Biography of Goofy

On this page is the biography of Goofy as can be reconstituted from as many sources as can be compiled into a mostly consistent whole. It is ever a work in progress, and you are welcome to add to it; however, all sources must be mentioned.
==Biography==
===Baby Years (c. 1920 - c. 1925)===
Goofy, an anthropomorphic dog, was born to AmosThe Adventure Story and Maw Goofy.Untitled newspaper strip by Del Connell and Floyd Gottfredson (INDUCKS: YM 73-10-25) He was born under a sign that read "Please don't feed the elk".The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy One source implies that he was born on May the 12th,Disneystrology while the year of his birth seems to have been sometime around 1920.Disney Babies Sources indicate that he was born before both Mickey MouseThe Black Crow Mystery and Donald DuckThis Is Your Life Donald Duck (comic) (who was born in 1920),Disney Comic Mailing List archive but he was still an infant during their baby years, which means that he can't be too much older than them and was probably born sometime from 1918 to 1920.
Goofy's birth name is unknown. He was known by the name of "Goofy" even as a baby, though whether this was first used as a diminutive form of the first name "Goofus", the name he would later place on his mailbox,The Sound-Blot Plot or in reference to the surname "Goofy", the surname which Amos and many of his relatives bore.
As an adult, Goofy would claim to have been raised "in a large family" and would possess a family photo which appears to picture him alongside five brothers and five sisters, most of whom look younger than him.Untitled strip by Bill Walsh and Manuel Gonzales (INDUCKS: ZM 53-06-07) At least two of his brothers, GaffyThe Quest for Tarzan and Geefy,Goofy's TV Spectacular are known by name.
Goofy spent his infant days playing with other babies around his age. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Pete, Gladstone Gander, Gus Goose, and Gyro Gearloose were all babyhood playmates of his.
===Childhood (c. 1925 - 1931)===
Goofy seems to have lived at various different places during his childhood. As an adult, he would claim Jayville, Oregon, United States of America as his "old hometown". He is also known to have spent a portion of his youth, including some of his high school years, in Spoonerville, U.S.A.Forever Goof It's unclear how long or for what years he lived in each town.
During his time in Spoonerville, Goofy forged a deeper friendship with his babyhood playmate Pete. The two of them were teammates on the local Little League Baseball team, the Spoonerville Sluggers, for a season. They were both unskilled baseball players and were removed from the team after they ruined the Sluggers' shot at winning the championship, though Goofy still managed to win a trophy for being "Mr. Congeniality". In 1992, it would be said that Goofy's time as a Little League Baseball player was 30 years before then – roughly 1962.Take Me Out of the Ball Game However, both Goofy and Pete were in their 40's in 1962, so the 1962 date is likely inaccurate.
Goofy was also a member of the Spoonerville Leaders Of Pig-farming, also known as S.L.O.P., an organization which taught children about raising farm animals.Hamming It Up! Goofy eventually graduated from Spoonerville HighMeanwhile, Back at the Ramp, though this likely occurred at a later date than his Little League Baseball-playing and his time with S.L.O.P.
At some point in his childhood, Goofy was a member of the Boy Scouts.Cabana Fever He had his share of victories and triumphs in his youth; he was the Junior National Bubblegum Blowing ChampTub Be or Not Tub Be and was the winner of a grade school spelling bee.Nightmare on Goof Street
Perhaps the most touching aspect of his childhood was his close relationship with his father, Amos Goofy. Amos and young Goofy went on many father-son outings, including a road trip to Lake Destiny, Idaho, U.S.A., where the two enjoyed fishing together. At some point, Amos taught Goofy how to perform the "perfect cast", a fishing technique which had been used by the Goof family for roughly a dozen generations. During a trip to Yosemite National Park, Amos taught his son how to open a tin can with his teeth.A Goofy Movie
===Teenage Years (1932 - 1937)===
Most sources agree that Goofy was not living full-time in Spoonerville by 1932, when he would have been somewhere from twelve to fourteen years old. It was sometime around 1932, when his babyhood playmate Donald Duck was about twelve years old,Synopsis for Young Donald Duck that Goofy attended a boarding school. His babyhood playmates Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Mickey Mouse attended the school as well. Goofy either became or, perhaps, had always remained close friends with them. He was also friends with another classmate, Trudy Van Tubb.Young Donald Duck This boarding school which he attended might have been the same school which he is known to have attended alongside Mickey, Donald, Jughead Jones, Rita Gansa, Fethry Duck, and former babyhood playmates Gyro Gearloose and Gladstone Gander.How I Miss Those Moments
Regardless of where the boarding school he attended was located, Goofy seems to have lived in or near Mouseton, Calisota, U.S.A. in 1932. That year, he attended a play starring his friend and schoolmate Mickey,Mickey's Revue a Mouseton resident, and he also attended Mickey's birthday party that year.The Whoopee Party While this may seem to be weak evidence for him actually residing in Mouseton, it's worth noting that he would continue to be seen in Mouseton for decades to come and most certainly came to own a home there at some point, though the exact year in which he officially moved there may be in doubt. He picked up a gig as a sportscaster for a radio station, notably commentating on a football game between Mickey's Manglers and the Alley Cats,Touchdown Mickey though it is unknown for how long he held this job.
