Glenn Quagmire, who is usually referred to by his surname, is a fictional character from the American

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

sitcom ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

''. He is a neighbor and friend of the

Griffin family The Griffin family is a fictional family and main characters in the animated television series ''Family Guy'', and who also appear in ''The Cleveland Show''. The Griffins are a dysfunctional family consisting of the married couple Peter and Loi ...

and is best known for his

hypersexuality Hypersexuality is a proposed medical condition said to cause unwanted or excessive sexual arousal, causing people to engage in or think about sexual activity to a point of distress or impairment., according to the website of ''Psychology Toda ...

and his

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Giggity Giggity". The show's creator and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

describes him as "an appalling human being who is still caught in the

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...

era" based on

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common typ ...

1950s party-animal

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

s. The episode "

Tiegs for Two The ninth season of animated television series ''Family Guy'' first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010, to May 22, 2011, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. ''Family Guy'' follows the ...

" revealed that the surname Quagmire was originally the Polish surname Quagglechek or Quaggleczyk, the suffix -czyk indicating a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

in the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

Origins and vocal style

The name ''Quagmire'' was chosen by a college acquaintance of MacFarlane's. MacFarlane came up with Quagmire's voice after listening to fast-talking

radio jockey A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personal ...

s from the 1950s era, describing Quagmire as a "50s radio guy on coke." The "giggity" phrase was inspired by

Steve Marmel Steven L. Marmel (born December 17, 1964) is an American television writer, producer, and stand-up comedian who has worked on many animated television series, including '' The Fairly OddParents'', '' I Am Weasel'', '' Danny Phantom'', ''Family ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

impression.

Role in the show

Quagmire is a bachelor who works as a commercial airline pilot. He lives on Spooner Street where he is a neighbor and best friend of

Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. ( né Justin Peter Griffin) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, a ...

Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy'', and its spin-off series ''The Cleveland Show''. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his mild-mannered d ...

, and

Joe Swanson ''Family Guy (franchise), Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–present ...

. He has had two spouses: Joan, a maid for the Griffins who died; and Charmise, a prostitute whom he divorced. The former episode, "

I Take Thee Quagmire "I Take Thee Quagmire" is the 21st episode of season four of ''Family Guy'', originally broadcast March 12, 2006, on Fox. In this episode, Peter wins free maid service for a week; he intentionally creates extra work for the maid, Joan. Quagmi ...

", was acknowledged by MacFarlane as the first to have a plot revolving around Quagmire. During his time in Korea in service in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, he had a brief career as a soap opera star by the name of "American Johnny" and was lovers with his co-star, Sujin. They would reconnect ties during his brief travel there with Peter, Joe, and Cleveland. Quagmire briefly dated

Cheryl Tiegs Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as America's first supermodel, Tiegs made multiple appearances on the covers of the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue and ''Time'' ma ...

in the early 1980s, but she dumped him because of his constant jealousy and his

sex addiction Sexual addiction is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The concept is contentious; sexual addiction is not a clinical diagnosis in ...

. Cheryl, whom Quagmire considers his long-lost one true love, would again appear twice in Quagmire's life, both times due to

Brian Griffin Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is one of the main characters of the series and a member of the Griffin family. Created, designed, and voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is an anthrop ...

's meddling: the first one, when Brian invited him to dinner under the pretense he was going to dinner with her; the second one, when Brian dated her just to torment him (Quagmire retaliates by dating Brian's ex-girlfriend Jillian). Quagmire despises Brian and vice versa, leading to a feud that spans several episodes. In the episode " Quagmire's Baby", he discovers that he has a daughter, Anna Lee, but puts her up for adoption; several episodes imply that Quagmire has fathered several other children. His father, Dan, is introduced in the episode " Quagmire's Dad"; he is a naval veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

who has a sex reassignment and adopts the name Ida. Quagmire's sister, Brenda, is first seen in the episode "Jerome is the New Black" and is the subject of " Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q". In both episodes she is the victim of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

from her partner Jeff, whom Quagmire murders in order to protect her. The episode "

Quagmire's Mom "Quagmire's Mom" is the tenth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated sitcom ''Family Guy'', and the 241st episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on February 8, 2015. In the episode, Glenn Quagmire is found guilty of un ...

" reveals that he has a strained, dysfunctional relationship with his mother, who had acted sexually towards him; other episodes have implied that the two have actually had sex. In "The Stewaway", Quagmire reveals he lost his virginity at 6 years old when a female

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puber ...

plumber raped him while working at the Quagmires' house at the time. He is characterized as indulging in numerous sexual fetishes such as

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

frotteurism Frotteurism is a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvic area or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual pleasure. It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices fro ...

, biastophilia,

somnophilia Somnophilia (from Latin ''somnus'' "sleep" and Greek language, Greek φιλία, ''-philia'' "friendship") is a paraphilia in which an individual becomes sexual arousal, sexually aroused by someone who's asleep or Unconsciousness, unconscious.Flo ...

erotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. With a partner (or alone), the act often involves strangulatio ...

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

exhibitionism Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. As used in psychology and psychiatry, it is substantially different. It refers to an uncontrolla ...

zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia in which a person experiences a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality instead refers to cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. Due to the lack of research on the subject, it is ...

, and

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...

. He also has a predilection for teenage girls, including Peter's daughter

Meg Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Margaret, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to: People *Meg (singer) (born 1980), Japanese singer *Meg Baird, American musician *Meg Bateman, Scottish writer * Meg Bellamy, British ac ...

, whenever they turn 18. Following the episode "

Family Goy "Family Goy" is the second episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 4, 2009. In the episode, Lois discovers that her mother is Jewish and begins her st ...

", he develops a

pornography addiction Pornography addiction is the scientifically controversial application of an addiction model to the use of pornography. Pornography use may be part of compulsive behavior, with negative consequences to one's physical, mental, social, or financial we ...

after discovering the existence of

internet pornography Internet pornography or online pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the Internet; primarily via websites, FTP connections, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The greater accessibility of the World Wide Web from t ...

. When in sexual situations, he often shouts variations of his catchphrase "giggity", which has been used on ''Family Guy'' merchandise such as keyrings. Scenes involving Quagmire's sexual behavior have sometimes been censored by

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, such as a cut-away in the episode "

Airport '07 "Airport '07" is the twelfth episode of season five of the animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. The episode originally broadcast on Fox on March 4, 2007. The plot follows the Griffin family's neighbor Quagmire being dismissed from his job as a pilo ...

" which implied that he engaged in sex with a dead

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

at her funeral. The

Parents Television Council The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by Conservatism in the United States, conservative political pundit L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which ...

, a long-term critic of ''Family Guy'', says that Quagmire provides "some of the tawdriest moments" in the show.

References

External links

Glenn Quagmire
at Fox.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Quagmire, Glenn Animated human characters Family Guy characters Fictional naval aviators Fictional pilots Fictional rapists Fictional United States Navy personnel Television characters introduced in 1999 Animated characters introduced in 1999 Fictional characters from Rhode Island Male characters in animated television series Characters created by Seth MacFarlane Fiction about sexual addiction American male characters in sitcoms