B. D. (Doonesbury)

B.D. is a fictional character in Garry Trudeau's popular comic strip Doonesbury. In the comic strip, nobody is certain what "B.D." is short for (he gives his last name as "D"), but he was based on Brian Dowling, quarterback at Yale University, where Trudeau attended college. In the stage adaptation of the strip, Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy, his full name was revealed to be Brian John Dowling (that of his real life namesake).

B.D. was first introduced on September 30, 1968, in Trudeau's strip Bull Tales in the Yale Daily News. At the time, B.D.'s helmet was white, with a block letter "Y" for Yale.

B.D. was reintroduced in the first Doonesbury strip in 1970 in which the popular quarterback became roommate to the nerdy, awkward Mike Doonesbury at Walden College. At Walden, B.D. wore a football helmet with a star on the side, replacing the Yale "Y". Mike and B.D. had many differences and initially could not stand each other.

As captain of the Walden football team, B.D. faced many tests of his short patience. His teammates could rarely keep their minds on the game, opting to have intense philosophical and political discussions during huddle. This became much worse when self-described "freak" Zonker Harris joined the team.

B.D. is notable for having rather conservative views, in contrast to the more liberal beliefs of the other main characters, Mike, Mark and Zonker. He deplored welfare and marijuana use. In some of the early strips, he was even portrayed as slightly racist and sexist, and a supporter of the Vietnam War. He eventually joined the army and went to Vietnam simply to get out of writing a term paper. He found military life to be a good fit for him, and enjoyed his tour of duty immensely in sharp contrast to most of his colleagues. While in Vietnam, B.D. met and befriended Phred, a Viet-Cong "terrorist" who captured him, only to get them both lost. They remain friends to this day. He was awarded a purple heart for being injured while lost (cut his hand on a beer can).

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