Arthur Spooner
| Arthur Spooner | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" (episode 1.01) |
| Last appearance | "China Syndrome" (episode 9.13) |
| Portrayed by |
Jack Carter (pilot) Jerry Stiller (series) |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Served in the U.S. Army during World War II, with countless jobs after that; prior to Carrie's birth he was an actor |
| Spouse(s) | Sophia Spooner (widowed) Tessie Spooner (widowed) Lily Spooner (divorced) Veronica Olchin (divorced) |
| Children |
Carrie Spooner Sara Spooner (written out after the first season) |
Arthur Eugene Spooner is a fictional character played by Jerry Stiller on the sitcom The King of Queens. He lives with his daughter Carrie and her husband, Doug Heffernan.
Little is known about Arthur's early life. He was born in 1925 to an abusive father (played in one episode by Stiller's own son, Ben Stiller), but nothing is known about his mother. He lived on a farm from the ages of 7 to 10, then again at 43, was a gifted singer as a child, performed jigs for the workers at the Empire State Building, has an estranged half-brother named Skitch (played in one episode by Shelley Berman), was bald until the age of 12, and lost his virginity to someone named Peppermint Patty.
He possibly attended the State University of New York at Oneonta, having mentioned playing for the "Oneonta Red Dragons".
Arthur served in World War II in the Italian theater and in The Battle of the Bulge, and also mentions being in Paris, France. He variously claims to have been in the US Army 33rd Brigade and the 71st Infantry Division (United States). At some point during his enlistment, he left a man named Jack Russell for dead.
Sometime after the war, Arthur took up a career as an actor, performing on Broadway and at other venues. It was during this time that he met his first wife, Sophia, a show dancer. After a night of passion, the couple found out that Sophia was pregnant, and decided to get married for the sake of the child, Simone (later Carrie). Arthur lost Carrie's birth name of Simone in a poker game and she had to switch names with her cousin Carrie. (Interestingly enough, Carrie has no recollection of this incident.)
He quit his acting career in an attempt to create a more stable life for his daughter. Ironically, his unstable marital life and always unsure job situation led to even less security than Carrie might have had if Arthur remained an actor. Doug and Carrie occasionally point out this fact, but Arthur always discounts this fact.
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Wikipedia