Earl Shamus Arthur is a recurring character in That '70s Show and That '90s Show. He is an old colleague of Red's from the Auto Plant. Earl used to work under Red at Price Mart, and later at a fast food restaurant, but he was eventually fired from both jobs. He is portrayed by Robert Clendenin.
Character[]
Earl is a slacker who is apparently always late for work or meetings. He always uses the excuse that his dog got run over, but after a while he tends to forget the words for it. In Red Fired Up, Earl is repeatedly late for work, saying that his dog got run over, which annoys Red to no end. Because of that, Earl is dubbed the "new Eric" because Red has reverted his anger and insults over to him. He eventually fires Earl, and when explaining why to an oblivious Earl, Red starts yelling at him. The yelling lasted approximately 15 minutes.
Later, Earl reappears, this time because of a lawsuit he filed against Red. The lawsuit was for "wrongful termination," although Red had good reason for firing him. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, as Earl was an hour and ten minutes late to the meeting with his lawyer, Red, and Eric.
In his final appearance on That '70s Show, Earl was shown working at a fast food restaurant. Again, he was fired for his poor work ethics, though at that time it was because he poorly cooked the food and continued to eat the restaurant's food.
Earl returns in Part 3 of That '90s Show in the episode "Are You Gonna Go My Way." He is a member of a men's support group (which also includes Nate Runck and Bob Pinciotti), after having seemingly become a recovering pyromaniac between shows.
Trivia[]
- Robert Clendenin had previously starred in the 2000 comedy film Dude, Where’s My Car? with Ashton Kutcher who also played the main character Michael Kelso.