn, do not like Spinelli, as they think that she's disgusting and crude. (As an in-joke by Disney, Ashley A. once referred to the creators of the show by expressing her horror at the thought of dating boys named "Paul" or "Joe".) Two of the Ashleys' voice actors (Anndi McAfee and Francesca Marie Smith) also worked together on the Nickelodeon series, Hey Arnold!.

Ashley Armbruster ("Ashley A.")

Ashley A. is a German American and the Alpha leader of the Ashleys; she wears a dark grey cardigan with a pink shirt, grey skirt and long grey socks and has straight blond hair. She also has a crush on TJ as there were hints throughout the series of her interaction with TJ.

Ashley Boulet ("Ashley B.")

Ashley B. is an African American, and wears a yellow cardigan with a checkered yellow skirt and curly hair; she is second in command to Ashley A. (voiced by Francesca Marie Smith).

Ashley Quinlan ("Ashley Q.")

Ashley Q. is an Irish American girl with long auburn (Red/Brown) hair and wears a blue cardigan, skirt and white blouse; she is a Leo. She is the most snobby of the Ashleys, and Spinelli's biggest enemy as evidenced in episodes like "Operation Stuart" and "Jinxed". She normally appears in T.J. and the gang's class, and is shown to have a knack at kickball (voiced by Rachel Crane).

Ashley Tomassian ("Ashley T.")

Ashley T. is a Hispanic/Armenian American with curly hair, who wears a green blouse, sweater and skirt. She is the quietest of the Ashleys; when she does speak, she is voiced by Rachel Crane ("Jinxed", "First Name Ashley", and "My Fair Gretchen") and Ashley Johnson (Remainder of the series).

AV Kid

A caucasian kid with brown hair who is in charge of the technology at Third Street School. His real name is Brock. He wears a vest and a blue baseball cap. He has a set of keys that grant him access to every door in the school twice. Voiced by Scott McAffee.

Barry

Barry is a boy who is tall, thin, and wears a purple jumper, white shirt and glasses. He has a rather long, pointy nose and bears a striking resemblance to Knarf, the leader of the nerds. In the episode "Jinxed", Gus gave Barry his favorite lizard in exchange for Barry's harmonica, which according to Gus was a bad trade and a moment of weakness. After Gus gives his lizard to Barry, the lizard bites him on the nose. Barry is a friend of Randall, Menlo and Scribe Kid as shown in episodes like "Soccer Boy" and "Some Friend", where they are all seen hanging out together.

Bob and Flo Spinelli

Bob and Flo Spinelli are Ashley Spinelli's parents (voiced by Katey Sagal and Sam McMurry), who have the marked tendency to embarrass her in public. Also, they are secret agents, a fact unknown to all other characters. It is revealed in the episode "Weekend at Muriel's" that Flo's mother, Angie, was a family friend of Miss Finster's, who had a lot of fun with her in Guam back in 1952.

Brandon the Singer

Brandon (voiced by Michael Shulman) is a boy in a red sweater and slicked-back hair. He is the prized vocal performer in school. He often sings instead of speaking, much to the annoyance of his fellow students, to the point where they cheered when he swallowed a bee. In some episodes, he gets picked on by other students due to his always singing everything he says.

Buster

Buster is a fifth grader and one of Lawson's friends. He is a jock and a bully like Lawson's other cronies. He is tall, sports spiky auburn hair and wears a blue shirt with two red stripes. In the episode "Bad Hair Day", he was desperate to get the Mikey haircut because he was going to his cousin's wedding, but did not get the haircut. He was the only one who didn't get it, apart from Spinelli and Gretchen who were absent from school.

Butch

Butch is the bearer of bad news and keeper of local tales of the school. He wears a black jacket, blue pants and has black hair with a white streak that resembles the coat of a skunk. He tells the students horror stories from when his brother was in school. The white streak in his hair was caused from seeing his brother kiss a girl. He seems to have nigh-omnipresent capabilities, often appearing leaning against a tree with a toothpick in his mouth and entering conversations he had been listening to without others knowing it (he typically begins with the words "That's just what they WANT you to think.") He was voiced by Kath Soucie. In the episode "Rumor Mill", for the first and only time, he talks but does not give any bad news to T.J. and the gang.

