List of Desperate Housewives characters

Following is a comprehensive list of every supporting fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.

Acquaintances of Susan Mayer

Main article: Acquaintances of Susan Mayer

Acquaintances of Lynette Scavo

Main article: Acquaintances of Lynette Scavo

Acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp

Main article: Acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp

Acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis

Main article: Acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis

Acquaintances of Edie Britt

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Edie Britt, one of the protagonists of the series.

Dave Williams

Dave Williams, previously David Dash (Neal McDonough) is a twice-widowed, mysterious man introduced in the fifth season premiere as Edie's motivational speaker husband and the focus of the season's mystery. Dave convinced Edie to return to Wisteria Lane and persuade her tenant to move out. During their welcoming party, Edie learns the women forgive her for what happened instead of asking for her forgiveness. Annoyed by this, she asks Dave why he would force her to return to Wisteria Lane. Dave tells her that they can be happy here.

Dave learns that Edie was insulted by Karen McCluskey, and is getting tired of the hostility towards her. Dave asks Mrs. McCluskey to apologize, but when she refused, her cat Toby mysteriously disappeared. She asks Dave to help her find him, and Dave tells her he might help if she apologizes to Edie. Karen promises reluctantly, and after she does, she notices that Toby is back at her house. Assuming that Dave was responsible, Karen tried doing some research on Dave, resulting in him making everyone think that Karen is going senile. Karen is temporarily sent to the hospital. On her release, she continues her research with her sister and they call Dr. Heller, Dave's psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Dave forms a garage rock band with Tom, Orson, Carlos and Mike, who he helped move to the Lane in order to be closer to him. Dave arranges for the band to play at the "Battle of the Bands" competition at "The White Horse Club". Dr. Heller arrives in Fairview and learns that Mike, the man Dave is after, is in Dave's band. Dave strangles Dr. Heller in the club's storage room and sets the body ablaze, which later expands fire to the whole club. He later tells the police that Porter Scavo might have set the club on fire.

Dave constantly sees hallucinated visions of his wife and daughter, the people Mike and Susan accidentally killed in their car crash a few years back. Dave tells his dead family he will be with them soon. Edie catches Dave talking to himself in the middle of the night, and as she tries to understand what is going on, he attacks her. Edie kicks him out of the house. While leaving, Dave flashes back to when he learned he lost his family and how his anger got him admitted to a mental facility. He also remembers that when he got out, he met Edie and, after learning she used to live on the same street as Mike, married her. Mike sees Dave with his luggage and invites Dave to stay with him until things get better. Later, Edie realizes she does not want to be alone, and takes Dave back. Lee learns from Bob that Dave told the cops Porter set the fire to the club and tells Tom. Tom confronts Dave, and Dave explains that he had to tell the detectives what he thought he saw. Their friendship ends there.

Dave then plans a camping trip with Mike and Katherine, trying to trick Edie not to go and not to tell Katherine that she is not going. Edie and Dave are at a liquor store when a priest, recognizing Dave, comes up to them. Dave distracts Edie and tells the priest he does not want to recall his past. Edie finds this strange, and begins looking up Dave's past. In the camping trip which Dave arranged to exact his revenge on Mike by killing Katherine, his plan is botched when Edie texts him just as he was about to shoot Katherine, causing him to lose his aim. Edie had discovered his secret and demanded to confront him. Dave goes home and finds Edie, who reveals that she was now aware of his intentions. As she dials Mike's number to warn him, Dave grabs her by the throat. He almost strangles her, but releases her at the last moment. Tearful and disoriented, Edie rushes out and drives away in the car, but avoids running over Orson and collides with an electric post and receives a fatal shock, killing her in a matter of minutes. Dave later realizes that instead of Katherine it is M.J. he should have been trying to kill all this time in order to hurt Susan who was actually driving the car that killed his wife and daughter. When Jackson, Susan's boyfriend, returns, Dave fears he knows information from the incident in the club that he will tell the police. When he overhears a conversation that reveals Jackson is in the country illegally, he tips off immigration and gets Jackson arrested.

Dave makes one last attempt to take revenge on Susan by taking her and M.J. on a trip for fishing, while Mike discovers that Dave is really David Dash and his wife and daughter were killed in the car crash that broke up their marriage. Mike calls and warns Susan that Dave is a killer, and Susan and M.J. try to escape, but when Susan sprains her ankle, Dave catches her, and when M.J. is hiding, Dave bribes him. Back in the car, when Mike calls Susan back, Dave answers and reveals his intentions and is about to kill M.J. when Mike tells Dave to let Susan and M.J. go and to take him instead. Dave revises his plan and plans on making Susan watch as Mike hits the car with himself and M.J. in it, on the road of the accident because he thought it would be "poetic" to the protests of Susan, who asks Dave what his daughter would think of him killing an innocent child. His daughter reappears in the form of an hallucination and, as a result, Dave lets M.J. go. Mike crashes into Dave's car with only Dave in it, but both survive. Dave imagines what would have happened if his wife and daughter stayed home. After this confrontation, it is revealed that Dave was sent to a mental hospital in Boston, having clearly lost his mind.

Umberto Roswell

Umberto Roswell (Matt Cedeno) - Umberto is seen for the first time in the series' 100th episode, "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened" during Edie's flashback remembering Eli Scruggs. Edie recalls one time that when she was having marital problems with her second ex-husband, Umberto. Feeling insecure about her appearance Eli reassures Edie and makes her feel better. Umberto reveals he is gay and leaves Edie. Eli, working in the bathroom, overhears the conversation and consoles Edie. A drunk Edie decides to cheer herself up by having sex with Eli. This episode marks the only appearance by Umberto in the series.

Charles McLain

Charles McLain (Greg Evigan) is Edie's first husband, and Travers's dad. He's a doctor, who's been working with Doctors Without Borders. He and Edie got divorced when Travers was two years old, and the parents decided to let Travers grow up with his dad, giving Charles full custody.

Travers McLain

Travers McLain (Jake Cherry, season 3; Stephen Lunsford, season 5) is Edie's son with her first husband Charles McLain. He lives with his father full time and was first mentioned in the pilot episode of the series, when he was said to be staying at Martha Huber's while Edie was "entertaining" a man. However he was never seen nor mentioned again until the sixteenth episode of the third season. His father Charles McLain left him with Edie whilst he went on a Doctors without Borders trip in Africa. Edie tried to leave Travers with Carlos while she went to a party, but as Carlos had a date, he declined. Seeing Travers playing by himself in the street, Carlos brings him to his home and later criticizes an intoxicated Edie for not supervising her son. She in turn reveals that she didn't take custody of him because she didn't feel she was capable of it and was being a realistic mother.

Later on Edie uses him as a way to get closer to Carlos and he is on to it the whole time but seems to take part in the plan willingly. Later in the episode, Edie and Carlos are in bed together. Edie's ex-husband, Charles, comes to pick up Travers. Edie tries to get shared custody of Travers when she suspects Carlos might be losing interest in their relationship. Charles learns about this and he and Edie get into an argument. Edie threatens to hire a lawyer so she can get full custody of Travers. Carlos learns of Edie's plan and tells her that she should think of what is best for Travers which is for him to stay with Charles and not have to go back and forth. He comforts her, saying that he will be there for her and Edie decides to call off her lawyer.

When Edie leaves Wisteria Lane for what she thinks is for good, she tells Travers she would have to spend Mother's Day with him. In fact, she would have to spend a lot more time with him from now on. Travers is next seen in season 5 when the Housewives visit him at Beecher's Academy (about 4 hours outside of Fairview) to inform him of his mother's death and to give him her ashes. While he is sad about his mother's death, he harbors anger toward her for her abandonment of the family. He eventually forgives her after a conversation with Karen McCluskey, and asks the Housewives to dispose of Edie's ashes as they see fit.

Ilene Britt

Ilene Britt (K Callan) is Edie’s dead mother who appears in one of her dreams in the season three finale. She blames Edie for tricking Carlos into a relationship, and warns her that she will die alone, just like her mother. Edie would later die in a car accident moments after leaving her husband, but dies with all of the residents of Wisteria Lane around her.

Austin McCann

Austin McCann (Josh Henderson) is a troubled 17-year-old kid who was having problems with his mother's new boyfriend. When Edie, Austin's aunt, catches him trying to break into her house, she lets him stay with her for some time instead of going to Mexico like he was planning to, since he fought his mother's boyfriend, but she chose her boyfriend instead of Austin.

He is instantly attracted to Julie Mayer, and whilst she is also attracted to him, she doesn't immediately let him know. They spend some time playing cat and mouse but begin a relationship after both being held hostage by Carolyn Bigsby, much to Susan's displeasure, as she considers him a trouble-maker, and fears he will break her daughter's heart. In episode 3.11, "No Fits, No Fights, No Feuds", Julie gives up her virginity to Austin. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Austin had been sleeping with Danielle Van De Kamp, who is also a friend of Julie's. Austin plans to break it off with her to keep Julie from finding out, but it ends with Danielle threatening to reveal their relationship to Julie if Austin quits having sex with her.

