Alfred Hofstadter

Alfred Hofstadter
Background information
Television programs	The Big Bang Theory
Portrayed by	Judd Hirsch
Character information
Full name	Dr. Alfred Hofstadter
Other names	Doctor Hofstader
Personality	Friendly, nice, gentle, caring, intelligent, charming, loving, sharp-tonged and cynical (towards his ex-wife)
Appearance	Tall, blackish-grey hair, grey beard
Occupation	Anthropologist
Alignment	Good
Nationality	American
Relatives	Beverly Hofstadter (ex-wife) Unnamed daughter Leonard Hofstadter (son) Michael Hofstadter (son) Unnamed son-in-law Penny Hofstadter (daughter-in-law) Unnamed daughter-in-law Five unnamed grandsons (via daughter) Unborn grandchild (via Leonard) Unnamed grandchildren (via Michael)
Allies	Leonard Hofstadter, Penny Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, Rajesh Koothrappali, Amy Farrah Fowler, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, Stuart Bloom, Mary Cooper, Wyatt, Susan, Randall
Enemies	Beverly Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper (at times)
Likes	Mary Cooper, insults against his ex-wife, Penny being with Leonard, anthropology
Dislikes	Sheldon's inappropriate comments, his ex-wife
Fate	Is driven by Leonard to the airport so he can return home to New York
Quote	I'm an agnostic myself, but I have prayed many times to God to turn my wife into a pillar of salt.

Dr. Alfred Hofstadter, Ph.D., is the father of Leonard Hofstadter.

Biography

Alfred is an anthropologist, living in New Jersey. He has worked with Dr. Louis Leakey whose surname ends up being his son Leonard's middle name ("The Middle-Earth Paradigm").

Marriage and Parenthood

At some point, Alfred married a woman named Beverly, but it's unknown how they got together. They had three children: Leonard, Michael and an unnamed daughter. The marriage was a loveless one, with Beverly being nothing but cold, emasculating, unaffectionate and distant towards Alfred and unmotherly towards their children. Beverly also ran an unbearably tight ship and seems to have cowed Alfred into following into her footsteps during their marriage. Leonard's relationship with Alfred was obviously a good one, given the latter's friendliness, but it also seemed to have been distant as Alfred would've likely spent a lot of time away from home, working in the field, unless he never worked away from home.

Although much of Leonard's childhood resentment stems from Beverly, Leonard has described how the only father-son time Alfred spent with him was with a 2,000-year-old skeleton of an Etruscan child ("The Fish Guts Displacement"). Leonard's lack of love from his parents as a child, particularly his mother, led him to build a hugging machine at the age of 10, which Alfred used to borrow ("The Maternal Capacitance").

Divorce

Alfred's marriage to Beverly ended after he had an affair with a waitress from the university cafeteria. Beverly claims that Alfred's reasoning for cheating was that Beverly was "cold, emasculating and hadn't shown him affection for years". There's no love lost between them with Alfred describing Beverly as his "hateful shrew." and her calling him a "wrinkled old bastard." According to Beverly, she and Alfred only had intercourse for the purposes of reproduction, except for a pro forma consummation of their marriage. In 2009, Beverly told Penny that she hadn't had intercourse with Alfred in eight years and had been responsible for her own orgasms since 1982. From Leonard's comments, his father's physical health has improved since his divorce from Beverly.

Alfred first appears when he and Leonard arrive at the apartment building and head up to Apartment 4A. He was curious to when the elevator would be fixed and Leonard said 'Any day, now' and so they took the stairs as everyone had to, which was okay with Alfred since he would prefer to have a heart attack rather than see Beverly. On the way up, he referred to Penny as a sweetie, showing that he seems to have been more supportive and respectful of her relationship with Leonard than Beverly has ever been.

Alfred arrives with Mary at 4A and later attends his son's wedding redo ceremony. They spend the evening talking, but do not have an affair. They do announce that they plan on visiting each other at their homes in the future.

Personality

Despite divorcing his ex-wife, Beverly, because of an affair he had, and has his flaws, Alfred is not an awful person, he just had a difficult relationship with her. He is actually a charming, nice, gentle, caring, and intelligent man who cares and is proud of his son Leonard much more than Beverly is. He is a respectful person, referring to Sheldon as 'Dr. Cooper' out of respect for the latter's status.

His kind, friendly, loving and caring nature was also displayed as he and Leonard climb the stairs. Alfred says that Leonard's got a good one there (a good gal) and he asks "How the hell did you do that" which came across as gentle ribbing from Alfred as opposed to dismissiveness when Beverly says the same sort of thing.

Alfred could be sharp-tongued and extremely cynical at times, especially where his ex-wife is concerned: after kindly and politely greeting his companions before Leonard and Penny's wedding, Alfred (without missing a beat) referred to Beverly as 'my hateful shrew', and stating later on that the thought of not having to see her sour face in the morning was enthralling to him. In drastic contrast, he immediately hit it off with Mary Cooper, with whom he bonded over their contempt for Beverly. He showed himself to be rather gentlemanly, stating that despite his own agnosticism he genuinely respected Mary's own, whereas Beverly mirthlessly scorned Christianity to Mary's face.