Captain 'Brad' Bradley

He is the leader of the Safety Rangers. Like all the other Safety Rangers, he wears a green uniform with an orange belt. He is big and tall, and sports blonde hair. His first major appearance was in "Officer Mikey". He is very rude and can be very angry and strict at times. He can often be rude and even make fun of people by laughing at them. He also appeared in "The Ratings Game" episode where he insulted Menlo by calling him a loser. Apart from that, he remains a cameo in all other episodes. In the movie Recess: School's Out, he had another fairly major appearance. He was in charge of the military camp to which Gus went. He is voiced by Erik Von Detten.

Chad LaSalle

Chad is Vince's older brother. Vince and others claim he is the most popular boy in school. It is said that he had given The Diggers their first shovel, and that he even gave King Bob an experience to know that some day he'd be king. Other students had similar experiences discovering who they were with him when they were younger. It is revealed that he is just a good kid, and actually a nerd (and even he knows it). He owns a pet turtle and can burp the entire alphabet. His voice is done in the style of Jaleel White and he appears to have a resemblance to Steve Urkel from Family Matters. He appeared in "Big Brother Chad" and in other episodes.

Cheay

Cheay is one of Lawson's friends who is also a fifth grader and a bully. He is also a jock, like Lawson. He is black and wears a backwards baseball cap and sunglasses.

Chucko Kowalski

Chucko is one of Lawson's friends. He is a fifth grade jock and a bully. Chucko has an older brother, Cy, who is also a bully and is in eighth grade. He appeared in "Big Brother Chad", in which he had Lawson's position as the meanest bully in the fifth grade, as he was shown to lead the group before Lawson started appearing. Chucko also appears in various other episodes, often hanging out with Lawson and Lawson's other cronies.

Clyde Philmore

Clyde is a boy who is also a bully, often bullying either Gus or Cornchip Girl. He is short and stubby, sports long blonde spiky hair, and wears a blue shirt and a red baseball cap.

Cockney Kid

Cockney Kid is a boy who is from London England. Cockney Kid is a rather minor character, first appearing in the episode "Prince Randall", where he got thrown into the dungeon for not bringing in any candy for Prince Randall because he gave the last bit of candy to his little sister. He also appeared in "The Terrifying Tales of Recess" where he and two fellow mates of his (who were also from London, England) helped Gus (who was dressed up as Sherlock Holmes) and the rest of the Recess Gang capture and defeat Cornchip Girl in the form of a werewolf. In all other episodes, he remains a cameo. Cockney Kid's appearance is very similar to that of Pip from South Park because he is from England, going to school in the United States of America and because he wears an old English hat as well. Voiced by E.G. Daily.

Colonel Griswald

Colonel Griswald is Gus' father, a United States Marine Corps lieutenant. He talks to Gus as if he were a soldier in his squad, although he is very fond of him. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.

Teresa Laverne "Cornchip Girl" LaMaise

Cornchip Girl (voiced by Aria Noelle Curzon) is a sweet and loving girl who always thinks of other people and also gives lots of useful advice. She is often seen with a blue and white dress. She has brown hair and is relatively short. She is shown to be very nice and kind towards others. Cornchip Girl is shown to have a very strong liking to Gus due to the fact that they share the same interests. However, their fathers are shown to dislike each other, which nearly jeopardizes the relationship of Gus and Cornchip Girl, but worked out in the end. Cornchip Girl's father is shown to be a naval commander and so she treats her father much like Gus treats his, addressing him as "sir" and saluting him. In later episodes, she became the unofficial seventh member of the Recess Gang.

Cryer Kid

Cryer Kid is a boy who cries at the drop of a hat, when something doesn't go his way or just for general purposes. He's generally used by T.J. and the gang as a distraction for Miss Finster, who comes to his aid to stop his bawling. His real first name is Bradley which was revealed in the episode, "Teacher's Lounge".

Sam and Dave (The Diggers)

The Diggers are two boys (voiced by Klee Bragger (Sam) and Ryan O'Donohue (Dave)) who have enjoyed digging holes since kindergarten. They are close friends with T.J. and his gang. Despite looking just like each other, they are not twins or even brothers; they are no relation to each other at all. In the first episode, they accidentally ended up digging all the way to Beijing, China, where they discover the kindergarteners are just as savage. To differentiate themselves, Sam wears a red scarf round his neck and Dave wears a white mask around his neck. In the episode "Diggers Split Up", a flashback was shown in which they first met in Kindergarten. For the first and only time, they are both seen without any sort of glasses.