In episode 3.12, "Not While I'm Around", Edie and Susan caught Austin and Danielle having sex. At the end of the episode, Susan tells Julie about Austin and Danielle, and Julie is seen crying on her mother's shoulder. It's suspected that Julie's relationship with Austin is over, as well as Julie and Danielle's friendship. As of the episode "I Remember That", it is established that Julie dumped Austin, as said by Edie to Tom Scavo when Edie broached him about hiring Austin for a job. This was later confirmed by Austin himself who proceeded to get high on the job, telling Lynette his reason was that "Julie dumped me and I'm very.... very upset." Lynette fired Austin for smoking marijuana on the job, but Tom hired him back because "teenage girls think he's hot...he'll bring in all the high school girls and half the men's chorus."

Later on he discovers that he got Danielle pregnant just when he managed to mend his relationship with Julie. Orson Hodge told Austin he would need to leave town. Although Austin refused, Andrew pointed out that sooner or later he would just hurt Julie again. Austin agreed to leave; said goodbye to Julie and told her she was the only person who ever gave him a second chance, and then rode away on his motorcycle for parts unknown.

Lila and Paige Dash

Lila and Paige Dash (Marie Caldare and Madeleine Michelle Dunn) were respectively Dave Williams's first wife and their daughter. Both of them died in car accident, involving Susan and Mike. Paige was born approximately the same time as Susan's boy M.J. Delfino in the same hospital.

Dr. Samuel Heller

Dr. Samuel Heller (Stephen Spinella) was a psychiatrist, who worked with the criminally insane. David Dash was one of his patients. When Dr. Heller discovers that Dave has changed his name to Dave Williams, and returned to Fairview to live, he becomes very concerned about what might happen. He comes to Fairview looking for Dave, and confronts him in a nightclub. Dave strangles him to death, and sets the club on fire. It would be several months before the body is identified, prompting Karen McCluskey and her sister Roberta to put all the pieces together of Dave's revenge plan against Mike and Susan.

Acquaintances of Betty Applewhite

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Betty Applewhite, one of the protagonists of the series.

Virgil Applewhite

Virgil Applewhite is Betty's deceased husband and the father of their children Caleb and Matthew. He does not appear in the series.

Caleb and Matthew Applewhite

Caleb (Page Kennedy and NaShawn Kearse) and Matthew Applewhite (Mehcad Brooks and in Flashbacks Hendrix Henrie-Erhahon) are Betty Applewhite's sons. Before the Applewhites moved to Fairview, Matthew was dating a young woman named Melanie Foster. He tried to break up with her, but she wouldn't let go. Matthew asked Melanie to meet at the Lumberjack warehouse garden, but Caleb turns up first and when he tells Melanie he loves her, she laughs in his face. Caleb then tries to kiss her, but she slaps him and hits him with a pole. Caleb gets scared and hits her with it over the head. Melanie falls and, thinking that he killed her, Caleb flees. Matthew returned later and told Melanie, who was still alive, that Caleb didn't mean to do what he did but she tells him unless they get back together, she's going to the police, Matthew begged Melanie not to say anything, but she walks away. He hits her with the pole three times, which kills the young woman, and he places his jacket on her.

Matthew and Betty locked Caleb in the basement as punishment for Melanie's death, but Betty did not know that Matthew was the real killer. Matthew starts dating Danielle Van de Kamp, and her mother, Bree, is not happy with this. Matthew and Danielle create a plan to get Caleb out of the way. Matthew tells Caleb that Danielle likes him and she wants to kiss him. Caleb goes to the Van De Kamp house and into Danielle's room but Danielle freaks and screams for Bree. Bree enters with her gun and frightens Caleb away. After this Betty decides to kill Caleb peacefully with some pills disguised in ice cream but Caleb tells Betty that Matthew said he should go to Danielle's room. She does not kill Caleb and instead locks Matthew in the basement. Danielle finds Matthew and when Betty brings Matthew some food Danielle attacks her and Matthew and Danielle run away. Betty learns that Matthew killed Melanie and tells Bree. Bree rushes home to find Danielle and Matthew there with money they stole from Bree's safe and she won't let Matthew and Danielle out of the house. Matthew brings out a gun and tells Bree to move or he'll shoot her and she challenges him to in order to prove to her watching daughter that Matthew is a murderer. However before he can pull the trigger, Matthew is shot in the heart by a police sniper and dies. Caleb and Betty leave Wisteria Lane after Matthew's death.

Melanie Foster

Melanie Foster was a high school aged girl from Chicago who was involved with Matthew Applewhite. (Portrayed by Joy Bisco) She is seen in flashbacks in the season 2 episode "Remember, Part 1". When Matthew tried to end their relationship, Melanie reacted angrily and asked him to meet her at a lumberyard. When Caleb shows up first and tries to kiss Melanie, she reacts violently and pushes him away. But he persists and eventually hits her with the back of an axe and knocks her unconscious. Minutes later, Matthew arrives to find a groggy Melanie, but when she persistently bashes Caleb, Matthew beats her to death and covers her with his sweater. Because Caleb arrived home first with blood on his hands, Betty is convinced it is he that murdered Melanie. Melanie's family hired Curtis Monroe (played by Michael Ironside) to look for Caleb; however, he accidentally shot himself to death while falling on the stairs in the Applewhite basement.

Acquaintances of Katherine Mayfair

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Katherine Mayfair, one of the protagonists of the series.

Adam Mayfair

Adam Mayfair (Nathan Fillion) is Katherine's ex-husband and a doctor. Adam moves in Wisteria Lane with Katherine and Dylan Mayfair. He and Katherine go into an attic room in their house and Adam asks her "Is this the room?" Katherine tells him that it is, and that Dylan wants to move into it but she will not allow it. When he questions whether they made a mistake moving to Wisteria Lane, she tells him that they did not have a choice.^[1] It is often implied he has a history as a ladies' man^[2] and it is revealed that he left Chicago because of a patient who sued him for sexual assault after he left her, although he let Katherine believe she was just an erotomaniac.^[3] When she finds out, she asks him to leave and he does. While packing his stuff, he finds Lilian's note and discovers Katherine's mystery, making him decide to actually walk out on her.^[4] In episode 4.11, Dylan wants to talk to Adam because she is willing to know the truth about her father. Adam meets Katherine before talking to Dylan and they decide that he should learn what Dylan knows and what she doesn't and Adam would make up something. After this, Katherine tells him that she wants to patch things up with him but Adam guarantees that he will give her one last alibi, but then he is done with her.

In the season four finale, Adam and Katherine seemed to have re-kindled their marriage. They even go to Dylan's cello recital together, as a family. Since Adam had never seen a photo or ever met Wayne, he didn't know he was also at the recital. Wayne asked Adam during the intermission to help with some car trouble he was having. Wayne knocks Adam unconscious with a tire iron, takes him to an abandoned shack and beats him so badly that he thinks Adam has died. After Wayne leaves to deal with Katherine, Adam who had only feigned being dead, steals a car and heads to Wisteria Lane to save Katherine from Wayne. He shows up just as Wayne is about to shoot Katherine. The two men engage in an off-screen scuffle and Adam was successful in wrestling the gun away from Wayne. Bree then takes Adam to get cleaned up and he isn't seen after that, during which time Katherine is holding Wayne at gun point. He taunts her that even if gets jail time, he will come after her. Bree and Adam hear a gunshot, and walk in to find Katherine over Wayne's body. In the 5-year leap, it is assumed that Katherine and Adam are divorced because there is no sign of Adam.

Dylan Mayfair

Dylan Mayfair (Lyndsy Fonseca) is Katherine's daughter, adopted from an orphanage in Romania, and the adoptive maternal step-sister of the original Dylan, who was killed by a bookshelf. Dylan has no memory of "her" past life. So Dylan, her mother Katherine and her stepfather Adam move into Wisteria Lane and it is revealed that Katherine and Dylan lived there twelve years ago. Dylan finds a note that Katherine threw into the fireplace, which implies that Katherine killed Dylan's real father. Throughout Season 4, she unearths more surprising news about her past. She and Julie participate in the Founder's Day Ball.

