Harold Berman

Harold Berman

Harold Berman is a character in Hey Arnold!. He was also one of the original characters from the comics and the pilot episode.

Biography

Harold gains more weight in "Weighing Harold"

Harold is the bully of the group, even though his bark is usually worse than his bite. Thick-set and unintelligent, he's a few years older than the rest of the Arnold cast because he was moved back a grade in school several times. Harold is also known to eat a lot, as especially exhibited in "Weighing Harold," in which he puts on an enormous amount of weight.

In the episode "Harold the Butcher" it is revealed that Harold has a deep love for meat products. Harold's distinctive features are his considerable stomach and giant misshapen tooth. In some episodes, Harold has yellow eyes, although they're white in the show's opening. He is usually seen with Stinky and Sid.

Harold working at Green Meats with Mr. Green in "Harold the Butcher"

Harold is portrayed as something of a backstabber: One day, he's the characters' ally, but then the very next day, he teases them and bullies them. Harold often gloats of his own intellectual or physical superiority, though usually seconds later he proves himself wrong or is shown up by another character. Despite his frequent posturing, he is also easily frightened and/or upset, and frequently cries, "mommy!", among other things, while running away or wanting to escape from a situation. Harold also has a budding relationship with Patty Smith. He is of the Jewish faith, as revealed when he invited the other students/friends to his Bar Mitzvah (his Hebrew name is Chaim).

Harold is portrayed as tough, but is occasionally shown having a sensitive side (though he denies it in public.) He may also not be as unintelligent as he leads himself to believe. His attendance at the fourth grade, despite his age of 13 years, appears to be strange due to various facts: Harold is seen during several flashbacks dealing with kindergarten events of Arnold's age-group. Being in the same preschool class with the other kids, Harold had to be held back from kindergarten. Considering that Harold might be in fact highly intelligent, this seems to be even more implausible. Others seem to take his age in stride while they make a big deal about Torvald being a 4th grader even though he's the same age. In "The Aptitude Test," an accidental mix-up in test results suggests he may be a genius (rather than Helga, who got his pathetic test scores in exchange), resulting in him striving to remain true to this fact. However, neither before, nor after the events of this episode, does Harold show any outstanding intellectual skills.

Harold's uncle owns an alligator farm ("Return of the Sewer King").

Relationships

Harold dancing with Big Patty in the episode "Hey Harold!"

Big Patty

It's also implied that Harold may have a soft spot for sixth-grader, Big Patty. They became close friends in the episode "Hey Harold!" and it continued up to the episode "April Fool's Day". However, at one point, they become rivals in an arm wrestling contest in the episode, "Harold vs. Patty".

Rhonda

It's implied that Harold could be related romantically with Rhonda. In the episode "Operation Ruthless," Rhonda is seen pulling Harold to the Love Tunnel's boat while saying, "I know you like me, Harold!" as he tried to resist. Then, in "Love And Cheese," for a brief second, when Arnold and Lila walk to the Tunnel of Love, you can see Harold and Rhonda sitting together in the duck.

Several episodes later in "Egg Story," Rhonda and Harold are assigned as a couple to take care of an egg. Harold reminds her of their moment in "Operation Ruthless," and Rhonda tries to keep him quiet about it. The egg experience ended with Harold frying the egg and tried to rejoin the shell. Rhonda first got mad, but she forgave Harold when she realized how hard he tried to put the pieces back together, and the two shared a meaningful look.

Stinky and Sid

For the most part, Harold tends to pal around with Stinky and Sid. The trio often causes trouble, and always results in them or another character dealing with consequences following their actions. Because of this, several episodes are based around the trio's antics, most notably in Full Moon, when the trio decides to moon Principal Wartz, only to have Arnold almost take full responsibility for their actions.

Trivia

• In some episodes, Harold's outer shirt as a red "H" on it, but in other episodes, it's just a plain blue shirt.
• Usually, when Harold apologizes in the later parts of Hey Arnold!, the song "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci plays.
• In "Helga's Masquerade ", Harold teases Helga about her unibrow, despite the fact that he has one, too.

Appears in

24 Hours To Live, A Day In The Life Of A Classroom, April Fool's Day, Arnold & Lila, Arnold Betrays Iggy, Arnold Visits Arnie, Arnold's Halloween, Arnold's Room, Arnold's Thanksgiving, Bag of Money, Beaned, Best Friends, Big Caesar, Buses, Bikes, and Subways, Career Day, Chocolate Boy, Coach Wittenberg, Cool Jerk, Cool Party, Curly Snaps, Dangerous Lumber, Das Subway, Deconstructing Arnold, Downtown As Fruits, Eating Contest, Egg Story, Eugene's Pet, False Alarm, Field Trip, Fishing Trip, Full Moon, Gerald's Secret, Gerald's Tonsils, Ghost Bride, Grand Prix, Harold the Butcher, Harold vs. Patty, Harold's Bar Mitzvah, Harold's Kitty, Headless Cabbie, Heat, Helga Blabs It All, Helga On The Couch, Helga's Makeover, Helga's Masquerade, Helga's Show, Hey Arnold!: The Movie, Hey Harold!, It Girl, Longest Monday, Love And Cheese, Magic Show, Mudbowl, New Bully on the Block, New Teacher, On The Lam, Operation Ruthless, Phoebe's Little Problem, Pigeon Man, Principal Simmons, Ransom, Rich Kid, Roller Coaster, Runaway Float, Sally's Comet, School Play, Sid And Germs, Snow, Stinky Goes Hollywood, Stinky's Pumpkin, Stoop Kid, Stuck In A Tree, Student Teacher, Suspended, Synchronized Swimming, Teachers' Strike, The Aptitude Test, The Baseball, The Big Scoop, The Flood, The Journal, The List, The Sewer King, Weighing Harold, What's Opera, Arnold?, Wheezin' Ed, World Records

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