Peter Griffin

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Peter Griffin is a middle-class Irish American in his mid‑forties, though his age has never been officially confirmed and has fluctuated throughout the series. He was born in Quahog, Rhode Island. He and his wife Lois have three children: Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He also has one deceased child: Peter Jr., who was stillborn. Peter is the illegitimate son of Thelma Griffin and Mickey McFinnigan, and was raised by Thelma and his stepfather, Francis Griffin. In the episode "Peter's Two Dads", Peter realizes that Francis is not his true father. Peter has made reference to several ancestors he claims were historically important figures, such as Moses Griffin, Angus Griffin, Ulysses S. Griffin, King Arthur Griffin, Ponce de León Griffin, Huck Griffin, "Guy in the White Hat" Griffin, and King of Denmark Griffin. Peter and his family live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after Providence, Rhode Island. He primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory until the factory was destroyed in season 4; his boss, Jonathan Weed, later died of a heart attack in the episode "The Giggity Wife". Peter then became a fisherman on his own boat, the "S.S. More Powerful Than Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the Incredible Hulk Put Together", with the help of two Portuguese immigrants, Santos and Pasqual, until his boat was destroyed. He now works in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot brewery. Peter briefly played for the NFL's New England Patriots until his behavior resulted in his being kicked off the team in the episode "Patriot Games". In several cutaway gags, Peter is shown to have previously held many jobs requiring higher education, such as a United Nations interpreter, a sonologist, an opera singer with a band called "The Four Peters", and a bomb defuser. In a running gag, storylines are interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken, an anthropomorphic chicken who serves as an archenemy.

In Their Own Story

MacFarlane initially conceived *Family Guy* in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). During college, he created his thesis film *The Life of Larry*, which was submitted by his professor to Hanna-Barbera, leading to MacFarlane being hired by the company. In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel, *Larry & Steve*, featuring a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve; the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. Fox executives saw the shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create *Family Guy* based on the characters, giving him a budget of $50,000 to complete a 15-minute short. The characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian. MacFarlane stated that the difference between *The Life of Larry* and *Family Guy* was that "Life of Larry was shown primarily in my dorm room and Family Guy was shown after the Super Bowl." The voice of Peter is provided by MacFarlane, who drew inspiration from security guards he overheard talking while attending RISD. MacFarlane noted, "I knew a thousand Peter Griffins growing up in New England. Guys who would not think before they spoke." There have been rare occasions where MacFarlane did not voice Peter: in "No Meals on Wheels" (season 5, 2007), Patrick Stewart voiced Peter in a cutscene; in "Family Gay" (season 7, 2009), Seth Rogen guest-voiced as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene"; in "Road to the Multiverse" (season 8, 2009), Jamison Yang voiced Peter in a scene where everything was Japanese; and in "Friends of Peter G" (season 9, 2011), John Viener voiced Peter in an alternate timeline where he gave up drinking.

Reader's Guide

Peter Griffin is a stereotypical blue-collar worker who frequently goes to a local bar with his neighbors and friends Cleveland Brown, Joe Swanson, and Glenn Quagmire, called "The Drunken Clam," Quahog's main tavern. In the season 4 episode "Petarded", Peter discovered his I.Q. is around 70, falling slightly below the level for intellectual disability, and he is declared intellectually disabled. Peter might have brain damage in Wernicke's area as he cuts away into seemingly random situations and speaks in perfect grammar but cannot seem to choose how to create a sentence. He is known for his brash impulsiveness, which has led to awkward situations, such as attempting to molest Meg in order to adopt a redneck lifestyle. He is easily influenced by anyone he finds interesting and will often try to replicate their lifestyle and behavior. He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude which led to extreme situations, such as when he assaulted a whale that kissed Lois at SeaWorld. In the season 3 episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and they decide to live together with their mutually jealous nature. Peter has a very short attention span which frequently leads him to bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter", after Peter's parrot dies: "He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing."

Did You Know?

• Peter's voice was inspired by security guards MacFarlane heard at his school.