One day, Dylan is driving, and a police officer pulls her over for speeding. Later, she finds out he is her father, Wayne, who she always thought had died. Wayne asks Dylan not to tell Katherine that they have met. Dylan meets Wayne a few times for dinner, telling Katherine that she's out on a date. Katherine follows Dylan one evening and discovers the truth. In fact, that night Dylan and Wayne resolve to tell Katherine that they have been meeting. When she hears the news, Katherine pretends she is no longer afraid of Wayne - but keeps a gun hidden under the counter. Wayne later discovers that Dylan is not his biological daughter. He realizes this after watching home videos of Dylan when she was young. Most striking is the fact that while his daughter had a scar from a bike accident that needed 11 stitches but Dylan's skin is unmarked. Katherine has no choice but to tell Dylan the truth about all the secrets she has kept her and she ran off when her dad came back with a gun.

Katherine says that Wayne abused her. She reported him to the police twice but because Wayne was a police officer, they "lost the paperwork" the first time. The second time, a policewoman advises Katherine to leave town so she packs her things and leaves with her daughter. Eventually, Wayne finds them but Katherine has gone out for the evening. When she returns, Mary Alice (who was babysitting) tells her that Wayne came by and gave Dylan a doll, which the little girl would not let go of. Katherine takes the doll and puts it on top of a bookcase. Wayne visits again and they have a fight, only ending when Katherine hits him with a candlestick so he leaves. Lillian offers Katherine a drink and she later falls asleep on the couch, waking up only when she hears a scream. She rushes upstairs and finds Dylan under the bookcase where Katherine had hidden the doll. Lillian says "I came to see if she needed a blanket and found her - she is ice cold." The original Dylan is now dead. Katherine feels like she cannot go to the police because she believes Wayne will find a way to pin Dylan's death on her. She buries her daughter in the woods. She flies to a Romanian orphanage and adopts a girl who bears a striking resemblance to Dylan. The girl's biological mother had died in childbirth and her father had been murdered.

After the five year jump in the Season 4 finale, Dylan leaves a message for Katherine saying she has just returned from Paris, where her fiance proposed under the Eiffel Tower. In the fifth season Katherine reveals that Dylan has married and the she and her husband, Bradley, have had a baby. Katherine briefly thinks of leaving Wisteria Lane because Dylan informs her that her husband travels frequently and that she could use help with the baby. It is learned that Dylan and her family live in Baltimore. Katherine eventually turns down the offer due to her budding romance with Mike Delfino.

She makes her return to Wisteria Lane when her mother intentionally stabs herself. Katherine claims that Mike was the one who stabbed her to get back at him for telling her he never loved her. When Susan tries to reason with Katherine she realizes that she needs serious mental help and upon learning that only a family member can commit someone to a mental institution, she calls Dylan, pretending to be a doctor, and tells her she should come to Fairview. Dylan returns and when Susan tries to talk to her Dylan is increasingly hostile and mean towards Susan. However, this is due to the fact that Dylan was under the assumption that Mike was married to her mother and that Susan was the one who stabbed her mother. After Susan shows Dylan her wedding album, Dylan realizes that her mother has been lying to her and living in delusion. When she visits her at the hospital she catches her in her lies and tells her that she has spoken to Mike and tells her that she knows Mike and Susan are married. Upon learning this Katherine goes into a full blown meltdown and both Susan and Dylan watch as she is restrained. Katherine then looks at her daughter and repeats the phrase, "I asked you not to come" as she breaks down in tears. There is no mention of her husband or baby.

Wayne Davis

Wayne Davis (Gary Cole) was a police officer, Katherine's first husband, and the father of the "real" Dylan. It is shown in flashbacks that he beat his wife and also had a drinking problem, causing Katherine to leave him. He spent twelve years trying to track Katherine and his daughter down and discovered Katherine is back on Wisteria Lane. He wanted a relationship with his daughter, or who he thought to be his daughter, until Katherine informed him that Dylan is not his child. Upon hearing this, he had a blood test done at the hospital under the guise of it being a homicide. The test results come back concluding that he is not Dylan's father. He tries everything in his power to find out what actually happened to his daughter, even threatening to kill Katherine so she would tell him. He then held Katherine hostage along with her best friend, Bree Hodge, until Katherine finally told him the truth about what happened to his daughter. It turns out that she was accidentally killed by a fallen bookshelf after Katherine placed the doll that he had bought her on the top shelf. Katherine and her aunt buried her in her backyard so Wayne would not convince the police that she had killed her in order to keep her from him and have them both arrested for murder. After this, she went to a Romanian orphanage and found a girl who looked a lot like her recently deceased daughter. Katherine then adopted the young girl and changed her name to Dylan Mayfair, to cover up the real death of her daughter, Dylan Davis. When he found this out from Katherine, he was going to kill her, until Adam, came to her rescue. After a fight between the two ensues, Wayne winds up shooting himself in the abdomen. Then as Bree goes to clean Adam up, Katherine is left holding a gun to Wayne, who lays conscious on the floor. As he lays there he tells her that he'll do some time in jail but his buddies will help him get out and that he'll come after her again. After realizing the truth in his statements, Katherine shoots him in the chest, killing him instantly.

Lillian Simms

Lillian Simms (Ellen Geer) was Katherine’s aunt – the elderly woman who owned the house on 4356 Wisteria Lane. After getting too ill to live there on her own she moved to a nursing home, but kept leasing the house in order to pay for her living arrangements. For the first three seasons of the show, Mike rented the house. When Mike moved out, Mrs. Simms was convinced by Edie not to let Carlos rent her house. When Katherine moved in in the season four premiere, Katherine claimed that she is back on Wisteria Lane in order to care for her aunt. In the episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand", Lillian Simms comes to live in her home again to be cared for in her last days alive. Lillian arrived on a Saturday and the day she arrived she told Katherine that she had been feeling guilty and thought that Katherine and she should tell Dylan about what had happened twelve years earlier. Days later Lillian pretended to take a sleeping pill before Katherine left and then when she had thought that Katherine was gone she used the bell she was given to call Dylan to her room. When Dylan came into her room she tried to tell Dylan what happened and why Dylan did not remember living on Wisteria Lane twelve years ago. But Katherine arrived and sent Dylan away and then took the bell with her. Later that evening while Dylan was practicing her cello, Lillian wrote a note, folded it and died while dropping the note on the floor. Lillian was taken away in an ambulance and her note went unnoticed as Katherine closed her aunt’s door.

Sylvia Greene

Sylvia Greene (Melora Walters) was a woman from Adam's past; when she shows up, Adam angrily tells her she already ruined his life once. It is later revealed that she was Adam's mistress in Chicago, and she was threatening Adam because he ended the affair, which led to an accusation of sexual assault. In the tornado episode, Bree invites her into her house and Sylvia locks herself in the bathroom where Bree, Orson and Benjamin are supposed to take shelter. They find a closet to stay in, where it is revealed that Adam did indeed sleep with Sylvia Greene. During the worst part of the tornado, Sylvia comes out of the room and begs Adam to come with her and love her. When Adam does nothing, she threatens to tell exactly what happened in Chicago. She was yelling "I'm leaving!!" at an attempt to get Adam to come out when the door swings open and the tornado sweeps her up. She is later found dead in a tree by Kayla Scavo, and is identified by Adam and Katherine.

Robin Gallagher

Robin Gallagher (Julie Benz) was a stripper at Double D's, a strip club left to Susan Mayer when her ex-husband, Karl Mayer, was killed in the plane crash. When Susan sells her half of the business she convinces Robin to leave stripping when she learns that she wants to be a teacher and has higher hopes and dreams. Susan manages to get Robin a job at her school but she is fired after it is revealed she used to be a stripper. Susan and Mike then invite Robin to stay with them. Robin accepts the offer but the other women of Wisteria Lane are less than pleased to have their husbands, boyfriends and sons leering at Robin. This causes them all to judge her prematurely, but they all later come around and see that Robin is genuinely a nice person and much more than a reformed stripper. Robin decides to become roommates with Katherine Mayfair, and the two become fast friends. After a night out together, Robin admits to being a lesbian and kisses Katherine. This confuses Katherine, but she ends up sleeping with her. Robin becomes frustrated as Katherine is unwilling to define their relationship, or show affection in front of the neighbors. Katherine admits that she cares too much about what other people think. Robin is afraid that Katherine is kicking her out, but instead Katherine suggests they go away together, so she can figure things out. Robin says "I've always wanted to go to Paris". They pack and leave that evening.

Acquaintances of Angie Bolen

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Angie Bolen, one of the protagonists of the series.

Nick Bolen

Nick Bolen (formerly Dominic) (Jeffrey Nordling) is the manipulative husband of new housewife Angie Bolen. He shares a past with one of the ladies of Wisteria Lane. It is revealed the woman he was involved with was Susan Delfino's daughter, Julie Mayer. When she dropped out of medical school and began waitress she was seeing a married man with the initial "D". Nick is revealed to be this man when he secretly visits her at the hospital. He then reveals that his real name is Dominic. It was revealed he is not Italian like his wife when she told Katherine Mayfair. Nick goes over to Susan's house because he is trying to get Julie back. Lynette came over to give Susan something and she overhears the altercation between Julie and Nick. After Nick leaves, Julie admits that Nick was the married man with whom she had the affair. Lynette goes over to tell Nick to stay away from Julie, but Nick threatens Lynette. It was revealed that his wife, Angie knew about his affair with Julie and punches him in the face, telling him that they're even now. At a coffee shop, he's friendly with a waitress before using a disposable cell phone to tell an agent that he "wants to come in" and wants to be sure "she" gets a free pass.

