Mr. Monopoly
Rich Uncle Pennybags is the rotund old man in a top hat who serves as the mascot of the game Monopoly. He also appears in the related games Advance to Boardwalk, Free Parking, Don't Go To Jail, and Monopoly Junior. Rich Uncle Pennybags was rechristened Mr. Monopoly (a nickname he was already known by in popular culture) in a Hasbro marketing effort in 1999.
The character first appeared on Chance and Community Chest cards in U.S. editions of Monopoly in 1936. The artist who designed the character to appear across several of the cards has remained a mystery. Historian and author Philip Orbanes wrote in 2004 that it is believed that the character is based on either the calling cards of Albert Richardson (Parker Brothers' first traveling salesman) or the character of "Little Esky" from Esquire magazine or a combination of the two. Orbanes later wrote, in 2006, that the character was also partially influenced by the stature and dress of financier and banker J. P. Morgan.
The unnamed character made his first appearance outside of Monopoly within the Parker Brothers' game Dig, released before the U.S. entered World War II. The character did not receive a name until 1946, when the game Rich Uncle was published by Parker Brothers. His likeness appeared on that game's box lid, game instructions, and currency.
Since 1985, the character appears in the second "O" in the word Monopoly as part of the game's logo. While this logo has generally been adopted worldwide, the character still only appears on Chance and Community Chest cards on U.S. versions, though not in certain themed releases.
In 1988, Orbanes published the first edition of his book The Monopoly Companion. In the book, all of the characters that appear on the Monopoly board or within the decks of cards received a name. Uncle Pennybags's full name was given as Milburn Pennybags, the character "In Jail" is named "Jake the Jailbird," and the police officer in the opposite corner to the jail is named "Officer Edgar Mallory."
In 1999, Rich Uncle Pennybags was renamed Mr. Monopoly. During the same year, a Monopoly Jr. CD-ROM game was released within cereal boxes as part of a General Mills promotion. This game introduced Mr. Monopoly's niece and nephew, Sandy and her brother Andy.
According to the book, Monopoly: The World’s Most Famous Game & How It Got That Way and The Monopoly Companion, Mr. Monopoly has a second nephew named Randy, although it should be noted the Monopoly Companion mistakenly refers to Sandy as a boy. Also according to Monopoly: The World’s Most Famous Game & How It Got That Way, Mr. Monopoly has a wife named Madge.[1][2] He is named as the sixth richest fictional character on The Forbes Fictional 15 list on its website.[3]
In popular culture
- The movies Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Mr. Deeds both featured characters who resembled Rich Uncle Pennybags, prompting the main characters to refer to each of them as "The Monopoly Guy".
- An animated character resembling Rich Uncle Pennybags has appeared numerous times in The Simpsons. In one such episode, "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", he appears with Mr Burns:
- Mr. Burns: "Oh, here we go with the fat cat bashing".
- Uncle Pennybags: "Well, what do you expect? These yokels are pure Baltic Avenue. Heh-heh. (looks at watch) Uh-oh! I'm late for the Short Line Railroad!" (gets in a life-size Monopoly car in the aisle and drives away).
- Also in the episode, "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love", he appears to steal a woman that Mr Burns was trying to woo and drives away in a life-size Monopoly train.
References
- Orbanes, Philip E. (2006). Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game & How it Got that Way. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81489-7.
- Orbanes, Philip E. (2004). The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers (First Edition ed.). Harvard Business School Press. ISBN 1-59139-269-1.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - Orbanes, Philip (1988). The Monopoly Companion (First edition ed.). Bob Adams, Inc. ISBN 1-55850-950-X.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help)