(Redirected from
Michael Bluth)
This is a list of the main and recurring fictional characters from the Fox television comedy series, Arrested Development.
George Bluth Sr.
George Bluth Sr. is the Patriarch of the Bluth family, imprisoned on a number of charges. As of the beginning of the second season, he's a fugitive hiding out somewhere in Mexico with his assistant, Kitty Sanchez. He is portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor.
George Sr. was the Chief Executive of the Bluth company, started by his father. However, after years of creative accounting practices, he became the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He was eventually arrested and convicted of defrauding his investors, petty theft, grand theft, etc. He is represented by the Bluth family attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn, who often appears distracted by his own mounting personal problems.
The charges against George Sr. are quite serious and he has decided his only recourse is to flee them. He managed to escape to Mexico with a briefcase filled with hard evidence of his dealings with Saddam Hussein; signatures and receipts that offered clear, unmistakable proof that he willingly dealt model homes to the enemy.
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Lucille Bluth
Lucille Bluth is the mother of 5 Bluth children and wife to George Sr. She is portrayed by Jessica Walter.
Lucille is acting Chief Officer of the Bluth Company. She is also the mother of George Oscar, twins Michael and Lindsay, Byron, and the adopted Annyong. Despite her difficulties adjusting to the maternal role, Lucille has managed to command a certain level of allegiance amongst her brood. Buster and G.O.B. are terrified of her and Michael and Lindsay accept that she habitually tries to manipulate them into fighting with each other in order to consolidate her power in the family hierarchy. Nevertheless, Lucille is a beloved figure after a fashion. She is merely one piece in a decidedly mixed up puzzle.
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Michael Bluth
Michael Bluth is the fraternal twin of Lindsay. They were born after George Oscar and before Byron. He is portrayed by Jason Bateman.
Michael was President of the Bluth Company for most of the first season but was replaced by G.O.B. as it came to a close. However, that move was thought by many to be only temporary until the scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission was lifted from Michael.
Michael was married, but his wife died, leaving him the responsibility of raising their son, George Michael on his own. He is always threatening to leave the family, but has been unable to act on his numerous threats.
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George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II
G.O.B. is the eldest Bluth Son. He is portrayed by Will Arnett.
His name, derived from his initials, is pronounced like the biblical character, Job. He is a professional magician by trade and began the second season as President of the Bluth Company. However, it has been suggested that he wields no real power and that his brother Michael is still in charge.
He once made the family's US$700,000 yacht disappear (by sinking it) during Spring Break. It was part of the making of a Girls with Low Self-Esteem video shoot, where drunken co-eds expose their breasts. He is also the original creator of the Bananagrabber character, although he gave the copyright away to Michael who had it made into an animated tv series.
Plays Europe's The Final Countdown in almost all of his major magic shows, like making the family yacht disappear or escaping from a coffin. Gets around in a Segway.
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Byron "Buster" Bluth
Byron "Buster" Bluth is the youngest of the biologically born Bluth children, known mostly as "Buster", occasionally as "Busty". It has been hinted that Buster's father might be Oscar, George Bluth Sr.'s twin brother. He is portrayed by Tony Hale.
Buster is a career student but cannot return to school because the money is no longer available to him. Thus far, he has taken $80,000 worth of lessons from the Stanford Institute of Cartography. He has studied Native American Tribal ceremonies, participated in a sleep deprivation study, worked on an archaeological dig as part of a Smithsonian fellowship, and endured a study that investigated the relationship between medical marijuana and nausea because it took place at a carnival. He is a graduate of Milford Academy .
He is very much a man-boy, similar to Pee-wee Herman. He is very attached to his mother Lucille, has frequent panic attacks, hates both closed and open spaces, is terrified of sheep, and is very wrathful towards his Korean-born adopted brother, Annyong.
In the episode Out on a Limb, Buster's left hand was bitten off by a seal. In the same episode, it was revealed that his real father is George Sr.'s brother, Oscar.
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George Michael Bluth
George Michael Bluth is the young teenage son of Michael Bluth. He is portrayed by Michael Cera, and in flashback sequences, by Christian Lavery .
George Michael has demonstrated a willingness to work and to help his father in whatever capacity is necessary. In the past, this has included pretending to be a girl so Michael could take him to "Bring you daughter to work day." He has worked at the Bluth Family's Original Frozen Banana Stand [1] (before it "mysteriously" burnt down) and has answered phones down at company headquarters.