Danny Bolen

Danny Bolen (formerly Tyler) (Beau Mirchoff) is the tightly wound son of Angie and Nick Bolen. He is known to have dated Rosie and Tine. He appears to be somewhat disturbed. He comments that he did not want to move to Fairview, to which his mother replied "Oh, honey. Whose fault was that?" He has feelings for Julie Mayer, but is prone to random fits of anger around her. He was also seen saying to his father after Nick was chatting up some younger ladies "I know", which might mean he either knows that his father was dating Julie or that he strangled Julie and blamed Danny. Danny seems to share more of a connection with Angie than with Nick. When he asked Julie did she think the man she dated strangled her, she said no. Danny appeared doubtful over that and later gave her a gun. He then warned his dad if he ever saw Nick with Julie again, he would tell his mother about the affair. After Julie tells Danny she will never be with him, he attempts to commit suicide, but fails. Later at the hospital, he is being looked after by Nurse Mona Clark, who lives on Wisteria Lane. When Mona calls him by name, a dazed Danny says that his name is Tyler. He starts dating Ana, which concerns Angie, as she is afraid that Ana is going to break his heart someday. He goes to New York City to talk Ana about her supposed modelling job and reconects with his grandmother. It also reavealed that Patrick Logan is his biological father, but he does not know this and thinks of Nick as his real dad. However it is implied that Danny's inherited his father (Patrick's) violent and aggressive tendencies which Angie and Nick are trying to stamp out. In episode 6x13 Ana reveals to Angie that Danny has a passion for poetry and writing which came as a surprise to Angie. When he meets Patrick in 6x19 he reveals to Danny that he is writing a novel to which Danny thinks is "cool" and the two strike an instant bond over the subject. It is clear that Danny's inherited Patrick's love for writing. However Patrick is writing a novel about how he and Angie first met and their story but Danny thinks it is all fiction. Patrick asks Danny's advice as to how the story of their family should end to which Danny replies that the guy should kill the girl. Patrick smiles almost proudly and says that killing her was his first instinct too, which shows how alike they are in many ways. The next day Patrick visits Danny again who memorizes his drink and asks if he was sticking around to which Patrick replied that he's not going anywhere until he's finished his "book." Danny takes an interest to the plot and they talk about how it could end. Patrick basically tells Danny that it would be too easy to kill the girl (Angie) as he wants to get revenge on her for taking his kid. He reveals to Danny that he's going to take something from her to which Danny guesses "the kid" and seems excited by the idea, thinking it's all fiction and not knowing that it's him. In episode 6x21 Danny unknowingly reveals to Patrick that Nick will be out running later that night which makes it easier for Patrick to kill him, which he attempts to in a direct hit and run but Nick survives and ends up in hospital. He suspects instantly that Patrick Logan is in town and warns Angie that it's not safe and she should get Danny out of town. She gives Danny money to tide him over and tells him about Patrick Logan and the eco-terrorist group he started, but missing out the important fact of their relationship. Danny leaves against his will but Patrick breaks into his house when he's gone. He receives a text from Patrick pretending to be Angie and tells him to hurry home. He does so, much to the shock of his mother, late at night and she tells him to get out of the house, until Patrick turns on the light and says "what's the rush?" then points a gun straight at Danny. The three of them held in the same room together forces Angie to build Patrick his bomb. Meanwhile Patrick tells Danny the truth about his paternity and ties him up, calmly apologizes for doing so and reveals that he wants to have a traditional father, son relationship with him. Danny finds the whole thing half-funny, half-infuriating as he replies "are you serious?" Patrick and him both laugh before Patrick admits to how ridiculous he sounded and mentions that he'll untie him and they can get to know each other once he's finished doing something important. Danny furiously says "if you ever untie me I'll kill you!" to which Patrick dismisses as him being angry. He then tells him that he'll realize who he's really mad at. "The guy who spent 20 years looking for you, or the people who spent 20 years lying to you?" to which Danny realizes is true. His whole life is a lie. The end of episode 6x22 shows Patrick either untying or tying Danny, never taking his eyes off him while Danny tries not to cry. Danny is saved at the last minute by Gabrielle Solis while Angie kills Patrick with the bomb which was in the detonator. Later, while Angie and Nick relocate to Atlanta, Danny is seen relocating to New York to be with his grandmother and Ana Solis. During a tearful goodbye at the bus station Nick tells Danny he turned out a better man than he ever could have imagined. Danny responds by saying. "If I am, it's because you were my father." This signals he never wanted anything to do with Patrick and still thinks of Nick as his father.

Rose De Luca

Rose De Luca is Angie's mother who resides in New York. She has a strained relationship with her daughter, due to her being on the run.

Emily Portsmith

Emily Portsmith (Julie McNiven) was a waitress seen working at The Coffee Cup, a café in Fairview. She becomes acquainted with Nick Bolen, a regular customer. Emily is seen wiping bread crumbs from his shirt and is supposedly flirting with him several times. One night, after Nick leaves the coffee shop, Emily is left to close up the joint and when she prepares to go she is stopped by someone she knows, and who ends up strangling her, just like Julie was strangled. Emily is left for dead in the floor of the café. In the episode "Would I Think of Suicide?" Emily is found dead prompting people to take self-defense classes as the strangler might be out there.

Patrick Logan

Patrick Logan (John Barrowman) is the man Angie Bolen has been on the run from for nearly 20 years. It is revealed in "Chromolume No. 7", that he is Danny's real father. In "My Two Young Men", he killed Iris Beckley (Ellen Crawford), Rose's neighbor in order to cover up his tracks when she asked him about his intentions to find Angie. Patrick also told her calmly but firmly that Angie had taken something from him and he wants it back. It is implied that this something is Danny. He then stages a fake break in before apparently strangling Iris Beckley. The end of the episode shows Patrick watching Danny leave the house from his car and then we see him looking at the house, a mixture of anger, sadness and hate in his expression. Nick reveals in this episode that he, Rose, Patrick and Angie are the only ones who knew about Danny's true paternity. In "We All Deserve to Die", he meets his son Danny for the first time and asks him for inspiration for writing his novel and the two strike up an instant bond. It is clear that they both share a love for writing. He tells Danny the story of how he and his mother met and how she broke his heart, kidnapped his baby and ran off with another man to which Danny replies "damn, she sounds like a bitch!" Patrick then asks Danny for advice on how the "story" regarding their family should end. Danny ponders for a moment before replying that the guy should kill the girl to which Patrick wickedly replies "funny, that was my first instinct too," meaning that he wanted to see how his son's opinion should affect his actions on Angie. He then waits outside Angie's house late at night but doesn't do anything. The next day Patrick visits Danny again who memorizes his drink and asks if he was sticking around to which Patrick replied that he's not going anywhere until he's finished his "book." Danny takes an interest to the plot and they talk about how it could end. Patrick basically tells Danny that it would be too easy to kill the girl (Angie) as he wants to get revenge on her for taking his kid. He reveals to Danny that he's going to take something from her to which Danny guesses "the kid" and seems excited by the idea, thinking it's all fiction and not knowing that it's him. He runs over Nick Bolen to get Angie. He gets her to make another bomb by threatening to take Danny's life and when he handcuffs Angie to her bed. He takes her cellphone pretending to be her telling Danny to come back home. It dawns on Danny that he is Patrick's kid when Patrick holds a gun to and later ties him up saying when its over. Patrick wants him and Danny to have a traditional father and son relationship. Danny replies "Are you serious?", showing he wants nothing to do with him. But Patrick asks him to think about if he wants to live with someone who spent 20 years searching for him, or someone who spent 20 years lying to him. Patrick Logan is finally killed in "I Guess This is Goodbye" when Angie plants the bomb inside the detonator and Patrick activates the bomb without knowing he is going to commit suicide.

Acquaintances of Renee Perry

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Renee Perry, one of the protagonists of the series.

Doug Perry

Doug Perry (Reggie Austin) is the husband of Renee Perry. He is a Major League Baseball player from New York. Renee and Doug are currently divorced.^[5] One year later he got married with his mistress, Tina.^[6].

Edgar

Edgar (Jason Winston George) is a barman, Renee's ex-boyfriend.

Ben Faulkner

Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure). An Australian businessman new to the lane, he immediately becomes a target for Renee's affections. After a bit of resistance, he sees a part of Renee rarely seen by most and becomes quite fond of her. Meanwhile, he hires Mike DelFino for one of his construction projects, knowing of his criminal past.

