John Herbert, nicknamed "Herbert the Pervert", is a fictional character in the animated television seriesFamily Guy, created and voiced by Mike Henry. Herbert is a World War II veteran who is an elderly neighbor of the Griffin family who first appeared in the season 3 episode "To Love and Die in Dixie". He is attracted to young boys, and harbors unrequited love for Chris Griffin, though most other citizens of Quahog are oblivious to his sexuality. Henry defines Herbert as a homosexualpedophile, although speaking in clinical terms this is not the case. Herbert has received mixed reviews from critics, who have expressed varying opinions on the pedophilia-related humor involving the character. Herbert has appeared in various Family Guy merchandise and has made several crossover appearances in The Cleveland Show, a Family Guy spin-off.
Role in ''Family Guy''
Herbert lives in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island. He is an elderly man who dresses in a baby blue robe and utilizes a walking frame due to his age; his dog Jesse is similarly elderly and decrepit, being unable to use his hind legs. In his first appearance, "To Love and Die in Dixie", Herbert attempts to seduce Chris inside the house by offering him a popsicle that Herbert insists is in his basement. Despite his pleas, Chris refuses. In the episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father", Chris breaks Herbert's window with a baseball and, to pay off the debt, Chris helps him with chores around the house, much to Herberts delight. Herbert later invites him to dinner. When Chris gets a new job in "Movin' Out ", his baby brother Stewie takes over his paper route; Herbert tries to seduce him but is rebuffed by Stewie, who shouts, "Piss off, you perverted old freak", though this only furthers his lust for the infant. In the episode "Play It Again, Brian", Herbert is hired by Peter and Lois to babysit their children Chris, Stewie and Meg. He claims to have no interest in Meg because of her age and gender, and is disappointed when she is only of the three to bathe him. Herbert has a grand-niece, Sandy, whom he helps attract Chris in the style of Cyrano de Bergerac in the episode "Valentine's Day in Quahog". In the episode "Padre de Familia", Herbert is revealed to be a war veteran, as he is shown singing "God Bless the USA" in a local Veterans Day parade. This is furthered in the season 9 episode "German Guy", in which Herbert reveals he was a member of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and was captured by Wehrmacht forces when he was shot down over Germany while escorting a bombing raid. Although the Nazi forces initially wished to place Herbert in a prisoner-of-war camp, they instead placed him in Dachau Concentration Camp due to their discovery of several pictures of underage boys on his person, prompting them to accuse him of being homosexual. Years later, Herbert discovers his tormentor, SS Lieutenant Franz Schlechthnacht, makes a living in Quahog selling puppets, and becomes frightened by his new friendship with Chris. Herbert has appeared on various occasions in Family Guy spinoffs, such as in various cutaway gags in several episodes of The Cleveland Show. In , Herbert appears as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Production
Herbert was created by writer and voice actor Mike Henry. Henry met Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane when his brother Patrick was a classmate of MacFarlane's at the Rhode Island School of Design. Henry was invited to write and create characters for Family Guy after the show was picked up. The first character he created was Cleveland Brown, and he later created Herbert. Herbert was not originally a pedophile; Henry pitched the idea to the writers of the show, leading to the decision to make him one. As with most of the other characters he created, Henry voices Herbert. Henry based Herbert's voice and appearance on an elderly man he met when he worked in a grocery store when he was in high school. In an interview Henry described that man as a sweet person.
Reception
, an American entertainment website, has generally commented positively on him. They pointed out that Herbert is one of the most popular recurring characters in the series, referring to him as one of the characters that stuck out from the rest. They also noted that one of the reasons Herbert is funny is because of his "soft, high-pitched whistling voice". Although IGN has praised Herbert in general they have criticized some aspects of him. In their review of "Blue Harvest", a retelling and parody of the 1977 film , recasting the show's characters into Star Wars roles, IGN criticized the choice of putting Herbert in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, stating that it never creates any actual humor. They also criticized the constant use of Herbert, commenting that it was entertaining for the first two times, but that it quickly became overused. In their list of "What Else Should Family Guy Make Fun Of?", IGN commented that Herbert would be perfect to play Major Toht and Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor should Family Guy ever decide to make parodies of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Harry Potter, respectively. A February 2015 article written by Hanh Nguyen for TV Guide listed pedophilia among the 12 biggest taboos shown on Family Guy, naming Herbert as the "creepiest of all" references to the disorder. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club criticized the character as an example of how the series occasionally fails in its deliberately offensive humor. He called him "a black hole of shittiness whose every appearance brings out the worst tendencies of Family Guy", adding that his "appearance brings every episode he's in to a screeching halt". Herbert, along with his dog Jesse, ranked spot number 16 in IGN's "Top 25 Family Guy Characters". Herbert also ranked number five on IGN's "The Cleveland Show Casting Couch", which showed characters that IGN would find interesting to put in The Cleveland Show.
Merchandise
In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz. Each member of the Griffin family and other characters had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released. Herbert is also featured on the CD.
