# Who's your favorite hapless loser? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2023, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276 "2023-02-24T05:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/61 "2023-02-26T18:32:06Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > A bit of trivia — those Hogan’s Heroes cast members Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Leon Askin, and Robert Clary, they all were Jewish. Werner Klemperer only agreed to play Col. Klink on the condition that his character never showed a shred of competence. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/62 "2023-02-26T19:36:26Z")
What about Beavis? Butthead is the brains of the pair, often setting the strategy for them, which isn’t saying much. Beavis seems utterly worthless, but then has his own moments of clarity, with the whole “Fire! Fire!” thing, and Cornolio. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/63 "2023-02-26T20:11:18Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [“You know what Jack Burton says at a time like this?”](https://youtu.be/J15lRJkxzkw) > Stranger I came in to enter Jack. “Son of a bitch must pay” and so forth. > [@enipla](#): > > _H.I. McDunnough_. Nicolas Cage in Raising Arizona. And I would have submitted Hi as my also-ran. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Even more so, the original Casper Milquetoast. Nothing has ever topped this: Yes! Mister Milquetoast. I discovered him in my high school library (of all places) in 1966, never would have thought of him for this thread. If I remember correctly the only time he ever stood up for himself was when he refused to use a particular salad dressing. Russian something? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/64 "2023-02-26T20:38:25Z")
You’re nuts if you think Phil Dunphy is a loser. He’s a successful real estate agent, has a gorgeous & intelligent wife who is crazy about him, has 3 kids who he loves and who love him. No one in his family has any major problems (at least until the older daughter gets pregnant). At best, he’s somewhat clueless and goes his own way in life. But if he’s a loser, I’d be happy to be a loser as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/65 "2023-02-26T21:41:56Z")
Jerry Lundegaard. Fargo was certainly not the only film in which WHM portrayed a hapless loser. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/66 "2023-02-26T21:52:23Z")
So true, my friend! Good to see you again. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/67 "2023-02-26T22:27:49Z")
Bill Dauterive. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/68 "2023-02-26T22:33:31Z")
I’d class him with Darryl from _Crazy Ex-Girlfriend_, who by all indications has a successful career and a nice house but still comes across as hopelessly loser-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/69 "2023-02-27T03:06:31Z")
And he also is misplaced, lost, clueless, his wife makes fun of him all the time, and he’s a bumbling bonehead. He is all that and also what you say. Phil is a lovable loser. It’s like saying Frank Burns is a Major in the US Army, one step down from Lieutenant Colonel and two steps down from full bird Colonel. He is no longer a company grade officer, he is a field grade officer. And he’s a loser. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/70 "2023-02-27T05:32:54Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > And he also is misplaced, lost, clueless, his wife makes fun of him all the time, and he’s a bumbling bonehead. That makes him a lovable goofball, not a lovable loser. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/71 "2023-02-27T06:15:03Z")
To you, maybe. Not to me. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/72 "2023-02-27T07:27:38Z")
Phil Dunphy may or may not be a loser - personally, I think he’s more of a dork - but he certainly isn’t _hapless_. He’s a generally happy person with a good life. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/73 "2023-02-27T07:53:41Z")
Another favorite was Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), the town drunk from **The Andy Griffith Show**. Though typically a _happy_ drunk, and didn’t mind being arrested so he could sleep it off in peace, he’s still considered a loser. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/74 "2023-02-27T13:23:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Phil Dunphy may or may not be a loser - personally, I think he’s more of a dork - but he certainly isn’t _hapless_. He’s a generally happy person with a good life. He certainly is hapless. He is unlucky, ill-fated, and cursed. That’s hapless. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/75 "2023-02-27T13:42:24Z")
What about Paulie Pennino from the Rocky franchise? While he has a job in the beginning, he certainly glommed onto Rocky when he found success. He never did anything worthwhile did he? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/76 "2023-02-27T15:16:23Z")
Please post examples of him being unlucky, or ill-fated, or cursed. He has a loving, caring, & healthy family, a job he loves which supports a pretty high end lifestyle, and is happy almost all the time we see him. Sure, his FIL is a pain in his ass, and he has a nemesis in Gil Thorpe, but that hardly makes him a loser. He’s certainly a goofball, but any definition of “loser” that includes him would have to include 90% of the population. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/77 "2023-02-27T16:17:42Z")
I think of Phil as hapless, but I wouldn’t mind having his life. You can measure haplessness in isolated events but still have a hapful life overall. > [@Tibby](#): > > Another favorite was Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), the town drunk from **The Andy Griffith Show**. Though typically a _happy_ drunk, and didn’t mind being arrested so he could sleep it off in peace, he’s still considered a loser. Haplessness was rampant in Mayberry, Barney Fife, Gomer and Goober Pyle, Ernest T. Bass, and Howard Sprague were totally hapless characters. Even though Floyd seemed to be a successful barber he was still pretty hapless. And every one of the crooks was hapless, some of them even got caught by Barney or Goober. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/78 "2023-02-27T17:35:37Z")
The Washington Nationals. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/79 "2023-02-27T17:44:20Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > What about Beavis? Butthead is the brains of the pair, often setting the strategy for them, which isn’t saying much. Beavis seems utterly worthless, but then has his own moments of clarity, with the whole “Fire! Fire!” thing, and Cornolio. Stewart has them both beat. He wants to be Beavis and Butt-head’s friend, but even they think Stewart is too much of a loser to hang out with. He even goes so far as to donate a kidney to Beavis to try to win their friendship. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276/80 "2023-02-27T17:44:22Z")
Is it my job to convince you? No, it’s not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-hapless-loser/980276.md?page=5)