Douglas

Douglas (voiced by Blake McIver Ewing) is a boy who became Miss Finster's new snitch and the new snitch of the school, after Randall changed his ways in the episode "Randall Reforms" and started hanging out with T.J. and his friends. He wears a red and blue shirt and blue shorts and sports spiky hair. He made numerous cameos in other episodes.

Eddie

Eddie is a fifth or sixth grader who is tall, sports dark hair and wears a grey vest and wrist bands. He usually appears as a background character, and sometimes he is one of the fifth graders who is seen playing sports alongside Lawson and the rest of his friends. Eddie normally hangs out with Freddy (the future king of the play ground) and the unnamed sixth grader who appeared in "Jinxed" off whom Gus took the notebook. In the episode "To Finster with Love", Eddie can be seen with Freddy and the unnamed sixth grade friend of his bullying Guru Kid.

In the episode "Pharaoh Bob", Eddie was seen in the same class as King Bob, indicating that he might possibly be a sixth grader like King Bob. However, Freddy was also seen in that class, but he is in fifth grade as he became the new king of the playground after King Bob finished sixth grade and went on to middle school and so Eddie either could be a fifth grader, like Freddy, or a sixth grader, like King Bob.

Eric Foster

Eric Foster (voiced by Justin Shenkarow) is a very strong sixth grader. He is big, tall and muscular. The only time he speaks is in the episode "King Gus" where King Bob considers him as a temporary replacement but withdraws due to his stature. His last name Foster was revealed in the Episode "The Rules" to be Foster as that is what Jerome calls him.

Frank 'Knarf' Sedgewick

Frank (voiced by Eddie Deezen) is the nerd who usually hangs out in the school basement during recess with his three nerdy friends, the Pale Kids, playing RPG games, reading comic books, and collecting trading cards. He is friends with T.J., whom he refers to by his name backwards, J.T. His real name is Frank ("Knarf" spelled backwards). In his first appearance, "Lord of the Nerds", he is revealed to be formerly known as Tiny Sedgewick, a student who, according to Lawson, was injured while playing Pickle with his shoelaces untied, and was forced to spend recess inside with the Pale Kids, and hasn't been seen since. He is revealed later to be Frank, and that he has simply gotten taller. His fellow Pale Kids include Rodney 'Yendor', Steve 'Evets', and Carl 'Lrac'.

Gelman

Gelman (voiced by Justin Shenkarow) is the chubby fifth grade bully of Third Street School, as shown in his debut episode "Gus's Last Stand". His first punching bag was a boy named Stemple, who moves near the beginning in that episode. So, although everyone else is hiding, Gus becomes his victim when he has been using the lavatory. He keeps picking on him, no matter what (including when Gus tells Miss Finster on him, and when he pretends to be an old man playing tether-ball. The next morning, after hearing a history story about World War I from his father, Gus stands up to Gelman, and eventually, so do the other kids.

Gelman appears again in "A Great State Fair", when he and Gus are both left behind for different reasons; while Gus' father, despite signing his son's permission slip, accidentally took it with him, Gelman has a bad relationship with his, who doesn't believe in fairs and says they are "fixed". He also doesn't do the otter dance. He also doubts that Gus' friends would ever come for him. However, Gus' father, thanks to the rest of the gang's messaging, arrives and picks him up. Gus invites Gelman (after the former's father locates that of the latter, engages him in conversation, and has him give Gelman his permission slip). Gelman becomes nicer to Gus then, especially when he gets to see "the world's biggest" pig, Lardantuon.

Despite his tough exterior, Gelman is shown to be a coward when Randall threatens him with savate or when Lawson tries to recruit him on his soccer team as the goalie.

Gordy

Gordy is the only student at Third Street School who doesn't like T.J., despite the fact that when they were in detention, T.J. tried his best to force Gordy to like him. However, in later episodes, Gordy would often hang out with T.J., often playing sports with him. He is allergic to nuts. He remained a cameo character in most other episodes. In one episode he was referred to as Freddie. Gordy normally hangs out with Willy and other students such as Phil.