Acquaintances of Karen McCluskey

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Karen McCluskey, one of the protagonists of the series.

Roberta Simmons

Roberta Simonds^[7] (Lily Tomlin) is Karen McCluskey's older sister. She first appears in Season 5 when Karen is hospitalized due to Dave's plot to make her look crazy. Karen asks for Roberta's help in digging into Dave's past. Thanks to her job on a telephone company, Roberta found out that Dave was being contacted several times every month by Dr. Samuel Heller, a criminal psychiatrist. The two sisters travel back east to visit Heller, but they do not find him because at the time he had already been murdered by Dave. Roberta tells Karen she is tired of all the snooping around so she leaves her sister alone in her investigation. However, when Heller's receptionist learns he is dead, she calls Roberta to warn her about this, and the two sisters team up yet again, and break into Dave's house to get some evidence of what he's up to. Detectives Lyons and Collins find them in Dave's house (and it is implied at this time that Roberta does drugs), and bring them in for questioning, where everyone finally discovers that Dave must be after Susan and Mike for killing his previous family in an accident.

Roy Bender

Roy Bender (Orson Bean) is a retired steak salesman, who begins dating Karen at the start of the sixth season. Together they discover Julie Mayer after she is strangled. He and Karen later confess that they are in love with each other. Lynette later hires Roy as a handyman, at Karen's request. It is where Roy is revealed to be a little old fashioned when it comes to women and doesn't like that Lynette bosses Tom around and goes behind her back to get his approval on things. He and the Scavos later come to an understanding. He is present with Karen when the plane crashes on Wisteria Lane, both he and Karen manage to get out of harms way in time. He is also hired by Bree to watch Orson when she fears he will commit suicide. However instead of watching Orson, Roy leaves him in the laundry room, puts a broom through Orson's wheelchair spokes and goes to sleep. It is revealed in the seventh season (By Mary Alice's opening narration) that he and Karen have married.

Acquaintances of Mary Alice Young

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Mary Alice Young, the narrator of the series.

Paul Young

Main article: Paul Young (Desperate Housewives)

Zach Young

Zachary "Zach" Young, formerly Dana Taylor (Cody Kasch) is the "adopted" son of Paul and Mary Alice. Zach's birth parents are Deirdre Taylor and Mike Delfino and his paternal half-brother is M.J. Delfino. However, Zach's true identity is revealed in "One Wonderful Day", the final episode of the first season.

Zach went missing, after holding Susan hostage, until she saw him in a park. She bought him lunch and told him that she wanted to help until he said he hoped he and Julie would reconcile. Susan, visibly shaken by this, suggested he go to Utah and find Paul and gave him money to get there. Months later, after Felicia Tilman framed Paul Young for her murder, Paul begged Zach to ask his grandfather, Noah Taylor, for money to pay a lawyer, claiming it was for a car. Noah refused, telling Zach that he would not inherit his fortune because of Zach's supposed lack of bravery. Wanting to prove him wrong, Zach turned off Noah's respirator and found that he had inherited a vast fortune and no longer wanted anything to do with Paul Young. Zach moved to his grandfather's mansion.

Zach reappeared in "Not While I'm Around", as Gabrielle's secret admirer. Zach was semi-stalking Gabrielle Solis, sending her flowers, a dress and an expensive bracelet, revealing himself when she met him at a restaurant. Zach unsuccessfully tried to impress Gabrielle with luxurious gifts and his wealth, including a chateau in Switzerland. When Zach discovered Gabrielle was dating one of his employees, he made sure that he dumped Gabrielle, claiming she was too old. She was upset and got drunk. When she woke the next morning and found herself in bed with Zach. He claimed that they had sex and she couldn't remember. Zach used this to assume an escalation of their relationship. Gabrielle asked Carlos to scare Zach off but Carlos told her that Zach had such a large penis that she could not possibly forget sleeping with him. Gabrielle lectured Zach about how not to behave towards his friends and told him to leave her alone after he proposes to her at the Pizzeria. She told him that she didn't want a relationship with him so he left, after telling Gabrielle that when she's middle aged and alone, she will only have herself to blame.

In Season Seven, Zach made his first appearance since Season Three, in "Where Do I Belong", appearing as a delivery guy, delivering flowers to Bree. Later in the episode, a gun matching the one used to shoot Paul Young popped up on Bree's couch. As Paul hunts for Zach, he discovers that his son was overwhelmed by his wealth, losing himself to drugs and gambling and lost his fortune. He goes to Mike, asking for help finding Zach, revealing that he knows Zach shot him. It turns out Mike has been keeping tabjs on Zach but the boy refuses to answer his phone. Mike confronts him at a motel and Zach admits shooting Paul. Mike is jarred at how Zach is strung out on drugs and goes to Paul, saying that whatever the man plans to do, it can't be worse than what Zach is doing to himself. The two men are seen at Zach's doorstep, ready to confront him.

Martha Huber

Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) lived at 4350 Wisteria Lane. She first appeared in the pilot episode as a nosey neighbour who discovered Mary Alice Young’s suicide. After hearing a loud sound from her kitchen, she went to the Young house on the pretence of returning a blender, and found Mary Alice dead.

When Edie's house burns down, Martha discovers a measuring cup that Edie said wasn't her in the ruins, making Martha curious. When she finds a new measuring cup in Susan's groceries, she realises that Susan burned Edie's house down. Martha, currently suffering financial difficulties, consequently blackmails Susan. Susan and her daughter, Julie, break into Martha's home to retrieve the cup and destroy it.

It is revealed that while on a visit to her sister, Martha discovered that Mary Alice's real name is Angela Forrest and that she stole a baby in Utah, moving to Wisteria Lane to escape her past. Martha decides to solve her financial difficulties by blackmailing Mary Alice by letter but Mary Alice commits suicide after receiving it. Mary Alice's friends find the note when packing up her belongings and give it to Paul. He hires a private eye/hit man to discover who was responsible and kill them. Paul discovers Edie has the same stationery but Edie stole it while living with Martha. Paul confronts Martha and she explains that she was desperate for money and Mary Alice killed herself because of "what she did to that poor baby", Zach Young, whose true identity is Dana Taylor. In a rage, Paul kills Martha by bludgeoning her with the blender and strangling her. He then buries her next to a forest hiking trail.

Martha Huber has made few appearances since season one. In season five, she appears gossiping to the residents of Wisteria Lane about finding Mary Alice Young's body. Martha was seen again in the season seven premiere episode "Remember Paul?" via flashbacks.^[8]

It should be noted that twelve years after her murder, Paul finally confesses to the crime and is arrested. Her sister, Felicia, is presumably killed after driving into a semi-truck.

Felicia Tilman

Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris) first arrives on Wisteria Lane in the eleventh episode of the first season to aid with the search for her sister Martha Huber, who has gone missing. However, as Felicia informs Edie Britt upon her arrival, she knows that her sister is dead and has come to Wisteria Lane to discover who is behind her sister's murder.

After finding and reading Martha's journals, Felicia discovered that Martha was blackmailing Paul and Mary Alice Young because they had bought a baby named Dana from drug addict Deirdre Taylor and then moved to Fairview and changed the baby's name to Zach Young. Incidentally, Martha found this out from Felicia, who had worked in the same rehab center as Mary Alice did back in Utah. Felicia then realized that it was Paul who had murdered her sister as he had obviously found out that Martha was blackmailing Mary Alice and wanted to avenge his wife's suicide. After revealing that she knows everything, Felicia tells Paul to leave town for good or she will expose Zach's true identity and the fact that he murdered Martha. Paul agrees to go but Felicia then informs him that Zach shall be staying with her from now on. Felicia then informs Zach that his father is not planning on coming back and that he shall be living with her. This then results in Zach attacking Felicia with a hockey stick which causes Felicia to fall down a flight of stairs, causing severe injury to her neck.

In season two, Felicia has been discharged from the hospital, but is still badly bruised and wearing a neck brace. Mike goes to visit Felicia to see if she knows where Zach is, as he has recently disappeared after failing to murder Mike. Felicia informs Mike that she does not know where Zach is and that she herself is going back to Utah for a few months to recuperate. Felicia then returns to Wisteria Lane a biological grandfather). Both Felicia and Mike comfort Zach after hearing the news that Paul has been killed, as Noah instructed Paul to be arrested and then killed in the back of an armored truck. However, Paul is revealed to be alive.

