List of Arthur characters

This is a list of characters that are featured in the PBS Kids GO! Arthur television show, which is based on the book series by Marc Brown.

Arthur, the title character, is the main character of the series. The main supporting characters are Buster, Francine, Muffy, the Brain, Mr. Ratburn, and Arthur's parents. Over the years, the roles of each character have changed as more episodes focused on characters besides Arthur or D.W., most notably Buster, Francine, and Muffy. Minor supporting characters such as Sue Ellen, George, and Fern have also had expanded roles in the series.

Like the Simpsons, characters in the Arthur series do not age in order to remain the status quo, although their universe does in parallel to the real world.

Children

• Arthur Timothy Read: is the protagonist in the series. He is a second/third grade student at Lakewood Elementary in Elwood City. He is 8 years old in most episodes. He has two younger sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.) and baby Kate. He possesses a sincere partiality towards reading, watching television (especially Bionic Bunny and Dark Bunny), playing sports, playing piano and spending time with his friends. He is an aardvark.^[1] He wears a yellow cotton sweater layered over a white dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Another feature that Arthur has is his signature round brown glasses, which are explained in Arthur's Eyes. He is the oldest child in his family.

• Dora Winifred "D.W." Read: is Arthur's eccentric sister. In most episodes, she is 4 years old. (she turns 5 in "D.W.'s Perfect Wish", episode #314, which is also when her birthday is revealed to be March 1) ^[2] She is a middle child of the Read family. She attends preschool and enjoys watching children's television shows (Mary Moo Cow in particular) and the song "Crazy Bus" much to Arthur's annoyance. She is also known for her many short-lived obsessions and tantrums if these obsessions are not fulfilled. Many of the series' episodes revolve around tensions between D. W. and her brother--she especially enjoys getting him in trouble. Arthur occasionally envies D.W.'s accomplishments and D.W. of the privileges and capabilities that Arthur has for being older. While she acts self-centered and audacious, she shows appreciation towards Arthur and usually understands when she is wrong. She goes by the short name "D.W.", owing to an evident dislike for her full name. She wears a white long-sleeved tee under a sleeveless pink dress that is knee-length and has green shoes.

• Buster Baxter: is Arthur's best friend. A jolly and upbeat figure, Buster enjoys watching television, reading works of science fiction, conjuring conspiracy theories, playing video games, playing the tuba, reading joke books, and above all, eating. However, he sometimes shows a disinterest in school work, and his academic performance is usually underwhelming. He is 8 years old. He also has asthma. He is very superstitious at times, and is obsessed with extraterrestrial life. Buster has acted as a detective on occasion, once teaming up with Fern, and is usually successful, though his tendency to embrace superstition and conspiracy theories hinders him. Buster lives in a condo with his mother, Bitzi, and occasionally travels with his father. In Season 2 he left on a vacation with his dad in "Arthur's Faraway Friend" and came back in Season 3 in "The Ballad of Buster Baxter". Buster also had his own spin-off series, entitled Postcards from Buster.^[3] He is shown as a white rabbit with a greenish blue sweater with a salmon colored collar and blue jeans.

• Francine Alice Frensky: is a tomboy who loves sports, drumming, and singing. She is 8 years old, and she is the best player on her team in just about every sport they play, rivaled only by the Brain at soccer and basketball. She is also good at the drums and singing, but has unsuccessfully tried to do them simultaneously. Her blunt, outspoken demeanor can sometimes have a negative effect on her relationships with friends and relatives. Francine and her family are Reform Jews and are of a lower class than Arthur's family. She can occasionally be bossy to her friends. She also does not like wearing dresses or getting her hair done. Francine is best friends with Muffy Crosswire. She met Arthur for the first time since pre-school in a flashback from "Locked in the Library!". She and Arthur are each others' second best friends. They occasionally fight, but make up in the end. She is shown as a brown monkey with a red sweater with blue jeans and a barrette on each side of her hair. Her signature hairstyle is a brown flip, although it is not flat. She is also referred to as the most popular kid at school, though she is never mean about it. Her family sometimes calls her "Frankie".

• Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire: is Francine's best friend, though they are opposites in many ways. She is 8 years old. She is the daughter of Edward and Millicent Crosswire. She is the wealthiest girl in school, and is generally portrayed as a stereotypical rich and spoiled girl. She tends to be extremely self-centered, and like Francine, her behavior occasionally leads her into trouble with her friends. She also tries to impress her friends with her dad's wealth and because of this she is often labeled as a show-off by her friends. Muffy has an older brother named Chip. Her signature hairstyle is pigtails, usually braided, and she had buck teeth as she did in the early books in several but not all episodes of season 1. She is shown as a cream colored monkey in a white blouse with a purple jumper and two matching bows to tighten her braids. She takes dance class, but was never seen in a lesson. She is also a great artist. She often brags but makes up with her friends.

• Alan "The Brain" Powers: is one of Arthur's friends and classmates and an original character of the Arthur books. He excels both academically and athletically (especially the former). He is mild-mannered and is shown to be the most polite character in the series, although in the earlier seasons he was shown to be very sinister if provoked. He works at his parents' ice cream parlor. His friends trust and come to Brain when they're in need of factual information, and even D.W. has been shown to have a bit of an admiration for him. He is of Senegalese descent^[4] and celebrates Kwanzaa. Brain had a secret that he had "flunked" (wasn't emotionally ready for) Kindergarten, in Brain's Shocking Secret. He also suffered from hydrophobia for a while, as revealed in Water and the Brain. He is obsessed with overachieving academically, like in Sue Ellen and the Brainosaurus, MacFrensky, and Breezy Listening Blues. He likes to listen to blues records. He is shown as a brown bear who wears a cream-colored buttoned dress shirt with long sleeves under a gray wool sweater having only the folded down collar and the folded over cuffs showing and a pair of olive green pants. Brain is one of the few left-handed characters in the series. When the television series was developing, his last name was unofficially "Brain", but later changed officially to "Powers".