Guru Kid

Guru Kid is a boy who offers Buddha-like wisdom to students who seek his advice. He wears a pair of striped shorts and his shirt on his head as a turban. He has dark hair, brown skin and looks Asian. His real first name is Jimmy, as revealed in the episode "Don't Ask Me". In the episode "The Shiner", his gift for T.J. was the turban that he always wears on his head. Guru Kid is good friends with Mikey as shown in episodes like "The Break In" where Mikey asked Guru Kid for some advice and "The Break Up" where Mikey was hanging out with Guru Kid, wearing his shirt on his head like a turban. In one episode, Guru Kid had a load of Candy Winger Dingers inside his turban. He is rarely seen wearing his turban as a shirt. He is voiced by Klee Bragger in the first four seasons, Justin Jon Ross starting mid-season four, and Ryan O'Donohue in Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade.

Hank, the janitor

Hank is the janitor at Third Street. He had a short affair with Miss Finster. Over and above that, he is a genius in maths.

Francis "The Hustler Kid"

Francis, the Hustler Kid (voiced by Michael Shulman), is a boy who offers the children of the playground trivial toys and food, often discreetly. Sometimes, however, the items he sells are actually a scam. Despite being a hustler and scamming people, he seems to act nice to the other kids of the school. As he is a hustler, it is possible that he is only pretending to be nice. However he can be good, such as when T.J. and the gang need help from him or when they form a plan that involves him. Hustler Kid's dad is also a hustler, as shown in the episode "Parent's Night", which is probably why he, too, is a hustler. Hustler Kid's real name is revealed to be Francis in the episode "The Hustler's Apprentice". Also in that episode, he is shown to be part of a secret Hustler Kid organization where he is in business with another hustler named Fingers Maloyd.

Jeffery

Jeffery is a boy who is in love with Gretchen. He is tall, thin and wears a green shirt with yellow flowers on it. He appears in the episode "The Pest". He finally loses interest in Gretchen when she starts acting like a friend to him. He has appeared in other episodes as well and made numerous cameos. He also spoke in the episode "Tattle Tale Heart" where it is revealed his parents brought him back his shirt from Hawaii. He is voiced by Kath Soucie.

Jerome

One of King Bob's servants. He usually informs King Bob about what going on around the playground. In "Tattletale Heart" he was going to stick Gus head in a trash can but was stopped. Also in "The Rules", he and Jordon told the kids to play by King Morty rules. He is tall skinny and wears a red sweater. He is voiced by Justin Shenkarow.

Jocko

Jocko is one of Lawson's friends. He is in fifth grade and is also a bully and a jock. He has brown hair, and wears a dark red sweatshirt and blue shorts. In the episode "Soccer Boy", it is revealed that he went to soccer camp and can bounce balls off his head.

The Kindergartners

Making up their own unique group among the students, the kindergarteners live as uncivilized, and even dangerous, little urchins who wear face paint, carry tribal weapons, harass the older children, and have even attempted to eat them (as seen in the first and other episodes). Most of them are voiced by Ashley Johnson, Pamela Adlon, and Francesca Marie Smith. Two kindergartners, however, Hector and Tubby, are on good terms with the main characters of the show.

Captain Sticky

Captain Sticky (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) is the king of the kindergartners and has purple around his lips from eating candy and wears a paper crown. T.J. calls him Captain Sticky "for obvious reasons" (he saw Captain Sticky eat candy, then wipe his hand on himself).

Cindy

Cindy is a girl with long blonde hair (voiced by Francesca Marie Smith). In the episode "The Kindergarten Derby", T.J. and his gang (except for Mikey) pick her to win the Kindergarten Derby. She has a tendency to get distracted.

Gilbert

Gilbert is a very fast kindergartener (both in speed and speech). Gilbert is King Bob's pick to win the Kindergarten Derby in the episode "The Kindergarten Derby". He loses the derby to Tubby. He is voiced by Kath Soucie.

Hector

Hector (voiced by Kath Soucie in "Wild Child" and the direct-to-video movies and E.G. Daily in all other episodes) is a kindergartner who calls Gus "Safety Man". He was part of a group that the kids mentored. He came to admire Gus after falling off a pile of dirt from a hole The Diggers were digging, and Gus caught him. The Diggers then told him that Gus cautioned them to contact electrical companies to verify for wires in the ground before starting any dig, leading Hector to see him as a hero. Hector and Gus appear to have the closest relationship between any kindergartner and older kid. In "Call me Guy" Hector gives Gus a note from his parents asking Gus to walk Hector home from school for a period of time, showing that the two are close enough so that even Hector's parents know and trust Gus. In "Dodgeball City" Hector spends time with Gus listening to him playing his new guitar. When Hector is hit in the face by a dodgeball accidentally (similar to how Gus accidentally hit a young kid in the face with a dodgeball) Gus becomes very angry, dons his "El Diablo" clothes and, single-handedly and quickly defeats all the fifth-graders in the school. He then walks into the sunset, and a mature, manly voice representing Hector when he is an adult narrates the conclusion of the episode.

