Wilma Flintstone

**Wilma Anna Flintstone** (née **Pebble** or **Slaghoople**—see below) is a fictional character and the tritagonist of the original series, *The Flintstones* and the rest of the franchise.

## Background

She is the attractive red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and grandmother to Roxy and Chip Rubble. Her best friends were her next door neighbors, Betty and Barney Rubble.

### **Personality**

Wilma's personality was based on that of Alice Kramden, wife of Ralph Kramden on the 1950s television series *The Honeymooners*. Thus, much like Alice, Wilma plays the serious, strong-willed, level-headed person in her marriage, often criticizing Fred for pursuing his various ill-fated schemes. Wilma will also often be the one to bail out Fred when one of his schemes lands him in trouble.

Wilma also can be extremely and emotionally unhappy too, sometimes she even starts sobbing. Like Betty, Wilma cries when something goes wrong in addition, one example being after Fred tells her about going to the Fireman's Ball. Also, she’s a loving and caring mother to her daughter, Pebbles.

### **Physical Appearance**

Wilma is an unbearably beautiful, very attractive and slender cavewoman with fair skin. She has swirly red-orange hair, wears a white loincloth dress with a torn hemline, a pearl necklace, and red lipstick (in some specials and shows it's pink). Another notable thing about Wilma is that she has black dots for eyes.

Although she's a modest woman, Wilma along with Betty proved themselves the two most beautiful women in Bedrock, as shown in "*The Beauty Contest*". In the plan to surprise Fred and Barney, Wilma and Betty snuck into a beauty contest. Removing their necklaces and donning swimsuits and heels, they showed themselves to be stunning, shapely and lovely.

## Occupations and Interests

She became a housewife and was also a good cook. One of her specialties was Gravelberry Pie - the recipe for which she eventually sold to the Safestone supermarket chain. Wilma also enjoyed volunteering for various charitable and women's organizations in Bedrock, shopping, and (occasionally) getting to meet the celebrities of their world, including "Stony Curtis", "Rock Quarry" and "Jimmy Darrock".

When Pebbles was a teenager, Wilma (along with Betty) gained employment as a reporter for one of Bedrock's newspapers (or, more accurately, news-slabs), the *Daily Granite* (a spoof of the *Daily Planet* of Superman fame), under the editorial guidance of Lou Granite. While employed there, she shared various adventures with prehistoric superhero Captain Caveman, who (in a secret identity as Chester) also worked for the newspaper (a la Clark Kent).

Later still, after Pebbles grew up and left home in *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* and *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby*, Wilma started a successful catering business, "Bone Appetite" with her neighbor and friend Betty.

## Relationships

### **Family**

While the mid-1980s spin-off series *The Flintstone Kids* depicts Wilma as a child, the series seems to be mostly apocryphal due to its presenting Wilma as a childhood friend of Betty, Fred and Barney (the original series asserted that they met as young adults) as well as using the last name Slaghoople instead of the original Pebbles. Still, the series' depictions that Wilma had younger sisters and that her father—who apparently died by the time Wilma reached adulthood—ran a prehistoric computer business might be taken as valid. Wilma did mention having a married sister in the sixth season.

In the original series' third season, including the episode, "*The Dress Rehearsal*" for example, Wilma became pregnant, and gave birth to the couple's only child, Pebbles.

Later in *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* and *A Flintstone Family Christmas*, she became a grandmother to Bamm-Bamm's twin children, Chip and Roxy.

### **Love Interests**

As a young adult, Wilma worked with Betty as cigarette girls/waitresses at a resort. There, they first met and fell in love with their future husbands, Fred and Barney (who were working there as bellhops).

Wilma's mother, Pearl Pebbles Slaghoople, also met her future son-in-law, and took a disliking toward Fred (and vice-versa), starting a long-lasting rivalry between the two.

Later, Wilma and Fred were married in Rock Vegas in *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* (in a flashback) and *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas*.

### **Maiden Name**

Wilma's maiden name has been a source of dispute. Several early episodes in the original series clearly stated Wilma's maiden name was "Pebble." In the episode "*The Entertainer*", Wilma's old friend Greta Gravel remembers her as "Wilma Pebble". Again, in "*Dial 'S' for Suspicion*", one of Wilma's old boyfriends Rodney Whetstone calls her "Wilma Pebble." It could be possible that Pebble is her middle name. This wouldn't be illogical, due to the potential difficulty of pronouncing Slaghoople.

However, later episodes and spin-offs also firmly state her maiden name was indeed "Slaghoople," based upon the name of Wilma's mother in the original series, Pearl Slaghoople. *Flintstones* writer Earl Kress explained the discrepancy as such: "*It's just as simple as Hanna-Barbera not caring about the continuity*."