• Shelley "Binky" Barnes: Binky Barnes is one of Arthur's friends and classmates. He was originally written as a bully, who secretly harbors sensitive and caring feelings. He enjoys studying the fine arts, including playing clarinet and performing ballet. He was the leader of a bully clique, known as the Tough Customers, which in later seasons takes on more noble endeavors. He is now portrayed as one of Arthur's best friends but still acts rashly at times. In the episode Binky Goes Nuts, it is discovered that he is allergic to peanuts. Recently, his family adopted his 1-year-old sister named Mei-Lin who was from China. Binky is an original character from the books. Binky is shown as a yellow colored English bulldog with an orange collared shirt, casual blue pants, and a gray belt. It's also said that he flunked third grade and had to repeat it. It is revealed that his real name is Shelley on "What's in a Name". He was nicknamed Binky when he was a toddler because he always loved sucking his pacifier.

• Sue Ellen Armstrong: is a recent transfer to Arthur's school. She is 8 years old. Her father is a diplomat, and so her family has lived in various spots around the world. She is interested in world culture, and is skilled in the martial arts. She practices Tae-Kwon-Do, and is not afraid of people much bigger than herself, including Binky. She plays the saxophone. She can whistle, and though she is an only child, keeps in touch with her brother-like friend on the other side of the world. She is shown as a tan cat with a cream vest and a teal dress with curly orange hair contained in two ponytails. She originally had a plain hairstyle before the book Arthur's TV Trouble and the cartoon show.

• Fern Walters: is one of Arthur's classmates. She enjoys reading poetry and mystery novels (especially Sherlock Holmes). Fern's mother, Doria Walters, is constantly trying to get Fern to become more extroverted. Even Fern herself sometimes worries she is "too quiet". She is known for her realistic storytelling and being an amateur sleuth (once competing with Buster in "Binky Rules"). One of her favorite authors is Persimmony Glitchet, a parody of famous author Lemony Snicket. She plays the flute. She is shown as a dog in a purple long sleeved blouse with yellow collars and cuffs, yellow pants, and a red ribbon in her hair. Although Fern had a shy personality early in the series, over the seasons she has grown more social and closer to Arthur and his classmates.

• Prunella Deegan: is 9 years old and a grade above Arthur and his friends, and as a result is somewhat snobbish and condescending towards the younger kids. She brags about winning competitions from last grade and tends to bring it up to Arthur and his friends. She is interested in yoga, fortune telling, and paranormal phenomena. She loves Henry Skreever, the series' parody of Harry Potter. She is shown as a peach colored rat who wears a blue dress with a white collar and a purple bow in her hair.

• The Tibble Twins: Timmy Tibble and Tommy Tibble are twin bear cub boys at D.W.'s age, 4, who routinely exasperate Arthur, D.W., and most everyone with their annoying and destructive antics. In an early episode in the first season, the characters at D.W.'s preschool were the mischievous Billy and Bobby. Tommy wears a red scarf and Timmy wears a blue scarf. Though they are rather reckless and mischievous, they are actually quite sweet and good-hearted. They repent for many of their mistakes and live with their kind, though a bit weary, grandmother. In the books, they were humans.

• Emily: Emily is D.W.'s 5-year-old best friend and classmate. Unlike D.W, Emily is not bossy or rude, but instead, more polite and kind, although sometimes dishonest. She first met D.W. in a gymnastics class, and later became a regular character in the series. She is wealthy and perfectionistic. She often outshines D.W. in many activities, and D.W. often tries to outperform her with mixed results. She possibly has a French heritage because she is closely associated with French culture, and even has a French nanny. Emily was at first seen as a white rabbit with short blonde hair and a pink floral dress in the episode "DW All Wet". In the sixth season, her design changed to much longer hair, a blue floral dress, and a fuller chin. Emily is half rabbit and half monkey, and is the only trans-species character in the series so far.

• George Lundgren: is one of Arthur's classmates. He is a moose. Like Fern, he is very shy and quiet yet really nice and rather talented. He is 8 years old. In the earlier seasons, he appeared mostly as a gag character, often being bullied by Binky. The audience finds out he has dyslexia in "The Boy With His Head in the Clouds". He's also well-known in his class as a ventriloquist, performing with his dummy, Wally. He is often isolated from his classmates because of his frequent nosebleeds, which grosses out everyone. He is of Swedish descent. His last name was formerly "Nordgren" until Season 11 and onwards which has now been changed to "Lundgren". Whenever George enters a competition, he wins first place or near first place (despite the fact that all he appears to do is hop on a pogo stick), a running gag in the series. George is shown as a brown moose with an orange shirt and khaki pants.

• Jenna Morgan: is one of Arthur's classmates. She is 8 years old, plays badminton, helps coach soccer, received an Athlete of the Year award from Michelle Kwan, and is lactose intolerant. Jenna also suffers from nocturnal enuresis. In "Jenna's Bedtime Blues", she was afraid to go to Muffy's slumber party for fear of her embarrassing secret being discovered. Jenna is shown as a gray cat in a pink dress with yellow buttons and hot pink interior. Jenna hates being the center of attention.

