Ned's father, mentioned but not seen in "Pie-lette", appeared in "Dummy", "Bzzzzzzzz!", and "The Norwegians".
Not much is known about him, except that he once served in the "Blue Berets", a squadron of the UN Peacekeeping force, with Charles Charles and Dwight Dixon, and they all bought brass pocket watches with their initials engraved on the front which were apparently important enough for Dwight to attempt to kill for them. Since Charles and Dwight both have names where their first and last initials are the same, we can assume Ned's father does, too. This letter may be a "B" because the order in which Dwight set out the pocket watches in his watch case was "empty, CC, DD". If, however, Ned is from Edward, EE might be more likely). His friend Dwight was present when he met a woman who baked him a peach pie with a brown sugar crust[1]; they married and had a son, Ned. A talented amateur magician, he entertained Ned with magic tricks as a child. After his wife died[2], however, he sent Ned to the town of North Thrush to attend the Longborough School for Boys. His parting words to his son were, "I'll be back." Sadly, the Narrator says that this was a lie.[3]
After Ned was sent to boarding school, Ned's father moved away from Coeur d'Coeurs and re-married to an unnamed blonde woman with twins,[4] Maurice and Ralston.[1] Although it is never explicitly stated in the show, the twins' ages when Ned first sees them as a child suggest that Ned's father had been cheating on his mother or living a double life. As he had with Ned, Ned's father taught his two younger sons some basic magic tricks. However his greatest trick was to disappear completely during a stage illusion with The Great Herrmann at the Conjurer's Castle. His final words to Maurice and Ralston were the same as to Ned years before: "I'll be back."[5]
According to Lily Charles, Ned's father was a "jackass" who did everyone, Ned included, a favor by moving away.[4] Vivian also states that no one in Coeur d'Coeurs remembers his father, suggesting that he wasn't close to any of his neighbours apart from Charles Charles.
Unbeknownst to all, he is still on the periphery of his eldest son's life: he has been frequenting The Pie Hole, and saved Ned and Olive Snook from falling to their deaths.[6] He also managed to set up Dwight Dixon's body in his hotel room in such a way as to appear as if he had died of natural causes, and was responsible for the missing bodies in Charles and Charlotte's graves, helping his son and his friends. All of this suggests skills and spycraft beyond that of the typical Blue Beret. He also appears to be unusually strong since he was able to hoist Ned and Olive up onto the cliff edge they had been hanging off of at the same time with only one hand.
It is not known whether Ned's father is aware of his ability to bring dead people back to life.
Apparently, Ned's father was intended to play a major onscreen role in the third season.
Known Family[]
- Ned's Mother - spouse
- Maurice and Ralston's mother - spouse
- Ned - son
- Maurice - son
- Ralston - son
Behind the Scenes[]
Ned's father is played by Jon Eric Price as a young man (repeatedly) and George Hamilton (once, very briefly) when he is older. However, when he appears in "Bzzzzzzzz!", since he is seen from the back, he is played by a stand-in.[7]