This results in Felicia planning her final act of revenge against Paul. After sneaking into his home through the backdoor, Felicia steals the spare key to Paul's house. Upon discovering her in his kitchen, Paul instructs Zach to throw out the food as Felicia may have tried to poison them both. Felicia then calls the police from her home and reports that Paul has been threatening her. Whilst phoning the police, she is in the process of pumping large quantities of her own blood from her body. The police inform Felicia that no action can be taken against Paul by just making threats, to which she replies that she will just have to deal with the problem herself. That following evening, Paul walks into his kitchen only to slip and discover blood on the floor and on the kitchen walls. The police quickly come upon the scene and place Paul in handcuffs when they discover two of Felicia's fingers in the trunk of his car. While Paul is escorted to prison, Felicia escapes to the mountains and retreats to a log cabin where she (with her hand heavily bandaged and missing two fingers) checks in under the alias of her dead sister "Mrs.Huber". A flashback in the seventh season reveals that Karen McClusky knew all along Felicia had faked her death and kept it quiet.

Felicia Tilman returns in the seventh season premiere episode "Remember Paul?" It emerges that Felicia has been pulled over for speeding and was arrested for having no identification, prompting Paul to be freed. Felicia is sent to prison for eighteen months, where she is visited by Paul Young, who gloats that she is now in prison and he is now free. When Felicia accuses him of murdering her sister, he hangs up the phone, and through the plexiglass, admits that he did, much to her surprise.. Back in prison, Felicia sticks up a newspaper cutting of Paul in her prison cell. Her roommate claims that he looks like a killer and says it is a shame he was released. "It's all for the best," Felicia replies. "Paul can receive the punishment he's entitled to. Just between us, Paul will be dead within six months." When her roommate asks how that's possible, she replies: "Paul Young doesn't have friends on that street. I do."

In "A Humiliating Business", it is revealed that Paul's new wife Beth Young is actually Felicia's daughter, when Beth visits her in prison. Felicia appears again in the following episode "Sorry Grateful", In which she is disgusted to learn that Beth slept with Paul Young, in order to gain his trust. However, she instructs Beth to use it to her advantage, in order to gain proof that Paul did, in fact, murder her sister, Martha Huber. When Beth visits her again she tells her that she hasn't gained any evidence of Paul's misdeeds, but rather doubts her mother's mental stability, Felicia flys into an uncontrollable rage after learning that Beth is beginning to develop feelings for Paul, when she refuses to leave his house. Through Mary Alice's voice-over, we also learn that Felicia will not hesitate to punish both Beth and Paul, if Beth is 'stupid enough' to fall in love with him. It is also revealed in "Sorry Grateful" that Felicia's husband left her and Beth, when Beth was at an early age. Since then, contrary to tradition on Thanksgiving, Felicia and Beth never shared a meal with anyone, let alone each other. The reason being that Felicia felt there was nothing to be thankful for, and refused to allow a male classmate of Beth's into the house. In Assassins, Beth questions Felicia to know if she had anything to do with Paul being shot. Felicia denies but secretly calls Mike, assuming he accepted an offer she made to take care of Paul. Meeting her at the prison, Mike tells Felicia he had nothing to do with it, making her wonder who could have been the shooter. When Paul confronts Beth and kicks her out of the house, revealing he did murder Martha, Beth goes to Felicia to talk about it. However, Felicia dismisses Beth as being a fool for not getting the confession on tape, dismisses her as useless and tells the guards to remove her daughter from the visitor list.

When Beth shoots herself, Felicia has Paul visit her in prison, grief-stricken that the war between them has claimed her daughter's life. She says it's time for Paul to let Beth go and for both of them to put the fight behind them. At the end of the episode, Felicia is told that because of her personal tragedy, the parole board has granted her a release. Felicia smiles secretly, hinting that she plans to use her freedom to get at Paul. It turns out that Paul had put Katherine Mayfair's old house in Beth's name when he purchased it, and thus Felicia inherits it upon her release. She talks Paul into taking her out to a lake to scatter Beth's ashes. Paul brings a gun for protection but Felicia manages to get it away from him and holds it on him, saying she could shoot him and plead self-defense. Instead, she throws the gun in the lake and tells Paul it's time to let the hate go. They scatter the ashes and then leave. However, at her new home, it's revealed Felicia kept the real ashes and tells Beth's real ashes that she'll take revenge on Paul in a much more satisfying way than just shooting him. She tells Karen McCluskey that Paul knew who Beth was all along and seduced her to get at Felicia, driving her to suicide. Convinced, Karen tells Felicia she'll help her keep an eye on Paul.

When Felicia begins to poison Paul's food (by sabotaging meals that Susan has been cooking for him), Paul suspects that Susan is trying to kill him and has her arrested, but when the police suspect that Felicia was the culprit afterall, they contact her to come to the police station for questioning. This causes Felicia to flee from Wisteria Lane. After Paul is convinced of Susan's innocence, he decides to move out of the lane and give Susan her house back. However, as he is about to leave, he is knocked unconscious by Felicia. When Paul awakens that night, Felicia has bound him to a chair and hooked him to an antifreeze drip which slowly weakens and poisons him; although Felicia has an extra syringe filled with potassium chloride that she will plunge into Paul's chest if he tries to yell for help, which will kill him instantly. However, Susan comes by the house and discovers Paul being tortured. She calls the police and distracts Felicia by using a toy police car and activating its siren, tricking Felicia into thinking that the police were coming for her. As Felicia briefly flees, Susan helps cut away some of Paul's bindings, but when Felicia realises that she's been tricked, she returns and attacks Susan, attempting to kill her with the potassium chloride syringe. Paul, finally breaking free, quickly pushes Felicia of Susan and into the wall, where he begins to strangle her; a scene eerily similar to Martha's death. However, Susan manages to convince Paul that he's not a killer and Paul finally lets Felicia go. Felicia then escapes the house with her daughter's ashes avoiding capture from the police.

While driving down the highway the next morning, Beth's ashes spill and cause Felicia to lose control of her car. She is last seen about to crash head-on with a semi-truck, and is presumed to have died in the collision.

Beth Young

Beth Young (née Tilman; Emily Bergl) was Paul Young's second wife introduced in "You Must Meet My Wife". Beth met Paul while writing to him in prison where he was serving time for the apparent murder of Felicia Tilman. She arrives on Wisteria Lane distressed and lost, looking for Paul. Paul tells her that the letters she wrote to him kept him going and since he was not allowed conjugal visits, this is like their wedding night. However Beth did not want to rush into sex. Paul doesn't listen and later that night he brings her a gift that is wrapped away in a shopping bag. Beth is shocked that it is lingerie and she says to him that she thought they were going to take it slowly. Paul gets her to read a letter she wrote to him, but Beth gets wound-up and said it was just fantasy. She then blurts out 'I thought you would stay in prison. Paul is instantly made upset by this remark. Paul kisses her on the head and tells her that he will not be patient forever.

In "Truly Content" Susan, Lynette and Bree show up at Beth and Paul Young's house. They invite Beth to their weekly poker game. Paul asks her what Susan, Lynette and Bree wanted. Beth replies saying that they invited her to play cards with them, and that they were just being friendly, Paul says to Beth to never confuse being nosey to being friendly, saying that they were digging for dirt. Beth asks Paul if he does not want her to go, to which he replies that she will go and hopefully later they will start to become friends. He adds that it will be useful in time.

During a poker game, Beth talks to the other five housewives about her life when she was younger. Beth says that when she was eight her father left her mother, and that they were pretty much alone, saying that most of her friends were either stuffed or plastic. Then Beth talk about her mothers boyfriends, but says that as soon as she learned their names that her mother would kick them out, and that there would be a new toothbrush in the bathroom. When everyone looks at her strangely and puzzled Beth asks to let her know if she is sharing too much, which causes Susan to say no, but whisper to Lynette, who is sitting next to her saying that Beth is cracking like an egg. Beth later says that she saw Paul's picture at trial, and that there was just something about his eyes that she really liked and spoke to her. Susan asks if the headline "Arrested For Murder" did not speak to Beth, which she admits gave her a pause, but that then Beth and Paul started corresponding while he was in jail behind bars, and that she discovered what a wonderful man Paul really is, which gives everyone the shivers. Beth tells Renee that you cannot help who you fall in love with, and jokes that Paul is a real lady killer. They all stare at her as if she is crazy. Beth says that in her heart she always knew that Paul was innocent, and that she was correct for thinking that.

Beth asks Karen McCluskey why she does not like her husband, Paul. Mrs. McCluskey says that people think he is a murderer. Beth says that he was exonerated and that Felicia Tillman framed him, and Karen McCluskey reveals that everyone's blaming Paul for the murder of Felicia's sister, Martha Huber.

Beth tells Paul she had a lovely time at the poker game. He asks what the neighborhood is saying about him. Beth says, that a bunch of people think that he killed Martha Huber. Paul tells her that she should know that he is not a murderer. Beth tells him that she knows, but that she fell in love with him before she knew that, and that even if he was that she is always going to be on his side, she also tells him that no matter if he is innocent or not, she would still love him, and that he should remember that. When Beth refuses to sleep with Paul, she eventually reveals she is a virgin and her continuing refusal makes her demand she leave him. When Susan discovers Paul got her fired from her job as a teacher, she attacks him in his home and Beth pulls a gun on her to make her leave. Realizing how his wife aided him, Paul kisses her and they end up in bed.