## Appearances

### **Television shows**

* *The Flagstones* (1959)
* *The Flintstones* (1960–1965)
* *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show* (1971–1972)
* *The Flintstone Comedy Hour* (1972–1974)
* *Fred Flintstone and Friends* (1977–1978)
* *The New Fred and Barney Show* (1979)
* *Fred and Barney Meet the Thing* (1979)
* *Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo* (1979–1980)
* *The Flintstone Comedy Show* (1980–1982)
* *The Flintstone Funnies* (1982–1984)
* *The Flintstone Kids* (1986–1988)
* *Dino: Stay Out!* (1995)
* *The Rubbles* (2002)
* *Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs*
* *Bedrock*
* *Blue's Clues & You!*

### **Films and specials**

* *The Man Called Flintstone* (1966)
* *1967 Busch Advertising Reel* (1967)
* *The Flintstones on Ice* (1973)
* *A Flintstone Christmas* (1977)
* *The Flintstones: Little Big League* (1978)
* *The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone* (1980)
* *The Flintstone Primetime Specials*
	+ *The Flintstones' New Neighbors* (1980)
	+ *The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling* (1980)
	+ *The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma* (1981)
	+ *The Flintstones: Jogging Fever* (1981)
* *The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration* (1986)
* *The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones* (1987)
* *The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special* (1988)
* *A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration: 50 Years of Hanna-Barbera* (1989)
* *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* (1993)
* *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* (1993)
* *A Flintstone Family Christmas* (1993)
* *The Flintstones* (1994)
* *A Flintstones Christmas Carol* (1994)
* *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas* (2000)
* *The Flintstones: On the Rocks* (2001)
* *The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!* (2015)
* *The Funtastic World of Warner Bros.* (2024)

### **Video games**

* *The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy*
* *The Flintstones*
* *The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak*
* *The Flintstones: The Treasure of Sierra Madrock*
* *Flintstones/Jetsons Time Warp* (in a picture frame)
* *The Flintstones: Bedrock Bowling*
* *The Flintstones: Big Trouble in Bedrock*
* *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas*
* *The Flintstones: Bring Back Bedrock*

### **Publications**

* *The Flintstones (comic strips)* (1961-1998)
* *The Flintstones (Dell Comics)*
* *The Flintstones (Gold Key Comics)*
* *The Flintstones (Charlton Comics)* and *Harvey*
	+ *Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm (Charlton Comics)*
	+ *Barney & Betty Rubble (Charlton Comics)*
	+ *Dino (Charlton Comics)*
	+ *The Great Gazoo (Charlton Comics)*
* *The Flintstones (Marvel Comics)*
* *The Flintstone Kids (Marvel Comics)*
* *The Flintstones (Archie Comics)*
* *The Flintstones and the Jetsons*
* *The Flintstones (DC Comics)*

## Portrayals

### **Television shows, films and specials**

* **Jean Vander Pyl**
	+ *The Flagstones*
	+ *The Flintstones*
	+ *The Man Called Flintstone*
	+ *1967 Busch Advertising Reel* (1967)
	+ *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show* (1971–1972)
	+ *The Flintstone Comedy Hour* (1972–1974)
	+ *A Flintstone Christmas* (1977)
	+ *Fred Flintstone and Friends* (1977–1978)
	+ *The Flintstones: Little Big League* (1978)
	+ *The New Fred and Barney Show* (1979)
	+ *Fred and Barney Meet the Thing* (1979)
	+ *Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo* (1979–1980)
	+ *The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone* (1980)
	+ *The Flintstone Comedy Show* (known as *The Flintstone Frolics*) (1980–1982)
	+ *The Flintstone Primetime Specials*
		- *The Flintstones' New Neighbors* (1980)
		- *The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling* (1980)
		- *The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma* (1981)
		- *The Flintstones: Jogging Fever* (1981)
	+ *The Flintstone Funnies* (1984-1985)
	+ *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* (1993)
	+ *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* (1993)
	+ *A Flintstone Family Christmas* (1993)
	+ *A Flintstones Christmas Carol* (1994)
	+ *Dino: Stay Out!* (1995)
* **Tress MacNeille**
	+ *The Flintstones: On the Rocks* (2001)
	+ *The Rubbles* (2002)
	+ *The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!* (2015)
	+ *Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs*
	+ *Blue's Clues & You!*
	+ *The Funtastic World of Warner Bros.*

### **Other**

* Julie McWhirter Dees & Elizabeth Lyn Frasier - *The Flintstone Kids*
* Elizabeth Perkins - *The Flintstone*
* Kristen Johnston - *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas*
* Amy Sedaris - *Bedrock*

## Notes/Trivia

* Wilma appeared as a supporting character in the 1995 series, *Johnny Bravo*, in the 2004 episode "*A Page Right Out of History*".