"That must be her now. A half hour early I might add, well who could blame her? Sometimes I can't wait to touch myself either."
—Bud Bundy
Bud Bundy is the son of Al and Peggy Bundy, and the brother of Kelly Bundy, and is considered to be one of the smartest Bundys, as he not only graduated from high school, but also went to and graduated from college.
Biography
He was born on January 22, 1974 to Al and Peggy Bundy, making him about three years younger than Kelly.
In the season seven episode, Christmas, Bud's first words as a baby were "Playboys! Hooters!". After Kelly makes fun of him, Peg reminds her that he only knows those words, but he quickly mutters "Like hell". He also able to say "The dog's been eating your slippers" as Al tempts them with giving only one of them a nice gift for Christmas.
Growing up, he has been a straight A student and showed that he has more intelligence than the rest of the Bundys. He ended up attending James K. Polk High School, the same high school as his parents and sister, even talking with her in the hallway when they were attending at the same time. He continued to earn good grades, even being among a select few to have a chance to meet U.S. President George H.W. Bush, but lost out when Al gave the money he needed for the trip to Kelly, so she could buy a new dress in "Weenie Tot Lovers & Other Strangers".
It appeared that he was bullied by some of the students, such as Heather McCoy, who tricked him into going skinny dipping before stealing his clothes and hanging his underwear on a flag pole in 6th grade and then did something similar to him again at the dance in season 4's What Goes Around Came Around. In season 10's Blond and Blonder, he was suppose to attend prom with Kelly's friend, Ashley, but she stood him up and left him a note that said "Bite Me, Nerd Boy!" when arrived at her house. He also mentions getting dunked face first into the toilets at school by other students.
Besides the lack of a real girlfriend during most of high school, he also seems to lack friends, though in the early seasons, he brings home his friends Teddy and Boz and refers to the group as "The Amigos", even having their own salute. He also mentions having a friend named Joey from season 1 through season 5, though he is never seen.
Even though he had played sports growing up, he was never as talented or athletic as his father and usually played on recreational teams rather than the high school team. Some of the sports he's played:
- Soccer - Reepers
- Softball - New Market Mallers
- Bowling - Al's bowling team
After graduating from Polk High in 1992, he informs the family that he has gotten a scholarship and chooses to go to a junior college across town. At the same time, he also brings up his new persona, Grandmaster B. In season 7, he is able to get a $25,000 grant and transfer to Trumaine University and live in the dorms on campus. He also starts a short lived fraternity called Alpha Gonna Get'um. In Luck of the Bundys, he tells the family that he was accepted into another fraternity, Gamma Gamma Sigma Pi, before it's frat house is destroyed by Kelly in a stunt that went wrong. He eventually makes the Dean's List and applies to attend Oxford University. He finally graduates from Trumaine University in 1996, while working at the Illinois DMV, before being fired due to being too efficient at his job and ends as a chimney sweep apprentice in A Shoe Room With A View, before settling on being a talent agent the duration of the series.
Besides his job with the DMV, he has done other jobs, most notably as Kelly's agent (in addition to being an agent for actresses Tina Yothers and Delta Burke and the short lived mother-daughter duo, The Juggs) who takes a significant portion of her paycheck. Other jobs include an operator for the Virgin Hotline, running a lemonade stand in the middle of winter, and selling maps of the stars homes.
Personality
Bud was your typical girl crazy teenage boy. Desperate for any female contact, and we do mean contact. The problem was twofold; being as shallow as he was he didn't care about their personality, and they didn't like his to begin with. This led him to inventing several false identities to cover up his shortcomings.
Although he is often ridiculed for being a virgin, a careful examination of the episodes shows he has had sex at least seven times. A few of the women include:
- Marcy's niece, Amber
- Janey, the former fiancée of Cousin Jimmy.
- Dee Anna, the current fiancée of Cousin Jimmy.
- Gary, Al's feminine boss and owner of Gary's Shoes.
Bud is, however, very intelligent, and was the only one in the family to go to college. He worked hard on his grades, and Peggy once said he got straight A's. So it is possible that Bud would be able to make something of his life. At the same time however he still manages to be just as morally depraved as the rest of his family.
Gallery
April May June. Wife and mother of Bud's three amazingly well-adjusted children, all of whom were adopted.
Grandmaster B
When Bud began Junior College across town from his home, he determined that the college girls would go for him if he took on the personality of a "bad-boy rapper from the streets of New York." Thus was born Bud's alternate personality - Grandmaster B. Naturally, the rest of the family refused to play along - especially in front of the girls he brought home. Instead, they referred to him as:
Episode 6.03 - If Al Had A Hammer
- Ghostbuster B - Kelly
- Mixmaster B - Jill (Blonde girl he met at junior college)
- Grandma B - Kelly
- Grand Marshall B - Peg
- Bed Wetter B - Kelly
- Court Jester B - Peg
- Bushwhacker - Kelly
- Burgermeister - Peg
- Buckminster - Al
- Grand Flasher - Jill
- Dustbuster - Jill
Episode 6.04 - Cheese, Cues, and Blood
- Grasshopper - Al
- Gas Passer - Al
- Bass Hefter - Al
- Grandfather B - Al
Episode 6.07 - If I Could See Me Now
- Cross-dresser B - Kelly
- Grandpappy B - Kelly
- Bellringer B - Kelly
Episode 6.14 - The Mystery of Skull Island
- Grand Bastard - Kelly
- Thumb Sucker B - Kelly
- Grandmaster One - Bud
Episode 6.16 - Rites Of Passage
- Butt-wagger B - Kelly
- Grandmaster Virgin - Kelly
Episode 6.18 - My Dinner with Anthrax
- Thighmaster - Kelly
- Grinchmaster B - VJ on The Video Channel
Episode 7.23 - 'Tis Time To Smell The Roses
- Abdominizer B - Bud
Appendices
Background
Bud Bundy (David Faustino), was originally to be played by a different actor (and was for the original pilot), but this was changed after audiences did not like the original actor. Bud was originally portrayed to be around ten or eleven years old, but his age was advanced to be roughly a year younger than Kelly.
Bud's full name was never made clear, a comment made by him, and agreed upon by Al, was that his first name comes from a beer (Budweiser), however Kelly once made a puppet of him and called him "Budrick" in a clear shot at him. It is uncertain if it means Bud's first full name is Budrick, or if Budrick is simply a name for the puppet and Bud is his actual name.
Trivia
- In season 6, Bud goes by the name Grandmaster B, but the family kept mangling it.
- During season 3, Bud wears a mullet style haircut, before changing it to a slick-back style from season 4 and then a shorter style by season 10.
- Bud's starts growing a beard in season 7's "Old College Try", which the family as well as the D'Arcy's mistake for dirt on his face. Though he doesn't grow a noticeable beard until a few episodes later in "It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This" which he kept till the end of the series.
- Bud's Grandmaster B persona was based on actor David Faustino's infatuation with rap music as well as his attempt at a rap career in the early 90s.
- Bud's bedroom is shown for the first time in season 7's "Magnificent Seven" and is located directly across from Al and Peg's bedroom.
- In Bud's bedroom, a poster for Ice Cube's 1991 album, "Death Certificate" can be seen above his bed. This was done at David Faustino's request due to his love for rap music.