Herbert lives in the fictional town of
Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after
Cranston, Rhode Island. He is a single elderly man who dresses in a
baby blue bathrobe and utilizes a
walker due to his age; his dog Jesse is equally elderly and decrepit, being unable to use his hind legs. In "
The Courtship of Stewie's Father" (
season 4, 2005), Chris breaks Herbert's window with a baseball and Chris assists Herbert with chores around his house in attempts to pay off the debt, much to Herbert's delight. Herbert later invites Chris to dinner wherein a souvenir photograph of the pair is taken. In "
Play It Again, Brian" (
season 6, 2008), Herbert is hired by
Peter and
Lois to babysit their children Chris,
Stewie and
Meg. Herbert accepts the offer, claiming he will wear his "snazziest duds", erupting into the song "
All I Need is the Girl" (though modified to reflect his unrequited affection for Chris). He claims to have no interest in Meg in large part due to her age and gender, It is later revealed in "
Movin' Out (Brian's Song)" (
season 6, 2007) that Chris is aware of Herbert's attraction towards him, asking Herbert candidly if he is a "pedophile" after Herbert reads him a bedtime story. Herbert's response, if any, is not shown. Although Herbert is often seen in pursuit of Chris Griffin, he makes frequent passes at other underage boys: typically of similar age to Chris. Some examples of this attracting to other local boys include season 3 episode 8 "
From Method to Madness" where Herbert announces that "It must be [his] birthday!" when a young male nudist walks by him in a shopping mall, and season 19 episode 13 "
Peterminator", wherein he is seen singing the
Guns n' Roses song "
Sweet Child o' Mine" for a boy he refers to as "Nathan M". Additionally, when Chris gets a new job in "
Movin' Out (Brian's Song)" (
season 6, 2007), his younger brother Stewie takes over his paper route with Herbert attempting to seduce him much in the same way as he does towards Chris, but is rebuffed by Stewie, who refers to Herbert as a "perverted old freak", insisting he should "piss off" though this only furthers his lust for the infant. In "
Padre de Familia" (season 6, 2007), Herbert is revealed to have been a
World War II veteran as he is shown singing "
God Bless the USA" in a local
Veterans Day parade whilst wearing a dress uniform. Herbert claims to have received a
Purple Heart during his time in the military, and offers to show it to various children, though the veracity of this claim is uncertain. This is furthered in the
season 9 (2011) episode "
German Guy" in which Herbert reveals he was captured by
Wehrmacht forces. Herbert claims that, although the
Nazi forces initially wished to place Herbert in a
prisoner-of-war camp, they instead placed him in
Dachau Concentration Camp after discovering several pictures of underage boys in his wallet, prompting them to accuse him of being
homosexual. Herbert claims that while imprisoned,
SS Lieutenant Franz Schlechtnacht tasked him with sorting the concentration camp's recyclables, which would often lead to soda spilling upon Herbert's hands thus rendering them "kinda sticky", traumatizing the veteran. Herbert later battles Lieutenant Schlechtnacht after the latter takes Chris hostage. As part of a running gag in the episode "
Family Guy Through the Years" (season 16, 2018), Herbert repeatedly introduces himself to the Griffin family, and dispels rumors of his identity, clarifying he is not "Roy Mitchel": a man who Herbert claims was accused of "all sorts of things" in a neighboring town. It is also highly implied that Herbert
raped Chris' father
Peter, as in season 12 episode 12: "
Mom's the Word", Peter states that he was with his uncle Roy, a nod to Roy Mitchell, and that Roy (Herbert) gave Peter
drugged water and than Peter woke up with his pants off, and that it turned out that they weren't even
related. Herbert possesses supernatural abilities as is seen in season 17 episode 8: "
Con Heiress", when he explodes in delight upon discovering a sexually suggestive fight between Chris Griffin and his father Peter, with Chris commenting that Herbert has frequently spoken of his desire to "explode all over [him]". Following Herbert's explosion, his dog Jesse grabs a piece of Herbert and plants it in a small pot to regrow him, restoring him to a small plant-like state reminiscent of the Marvel character
Groot. In this state, Herbert is only able to recite the words "I am Herbert" in homage to the aforementioned Marvel character. Herbert has appeared on various occasions in
Family Guy spin-off show
The Cleveland Show. Herbert appears five times throughout the series, although his appearances are largely delegated to flashback sequences, such as when Cleveland Jr. recalls Herbert placing a bowl of candy upon his penis during Halloween, attempting to become aroused by the various local youths reaching into the bowl to procure candy. He has also appeared in non-flashback sequences, for instance singing "Silent Night" to a group of children. In
Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy, Herbert appears as
Obi-Wan Kenobi. ==Production==