Jerome Whittaker

Portrayed by: John Lithgow

First appearance: Legendaddy

Also Known As: Jerry, Crazy Jerry, Stay at home Jerome, Uncle Jerry

Romances: Loretta Stinson, Cheryl Whittaker (wife)

Gallery of Jerome Whittaker images (7)

Jerome Whittaker is Barney's biological father.

Show Outline

As a child, Barney believed Jerome to be his "Uncle Jerry" with whom he would occasionally spend time. That was until July 23, 1981. On a trip to the New York Museum of Natural History, young Barney used a rib from a dinosaur exhibit and used it to knock down the giant model of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling. "Uncle Jerry" picked up Barney from security signing forms indicating that he was actually Barney's father. This was the last time Barney saw Whittaker as Barney's mother was so upset that he let Barney commit such an act of vandalism that he stopped coming to visit. (Natural History)

Throughout his life, Barney believed his father to be Bob Barker although he didn't tell his friends about the belief until he was accepted as contestant on Barker's show, "The Price is Right". (Showdown) However, Barney didn't confront Barker and years later, when his brother, James met his own father, Barney admitted that he knew Barker was not his real father. That evening, he confronted Loretta about the lie. Loretta explained that she always wanted to be enough of a parent for his children which is why she didn't tell them who their fathers were. She offered to tell Barney about his father but, realizing how great a mother he had, Barney tore up the proffered paper with his father's name. (Cleaning House)

However, months later, attending an event at the museum, Barney learned the truth about "Uncle Jerry" thanks to the form he signed in 1981. However, he told Robin that he wasn't going to act on the information and asked her not to share it. (Natural History)

Finally, after Marshall lost his own father, Barney realized the time had come and he called his mother asking for his contact information. (Last Words) Still, it would take time for Barney to get in contact with Whittaker. He later confides to Zoey's cousin Honey that he sent Jerome a letter and offered his phone number, but he never heard back from Jerome. (Oh Honey)

Jerome then finally make an appearance, showing up in front of Barney's door. The two then spend a night at MacLaren's. In the following day, Barney stated that his meeting with his father was awesome, that they both ordered the same drink, that he is funny, he manages tours, and that he is a huge time player. The gang warns Barney not to get his hopes up as Jerome might only told Barney what he wanted to hear. Although later, Jerome comes and ask the gang about Barney since he won't answer his calls. It is then revealed that Jerome is only a driving instructor and has a family.

The gang then holds an intervention for Barney, with Marshall convincing Barney to go meet his father since he still has one, while Marshall's dad passed away not long ago. Barney then has dinner with Jerome's family. At the dinner, Barney constantly mocks Jerome's son, J.J., to prove that he is a better son, to the point of insulting J.J.'s name. Jerome then reveals to Barney that J.J. stands for "Jerome Junior". After hearing this, Barney gets out of the house and tries to take down J.J.'s hoop, claiming that J.J. had a real father and a real family so the hoop should at least be Barney's. Jerome asks Barney what is wrong, with Barney replying in anger that Jerome is just a "lame suburban dad". Jerome then asks why does that make him so mad, and Barney replies that if he was going to be some lame suburban dad why couldn't he have been that for him. Jerome then apologizes and tells Barney he would do anything to make it up to him. Barney then ignores him and continues to try to take down the hoop. Jerome then helps Barney by giving him a screwdriver and telling him how to unscrew the hoop. (Legendaddy)

Jerome later made an appearance again. Barney asked him to go into a bar with him for a drink and so that Jerome can be "Crazy Jerry", an apparently drunk version of him. Jerry then proceeds to drink since Barney forced him to and becomes "Crazy Jerry". After they both spend the night getting drunk and roaming in the streets, they both are caught by the police because Jerome puked on a police officer's car. Jerome then reveals that he actually tricked Barney into thinking he was doing some crazy stuff while it was really Barney's doing since he was drunk and Jerome wasn't. Barney and Jerome then escape by taking off their handcuffs. Jerome, a driving instructor, asks a student of his to give them a ride back home so Jerome can go fishing with J.J. In the car, Barney asks Jerome how he managed to become such a good guy when he was such a wild playboy. Barney also reveals that he feels it might be too late for him to be someone good like Jerome. Jerome doesn't reveal his secret, stating that "a magician never reveals his greatest trick", but he tells Barney that he just has to wait for the right woman.

After they arrive at Jerome's house, Jerome gets out of the car and greets Cheryl and J.J., and Barney decides joins Jerome and J.J. on a fishing trip. (Hopeless)

Family

• Spouse: Cheryl Whittaker
• Sons(s): Jerome "J.J." Whittaker, Jr., Barney Stinson
• Daughter(s): Carly Whittaker

Episode Appearances

1. Legendaddy
2. Hopeless
3. Disaster Averted (off-screen)

External Links

• John Lithgow at the Internet Movie Database
• John Lithgow at the English Wikipedia