When he was reunited with his cousin Maeby, he instantly developed a hard crush on her. He was able to work through it, and it did not mutate into an obsession. He has maintained a platonic, healthy relationship with Maeby despite the claustrophobic atmosphere of his home life. George Michael was deeply traumatized when, as child, he began to watch what he assumed was the popular family musical, The Wizard of Oz. Instead, it was the HBO violent prison drama, Oz. Consequently, George Michael is terrified of prisons.
In the second season, George Michael started dating a girl named Anne whom his father barely knows and doesn't like. His father continues to call Anne "Egg" by mistake as she was introduced to him while she was eating an egg.
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Lindsay Bluth Fünke
Lindsay Bluth Fünke is the only daughter of George Sr. and Lucille, and is Michael's twin sister. She is portrayed by Australian actress Portia de Rossi.
Lindsay is married to Tobias Fünke. They have a teenage daughter, Maeby, obtained through artificial means. Lindsay is a dedicated activist. She has helped bring attention to such worthy causes as Hands Off Our Penises, (HOOP), an anti-circumcision organization; Stop the Hunger; Neuterfest, and Save the Wetlands. She has worked to remove the Ten Commandments from City Hall and has also spoken out on advocacy of more meat and fish in the schools.
She opened up a Dip-A-Pet, because she felt animals needed hair-coloring options; she started Mommy, What Will I Look Like photo shop to provide parents with some idea of their child's forecasted appearance. She had to quit because too many parents were sickened and distraught over what her techniques revealed to them.
Despite her best efforts, Lindsay has not obtained perfect self-esteem. She has tried yoga, activism, and hair-care products, but nothing has worked. Her marriage is hardly helping, considering that her husband seems acutely disinterested, and may in fact be gay.
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Tobias Fünke
Tobias Fünke is married to Lindsay Bluth and they have a daughter, Maeby. He is portrayed by David Cross.
Tobias is a former psychiatrist from Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital who lost his license for giving CPR to a man who didn't need it and breaking his sternum. He has experienced sexual difficulties with his wife. This led to their joint decision to attempt an "open" marriage. Tobias has a rare condition called "Never-nude" syndrome (gymnophobia) [2] and must always wear denim cut-off shorts in the shower. This condition threatened his acceptance of a coveted role as "Frightened Inmate #2" in a prison drama that called for a nude shower scene. He had studied for the role by researching the "nature of fear" at the Orange County prison. Lindsay helped him deal with his condition and with the help of his acting coach, Carl Weathers, he got the part. Carl would eventually help Tobias land a part on the TV series Scandalmakers, where Weathers played Ice The Bounty Hunter, Tobias played George Sr., and Dave Attel played Tobias.
Lindsay, who married Tobias to spite her mother, is convinced that her husband is gay. Much of the humor that is based around Tobias exploits this fact. A book he wrote while still a therapist, The Man Inside Me belatedly has become a runaway bestseller, but only in the gay community. At a reading, attended exclusively by Gay Men, he changed all the pronouns to "he" for the ease of reading, though his audience assumed it was for different reasons.
He went to see Blue Man Group perform, thinking it was a support group for depressed men. He subsequently took the method approach to his craft by painting his body blue, in anticipation of potentially becoming an understudy for one of the Blue Men. In the mid 1990's, Tobias led his family as the folk group, Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution. Every song was about new medicines and their potential harmful effects on consumers. Each performance was underwritten by the Natural Life Food Company.
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Maeby Fünke
Mae "Maeby" Fünke is the teenage daughter of Lindsay and Tobias. She does not demonstrate much of a scholarly acumen and has a penchant for acting out. She is played by Alia Shawkat.
Maeby was purchased by her parents for US$150,000. The Fünkes were unable to conceive due to Tobias' prolonged difficulties regarding heterosexual congress with Lindsay; whether this implies that she is adopted or a test-tube baby has not been fully revealed. Maeby was sent to a progressive school called the Sunshine Academy by her parents. She wasn't graded, but rather received crocodiles and Elvii instead. Once she entered the public school system, she was not able to compete. So, she lost interest in grades and started creating new opportunities to get into trouble, where she "always gets caught".
Maeby has created a pseudo-twin, Surely, who is suffering from the rare, debilitating illness, B.S. She conspires to draw attention to her condition and has fabricated a fake charity that preys on the sympathy of others. She is discovered on stage by George Michael, at a charity fund raiser held in Surely's honor.