Other recurring characters

• Adil Akyuz: is Arthur's 8-year-old Turkish pen pal who was introduced in "Dear Adil". He and Arthur have a lot in common. Adil has an annoying younger sister, Aisheh, who loves the Turkish version of Mary Moo Cow (Arthur became very upset when Adil and Aisheh sent D.W. a Turkish Mary Moo Cow CD) and a best friend named Andhur (AHN-door) who has a personality like Buster. His father owns a grocery store. He returned in the Season 13 episode, "The Frensky Family Fiasco", where Francine contacts him on advice on family get-togethers, and he also appeared in the Season 14 episode "The Long Road Home".

• Alberto Molina: Alberto Molina is the thirteen year old teenage boy who is 10 years older than his sister Vicita and one of a family of four, Arthur's neighbors. He became a character during season six, following the departure of Mr. Sipple. Alberto and his family hail from Ecuador. He practices kendo in his spare time, and enjoys reading El Conejo Bionico, the Spanish version of Bionic Bunny. In a continuous storyline spanning throughout the entire Season 14, his soccer ball, lost by Francine, makes a prolonged journey around the world, and can be spotted as it appears in every episode.

• Carl: A rabbit who George met in the Season 13 episode When Carl Met George. In this episode, when George attempts to make friends with him, Carl becomes terrified by George's dummy, Wally. Carl's mother consoles Carl, and then reveals to George that Carl has Aspergers syndrome, at which point George makes an effort to better understand Carl's condition and works towards establishing a friendship with him despite Carl's difficulties with social interaction. Carl shows an intense interest in trains, and is an exceptional artist.

• Catherine Frensky: is Francine's older sister, 16 years old. She is a monkey, is outgoing, reads teen magazines, and frequently hogs the phone. She is envied by Francine, since Francine believes that her parents favor her older sister and Catherine is better than Francine at many activities, particularly acrobatics and horseback riding. Though she and Francine usually fight, she can occasionally be very sisterly and takes care of Francine.

• Chip Crosswire: is Muffy's older brother who is a college student at Tallahassee Tech, a fictional school. He was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982, and his name was first subtly revealed on "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" (there were separate Christmas stockings for Chip and Muffy side by side in their fireplace), but was later directly mentioned in the episode "Phony Fern". His first appearance was in "Matchmaker, Match Breaker" when he comes home from college, where Muffy and Francine try to hook him up with Francine's sister Catherine.

• Cora: is Arthur, DW, and Kate's four-year-old cousin and daughter of Jessica. She is extremely self-centered, spoiled, and arrogant. Se was the flower girl at Lucy's wedding and, after being angered, shouts at Arthur making him lose the ring.

• James MacDonald: James MacDonald is Molly's younger brother, 4 years old. He is in Ms. Morgan's class at daycare, and is often shy. He is sometimes annoyed by D.W. In one episode D.W. would bug him to kiss her. It is implied he has a crush on D.W., but this is never verified.

• Kathryn "Kate" Read: is Arthur and D.W.'s baby sister, 1 year old. She's able to communicate with Pal and other animals but people who are older than she is dismiss it as "baby talk" gibberish, and Kate and the animals interpret grownups' talk likewise. She enjoys playing in her sandpit and shows remarkable intelligence for her age and limited knowledge, despite not being able to communicate with people older than herself.

• Lydia Fox: is a physically handicapped but highly intelligent fox girl who helps Brain get over his temporary confinement to a wheelchair in "The Wheel Deal." Through her tutoring, he learns how to play basketball using only one's arms, and almost wins a charity game of free-throws (though Lydia winds up taking over for the last few shots). Lydia Fox's character was created by a viewer of the show named Connor.

• Marina Ditillo: is Prunella's best friend, in 4th grade at Mighty Mountain Elementary School. She is a rabbit, blind, and loves Henry Skreever, the show's version of Harry Potter. She and Prunella met when Prunella unwillingly received a Braille edition of the latest Henry Skreever and let Marina borrow it, and since then they have become inseparable. Marina is notably good at yoga and joined Prunella and her mother, Wanda, in their early-morning yoga routine.

• Mei-Lin Barnes: Mei-Lin Barnes is Binky's baby sister and Baby Kate's best friend, 1 year old, who was adopted from China. In her debut (at the Chinese restaurant), she was talking to Baby Kate. She and her brother are very close to each other. She is apparently a bear.

• Molly MacDonald: is close friends with Binky, 9 years old. She is a rabbit, former antagonist, a senior member of the Tough Customers, and the sister of James MacDonald. She is good at giving advice, but dislikes the fact that everybody comes to her for it. Molly has a maroon hair that completely covers her eyes (they can be briefly seen in several episodes), giving her a rebellious appearance. She has a younger brother named James who is in D.W.'s preschool class. She became friends with D.W. and Arthur eventually, but both sides have agreed to keep this secret from their friends.

• Monique "Mo": Arthur's oldest cousin, whom Arthur remembers when she had been awful to him in the past reunions and tries to avoid her, until it is revealed that Mo isn't as bad as Arthur thought. She, like Arthur, plays the piano, and claims that Arthur is her favorite relative. Monique is a one-off character only appears in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe".

• Nadine: is D.W.'s imaginary friend. She portrays D.W.'s conscience, and usually appears when D.W. feels guilty, scared, or angry. She is 5 years old. Both girls are aware that Nadine is imaginary, since only D.W. sees her. One episode shows D.W. with her when she's much older, while another shows that D.W. does not need Nadine as much as she used to. She has long platinum blonde hair styled exotically in three pigtails and small buck teeth. She can create imaginary items and they can appear/disappear with magic.

