Elmont (Doonesbury)

Elmont Doe is a character in the comic strip Doonesbury.

Elmont was first introduced during a series of strips that featured Alice, as an insane homeless person. He stood on a street corner and ranted about everything that came to mind, and humor was derived from the fact that, although he was clearly a lunatic, many of his criticisms of government policy actually made sense. Eventually he became so popular with the crowds that he began doing regular shows at scheduled times.

Alice and Elmont married, simply so they could be moved up the list to receive housing. Elmont’s psychosis means that he often forgets that he is actually married to Alice, but other than that they have a caring relationship. Elmont is an elderly bearded and long-haired man whose face is constantly obscured by his hat (a trait he shares with fellow Doonesbury character Zeke Brenner).

Despite being demented (he is known to all as “Crazy Elmont”) he has some practical talents. In particular he can play a mean saxophone, and his abilities at begging are such that he rarely goes away empty handed, even from people who are openly hostile to him.

Mark Slackmeyer has interviewed Elmont on several occasions, and finds his take on reality so amusing that he once sent him as a reporter to the Republican National Convention, where he mistook random bystanders, fellow journalists and even inanimate objects for famous politicians and attempted to interview them.