Beth is worried about Paul's plans for Wisteria Lane. When his former cellmate moves into the neighborhood, Beth threatens to tell people he attacked her unless he tells her Paul's plans. She meets Paul at home in sexy underwear, revealing what she knows but she supports him, saying she knows all about revenge. It is soon revealed that Beth is actually Felicia Tilman's daughter, aiding her mother in revenge on Paul. After she and Paul sleep together, Beth questions her mother's sanity and if she knew for certain Paul killed her sister, the two women have a fight, Beth leaves. When Paul is shot later in the season, Beth returns to jail, convinced her mother had something to do with it but Felicia is honestly surprised to hear it happened. Unknown to Beth, the detectives investigating the shooting told Paul how she was Felicia's daughter, making him realize how she has been using him all along. While Paul develops hatred for Beth, Beth falls in love with Paul, and has turned against Felicia to support Paul. After a confrontation with Zach, Paul realizes that "no one can ever love him" and decides to kick Beth out of the house. Beth confesses her love to Paul but he remembers what Zach told him, and doesn't listen to her, he closes the door on her face, leaving her with nowhere to go. Beth tries to get back with Paul, telling him how she believed her mother's claims of Paul killing her aunt but now that she knows him, doesn't believe it. She's thus shocked when Paul confesses to having killed Martha after all. Beth goes to see Felicia in prison where her mother berates her for being so stupid as to not get the confession on tape and that Beth is useless to her, telling the guards to remove her daughter from the visitor list. Bree comes to Beth's motel to reveal they're both a match to be a kidney donor for Susan but Bree wants to do it in order to feel needed. With nothing else left in her life, Beth goes to the hospital and makes sure the nurse in the waiting room files the paperwork ensuring her kidney will go to Susan. Beth then pulls a gun out of her purse and shoots herself in the head, leaving her brain dead.

Told of Beth's shooting, Susan and the other women are thrown as Beth is on life support, declared brain dead. Paul is shown to be affected by all this, telling Susan that he will not let Beth go and won't allow her to take his wife's kidney. Felicia meets Paul in prison, saying that their battle cost them Beth's life and she truly loved Paul. In the end, Paul decides to let Susan have the kidney and mourns his wife. Felicia Tilman, Beth's mother, is released from prison at the end of the episode, and decides to get revenge on Paul for murdering Martha, and for the death of her daughter.

Jerry Shaw

Jerry Shaw (Richard Roundtree) is private investigator and hitman of Fairview. Mr. Shaw first appears in "Who's That Woman?" where Paul hires him to find out who sent Mary Alice the blackmail note. He appears again in the episode "Anything You Can Do" after Paul finds out that Edie used the same type of stationery that the blackmail note was written on. Jerry Shaw tracks down Edie at the same Saddle Ranch Bar Deirdre was last seen before she proceeded to the Young residence only to find a watery grave. Edie traveled there with Susan who both teamed up to spy on Kendra and Mike. He confronts Edie, masquerading as a partner in real estate and makes a smooth deal with her. In the next episode, "Guilty", Mr. Shaw confronts Edie at an abandoned site in the middle of a rural highway. He finds out that the paper came from Martha Huber just before he was about to shoot her. Shaw then proceeds to tell Paul that Mrs. Huber was the writer of the note. Paul decides to take it upon himself to kill Mary Alice’s blackmailer. Jerry Shaw disappears until the twentieth episode, when Susan hires Mr. Shaw himself, of all PIs, to investigate the Young Family after Zach set fire to her kitchen. His last appearance being in the episode "Sunday in the Park with George", where he delivers falsified information regarding the Young family. Susan finally asks him to run a complete background check on Mike Delfino. Susan finds out that Mike had killed a cop, and sees Noah and Kendra in a photo, recognizing Kendra instantly setting her straight to getting back with Mike.

Other characters

Bob Hunter

Main article: Bob Hunter (Desperate Housewives)

Lee McDermott

Main article: Lee McDermott

Ida Greenberg

Ida Greenberg (Pat Crawford Brown) was a neighbor on Wisteria Lane, who was close friends with Karen McCluskey. She first appeared in the episode, "Come In, Stranger", as a neighbor at the watch-meeting complaining that somebody was watching her whenever she took a shower. In season two, we discover that Ida has a drinking problem. But that ends because, when she asks for God to end her alcoholism, her bottle is shot due to an event taking place at Mike's house, and she quits. In the same episode, it is also revealed that Ida attends a Methodist church. When Mike awakes from his coma, Ida's nephew, Dr. Lee Craig, tells her about this, and she starts spreading the news around Wisteria Lane. Also, when she planned to go on a trip somewhere, in episode 3.06, Susan steals her cab. In season four, Ida has gotten back to drinking.^[9] When a neighborhood meeting is done for elections of the street president, Ida objects against the gay neighbors, not because of their fountain, but because they're gay.^[10] During the tornado warning, she takes cover in Mrs. McCluskey's basement with the Scavos, and the house is destroyed due to the tornado.^[9] It is soon confirmed she has died, sacrificing herself to save Lynette's children and husband. After her death, we learn that Ida was a professional baseball player during World War II. Her ashes are scattered by Lynette and Mrs. McCluskey at a baseball field where she had her glory days.^[11]

Alberta Fromme

Alberta Fromme (Betty Murphy) lives on a street neighboring Wisteria Lane. It hasn’t been determined on which address. Mrs. Fromme is a single woman. It is unknown whether she has been divorced or widowed. Alberta owns a cat, Mr. Whiskers who always needs to be watched when she goes out of town. Therefore she must rely on her neighbor friends to take responsibility. When Susan watches Mr. Whiskers, Alberta’s house is broken into by Mike; however, the cat was unharmed. Alberta continues to be a recurring character who is mostly seen during neighborhood gatherings and when one of the housewives needs something or vice versa. Alberta hasn't been seen since season three, indicating that over the years she has moved or died.

Edwin Mullins

Edwin Mullins (Cheyenne Wilbur) and his wife lived at 4351 Wisteria Lane. Mr Mullins was a taxidermist, and kept a lot of stuffed animals in his home, as revealed by Susan, who also states that he often invites people in, and then introduces them to all his “pets”. They also had a problem with teenagers spreading toilet paper across their yard, and kept a spare key to Mrs. McCluskey’s house. They also trusted Bree by giving her a key to their home. They left Wisteria Lane because of all the action happening there: murder, suicide, blackmail, violence, and arson. It was never determined where they went. Mr. Mullins's brother was Susan’s divorce attorney.

Art Shepherd

Arthur "Art" Shepherd (Matt Roth) and his ill sister Rebecca lived at 4352 Wisteria Lane. He moved to Wisteria Lane in season three, and was introduced in the episode "Bang", where he saves Lynette from being killed by Carolyn Bigsby during the supermarket hostage situation. By doing so he became a hero of Parker's. However, while bringing over a cake to Art, Lynette found his basement full of toys, and filled from floor to ceiling with polaroids of half-naked boys. When confronted, he claims they are photos of past students, as he is a swim coach. Convinced that Art was a pedophile, she asked Karen McCluskey for advice and soon there were massive demonstrations outside the Shepherd’s house. After Rebecca died, Lynette came to rethink what she had seen, and begged for Art’s forgiveness. He responded by saying that he never acted on his feelings because of his sister, but now he was free of those restrictions. He then ominously stated that he's going to be moving to a new neighborhood.

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd (Jennifer Dundas) was Art's wheelchair bound sister whom Art cared for at their home. When the accusations towards Art grew stronger, Rebecca came to her brother's defense, claiming that his love for boys was completely pure, only being that of a swimming coach’s pride of his students. While the protests were going on, Rebecca died of cardiac arrest.

