Cliff Clavin - Character

Character

Cliff is a postal worker and Norm Peterson's (George Wendt) best friend. Cliff always lives with his mother, Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen), both in a two-story house, where he spent his childhood and it was bulldozed after Esther sold her property, and a small apartment with a sofabed. In "The Barstoolie" (1985), Cliff meets his father, Cliff Clavin, Sr. (Dick O'Neill), who left his son, Cliff, and wife years ago. Later, Cliff realizes that his father is a fugitive for fraud and that his father is going to run off again, as he did last time, without going to see Estelle again. Although Cliff Jr. does not want to turn him in, Cliff Sr. disappears, leaving Cliff Jr. disappointed.

Cliff does not have an on-screen relationship with any woman. He attempts every woman but becomes rejected. In "Cliffie's Big Score" (1986), he and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) are dancing partners for the contest in one night. Carla, who is supposed to be his dancing partner, finds out that Diane was Cliff's first choice and then tells him that Diane has hots for him. Then Cliff attempts to seduce Diane in the car, but then Diane orders him to "get out" of the car, drives the car, and finally leaves him stranded in the woods.

Nevertheless, Cliff has relationships, including short-lived ones, with a few women. In "My Fair Clavin" (1987), Cliff's girlfriend Sally (Karen Akers) is ashamed to introduce herself to his friends due to her ordinary beauty. With a help of cosmetic magazines given by Cliff, advised by Rebecca, Sally's beauty improves, so, with her improved look, Cliff introduces her to his friends in the bar. However, Sally ends up going out with another man, marveled by her new makeover, leaving Cliff crushed. Later, Sally tells Cliff that she had a wonderful time with another man and prefers her improved makeover, yet she still goes out with Cliff. Cliff has relationships with a fellow postal worker Margaret O'Keefe (Annie Golden) since the seventh season. When Margaret becomes pregnant in "Do Not Forsake Me O' My Postman" (1993) with another man's baby, Cliff stays with her side and decides to be the stepfather of her baby.

More often, he has been ridiculed and scorned by his friends and enemies, including Carla (Rhea Perlman) and Norm, for his know-it-all antics. He appears in the game show Jeopardy! in the Season Eight episode, "What Is... Cliff Clavin?" (1990). He scores $22,000 but wagers, then loses all with an incorrect response in the Final Jeopardy! round, and goes into an angry tirade that scares off the host, Alex Trebek.

In the 1993 series finale, Cliff is promoted into a higher position of a postal service. In "The Show Where Sam Shows Up" (1995), an episode of the Cheers spinoff Frasier, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) tells Frasier that, after reading an article about flesh-eating bacteria, Cliff has not left home. Then Sam finds out that Cliff is one of two men whom Sam's fiance, Sheila (Téa Leoni), had sex with. In another Frasier episode, "Cheerful Goodbyes", Cliff is having his retirement party at the airport bar and plans to retire and then to live in Florida, but then he decides to stay in Boston, much to Carla's dismay.