• Rattles Ciccone: is another member of the Tough Customers, and is one of the antagonists. He is 10 years old, Rattles has been a Tough Customer member since the first season of the program. He wears a backwards baseball hat, black leather jacket, green T-shirt, blue jeans and high tops. He speaks with a Northern New Jersey accent. It was revealed in "Arthur Unraveled" that he has an affinity for knitting.

• Rubella Deegan: is Prunella's older teenage sister. She is very spiritual and obsessed with psychic and paranormal phenomena. She is typically depicted as mystical, and she often talks in a very dramatic tone. She often chides in on Prunella.

• Vicita Molina: is Arthur's new neighbor, 3 7/8 years old. Younger sister of Alberto Molina who moved in after Mr. Sipple moved out, introduced in sixth season. She often plays with D.W. and the Tibbles. Her family is from Ecuador.

Adults

• Mr. Armstrong: Sue Ellen's father, a diplomat. His job has forced him to move all across the world, they all enjoy the travel opportunities that come with it.

• Mrs. Armstrong: Sue Ellen's mother; She is a homemaker with a penchant for exotic clothes.

• Bailey: Bailey is Muffy's chauffeur and sometimes the Crosswire Family's butler. He also has a notable talent in creating kinetic art, and follows Muffy's orders without question, even when told to drive the Crosswire limo in quite dangerous fashion. His original name was James. He is a gray bloodhound whose eyes are usually closed or with a hat covering them. Bailey is 40 years old.

• Bubby: Francine and Catherine's maternal grandmother who was first seen in the background during Arthur's Perfect Christmas. In the Season 12 episode, Is that Kosher?, she was finally recognized as an official character. She was guest-voiced by Joan Rivers. Bubby is 65 years old.

• Mr. Barnes: Binky's father.

• Mrs. Barnes: Binky's mother, a nurse. She is very protective over her son, as seen especially in the episode Binky Goes Nuts

• Bitzi Lynn Baxter: Buster's mom,who is divorced. She is the editor-in-chief of the Elwood City Times. She's overprotective of Buster and a frantic character, but has settled down a bit in later seasons. (In the early Arthur books, she had blonde hair, although the later books and TV show depicted her with auburn hair.) Bitzi is 28 years old.

• Bo Baxter: Buster's father, who is divorced. He is a pilot. Buster flies with him around the United States in the spin-off Postcards from Buster series. In Postcards from Buster, he is shown with short brown hair and glasses. However, during his few appearances in earlier seasons of Arthur, his face is noticeably hidden from view, for instance behind a newspaper. His physical appearance has changed several times, and early appearances was partially concealed by various methods, such as Buster on his shoulders or Bo meeting him appearing as Santa Claus. Bo is 29 years old.

• Buster's Grandmother: Buster's maternal grandmother, Whom she lives in the same building as Buster and Bitzi. Buster's maternal grandmother is 51 years old.

• Coach Blisters: The Lakewood Elementary School Gym Coach who was mainly seen in earlier episodes.

• Coach Grimsled: Another gym coach. She has various debates with Coach Blisters.

• Miss Blank: A past substitute teacher of Mr. Ratburn's class. She was the class' favorite substitute teacher because she never showed up and the class had to be taught by Miss Sweetwater, who let them do coloring and gave them snacks.^[5]

• Mrs. Bofini: A past substitute teacher of Mr Ratburn's class. The class disliked her because she had the habit of chewing with her mouth open in front of the class.

• Mrs. Cardigan: Arthur's former piano teacher who eventually retired, and suggested him to take lessons from Dr. Fugue later on.

• Ms. Bryan: The Lakewood Elementary School Art teacher.

• Carl Manino: The owner and boss of the Sugar Bowl.

• Mrs. Dattilo: Marina's sighted mother. She was first seen in her daughter's second appearance in the Season 7 episode Prunella Sees the Light.

• David Loren Read: Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's father. Mr. Read runs a catering business from home and is frequently shown garnishing trays of hors d'œuvre either in the family kitchen or in a custom-designed workshop behind the garage. Many of his recipes are questionable at first glance, and Arthur and D.W. often refuse to eat them, but at times they genuinely appreciate his cooking. He is shown in a white sweater with blue accents and khaki pants, and sometimes has an apron and chefs hat on. In the books, he generally wears different clothes. David is 40 years old.

• Jane Williamson Read: Arthur, D.W., and Kate's mother. She has two younger sisters, Jessica and Lucy, and an older brother, Fred. Her father is Grandpa Dave. Mrs. Read is a work-at-home tax accountant. She has shaggy brown hair and wears a pink sweater with a white collared shirt and blue jeans. In the books, she generally wears different clothes. She is also from the Pittsburgh area, and knew Fred Rogers as a child. Jane is 36 years old.

• Grandma Thora Read: Grandma Thora is Arthur, D.W., and baby Kate's paternal grandmother and Loretta and David's mother, who is quite caring, but is a poor cook, as revealed in the episode "The Half-Baked Sale." Despite this, she was able to bake Arthur's birthday cake in one episode. She is a columnist. In a flashback in Clarissa is Cracked, Thora had three brothers. Gramdma Thora is David Read's mother. It is revealed in "April 9th" that she had gotten in a car accident (but was not hurt) when David was Arthur's age. Grandma Thora is based on Brown's own grandmother Thora, who encouraged him by saving his childhood drawings in a bottom drawer. Thora is 62 years old.

• Grandpa Dave: an aardvark. Grandpa Dave is Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's maternal grandfather and the father of the four aardvark children: Fred, Jane, Jessica, and Lucy. He lives on the family farm in the country, which has been in the family for over 67 years. In Grandpa Dave's Memory Album he is revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. Dave is 68 years old.