Tubby

Tubby (voiced by Jason Davis) is a red-haired, overweight kindergartner who is really fast as shown in the episode "The Kindergarten Derby". He is one of Mikey's best friends. Tubby listens to Mikey attentively, in "The Kindergarten Derby" he does whatever Mikey instructs him to do, ignoring a distraction in the form of a candy wrapper Mikey told him not to eat, and winning the race when Mikey, in the last moments of the Derby, asked Tubby to win the race, just barely defeating Gilbert. In "Here Comes Mr. Perfect" he appears as one of the children with one of the eminent talents of the school outshined by Jared, the talent being burping.

King Bob (Robert)

King Bob (voiced by Toran Caudell) is the uni browed current ruler of the Third Street playground, whose throne (an old brown armchair) sits atop the jungle gym, where he is usually found. He is one of the school's older students, an 11-year-old boy in the sixth grade. He is one of the tallest students in the school, and has black hair. Bob is regularly depicted with a number "8" hockey jersey, and carries a hockey stick as a sceptre and wears on his head a cross between a yellow crown and a helmet, with a "B" for Bob on the front. He is a fair ruler, and hopes he will be remembered after he leaves the school. King Bob is very proud and kingly, sometimes stern, and holds himself like typical royalty. His brown armchair occasionally is carried around by four of his guards around the playground. In one instance he revealed to T.J.'s gang that he felt a desire for a real friend who would like him for the regular kid he is, as opposed to only seeing his royal title. In response to this they bought him a puppy. He is said to be a sixth grader, though he appears in T.J.'s class in at least one episode. His general role is to keep order around the playground, settling disputes between kids over things such as toys or rules. He appears for the most part to be a fair and just King, found satisfactory to the kids of the playground, excepting a few isolated incidents, the worst of these being forcing the kids to build a mud pyramid and ordering his guards to use a hose on them. He later apologizes to those he wronged in this episode for his actions and repeals a gum tax he instituted which had previously caused resentment toward him, making the playground students loyal to him again. Other incidents include obsessively trying to prank T.J. after having been successfully pranked by him at the last moment of their wager (their wager being that T.J. will be Prankster Prince if he can successfully prank the reigning King, and that he will become the King's fanner-boy for a week if he fails) after thinking he had won. Another time he was found unfair by allowing the gang's fort to be taken by Lawson and Lawson's friends on the premise of "Finders, keepers", and finally not being strong enough to stand up to Randall's blackmail (Randall had a picture of King Bob in girls clothes), allowing Randall to reign over the playground. Otherwise he settles minor disputes wisely. King Bob sometimes proves to be helpful in fixing problems, including helping T.J. solve the conflict involving the secret club in "Taking the Fifth Grade" and fixing the communist-authoritarian-like system which came from the initially popular institution of King Morty's rules as soon as he was aware of the problem. After he leaves school, Freddy becomes the new King of the Playground.

King Freddy

King Freddy is the boy who became the new King of the Playground after King Bob left Third Street School and went to middle school. Freddy appeared throughout the whole Recess series making various cameos and background appearances. However, he did not receive his name until the movie Recess: School's Out when King Bob gave him his crown, sticking an F on the crown replacing the B, knighting Freddy as King Freddy II. Although his name was given, he did not actually have any speaking lines until the movie Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade.

Kirsten "Kurst the Worst" Kurst

Kurst the Worst (voiced by Mayim Bialik), is portrayed as the worst kid in the school. She is commonly found stealing food from the cafeteria. It is stated that she can eat more than even Mikey. In the episode "Soccer Boy", she made a cameo as a football player, where she was seen jumping on Mikey, tackling him. She is fat, wears a red shirt with a yellow star with blue shorts, red and white sneakers and has red hair. In "Lawson and his Crew", she performed a ballet dance with Randall Weems similar to Mikey and Spinelli in the episode "Dance Lessons". In "Kurds the Not So Bad", Mikey befriended her and digs deep to find the good person inside her. He even stood up for her when she was accused of stealing the cobblers, which her crew did and lied about baking them.