As Surely, Maeby draws attention to the fact that there are no ramps going up to the bleachers at school. She fabricates a tremendous amount of support and respect by pretending to be terminally ill. She has made quite a lot of money from her false charities without punishment for her deception.
By accident, Maeby acquired a job as a movie executive, although she is having increasing difficulties deflecting questions about her youthful appearance. She has frequently used the studio's readers to do her homework, assigning them classic novels to read and write up.
Oscar Bluth
Oscar Bluth is the George Sr.'s identical twin. He is portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor.
Oscar can be distinguished from George by his flowing hair. He is a frequent user of marijuana and other recreational drugs. It is hinted that he is probably the biological father of Buster in season 2 often. Eventually, it is revealed he is Buster's father.
Annyong Bluth
Annyong Bluth is the accidentally adopted Korean son of Lucille and George Sr. He is portrayed by Justin Lee .
Annyong is the Korean word for "Hello". Upon his arrival, he would greet his new family in this manner. When they repeated the word, so did he. This caused Lucille to assume that her new son's name was "Annyong". As the show progressed, Annyong became an articulate member of the household who often found himself in disagreement with his new brother, Buster.
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Wife of G.O.B.
The Wife of G.O.B. is a certified seal salesperson who married George Oscar as part of an evening of escalating dares. She traffics in trained seals , and convinces G.O.B. to wear bright, colorful sweaters. Possibly the only fan of Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution, she saw their show in the late 90's and was comforted by the fact that they sang about every side effect she was going through. When she realizes she is in love with Tobias, she ends her marriage to G.O.B. and leaves to join the United States Army. She frequently takes photos while smoking and pointing at crotches, a clear parody of Lynndie England. She is portrayed by Will Arnett's wife, Amy Poehler.
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Barry Zuckerkorn
Barry Zuckerkorn is the phlegmatic attorney for the Bluth family. He is played by Henry Winkler.
Zuckerkorn represents the family Patriarch, George Sr., who has been arrested and charged with defrauding investors. Zuckerkorn often appears languid and distracted in his handling of the case. He does not seem particularly apt in the courtroom and multiple references have been made to his being a bad lawyer.
He is inevitably ill-prepared, which he usually blames on long meetings the night before, which inevitably involve the City of Industry or rest stops. His sexual leanings are ambiguous although it appears that he may prefer the company of males transvestite hookers and may be homosexual. Like Tobias Fünke, Barry makes many colorful references that seem to allude to his exclusive attraction to men. They aren't explicit enough, however, to be conclusive. He has been with the Bluths for a long time and is considered by Lucille to be "part of the family". His reputation is stronger with the elder Bluths than with the children.
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Kitty Sanchez
Kitty Sanchez is George Bluth Sr.'s fiercely loyal and independent assistant. Kitty is portrayed by Judy Greer .
Kitty maintained a long term affair with George Sr. and a fevered yet brief liaison with G.O.B. After George Sr. was imprisoned, Kitty stayed on to work for Michael. Despite her intense loyalty to the company, she did not demonstrate the same toward Michael. He tried to fire her, but was overridden by his father. Michael attempted to rehire Kitty, but her obstinacy forced him to immediately refire her. Kitty subsequently disappeared with potentially damaging information, considering her sexual history with her boss.
She gained possession of incriminating files during her "disappearance". In actuality, she did not disappear, but was working with the police in an effort to gain control of the Bluth company. After arranging a meeting with Michael, she inadvertently admitted that she had proof that George Sr. had built homes overseas without paying taxes.
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White Power Bill
White Power Bill was a massive, bald racist inmate with George Bluth Sr. at the Orange County Prison. White Power Bill was portrayed by David Reynolds .
White Power Bill was incensed when confronted with George's jailhouse conversion to Judaism. He was particularly upset at George's gesture of giving Little Justice a yarmulke for protection and christening him David Ben-Avram. He responds by hitting Little Justice with a pipe, knocking off his yarmulke. George, diplomatically, stated that "...both of our religions have a lot to offer. There’s the Jewish notion of heaven, and that it can be obtained here on earth, and there is your belief in the cleansing power of the pipe."
Upon meeting Tobias, Bill referred to him as a "little kike". Tobias, oblivious, was at the prison researching the role of "Frightened Inmate #2" in a prison drama. He led Bill in a counselling session that culminated in Bill's suicide.
