Harvey Lipschultz (TV character)

Infobox character
name = Harvey Lipschultz
series = Boston Public
colour =


caption = Fyvush Finkel as Harvey Lipschultz
first = episode 1x01
"Chapter One"
last = episode 4x15
"Chapter Eighty-One"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
occupation = Teacher (American History)
religion = Jewish
title =
family =
spouse = Helen (deceased)
children = Lester (son)
relatives = unnamed grandson, unnamed great-grandchildren
episode = 81
portrayer = Fyvush Finkel
creator = David E. Kelley

Harvey Lipschultz is a fictional character on the FOX drama "Boston Public" played by Fyvush Finkel throughout the show's entire run.

Character history

Harvey was a somewhat stereotypical elderly Jewish man. He was not a fan of political correctness, and his character seemed to switch from being a well-meaning old man that once met with the football team to ask them not to discriminate against a player who was rumored to be gay, while other times he came off as an Archie Bunker-type bigot or a simple comical buffoon of a bygone era.

As a young man, Harvey served in World War II. On the night before he left to go to Europe, he had a one-night stand with an African-American woman who later gave birth to a son, Lester, who was able to track down Harvey and introduce him to his family, including Lester's children and grandchildren. After the war, Harvey came home and married a woman named Helen and remained faithful to her until she died, although she did have an affair. He frequently reflected back on Helen who died shortly before the series began. In Season 3, a stock dip erased Harvey's life savings.

Often threatening to retire and also threatened with being fired, Harvey was able to continue working after he agreed to attend racial sensitivity classes in Season 1, and in Season 3, was barely saved from retirement by some last minute budget restructuring.