Jacques is a bowling instructor who pursued an affair with Marge Simpson in the episode "Life on the Fast Lane".

History[]

After Homer Simpson bought a bowling ball for himself and diguised it as Marge's birthday gift, Marge went to bowling, where she met Jacques. Jacques, captivated by Marge, agreed to give her lessons in the hopes of wooing her. Marge, though charmed by Jacques, eventually confessed that she was already married, though Jacques was undeterred and offered to take Marge to brunch, during which he asked her to meet with him at his apartment in Fiesta Terraces. Marge accepted, but remembering her commitment to Homer, she chose to stick with Homer and abandoned Jacques. Notably, Marge believed that his last name was "Brunswick", because it was engraved on his bowling ball yet that was really only the brand of his ball.^[1]

He is later as a part of a bowling team called the Home Wreckers, consisting of Princess Kashmir, Mindy Simmons, and Lurleen Lumpkin.^[2]

He appeared in The Simpsons: Tapped Out as a character exclusively for the Pin Pals mini-event, and it's his very first appearance in a Simpsons video game.

He returned when Homer hires him to prepare Marge for the bowling tournament that will save Barney's Bowlarama, unaware of his interest in Marge. Jacques once again tries to woo Marge despite swearing on cheese that their relationship is professional. Homer eventually finds out and storms into Jacques' apartment where he finds a shrine to Marge. Homer and Jacques battle with bowling balls and Homer eventually wins, but Marge stops Homer and assures him that nothing happened with Jacques and that she loves him. Jacques competes against Marge in the bowling tournament as revenge, but Marge wins once again leaving Jacques with nothing. He then gets deported back to France, as he had been living in the US on an expired visa.^[3]

Personality[]

Jacques is somewhat of a Casanova and mainly seems to try to seduce his clients instead of actually teaching them anything. In later episodes he can be briefly seen. In "Burns' Heir" he is seen kissing Edna Krabappel on a secret camera. The footage is briefly seen in Burns' surveillance room.

Behind the Laughter[]

• Jacques was voiced by Albert Brooks in the episode "Life on the Fast Lane", his second appearance on the show.
• Beginning with Season 2, Jacques was in the opening sequence.
• "Life on the Fast Lane" initially saw Brooks voice Björn, a Swedish tennis instructor, but Brooks thought a Frenchman would be funnier so it was changed.^[4][5]

Trivia[]

• He maybe has a relationship with Elizabeth Hoover, as they are seen dancing with each other in "Haw-Haw Land".
• A picture of Jacques was hanging in a bowling shop in the episode Homer Alone, when Marge was going to fix Homer's bowling ball.
• Coincidentally, Marge would later be revealed to be of French heritage, similar to Jacques's country of origin.
• Jacques loses his French accent when he yells the line "four onion rings," hinting that he is faking his accent and even his nationality. Though it could've been a mistake on the actor's part.
• As revealed in "Pin Gal," Jacques comes from Paris and was in the U.S. with a bowling visa.

Gallery[]

The full image gallery for Jacques may be viewed at Jacques/Gallery.

Appearances[]

Citations[]