Koreo

Koreo is another fifth grader and one of Lawson's friends. He, too, is a bully and jock. He is big and fat, has black hair and wears a red T-shirt. He does not appear in as many episodes as Lawson's other friends and does not usually make cameos or appear on his own without Lawson, unlike Jocko, Buster, Chucko and Cheay.

Erwin Lawson

Lawson (voiced by Erik Von Detten), as he is always known, is the fifth-grade school bully and archenemy of T.J. and his gang (particularly Vince and T.J), although he has expressed being fond of T.J. in an episode. Like T.J., he usually wears a baseball cap, but unlike him, Lawson's visor sticks out in front and he is tall and lanky. His first name is said, by Mikey, to be Erwin in the episode "Soccer Boy" when Mikey plays as the goalie on Lawson's team. His relationship with the main gang is seen by them as a rivalry but interestingly it is not always adversarial, he is frequently seen leading the opposing side against them in kick ball and other games showing a certain friendship between them. Lawson is usually seen with his gang of five other fifth-grade bullies: Cheay, Jocko, Chucko Kowalski, Buster, and Koreo, although they are rarely seen with him altogether at once.

In some episodes, Lawson gets in trouble with the teachers for doing things like ditching school, saying the word whomps (like all the other students), chewing gum in school, bullying Brandon and other younger students, and breaking various school rules. Lawson did not appear in the first season of Recess, however four of his friends: Chucko, Jocko, Buster, and Cheay did.

During the first season before Lawson appeared, Chucko was the leader of the gang. When Lawson appeared in season 2 and onwards he became the leader and Chucko became a part of Lawson's gang and was no longer a major bully. In "Lawson and his Crew", Lawson organized a new crew which was a lot like T.J.'s Crew. His new crew included Swinger Girl, Greg Skeens, Kurst the Worst, Randall Weems, and Menlo. His crew became a better crew than T.J.'s until the crew all split up as they were not really that good of friends, unlike T.J.'s crew.

Lance ("Lance the Pants")

Lance the Pants is caucasian, has glasses, brown hair, and cuffs his pants. When the old AV kid found out he was moving, he held a competition to select a new one. Lance won in a final competition against T.J. and Vince.

Lazy Kid

Lazy Kid is a boy who hardly gets any sleep. He's the fifth worst kid in school. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing. He is always sleepy and is not very good at paying attention to what's going on around him. He is also very slow-talking and is always behind his pals when talking and walking. He, along with Skeens and Mundy, were bad in "Gus and Misdemeanors" and "Kurst the Not-So-Worst". In "Mundy Mundy", he threatened to paint Mikey's bicycle, Pegasus.

Little Jimmy Cratner

Like Stinky Peterson, Little Jimmy Cratner also runs into mysterious mishaps like getting lost in "The Yard Of No Return" and getting abducted by aliens. He is generally a figure which is heard of but not seen, the subject of many of the kids elaborate, exaggerated or fantastic stories/myths about things that had happened on Third Street. He is seen dropped off by aliens at Third Street in "The Experiment". A.k.a. Bruce Blanchard from Episode 2 : "Gus's Revenge"

Mayor Philip Fitzhugh

Mayor Philip Fitzhugh is the town mayor and a former pupil at 3rd Street School.

Megan

A student in T.J.'s class, she usually appears as a background character. She has brown hair in pigtails and wears a red cardigan and blue skirt. She speaks in some episodes. She often hangs out with Judy, another girl in T.J.'s class.

Menlo

Menlo (voiced by Blake McIver Ewing) is Ms. Lemon's filing assistant, a very organized boy who wears a shirt and tie to school and spends most of his time inside Principal Prickly's office, rarely going outside for recess. He boasts that, while not as smart as Gretchen, he is far more organized than all of the other kids. In the past, he was a rowdy boy, and T.J.'s best friend. Although Menlo is sometimes an antagonist to the main characters, T.J. still attends Menlo's birthday party every year. Menlo's last name is never revealed in the show, which is surprising as he is the aid to the office.