Eli Scruggs

Eli Scruggs (Beau Bridges) was the neighborhood handyman who had been described as quiet, helpful, and tidy. He is the central focus in the series' 100th episode, "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened", which is also his only appearance in the series. Eli first appeared on Wisteria Lane while looking for work. Out of sympathy, Mary Alice asks him to fix her broken vase and then suggests him to other neighbors on the lane. About two years later, Mary Alice gives Eli the vase he fixed and asks him to leave. Shortly after, she kills herself. Eli also witnesses Rex Van de Kamp telling Bree that she could not possibly live out her dream by writing her own cookbook. When Bree throws a collection of recipes and ideas for her book in the garbage, Eli retrieves them without her knowledge. Following Rex's death, he gives them back and tells her he enjoyed some of her recipes. This is presumably what leads Bree to published her own cookbook in between seasons four and five. When Gabrielle moves onto Wisteria Lane, Eli overhears her complaining about how bored she is and offers to get her into the neighborhood poker game with Susan, Lynette, Bree, and Mary Alice. Gabrielle agrees, but she comes off as a "rude, obnoxious bitch" during the game and the women do not invite her to any further games. With Eli's advice, Gabrielle shows up unannounced at one of the games and explains that her behavior stems from her loneliness and that she misses her life in the city. Seeing the raw, sincere emotion, the women invite Gabrielle to the poker game. Eli also had a sexual encounter with Edie while she was drunk and divorcing her gay second husband. Eli also saves an infant Penny Scavo when Lynette accidentally leaves her in the car. This allows Lynette to reevaluate the balance between her work life and home life. When Susan is divorcing Karl, she asks Eli to change her locks. She asks him to do the same following her divorce from Mike.

After over a decade of working on Wisteria Lane, Eli decides to retire. His last job is repairing Susan's roof. However, during the job, he suffers a heart attack and dies. His body is discovered by Juanita Solis. All the ladies, Gabrielle, Edie, Bree, Lynette and Susan, all reflect on how Eli had helped them get where they are today. Eli is buried on a Saturday. Bree fixes a flower which had come loose on his coffin, she says she wanted to fix something for Eli for a change. A voiceover of Mary Alice then reveals that in a place reserved for only the very best of people, Eli smiled and said "Thank you".

Eddie Orlofsky

Eddie Orlofsky (Josh Zuckerman) is a friend of Danny's, one of the few that remained friends with him even when Danny was being accused of assaulting Julie. Eddie was first seen when he came over to the Bolen house to ask his buddy Danny to help fix his car. Eddie is shown working at The Coffee Cup, a local café where Emily Portsmith, a waitress, becomes the second known victim of the Fairview strangler. Eddie mentions that he was glad he was late to work, because he doesn't think he could have handled discovering Emily's body. Eddie invites Julie and Danny to watch him do stand up comedy at a local club. Julie doesn't want to go but Ana wants to date Danny and convinces Julie to take her to Eddie's act so she can get closer to Danny. Eddie picks up Irina after she is dumped by Preston Scavo on their wedding night. After hitting on her she tells him she is way out of his league and says that she did not come all the way to America to hook up with a greasy haired boy. Angry and obviously hurt by the comments, he pulls the car to the side of the road. He is then seen lunging for her throat. He is then seen digging a hole in the woods next to Irina's dead body. In the April 2010 episode, "Epiphany", Eddie's past relationship to the women on Wisteria Lane is explained and why he strangles and kills women. He was always rejected by the women he was attracted to, and developed strong hatred towards the women who rejected him. Since he was a child, Eddie has had a friendly relationship with the women on Wisteria Lane. For example: Susan paid for him to attend an artist's seminar to encourage his artistic ability; Gaby let him unpack boxes in her house when she first moved in; Bree gave him some love advice, unaware his affections would be towards her daughter Danielle; Lynette tried to include him in the Scavo family's game night to help him fit in. Eddie had such a desperately lonely childhood because his mother Barbara (played by Diane Farr) was abandoned by his father when he was four years old, claiming he never wanted children. Barbara becomes an alcoholic and also claims that she never loved or wanted him. When she discovers that he had strangled a teenager, she tries to call the police. In a rage, Eddie strangles Barbara to death, and minutes later, Lynette invites him to move in to her house, which he tearfully accepts. Lynette realizes he's the Fairview strangler when she sees a remorse face and can't look her in the eyes when she tells him about the police finding his mother in the woods. He locks Lynette in his childhood home. In the season finale, Eddie holds the fate of Lynette and her unborn child in his hands. In the end he has Lynette call police and he turns himself in, thanks in part to Lynette stepping in and saying she believes in him.

Mona Clarke

Mona Clarke (Maria Cominis) was a wife and mother that lived on Wisteria Lane. She was a registered nurse who worked at Fairview Hospital. Mona had a reputation for having a big mouth. On different occasions she has been shown to annoy Lynette, Gabrielle, and Edie. Susan and Mike did not invite her to their wedding, unlike most the other residents of Wisteria Lane.

While caring for Danny Bolen after his attempted suicide, he awakes, and Mona calls him Danny, to which he replies that his real name is actually Tyler. Mona figures out what she believes happened to the Bolens, and tells them she understands their situation and won't tell anyone about it, offering to be a confidante to Danny should he need to talk about it. However, her attitude changes once Danny tells her the actual story, and Mona blackmails the Bolens, asking for $67,000 so she can start a new life at a new job. Shortly after a heated confrontation with Angie at a Christmas block party, Mona is struck by the wing of a crashing airplane. In the following episode it is revealed that Mona has fallen into a coma and Angie and Nick are hoping she dies. Finally Mona succumbs to her injuries and dies.

Detective Lyons

Detective Lyons (Billy Mayo) is a detective for the Fairview Police Department. He is involved in many of Fairview's crimes and mysteries, and is often seen on Wisteria Lane. He investigated the disappearance of Victor Lang as well as the suspected arson of Warren Shilling's nightclub.

Mitzi Kinsky

Mitzi Kinsky (Mindy Sterling) is a resident on Wisteria Lane living at 4347, the house formerly owned by Ida Greenberg. She has a reputation in the neighborhood of being a bitter, cynical and shrewd widow. She is first seen in "The Glamorous Life", where she is seen having two disputes with Angie Bolen. She is later seen in the season six finale "I Guess This is Goodbye", this time arguing with both Susan and Karen. She reappeared in season seven's "Pleasant Little Kingdom" where Paul Young considers buying her house. Mitzi considers selling but decides she will not screw over her friends. She stays on Wisteria Lane. Weeks later, Bree asks if Mitzi would be a possible kidney donor for Susan, but Mitzi slams the door in her face. Later on, Mitzi finally gives in and gets herself tested; however she is not a match for Susan.

Animals

Bongo

Bongo is a dog who once belonged to Mike Delfino. He first appeared in the pilot. When Susan Mayer is competing for Mike's affections against Edie Britt in season one, she uses Bongo to impress him. However, Bongo eats one of Susan's earrings and has to go to the vet. Mike explains that Bongo is very important to him because he belonged to his late wife. In the second season premiere, Bongo attacks Susan while she is holding a gun to Zach Young because he thinks she is putting Mike in danger. Bongo is last seen in "The Sun Won't Set", when he takes down Caleb Applewhite during a neighborhood search for the man who attacked Gabrielle Solis. No explanation for Bongo's absence has been given in the series. However, Marc Cherry has explained that he was either given away or died after Mike fell into a coma, noting that Bongo was cut from the series because of story complications and budget reductions.^[12]

Rafael

Rafael is the dog of Bob and Lee. In one episode, Susan locked him in her garage in attempt to befriend Lee. However, the dog ran out revealing her secret, leaving yellow footprints behind.

Toby

Toby the cat was the previous pet and companion of Ida Greenberg until her death in Something's Coming. After this he is taken into the care of Karen McCluskey. He is still currently in her care after five and a half years. In season five, Toby was kidnapped by Dave Williams after Karen refused to apologize to Edie Britt. Once she did, however, he returned to her care and stayed there for the rest of the season and has not been seen since.

Roxy

Roxy was the previous guide dog (Golden Retriever) to Carlos Solis when he was blind. She joined the family near the end of season four and had a rivalry with Gabrielle Solis which caused her to kidnap her and send her back to the school, however Roxy just followed the car back and remained in the house. In the season 4 finale, Roxy attacks Ellie while she and Gaby struggle over the duffle bag of money, prompting Ellie to flee the house and run to the Mayfair's, inadvertently walking in on Wayne holding Katherine hostage. Carlos regained his sight in season five and Roxy has not made any appearances since then.

Mr. Whiskers

Mr. Whiskers was the cat owned by Alberta Fromme. She was once taken care of by Susan Mayer.

The Scavo Dog

The unnamed dog was bought by Lynette Scavo as a distraction after her son, Parker Scavo started to have an interest in sex. The dog hasn't been seen since season three, but has been talked about up until late season 4.

References

1. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4x01: Now You Know
2. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4x03: The Game
3. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4x09: Something is Coming
4. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4x10: Welcome to Kanagawa
5. ^ Season 7 episode 5
6. ^ Season 7 episode 23
7. ^ Desperate Housewives Season 5 episode 23, Everybody Says Don't
8. ^ http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=090310_10
9. ^ ^{a b} Desperate Housewives Episode 4.09 Something's Coming
10. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4.05 Art Isn't Easy
11. ^ Desperate Housewives Episode 4.10 Welcome to Kanagawa
12. ^ 'Desperate Housewives': 'The truth about my gals in the suburbs' Variety. Retrieved on 2009-07-28.

See also