External links

• Alfred Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory Wiki

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Media The Big Bang Theory • Young Sheldon • Video Characters Main Characters: Leonard Hofstadter • Sheldon Cooper • Penny Hofstadter • Howard Wolowitz • Rajesh Koothrappali • Amy Farrah Fowler • Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz • Stuart Bloom • Emily Sweeney • Leslie Winkle Recurring Characters: Barry Kripke • Wil Wheaton • Althea • Kurt • Eric Gablehauser • Mary Cooper • Debbie Wolowitz • V.M. Koothrappali • Mrs. Koothrappali • Mike • Stephanie Barnett • Beverley Hofstadter • President Siebert • Zack Johnson • Priya Koothrappali • Wyatt • Mike Rostenkowski • Mrs. Rostenkowski • Alex Jensen • Janine Davis • Lucy • Professor Proton • David Gibbs • Claire • Stephen Hawking • Alfred Hofstadter • Colonel Richard Williams • Denise Minor Characters: Christy Vanderbel • Lalita Gupta • Toby Loobenfeld • Dennis Kim • Dimitri • Missy Cooper • Blain • Tom • Octavia • Maria • Lourdes • Ramona Nowitzki • Kathy O'Brian • David Underhill • Alicia • Mikayla • Captain Sweatpants • Lonely Larry • Dr. Crawley • Bethany • Sarah • Skeeter • Professor Laughlin • Abby • Martha • Officer Hackett • Sandy • Glen • Venkatesh Koothrappali • Sebastian • Louie/Louise • Joyce Kim • Mrs. Gunderson • Joy • Mrs. Fowler • Angela Page • Professor Glenn • Mrs. Latham • Todd Zarnecki • Susan • Randall • Colonel Richard Williams Episodes Season 1: Pilot • The Big Bran Hypothesis • The Fuzzy Boots Corollary • The Luminous Fish Effect • The Hamburger Postulate • The Middle-Earth Paradigm • The Dumpling Paradox • The Grasshopper Experiment • The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization • The Loobenfeld Decay • The Pancake Batter Anomaly • The Jerusalem Duality • The Bat Jar Conjecture • The Nerdvana Annihilation • The Porkchop Indeterminacy • The Peanut Reaction • The Tangerine Factor Season 2: The Bad Fish Paradigm • The Codpiece Topology • The Barbarian Sublimation • The Griffin Equivalency • The Euclid Alternative • The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem • The Panty Piñata Polarization • The Lizard-Spock Expansion • The White Asparagus Triangulation • The Vartabedian Conundrum • The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis • The Killer Robot Instability • The Friendship Algorithm • The Financial Permeability • The Maternal Capacitance • The Cushion Saturation • The Terminator Decoupling • The Work Song Nanocluster • The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition • The Hofstadter Isotope • The Vegas Renormalization • The Classified Materials Turbulence • The Monopolar Expedition Season 3: The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation • The Jiminy Conjecture • The Gothowitz Deviation • The Pirate Solution • The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary • The Cornhusker Vortex • The Guitarist Amplification • The Adhesive Duck Deficiency • The Vengeance Formulation • The Gorilla Experiment • The Maternal Congruence • The Psychic Vortex • The Bozeman Reaction • The Einstein Approximation • The Large Hadron Collision • The Excelsior Acquisition • The Precious Fragmentation • The Pants Alternative • The Wheaton Recurrence • The Spaghetti Catalyst • The Plimpton Stimulation • The Staircase Implementation • The Lunar Excitation Season 4: The Robotic Manipulation • The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification • The Zazzy Substitution • The Hot Troll Deviation • The Desperation Emanation • The Irish Pub Formulation • The Apology Insufficiency • The 21-Second Excitation • The Boyfriend Complexity • The Alien Parasite Hypothesis • The Justice League Recombination • The Bus Pants Utilization • The Love Car Displacement • The Thespian Catalyst • The Benefactor Factor • The Cohabitation Formulation • The Toast Derivation • The Prestidigitation Approximation • The Zarnecki Incursion • The Herb Garden Germination • The Agreement Dissection • The Wildebeest Implementation • The Engagement Reaction • The Roommate Transmogrification Season 5: The Skank Reflex Analysis • The Infestation Hypothesis • The Pulled Groin Extrapolation • The Wiggly Finger Catalyst • The Russian Rocket Reaction • The Rhinitis Revelation • The Good Guy Fluctuation • The Isolation Permutation • The Ornithophobia Diffusion • The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition • The Speckerman Recurrence • The Shiny Trinket Maneuver • The Recombination Hypothesis • The Beta Test Initiation • The Friendship Contraction • The Vacation Solution • The Rothman Disintegration • The Werewolf Transformation • The Weekend Vortex • The Transporter Malfunction • The Hawking Excitation • The Stag Convergence • The Launch Acceleration • The Countdown Reflection Season 6: The Date Night Variable • The Decoupling Fluctuation • The Higgs Boson Observation • The Re-Entry Minimization • The Holographic Excitation • The Extract Obliteration • The Habitation Configuration • The 43 Peculiarity • The Parking