• Thora's mother: She is also David Read's maternal grandmother and Arthur, D.W., and baby Kate's paternal great-grandmother. She is seen as young woman in Clarissa is Cracked and as an elderly grandmother in Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe, where she wins the egg and spoon race. Thora's mother is 90 years old.

• Jessica: Jane's oldest younger sister, Lucy's youngest older sister, Fred's middle sister, and Dave's middle daughter. She is married to a man named Richard and has a daughter named Cora. She appears once in the episode D.W. Thinks Big for her sister Lucy's wedding. Jessica is 34 years old. Jessica's husband, Richard, is 35 years old. Their daughter, Cora, is 6 years old.

• Edwin "Ed" Billings: Neighbor of Grandpa Dave's. He always offers to help Dave around his aging farm, but Dave was too proud to accept it until his grandchildren showed him the value of accepting help from others to which Dave asks Ed what he knows about tractor engines.

• Loretta: Arthur's aunt from his father's side and his father David's sister. She is somewhat overbearing and excessively uses the word "dear" when speaking to Arthur's mother during her only appearance in Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe. Loretta is 32 years old.

• Lucy: Fred's youngest sister, Jane's youngest younger sister, Jessica's youngest sister, and Dave's youngest daughter. She appears in the episode "D.W. Thinks Big", where she is married, and D.W. saves her wedding ring. She is an aardvark with blonde hair. In the episodes Go to Your Room, D.W., D.W.'s Perfect Wish, and "D.W. Unties the Knot", Arthur and D.W. refer to Lucy as their cousin instead of their aunt, but she is really their aunt because she is their mom's sister; and the oldest cousin is Mo who is around the age of a middle schooler. Lucy is 28 years old.

• Fred: Dave's son, Jane, Jessica, and Lucy's brother and Arthur, D.W. and baby Kate's uncle. He was shown in Arthur's Perfect Christmas when he got into a truck accident. Fred is 38 years old.

• Mr. Walters: The father of Fern who is seen much less than his wife but was finally first seen in the episode "Phony Fern", plus in the episode Fernlets by Fern. He is a brown dog in a blue jacket. He taught Fern about computers.

• Doria Walters: Fern's mother. She works for a real estate company. She has an outgoing personality and is very confident and encouraging to her daughter, Fern (who would prefer it if she wasn't).

• Mr. Elkin: A past substitute teacher of Mr Ratburn's class. He was troublesome because his large antlers would knock students out of their seats.

• Edward "Ed" Crosswire: A very wealthy man who is Muffy and Chip's father, and the owner of a large car dealership called "Crosswire Motors". It was revealed that he never attended college; rather he received an honorary degree from Ivy University after his donation of a library. He is also the coach of Lakewood's soccer team. He was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982 and wasn't shown again until Season 1 of the cartoon show, where his appearance changed drastically. Ed is 38 years old.

• Millicent Crosswire: Muffy and Chip's aristocratic mother. She also enjoys going to operas, as well as attending and hosting fancy parties. She was first shown in Muffy's family portrait in the book Arthur Goes to Camp that was published in 1982 and wasn't shown again until Season 1 of the cartoon show, where her appearance changed drastically. Millicent is 43 years old.

• Emily's Mother: Emily's mother, who looks very different from her daughter. She makes many brief appearances, and in "Emily Swallows a Horse", she is seen in a gown, adorning herself which shows that she enjoys formal events. She is also seen in "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky"

• Emily's Father: Emily's father who is only seen during "Emily Swallows a Horse." and "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky". In the former episode, he is in bed, and his head is turned away, hiding his face. In the other episode he is seen as a brown monkey in a tuxedo. Emily is seen with Marie-Helene more than her parents which shows that they do not have much time for her. In a later episode, it is revealed that unlike his daughter and wife who are rabbits, he is a monkey.

• Mrs. Finck: One of the third grade teachers at Lakewood Elementary School. She is a teacher like Mrs. Sweetwater that does fun things with her class compared to Mr. Ratburn's hard work.

• Oliver Frensky: Catherine and Francine's dad, who works as a sanitation engineer for the local city dump. He states he was formerly a volunteer firefighter. He coaches the baseball team. He is very good-humored and is at times very child-like. Oliver is 44 years old.

• Laverne Frensky: Catherine and Francine's mother. Laverne is 37 years old.

• Grandpa Frensky: Oliver Frensky's father and Catherine and Francine's grandfather that owned an unnamed "hamburger castle" with unique hamburgers that is still open in the Background Blues episode. It is the show's version of White Castle. He also mentions Vingo Frensky, a barber for Abraham Lincoln in the show.

• Dr. Frederique Fugue: Once taught Arthur piano lessons and later filled in for Ms. Krasny to take Mr. Ratburn's class to Crown City for a singing chorus field trip. He was a chorister as a child and later sung with Whiffenpoofs, implying he attended Yale University. He is also an extremely strict teacher and "fires" many of his students. However, he shows a softer side during the Crown City trip, openly encouraging his students to have fun with their singing.

• Fritz Langley: Caretaker of the Elwood City Community Garden who sometimes suffers from arthritis in his hands while working. He eventually moves to the retirement community. He welcomes kid's to the "Groovy Garden" game on the Arthur/PBS Kids website.

• Mrs. Gutter: One of Arthur's past babysitters. Arthur disliked her, because she would play golf in the house.

• Harry Mills: Works at Bitzi's newspaper as a sports writer. Bitzi started dating him for a couple of seasons, but then broke off because she wanted more time to pursue other interests. Despite the break-up, he remained good friends with Buster and his mother as if nothing had happened.

