Oofy Prosser
Alexander Charles "Oofy" Prosser is a recurring fictional character from the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the millionaire member of the Drones Club and a friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster. The most wealthy and envied member of the Club, he has the nickname "Oofy", which is British slang for "wealthy" or "made of money".[1]
Overview
Because Oofy is both constantly being asked for £5 or £10 and a miser for loans, "a man in whose wallet moths nest and raise large families", he is considered ugly on both the inside and the outside – the pimples on his face being quite famous.
Bertie compares him with Reginald "Kipper" Herring in Jeeves in the Offing; "Kipper" (with his cauliflower ear) would have been an unsafe entrant to have backed in a beauty contest, even if the only other competitors had been Boris Karloff, King Kong and Oofy Prosser ....
However, Oofy can be a big spender (serving strawberries in winter, at a cost of around a pound sterling each), or a fierce gambler (in a casino, or on bets).
Oofy Prosser was featured in 8 episodes (out of 23) of the 1990–1993 British TV series Jeeves and Wooster (in seasons 1–2 and 4, aired 1990–1991 and 1993 in the UK), played by Richard Dixon.[2]
Stories
Oofy is featured in:
- "The Knightly Quest of Mervyn" (Mr Mulliner, featuring the Oofy stand-in "Alexander C. Prosser")
- "All's Well with Bingo" (Drone Bingo Little)
- "Sonny Boy" (Drone Bingo Little)
- Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939) – Uncle Fred and Blandings novel, action started by Pongo, Horace, and Oofy at the club
- "The Word in Season" (Drone Bingo Little)
- "Freddie, Oofy and the Beef Trust" (Drone Freddie Widgeon with Oofy Prosser)
- "The Shadow Passes" (Drone Bingo Little)
- "Leave it to Algy" (Drone Bingo Little with Oofy Prosser)
- "The Fat of the Land" (Drone Freddie Widgeon)
- Ice in the Bedroom (1961) – novel about Drone Freddie Widgeon with Oofy Prosser
Oofy is mentioned in:
- "The Luck of the Stiffhams" (Drone Stiffy Stiffham)
- "Stylish Stouts" also recycled as "The Great Fat Uncle Contest" (Drone Bingo Little)
- Jeeves in the Offing (1960) – Jeeves novel (chap. III)
- Galahad at Blandings (1965) – Blandings novel
See also
References
- Sources consulted
- Reggie (2007-03-16). "Wodehouse Who's Who: Oofy Prosser". Blandings, a Companion to the Works of P. G. Wodehouse. Archived from the original on 2007-07-22.
- Endnotes
- ↑ "Prosser" was also late 19th century British slang, meaning a "beggar", one who cadges loans, and thus his surname puns on standard English beggar and beggar, slang for a "bloke" or "chap"; the entire name thus meaning "wealthy bloke".
"oofy". CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
oof, n, Slang: money (C19: from Yiddish ooftisch, from German auf dem Tische on the table (referring to gambling stakes))
– [Adjective "oofy" being slang for "wealthy" or "loaded", literally "monied" or "made of money".] - ↑ "Filmography by TV series for Richard Dixon" at the Internet Movie Database
External links
- Hutchinson, Kyle (2006-05-11). "Wodehouse Characters: Oofy Prosser". The P. G. Wodehouse Story Index [database].