Lot Escalation • The Fish Guts Displacement • The Santa Simulation • The Egg Salad Equivalency • The Bakersfield Expedition • The Cooper/Kripke Inversion • The Spoiler Alert Segmentation • The Tangible Affection Proof • The Monster Isolation • The Contractual Obligation Implementation • The Closet Reconfiguration • The Tenure Turbulence • The Closure Alternative • The Proton Resurgence • The Love Spell Potential • The Bon Voyage Reaction Season 7: The Hofstadter Insufficiency • The Deception Verification • The Scavenger Vortex • The Raiders Minimization • The Workplace Proximity • The Romance Resonance • The Proton Displacement • The Itchy Brain Simulation • The Thanksgiving Decoupling • The Discovery Dissipation • The Cooper Extraction • The Hesitation Ramification • The Occupation Recalibration • The Convention Conundrum • The Locomotive Manipulation • The Table Polarization • The Friendship Turbulence • The Mommy Observation • The Indecision Amalgamation • The Relationship Diremption • The Anything Can Happen Recurrence • The Proton Transmogrification • The Gorilla Dissolution • The Status Quo Combustion Season 8: The Locomotion Interruption • The Junior Professor Solution • The First Pitch Insufficiency • The Hook-up Reverberation • The Focus Attenuation • The Expedition Approximation • The Misinterpretation Agitation • The Prom Equivalency • The Septum Deviation • The Champagne Reflection • The Clean Room Infiltration • The Space Probe Disintegration • The Anxiety Optimization • The Troll Manifestation • The Comic Book Store Regeneration • The Intimacy Acceleration • The Colonization Application • The Leftover Thermalization • The Skywalker Incursion • The Fortification Implementation • The Communication Deterioration • The Graduation Transmission • The Maternal Combustion • The Commitment Determination Season 9: The Matrimonial Momentum • The Separation Oscillation • The Bachelor Party Corrosion • The 2003 Approximation • The Perspiration Implementation • The Helium Insufficiency • The Spock Resonance • The Mystery Date Observation • The Platonic Permutation • The Earworm Reverberation • The Opening Night Excitation • The Sales Call Sublimation • The Empathy Optimization • The Meemaw Materialization • The Valentino Submergence • The Positive Negative Reaction • The Celebration Experimentation • The Application Deterioration • The Solder Excursion Diversion • The Big Bear Precipitation • The Viewing Party Combustion • The Fermentation Bifurcation • The Line Substitution Solution • The Convergence-Convergence Season 10: The Conjugal Conjecture • The Military Miniaturization • The Dependence Transcendence • The Cohabitation Experimentation • The Hot Tub Contamination • The Fetal Kick Catalyst • The Veracity Elasticity • The Brain Bowl Incubation • The Geology Elevation • The Property Division Collision • The Birthday Synchronicity • The Holiday Summation • The Romance Recalibration • The Emotion Detection Automation • The Locomotion Reverberation • The Allowance Evaporation • The Comic-Con Conundrum • The Escape Hatch Identification • The Collaboration Fluctuation • The Recollection Dissipation • The Separation Agitation • The Cognition Regeneration • The Gyroscopic Collapse • The Long Distance Dissonance Season 11: The Proposal Proposal • The Retraction Reaction • The Relaxation Integration • The Explosion Implosion • The Collaboration Contamination • The Proton Regeneration • The Geology Methodology • The Tesla Recoil • The Bitcoin Entanglement • The Confidence Erosion • The Celebration Reverberation • The Matrimonial Metric • The Solo Oscillation • The Separation Triangulation • The Novelization Correlation • The Neonatal Nomenclature • The Athenaeum Allocation • The Gates Excitation • The Tenant Disassociation • The Reclusive Potential • The Comet Polarization • The Monetary Insufficiency • The Sibling Realignment • The Bow Tie Asymmetry Season 12: The Conjugal Configuration • The Wedding Gift Wormhole • The Procreation Calculation • The Tam Turbulence • The Planetarium Collision • The Imitation Perturbation • The Grant Allocation Derivation • The Consummation Deviation • The Citation Negation • The VCR Illumination • The Paintball Scattering • The Propagation Proposition • The Confirmation Polarization • The Meteorite Manifestation • The Donation Oscillation • The D & D Vortex • The Conference Valuation • The Laureate Accumulation • The Inspiration Deprivation • The Decision Reverberation • The Plagiarism Schism • The Maternal Conclusion • The Change Constant • The Stockholm Syndrome Locations The Apartment Building • Apartment 4A • Apartment 4B • The Elevator • California Institute of Technology • Wolowitz House • The Comic Center of Pasadena • Pasadena • The Cheesecake Factory • Raj's Apartment • Amy's Apartment • Howard and Bernadette's Apartment • The Stairs • Sheldon's Old Office • Raj's Old Office • Sheldon's New Office • Howard's Lab • The University Cafeteria • Kripke's Plasma Lab • International Space Station • The Kinetics Lab Songs Transportations See Also Unaired Pilot