Biography for
Moe Szyslak (Character)
from "The Simpsons" (1989)

Moe Szyslak is the owner of Moe's Tavern, a seedy bar patronized primarily by problem drinkers like Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson. It was briefly popular in 1991 when Moe, suffering from financial problems, stole a drink idea that Homer invented. The bar's popularity was destroyed when Homer revealed the secret recipe just as Moe was about to sell its rights to Tipsy McStagger's nationally franchised bar and grill. In 1995, he decided to turn the bar into a family restaurant: Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag. It started strongly, but when Moe's temper and the antics of children did not mix, he went back to the old ways. Later he tried to convert the bar into a trendy postmodern nightclub and an English pub.

Moe was a child actor; he played "Smelly" in the Our Gang comedies. When he got older he became a boxer, but he never made it to the big time. He went back into acting in 1974 to audition for the role of Dr. Tad Winslow on the soap opera "It Never Ends." He was passed over by the producers for being too ugly. In 2000, after having plastic surgery, the producers of the show hired him to take over the role, but they fired him when a set fell on his face and made him ugly again.

Moe has serious emotional problems that have driven him to attempt suicide, but none have been successful. He also has a very short temper, made worse by the constant prank calls from Bart Simpson, none of which he has ever successfully traced. His love life has not been so lucky either. He dated a waitress during the Flaming Moe's era, but she left to pursue a movie career. Later he met a girl named Renée and lavished her with so many presents that he maxed out his credit card. He and Homer attempted to fake a car theft and collect the insurance money after it was destroyed, but Homer screwed up and ended up in jail. When Moe admitted this to Renée, she left him.

He has done charity work including reading to sick children at the hospital and to the homeless, feeding hungry people in third world countries, and rescuing children who were stranded on an island.