Voiced by Charles Adler (1993-) Spouse Bev Bighead Children Ralph Bighead | ||
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Occupation executive at the Conglom-O Corporation Similar Bev Bighead, Heffer Wolfe, Rocko, Filburt, Spunky | ||
Edward "Ed" Bighead is a fictional character in the cartoon series Rocko's Modern Life and the comic book series of the same name. Mr. Bighead, an anthropomorphic cane toad, lives next door to the main character of the show, Rocko, whom he vehemently dislikes. In the television show, he is voiced by Charles Adler.
Contents
Development
Joe Murray, the creator of Rocko's Modern Life, said that he based the Bigheads on a group of neighbors who lived next door to Murray during his childhood. Murray described the neighbors as "grumpy and pissed about everything." The general concept involving characters with large heads originated from a comic, written by Murray, named "Rizzo the Art Director."
Description
Ed Bighead is an employee at a large corporation. He is cruel, petty, bossy, and has a terrible temper; in fact, the only people that he fears are his wife, Bev and his boss, Mr. Dupette. He particularly dislikes Rocko and his friends, Heffer Wolfe and Filburt. He usually yells at anyone he sees, and grumbles bitterly under his breath at any situation he finds even slightly troubling.
In the original television show, Ed works at the Conglom-O Corporation, the largest company in town. He has worked at Conglom-O since at least 1961, yet despite his long tenure, his "slimy boss" Mr. Dupette, has never promoted him into a permanent position in the top echelons of the company. While his actual job at Conglom-O varies throughout the course of the show, he seems to be stuck in mostly middle management roles that occasionally cause him a great deal of stress (She's the Toad, Zanzibar). He has also been shown as a lowly worker (Teed Off, Magic Meatball) to being an executive of sorts (Closet Clown, Canned). In the episode Teed Off, Ed states his current job at Conglom-O is "Checking the bottle caps on all the bottles." And agrees to lose a round of golf to Mr. Dupette (in secret) in order to get a promotion to "Put" the bottle caps on the bottles, a prospect that seems very thrilling to him.
In the later seasons of the show, his character is fleshed out more. He is shown to display, at times, genuine affection for Rocko and his friends (Old Fogey Froggy, Put to Pasture), but is mostly unpleasant towards them.
In the comic book, Ed Bighead works for a similar company headed by a white elephant named Donald Frump (a parody of Donald Trump).
Relationships
Ed is the husband of Bev Bighead, and Bev is the only character in the series that can turn Ed from mean to downright terrified. Bev has the strength to stand up to Ed, and this makes her quite a powerful figure. Indeed, she is probably the most powerful figure for Ed, because anyone else who Ed torments never does anything to stop it. Therefore, the other characters, particularly Rocko, are always under his control. He does not have many friends and is disliked by many, but appears to not be bothered by this.
He is also mean to his own son, Ralph, who creates a show called "The Fatheads," which his parents feel make a mockery of them. Ralph also becomes a cartoonist instead of following Ed's footsteps at Conglom-O; furious, Ed says, "I have no son." This was the subject of one episode. The two of them later reconciled after Ed found out how much money Ralph makes.
Episodes
Ed usually played the role of an antagonist, or the bully.
In episodes that he starred in, he:
Despite his almost constant bad luck, there have been episodes where he's come out on top or at least shown having moderately good luck:
In the comic book chapters, Ed:
Catchphrase
Ed Bighead's catchphrase is, "I hate my life."