• Herbert Haney: Mr. Haney is the lovable yet absentminded principal of Arthur's school. He, like George, suffers from dyslexia. He also seems to have bad luck: something goes wrong almost everywhere he goes. A running gag in the show is a random item falling on his head, usually unintentionally caused by another character, such as Francine throwing a baseball way off course in "Arthur Makes the Team" and Loretta Duong flipping the burgers too high in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe". Both ended up accidentally falling on Herbert's head. In addition, whenever he uses the PA system or a microphone, the system suffers from feedback. They also often call him "sir" instead of Mr. Haney, as if he were a stranger despite the fact that he is their principal. In addition to being principal, he is the MC of most of the community events. His name has been changed to Francis Haney since "Arthur's Number Nightmare".

• Mr. Higgins: An Elwood City mail carrier.

• Dr. Iris: She was the eye doctor who suggested that Arthur needed glasses in the first episode "Arthur's Eyes". (In the original Arthur book "Arthur's Eyes", Dr. Iris is a cat.)

• Ms. Krasny: The Lakewood Elementary School Music teacher. Her last name is named after Marc Brown's wife's middle name.

• Mr. Marco: A bear, and Arthur's second grade teacher. He is often seen during the series, but Arthur was only in his class through flashbacks. He was a moose in the books, but in the show he is an aardvark just like Arthur. He has zero-tolerance for cheating.

• Marie-Helene: Emily's French nanny, who takes care of Emily more than her parents and is apparently teaching her some French words.

• Ramon Molina: Arthur's new Ecuadorian neighbor, who moves in Mr. Sipple's old house with his family. He is revealed to own and run an Ecuadorian cuisine restaurant. Ramon is 40 years old.

• Mrs. Molina: Wife of Ramon Molina, and mother of Vicita and Alberto. In "Dancing Fools", she taught a children's dance class. Mrs. Molina is 33 years old.

• Neal Lundgren: The father of George Lundgren who is a carpenter running is own private wood repair shop in his garage and also teaches a shop class that his son sometimes attends.

• Mrs. Lundgren: George's mother who is seen much less than her husband; in fact she was only seen and heard in the episode "Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto" and a brief appearance in the episode "April 9th" Her name and job are still unknown.

• E.A. D'Poe/Ms. McWord: One of Ed Crosswire's teachers that now is the writer of "Scare Your Pants Off" (as E.A. D'Poe). A spoof of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps.

• Mr. Morgan Jenna's Father who was seen and heard from in the episode "Jenna's Bedtime Blues"

• Mrs. Morgan: Jenna's mother who very briefly appears in "Francine's New Best Friend" and “Elwood City Turns 100", she helped to make the costumes for the play using her sewing machine; it appears that she has a talent in sewing

• Ms. Morgan: D.W.'s preschool teacher, a gymnastics instructor, and Jenna's aunt.

• John Morris: John Morris, a former Lakewood Elementary School Janitor, had moved to Roswell, New Mexico to live with his daughter after breaking his leg during the Lakewood Fire on "April 9th". and is seen in the Postcards from Buster episode "Alien Adventure" when Buster visited New Mexico. Although he moved, he was seen on several episodes post "April 9th".

• Nigel Charles Ratburn: Nigel is Mr.Ratburn's first name (He was originally introduced as Emil in Season 1). Mr. Ratburn is Arthur and his friends' teacher, who genuinely loves teaching and wants to make sure his students are well-prepared for the future. His passions are homework, sometimes implied by Arthur that he literally gives out hundreds of math problems to his students to do, and puppetry; in one episode, he mends Thora's broken doll. He also enjoys magic tricks and spent a summer working at Jack's Joke Shop. He is also knowledgeable about Japanese lutes, such as the Biwa, but is noticeably incompetent with computers. He is a fanatic of the show "Spooky Poo", the show's parody of Scooby Doo. He is good-natured and friendly, but rather stern when it comes to rules and schoolwork. He enjoys desserts, and anything that Dave Read cooks. His character is based on one of Marc Brown's elementary school teachers.

• Rodentia Ratburn: Mr. Ratburn's sister, who once filled in for Mr. Ratburn for a day when he was sick. Her teaching methods are notably similar to those of Mrs. Sweetwater. The students initially liked the simplicity of her methods, but they proved way too childish for their age and were happy to have Mr. Ratburn back. In the later episode "Desk Wars", it would seem that she gave birth to a child, as Mr. Ratburn left for a phone call in which she told him he was an uncle.

• Paige Turner: Paige is Ms. Turner's first name. Ms. Turner is the calm, friendly, but strict librarian in charge of the Elwood City Library, whose rules are for everyone to be quiet in the library. Her hair color changes every season, from blonde to brown to red. It is hinted at various points that she may be dating Mr. Ratburn. She originally had a brown complexion when she first appeared in Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn, but was changed to white in all her later appearances. She is a rabbit.

• Mrs. Pariso: Francine's next door neighbor, who is very good at horseback riding and also won prizes at Wimbledon. She turned 75 years old on an episode of Postcards From Buster. She banged on Francine's wall when she first moved in to their apartment building, which made Francine think she was mean, starting a brief rivalry, but the two became good friends in the end. Francine later explained that the reason Mrs. Pariso was mean because she was lonely. She kind of ignored Francine and Prunella when they disturbed her.

• Hoprah Linseed: A famous inspirational speaker with her own talkshow and issued an autobiography. She is a reference to Oprah Winfrey.

• Patty Jones: The woman who played Mary Moo Cow, who later appeared as a newscaster for the TV show "Stock Market Today".

