Francis Griffin (Family Guy)

Francis Griffin was a fictional character on the animated television series Family Guy.

Fictional character biography

Francis was the legal, but not biological father of Peter Griffin. He was skinny, and very cantankerous, in contrast to his son, who is fat and good-natured. He worked at the mill for about 60 years and is 80 years old. He was one of the oldest persons to appear on the show, though his ex-wife is said to be 82. He visited Peter and his family upon retiring, despite Lois’ misgivings, and criticized their various habits, which he considered sinful (examples: makes Chris ashamed to go to the bathroom, as he actually thought Chris was masturbating, warns Meg against holding hands with a neighbor boy, slapping Peter whenever he uses God's name in vain, among others).

At the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory (where Peter worked), Francis showed proficiency and was hired as a foreman, later firing Peter in the process. A hard-line, stereotypical Traditional Irish Catholic who has devoted his whole life to work and not his son, he began working for the Pope John Paul II after being introduced to him, although that job was terminated after the Pope's death. He hated Peter’s wife Lois because she isn’t Catholic (Lois is of Protestant heritage); he even went so far as pinning a big sign on her wedding car reading "Just Married --To A Protestant Whore."

Francis has been known to frown upon everyone in general, including his son and his son's family for allegedly "succumbing to sin." However, his ex-wife, Thelma, has been known to go on gambling sprees in Las Vegas. The Roman Catholic Church does not consider gambling itself a sin unless it is excessive or leads to scandal, so this could be consistent with his beliefs.[1] However "gambling sprees" likely implies excess, yet he seemed not to care that his ex-wife is excessive on this matter. This possibly implies that his dislike for Peter is more out of spite than anything else. Although he apparently thought she was on prayer missions: "Bless her heart, she's on another one of her prayer missions in Las Vegas." So it very well may be that he didn't exactly know what she actually does. Recently, he has been divorced, although his reaction is never seen as he dies later on in the season.

Although he seemed gruff and strict on the exterior, Francis cared for Peter deep down. He attended his son’s funeral, after Peter was believed to have died in the ocean. He also cared for his grandchildren. He kissed Meg, saying that it's great to see the kids, read Stewie to sleep (with a Bible story involving death, which Stewie enjoyed very much), and attended Chris' wedding in the future. (Which would appear to violate causality, since he dies before Chris is wed.) He also appears at Jasper's wedding, although they are not related and he seemed to dislike Brian (And should also be morally opposed to Jasper having a gay marriage, nevermind Jasper himself for being a homosexual). This is possibly because Brian spoke out against his beliefs. "Do you really think that sprinkling 'magic water' on Stewie is gonna keep him out of hell?" It has recently been revealed that he may have became a follower of Peter’s ill-fated Church of The Fonz. At the very least, he respected its values.

He died in the episode "Peter's Two Dads" at the age of 80, when Peter was on a unicycle and fell down the stairs onto him, crushing his ribs, busting his spleen, and puncturing a lung. His last words were "Peter, you're a fat, stinking drunk!" and it is revealed that he is not Peter Griffin's real father. This would probably explain his resentment towards Peter. In fact, his dislike for Peter may stem from the fact that Peter has been told (probably multiple times) he is not Francis' son, but that he has failed to realize it. He reappears in the episode as a zombie after Peter buried his body in a "pet cemetery", and a ghost with the ghosts of Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen playing the role of Anakin Skywalker.

Appearances

• "Holy Crap" (9/30/99) (debut)
• "The Perfect Castaway" (9/18/05) (cameo at funeral)
• "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" (12/18/05)
• "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" (cameo at wedding)
• "You May Now Kiss The...Uh...Guy Who Receives" (4/30/06) (cameo at wedding)
• "Peter's Two Dads" (2/11/07) (died in this episode)