By 1933, Goofy was rarely referred to by his childhood nickname and was instead known to all as "Dippy Dawg." It was that year that his uncle, Howan Dawg, passed away. Dippy inherited Howan's unsuccessful, debt-ridden Mouseton detective agency. He hired Mickey to help him run the agency, and the two solved a major counterfeit money scheme.The Crazy Crime Wave This might have been the first time that Dippy, who was probably between thirteen and fifteen years old, worked as a detective, but it would not be the last. In 1936, Goofy opened a new detective shop with his friend Toby Tortoise and Mickey's dog PlutoThe Disappearing Kids, and he would assist Mickey in solving many cases at the request of the Mouseton Police Department for years to come. It is unknown how long he continued to operate Howan's old detective agency, but he had enough spare time to briefly work as a reporter for The Daily War Drum in 1935Mickey Mouse Runs His Own Newspaper and, as has already been noted, opened a new detective agency in 1936.
It was probably in 1937 that a certain event transpired which would change Dippy's life. One day, Dippy decided to go to a movie theater to watch a film starring his pal Mickey, Shanghaied. He enjoyed the film greatly and began to laugh uncontrollably at it. His loud, iconic laugh rang through the movie theater, causing others to laugh, too. He was heard by Hollywood talent scouts in the theater, who quickly made Dippy an actor, landing him a role in Moving Day alongside his friends Mickey and Donald.
Following the success of Moving Day, Dippy was asked to sign a contract with the studio mogul JB. He agreed to being paid $50 per week for 48 years and signed an iron-clad contract with the name "Dippy Dog". When JB and his fellow executives learned that their newest star's name was Dippy Dog, they were quite disappointed, wishing for him to have a name "with more dignity." JB proposed that Dippy adopt the screen name of "Goofy", which Dippy agreed to.The Goofy Success Story (cartoon) From then out, Dippy would go by the name of Goofy, just as he had in his childhood.
For years to come, Goofy remained a star of cinema, an assistant of Mickey Mouse in a variety of endeavors, and also performed other odd jobs.
===Young Adulthood (1938 - 1964)===
While he may have been succeeding in his acting career, Goofy was not doing so well in his studies. He ended up spending a total of seven years in high school as opposed to the usual four.Slightly Dinghy He was at least briefly a part of his high school's cheerleading squad. Another cheerleader on the squad was Peg, who would one day become the wife of Peg-Leg Pete, Goofy's childhood friend turned career criminal. Pete was still attending the high school and was playing on its football team. During the "big game", Goofy accidentally kicked Pete in the face, causing him to drop the football, a move which cost his team the game and earned him the nickname "Putty-Fingers Pete". Goofy eventually did graduate from Spoonerville High, but his extra years in high school meant that he probably didn't graduate until he was about 21, which would have been anywhere from 1939 to 1941.
Goofy eventually married a certain Mrs Goofy. It is not known when the couple met or when they wed. There exists little information about Mrs Goofy at all. What is certain is that couple had become the parents of a little boy named Junior by 1951.Fathers Are People Junior was initially a rambunctious child, but he and Goofy eventually bonded. Goofy told Junior wild fictitious stories about his youthFather's Lion and also educated him about the Goof family and its history.
It was in the early 1950's that Goofy began to be known to some as "G. G. Geef" or simply "George".Get Rich Quick
===End of Marriage and Beginning of Superhero Work (1965 - 1991)===
At some point, Goofy's marriage with Mrs Goofy seems to have ceased to be. It is not known if the marriage ended due to the death or disappearance of Mrs Goofy or if the couple divorced, but by the 1960's, Goofy seemed to be a single man once again.
In 1965, he discovered that his peanut patch was filled with Super Goobers. Whenever he consumed these goobers, he was briefly given the ability to fly, heightened senses, supernatural speed and strength, and near invincibility. He decided to use these powers to fight crime around the entire globe and created the new identity of Super Goof.The Thief of Zanzipar
In 1969, he went on his first date with Glory-Bee,Untitled strip by Del Connell and Floyd Gottfredson (INDUCKS: YM 69-06-21) who he would continue to date for many years.
In the 1970's, Goofy began to attend college for what may have been the first time. However, he dropped out before getting a degree, still leaving one year of college left to complete.An Extremely Goofy Movie
===Return to Spoonerville (1992 - 2000)===
In 1992, Goofy moved his family, which consisted of himself, his son Max Goof, and his cat Waffles, from the city that they were living in back to Spoonerville. There, Goofy reunited with his old high school pal and adulthood rival Peg-Leg Pete, who was living in Spoonerville with his wife Peg, his son P.J., and his daughter Pistol.
Goofy and Max continued to live in close proximity to Pete and his family throughout the 1990's. In 1995, Goofy took Max on a road trip across the United States, hoping to recreate the road trips he shared with his dad while also strengthening his bond with Max, who had recently gotten into trouble at school. The trip was originally supposed to be to Lake Destiny, Idaho, but it instead ended in Los Angeles, where the two danced onstage with the famous singer Powerline, a favorite of Max's.A Goofy Movie
A few years later, Max graduated high school and left Goofy to attend college. Goofy sunk into despair and, in his despair, lost his job and was told that there were no employment options for him unless he got a college degree. This prompted him to enroll in the same college as his son to finish out his college education. While there, he met the college librarian Sylvia Marpole, who he began dating.
==Notes and References==
Category:Biographies
Category:Essays and Studies