• Beauregard Poulet: The proprietor of the "Chickin' Lickin" restaurant chain who speaks with a Southern dialect. He and his restaurant business are a parody of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

• Mr. Powers: Brain's father, who appears to have average intelligence compared to The Brain. Not much is known about him, and although he occasionally helps out in the ice cream shop and its website, he was never shown to have any other job.

• Mrs. Powers: Brain's mother, who owns and runs the ice cream shop. She experiments with her ice cream flavors similar to Dave Reed's cooking. She was originally shown with a brown complexion and brown hair but she is now seen with a light complexion and blonde cream-colored hair.

• Mrs. Robertson: The Lakewood Elementary School Kindergarten teacher who is now retired. Brain was a student once in her class.

• Mr. Sanders: The landlord who works for the apartment building where the Frensky family live.

• Sarah MacGrady: Sarah is Mrs. MacGrady's first name. Mrs. MacGrady is the lunch lady at Lakewood Elementary school, where Arthur and his friends study. She is full of unconventional wisdom, and is Grandma Thora's bingo buddy. She commonly wears a pink shirt and white pants. She, like Prunella, enjoys fortune telling. In "The Great MacGrady", Mrs. MacGrady was diagnosed with cancer. She has since continued to work at Lakewood so supposedly she is recovering from cancer. In the same episode, her name was changed to Leah MacGrady (this is a tribute to Leah Ryan, a writer with cancer who co-wrote the episode. Ryan died shortly before finishing the script). She loses hair from chemotherapy, which grows back on "Prunella and the Haunted Locker".

• Mr. Sipple: Arthur's next-door neighbor from Season 1 to 6, who enjoys grilling fish late at night and comes from a place where making faces on a bike means bring the biker a cabbage. He moves out of the neighborhood in Season 6, and the Molinas move in to his home. He has only spoken twice in the entire series, and has not since.

• Miss Sweetwater: She is also a third grade teacher for another Lakewood Elementary School class. She does fun things with her students like singing songs (such as "I Like Fudge") on her guitar. In the early Arthur books, she was depicted as a cat, but the cartoon and later books depicted her as a rabbit.

• Mrs. Teracini: A grandmother to one of the children in D.W.'s Class. She is very old and can't see or remember names very well, as she called the "Tibble Twins" the "Toggle Twins".

• Mrs. Tibble: The grandmother of Tommy and Timmy Tibble. (In early Arthur books, Mrs. Tibble is a human, however many newer books and the show have her as a bear.) She lives with the twins and has gray hair tied in a high bun. Mrs. Tibble is 53 years old.

• Miss Tingley: Principal Haney's secretary. One time she was afraid of Miss Sweetwater's singing and Mr. Haney's sawing-in-half magic trick.

• Mrs. Tremello: A past substitute teacher of Mr Ratburn's class. She was disliked by the class because she apparently mumbled everything she said.

• Wanda Deegan: She is a rat, and is Rubella and Prunella's mother. She enjoys yoga.

Main article: Bionic Bunny

• Wilbur Rabbit: The actor who plays Bionic Bunny. He wears glasses exactly like Arthur's.

• Mrs. Woods: Perky's owner. Her grouchy dog, Perky (aka Jaws), is Pal's mother.

• Mrs. Willington: She is the lady that Arthur raked leaves with in season one.

Other Guest stars

• Alex Trebek (called Alex Lebek): Alex Trebek appears in the episode Arthur and the Big Riddle as the host of the Riddle Quest game show.
• Art Garfunkel: Art Garfunkel appears in two Arthur episodes. He first appears in the episode The Ballad of Buster Baxter, and then later appears in Elwood City Turns 100! as one of the guests that Muffy invites to the play.
• Arthur Ganson: Arthur Ganson appears in the episode Muffy's Art Attack.
• The Backstreet Boys (Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, and Kevin Richardson): The Backstreet Boys appear in the episode Arthur, It's Only Rock 'N' Roll.
• Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers (Tom and Ray Magliozzi): The Car Talk hosts appear in the episode Pick a Car, Any Car, where Arthur calls them about their car when it is about to go to the junkyard.
• Matt Damon: Matt Damon appears in the episode The Making of Arthur as the host of a show "Postcards from You" (inspired by the "Postcards from You" segment that has been the mid-show feature on Arthur since Season 11 and the feature on the second season of "Postcards from Buster").
• Edgar Rentería: Edgar Rentería also appears in The Curse of the Grebes also playing a Grebe, being Bateria.
• Frank Gehry: Frank Gehry appears in the episode Castles in the Sky, and helps the gang create a new tree house, although they don't know he is Frank Gehry until he gives them a signed photo of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
• Fred Rogers: Mr. Rogers appears on the episode Arthur Meets Mr. Rogers. He visits Arthur's house and Arthur is embarrassed because he thinks that Mr. Rogers Neighborhood is a baby show. Other people think that too. But, when Mr. Rogers comes for a visit to Arthur's class, they all change their minds.
• Jack Prelutsky: Jack Prelutsky appears on the episode I'm a Poet, as the judge of a poetry contest. At the end of the contest, he can't decide who's the winner, so he says "I hate contests. You all win".
• Joan Rivers: Joan Rivers appears as Francine's grandmother.
• Johnny Damon: Johnny Damon also appears in The Curse of the Grebes, also playing a member of the Elwood City Grebes as Playmon.
• Joshua Redman: Joshua Redman appears in the episode My Music Rules as Francine's second-cousin-twice-removed, who they call "Uncle Josh". He gets invited by Arthur and Francine.
• Koko Taylor: Koko Taylor appears in the episode Big Horns George, and is Alan "The Brain"'s favorite blues musician.
• Lance Armstrong: Lance Armstrong appears in "Room to Ride" and "The Great MacGrady".
• Larry King: Larry King appears in the "And Now a Word From Us Kids" section of the episode Elwood City Turns 100! and interviews the gang.
• Michelle Kwan: Michelle Kwan appears in the episode The Good Sport, as the hostess of the Athlete of the Year Award at Lakewood Elementary. It is also said that she graduated from Lakewood Elementary in that series.
• Mike Fincke: Mike Fincke appears in the episode Buster Spaces Out, when Buster, Arthur, Francine, Muffy, George and Carl are trying to launch a rocket.
• Mike Timlin: Mike Timlin appears in the episode The Curse of the Grebes, playing a member of the Elwood City Grebes, being Winlin.
• Ming Tsai: Ming Tsai appears in the episode What's Cooking? as a judge for Arthur's school in a kid cooking contest.
• Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman appears in the episode Falafelosophy, where he offers Sue Ellen advice about the graphic novel she is writing after meeting her at a falafel stand.^[6]
• Rodney Gilfry: Rodney Gilfry appears in the episode Lights, Camera, Opera as he has a role in the Carmen opera that Muffy and Ed Crosswire see.
• Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal also appears in the episode Big Horns George with Koko Taylor.
• Yo-Yo Ma: Yo-Yo Ma appears in the episode My Music Rules with Joshua Redman. He is the musician that D.W. invites to the library.