Miss Alordayne Grotkey

Miss Grotkey (voiced by Allyce Beasley) is the fourth graders' teacher and something of a hippie. She is adored by her pupils because she is possibly the only teacher who stands up for the students. She performs magic tricks at clubs as a hobby. Miss Grotkey loves to meditate and she has an over bite like Gretchen. When she was absent from school for a few days everyone except T.J. forgot her until T.J. presented his independent studies project, a "get well" card. Her hippie outlook is reflected in her appearance with her long robe-like dress. It is clear that, early on in the series, the actors were not told how to correctly pronounce her name, as in the earliest episodes her name is pronounced "Groh-t-kee" and in later episodes she is called "Grow-t-kee". In Recess: School's Out (the movie) it is shown that she is secretly trained in some form of martial arts, which impresses Miss Finster, who develops a newfound respect for her.

Ms. Lemon

Ms. Lemon (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is Principal Prickly's old and miserable secretary. She is almost always seen at her typewriter and coordinates Menlo's schedule. Ms. Lemon is thought to be divorced three times, which might be the reason she is so down.

Conrad Mundy

Mundy is a bad kid. According to Gretchen, he's the second worst kid in the school. He makes frequent visits to the principal's office. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing. In the episode "Mundy Mundy", he decides to be a better person and do nice things. In the episode "The Girl Was Trouble", Gretchen told him how to get the tissue paper to stick to the ceiling of the bathroom so that, in exchange, he would tell Gretchen to whom he had traded Galileo. In "Gus and Misdemeanors", Mundy, along with his two pals Skeens and Lazy Kid, tricked Gus into stealing. After that, they brought Gus to their secret creek. In "Kurst the Not-So-Bad", Mundy, along with Skeens, Lazy Kid and Sue Bob Murphy, stole the school's huckleberry cobbler. He is voiced by Warren Sroka.

Peanut Butter Kid

Peanut Butter Kid is a younger student who appears in the episode "The Kid Came Back", and in "King Gus" before that. He follows the main characters around for the entire episode and seems to bring them bad luck. He is always seen eating a peanut butter sandwich because his mother forbids him to eat sugar foods. His only speaking role was in "King Gus".

Phil

Phil is a woodchuck scout, who is known for his trademark scout-like costume. He is seen in the background of T.J.'s class. He is also often seen playing kickball on the playground and hanging out with classmates Gordy and Willy. In some episodes, he can be rude and sometimes angry, as well, to people such as Mikey and Gus.

Scribe Kid

Scribe Kid is an assistant to King Bob and is King Bob's secretary, always writing down whatever King Bob tells him to (normally by saying "Scribe Kid get this down"). He is voiced by Erik Von Detten. Scribe Kid is also a friend of Menlo's as shown in the episode "Some Friend", as he was one of the people who Menlo invited to his birthday party and was on the same team in "Soccer Boy".

Señor Fusion

Señor Fusion or Fusion (voiced by Frank Welker) is a comic book hero, loved by all the kids and even by Principal Prickly. He is a superhero with a matador outfit and mask.

Greg Skeens

Greg Skeens is known around the playground as Graffiti Kid. He hangs out behind the school with his four friends: Lazy Kid, Mundy, Sue Bob Murphy and Kurst the Worst. He is tall, thin, sports long dark hair, has brown skin, wears a yellow shirt with red lines on the bottom and round the top, grey pants, black sneakers and black gloves with holes in them.

When being chased, he is even faster than Vince. He was banned from Kelso's for stealing which was why he, Mundy and Lazy Kid tricked Gus into stealing Beanie McGum from Kelso's in "Gus and Misdemeanors". In "Mundy Mundy", Skeens threatened to destroy T.J. and his gang's bicycles if they didn't get Mundy's reputation back for being a bad kid since T.J. and the Gang were the ones who ended up spilling on Mundy in the first place. In "The Girl Was Trouble", he was the one who first took Galileo. After Galileo went missing, he told Gretchen that he traded Galileo for a stick of gum as it didn't work on his T.V., so Gretchen gave him the word "nefarious" to write on the wall. So, Skeens wrote on the wall "Finster is a nefarious Dega". Skeens then told Gretchen that it was Mundy who he traded Galileo to. In "Kurst the Not-So-Bad", he stole the school's huckleberry cobbler along with Mundy, Lazy Kid and Sue Bob Murphy.

He is the third worst kid in the school. He can often be seen writing and drawing graffiti on the walls. He rarely acts good. In some episodes, he can be seen playing sports. He is not very smart as he does not know how to spell properly or count properly. He is voiced by Danny Cooksey. The only time he has a different voice actor is in the episodes "The Girl Was Trouble" and "The Ratings Game".

