Jerry Gergich

Jerry Gergich
First appearance	"Pilot"
Portrayed by	Jim O'Heir
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Works in the Department of Parks and Recreation
Family	Gayle (wife) Millicent (daughter) two other unnamed daughters

Jerry Gergich is a fictional character in the TV series Parks and Recreation and is portrayed by Jim O'Heir. He has appeared in every episode of the series so far, except for "Canvassing", the second episode of the series.

Background

Jerry Gergich works for the Department of Parks and Recreation and is a married father of three girls.^[1] His surname was first mentioned in the episode "Park Safety". He is often the butt of jokes due to his embarrassing history, a collection of awkward moments including public urination, plastic surgery after being hit by a fire truck, routinely spilling his cup of soup, and being adopted by a woman arrested for selling marijuana.^[2][3] He seems to have a normal family life and some artistic talent, once creating a mural of the Pawnee City Hall composed of minuscule pictures of the town's citizens. In the episode "Telethon", he is shown to be a skilled pianist.^[4] His opinions and talents often go unnoticed due to poor respect from his co-workers. For example, on one occasion he stumbled over his words saying "murinal" rather than "mural", causing an abundance of teasing rather than a reaction to the aforementioned mural he had created.^[5] Although he never joins in the teasing, Ron Swanson describes Jerry as both the "schlemeil" and the "schlemazel" of the office, meaning he's both a klutz and the victim of the universe's contempt.^[6] For his part, Jerry mainly tolerates the mocking of his coworkers, looking ahead two years to his retirement on a full pension. However, he does feel intimidated by his colleagues. For example, in the episode "Park Safety", he claimed to have been mugged by teenagers rather than owning up to falling into a stream.^[7] It is revealed in "Pawnee Rangers" that one of Jerry's daughters' name is Millicent. Chris asks Jerry if it is okay for him to date her and he agrees. Chris, in an attempt to be completely open about their relationship, continuously tells Jerry intimate details about their dates despite Jerry's discomfort.

Development

Although Jerry Gergich has been a regular character since the pilot episode of Parks and Recreation, the character's personality was not fully developed until the second season. Series co-creator Michael Schur said they liked actor Jim O'Heir so much that he cast him immediately and "figured we'd work it out later". Jerry's personality traits began to become established after the episode "Practice Date" when, during a contest to city planner Mark Brendanawicz inadvertently reveals Jerry was adopted. Schur said after that script, "We realized that’s who he is: He’s the guy who wants to put his head down and get his pension, but is asking for it all the time. In the next three scripts, it was like throwing chum into the water. Every script after that had 15 slams on Jerry."^[8] Once this personality was established, the writers felt it important to establish that the other characters liked Jerry, despite their constant mockery of him. The episode "Park Safety" was written as a result.^[8][9]

Critical reception

Hitfix writer Daniel Fienberg praised Jim O'Heir, saying, "Even the background players have begun to shine, including Jim O'Heir's hard-luck Jerry, who I've crowned my favorite tertiary character on TV."^[10]

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0200318/
2. ^ Fog, Henning (October 9, 2009). ""Parks and Recreation" recap: Dirty little secrets". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wBjUksE7. Retrieved October 23, 2009. 
3. ^ Fowler, Matt (October 9, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: "The Practice Date" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wBj9VxpT. Retrieved October 23, 2009. 
4. ^ Fowler, Matt (May 6, 2010). "Parks and Recreation: "Telethon" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 27, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5xVSJE5mT. Retrieved May 11, 2010. 
5. ^ Fowler, Matt (November 13, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: "The Camel" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wDG8z8Ud. Retrieved November 14, 2009. 
6. ^ Hochberger, Eric (March 19, 2010). "Parks and Recreation Review: 'Park Safety'". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/60S2oagxg. Retrieved July 25, 2011. 
7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (March 19, 2010). "Parks and Recreation, 'Park Safety': Andy Samberg, park ranger". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vv2QQncT. Retrieved March 22, 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Heisler, Steve (March 24, 2011). "Interview: Michael Schur". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5ysGWElO8. Retrieved May 22, 2011. 
9. ^ Muharrar, Aisha (March 24, 2010). "Exclusive: Aisha Muharrar answers your 'Park Safety' questions". Knope Knows. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5xCraZjP4. Retrieved March 27, 2010. 
10. ^ Feinberg, Daniel (December 24, 2009). "HitFix's Top 20 TV Shows of 2009". HitFix. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/60S35mIM5. Retrieved July 25, 2011. 

External links

• Jim O'Heir biography at official Parks and Recreation site at NBC.com
• Jerry Gergich at the Internet Movie Database