Animals and pets

• Pal: Arthur's pet dog. D.W. often refers to him as "Arthur's crazy dog". When he was a puppy, he was easily excited and often destroyed the house, but Arthur was able to train him. He is revealed to be able to speak in some episodes, but other than Kate and most other animals, no one can understand him. When he does speak, he speaks properly with an English accent.
• Amigo: the Molinas' dog. He first appears in the episode "Arthur and Los Vecinos". D.W. is afraid of him at first, but she gets over it quickly. Like Pal, Amigo has been shown to speak in some episodes. "Amigo" means "friend" (or "pal") in Spanish.
• Toady Wartface: A toad by D.W.; she was found near Spanky's grave and became D.W.'s pet, filling the void Spanky left. She is released afterwards. She later appears in "The Great Sock Mystery" and "The Great Lint Rush", revealing that she now lives in the Reads' yard and has since married Mr. Toad.
• Spanky: D.W.'s pet parakeet. He dies in "So Long, Spanky" and was actually buried in a grave. He is seen again in D.W.'s story as a bald eagle.
• Nemo: Francine's cat, also Pal's worst enemy. In the first episode he is shown in, however, they are friends. Arthur also disliked him at first, mistaking his playful antics for hostility due to his general dislike of cats. His facial features changed drastically after his debut. Before he was called "Nemo", he was called "Rose Petal", by Catherine Frensky, Francine's older sister. In the later episodes, he and Pal were mortal enemies again.
• Perky: Pal's mother. She appears in "Arthur's Pet Business". She was once infamous for harboring a grouchy attitude, which caused the mailman to nickname her "Jaws", but it might be because she was pregnant. Along with Pal, Perky had two other puppies.
• Walter Kapowski: A deer that D.W. meets in the outdoors, D.W. wants to take Walter home but her parents tell her it's not allowed. Walter is also seen in other episodes when D.W day dreams or imagines her perfect world.
• Killer: A stray dog that was found on Grandma Thora's porch. She had been to the pound many times and was known for being vicious. It is unknown who her previous owner was, but her current owner is Grandma Thora. Pal and Amigo were once afraid of her because of her bite, but her reputation was saved when she rescued Nemo by barking at some firefighters on a rainy day. Killer is shown on the very early books as Grandma Thora's dog, but she isn't introduced on the TV series until season 9.
• Snowball: D.W.'s pet snowball that melted one day. D.W. got very upset over it and thinks that Arthur stole it. In a later episode, D.W. thinks that she found her snowball, but it once again is lost. It is revealed that the snowball was actually a sno-cone without syrup flavoring on it that Arthur ordered for D.W. along with his mom's cake. It was on sale at Brain's ice cream parlor and he ordered it without the normal chocolate syrup. Later, it is revealed in an episode epilogue that Buster was right and the snowball was deliberately removed by aliens as part of an experiment testing human (or at least anthropomorphic aardvark) behavior.
• Fur Elise: Dr. Frederique Fugue's cat from the Arthur episode,"D.W.'s Furry Freak out."
• Pepe: A flea friend of Pal and Kate who tells stories. He is first introduced in "Mei Ling Takes a Stand".

One-Time Characters

• Cousin Cora: Arthur and D.W.'s cousin who appears in "D.W. Thinks Big". She acts like a brat when alone with D.W. but acts like a nice girl when adults are around. Her spoiled brat nature is later exposed at a wedding.

References

1. ^ Shultz, Paul (1997-10-14). "KING 'ARTHUR' PBS' GENTLE AARDVARK RULES KIDS' TV; HIS SECOND SEASON BEGINS ON MONDAY". New York Times. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1997/10/14/1997-10-14_king__arthur__pbs__gentle_aa.html. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
2. ^ http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/help/answers/faq_friends.html?cat=faq
3. ^ Gaffeny, Dennis (2006-12-18). "Censured PBS Bunny Returns, Briefly". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/arts/television/18bust.html. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
4. ^ Arthur #1409 "In My Africa"
5. ^ Arthur #127 "Arthur`s Substitute Teacher Trouble"
6. ^ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/09/neil-gaiman-gets-animated-on-arthur/