Slappy

Slappy is a tall boy who sports blonde hair, and wears a red shirt and blue pants. His name is mentioned by Jerome in the episode "The Rules". Not much is known about Slappy. He hangs out with Eric Foster, the strong sixth grade boy and sometimes other fifth and sixth graders. In the episode "Dodgeball City", he makes a cameo appearance on the same side as Lawson, thus confirming that he is in fifth Grade. In the episode "Kindergarten Derby", he can be seen walking along, eating some popcorn, and in "King Gus", he, along with several other fifth and sixth graders, are seen throwing dodgeballs at the students who were thrown into jail by Gus before they start a war between themselves.

Stemple

Stemple is a boy who wears a blue shirt, brown pants, and has brown hair. He is the boy who Gelman previously bullied, before Gus became Gelman's new victim and punching bag. Stemple, however, left the school because he moved to a new house. Oddly, after moving and leaving the school, he still made cameos in many other episodes. In some episodes his skin color changes from white to black and hair changes from brown to blonde and his shirt from blue to red .

Stinky Peterson

Stinky Peterson is a boy with terrible luck, supposedly because he usually meddles with unknown powers, causing people to "never see Stinky Peterson again...". In the episode "My Fair Gretchen", it is revealed that he went to Oppenheimer Elementary School after scoring exceedingly well at the "Arkansas Standard Achievement Test". Nevertheless, he is spotted within school premises at least once after this, in the episode "The Fuss Over Finster", and mentioned a few times to have run into misfortunes.

Coincidentally, Stinky shares his name with a recurring character of the former Nickelodeon cartoon, Hey Arnold!, which shared some voice actors with Recess.

Sue Bob Murphy

Sue Bob Murphy (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh in "The Girl was Trouble" and Kath Soucie in "Don't Ask Me" and "Kurst the Not So Bad") is a bad kid who is seen in the principal's office a lot. She is the fourth worst kid in the school. She was also possibly banned from Kelso's for stealing.

Susan

Susan is a brainy student in fourth grade and usually appears as a background character. She has red hair in pigtails and wears a white blouse and green jumper.

Swinger Girl

Swinger Girl (voiced by Francesca Marie Smith) is a girl who likes to play on the swings every recess. She wears her trademark pilot's outfit and has long red hair and squirrel/gopher-like teeth. Her ultimate goal is to swing so high that she loops the swing set bar, but has never achieved it, despite what Spinelli had mistakenly believed in the episode "Swing On Through To The Other Side". Menlo stated in "Lawson and his Crew" that Swinger Girl is a possible possessor of even greater courage than Spinelli. This is very much true as Swinger Girl is not afraid of heights or flying. Her name is revealed to be Laura Jameson in the episode "The Great Jungle Gym Stand Off". It is also revealed in the episode that she fell off the swing and accidentally swallowed her loose tooth. In some episodes, she has either fallen, been pushed, knocked or flown off her swing. In the episode "The Great Can Drive", she told Mikey that there was a whole convention of swingers in town. In some episodes, she is referred to as Swinger Kid instead of Swinger Girl.

Thaddeus T. Third V

The current greatest benefactor of Third Street school, he is the grandson of Thaddeus T. Third III, after whom the street and the school Third Street are named. He appears in two episodes: "The Biggest Trouble Ever" and "The C-Note". He somewhat resembles American financier and businessman J. P. Morgan.

Upside-Down Girl

Upside-Down Girl is a girl who hangs upside-down on the monkey bars every recess. As a result, her blonde pigtails always stand up. She has no defined personality, but, when angry, can get violent. The only time she is seen not hanging upside down is in the episode "The Game" where she, along with all the other students, are playing the Ajimbo game. In some episodes, she has fallen off the bars or dropped off of them. When she gets off her bars or if not hanging on them, either she will get someone to carry her upside down or she will be hanging upside down off something else, such as a tree or a door. She is voiced by Francesca Marie Smith.

Superintendent Wilfred Skinner

Wilfred Skinner (voiced by John Astin) is the superintendent of schools in the district. In some episodes, he makes appearances doing inspections of Third Street Elementary. His name Wilfred is revealed in "Kids in the Mist".

Wylie

Wylie is a boy in T.J. and the gang's class. He has blonde hair and wears a blue baseball cap. He is normally seen hanging alongside Gordy.