Cleveland Brown

Cleveland Orenthal Brown, Sr. is a supporting protagonist in Family Guy and the main character of The Cleveland Show.

Until recently he was married to Loretta Brown, but they separated after Loretta had an affair with Quagmire, although they still have feelings for each other. Together they had a son, Cleveland Brown, Jr. Eventually, Loretta gains his house and Cleveland has to move. Cleveland is now married to Donna and has two step children, Roberta, and Rallo. He also sports a mustache and often offers deep insight that the other characters are unable to see.

History
Cleveland grew up in Stoolbend and played baseball at high school, where he hung out with Terry and Gordy. He was in love with Donna, but Donna was dating Robert at the time. At some point before 1984, he moved to Quahog (although this is contradicted in Field of Streams when he is shown at Stoolbend High). Here he met Peter Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, and, years later, Joe Swanson, who he became friends with. The foursome became drinking buddies, and are close friends.

He used to be an accomplished auctioneer, but was struck in the head by a totem pole, which resulted in his speech being permanently slowed. Cleveland was also the president of the Quahog Chamber of Commerce. When he was in Quahog, he was the proprietor of Cleveland's Deli. However, moving to Stoolbend led to him needing a new job; in Birth of a Salesman, Tim was able to get him a job as a telemarketer at Waterman Cable, where he was later promoted to cable installer. He has also dabbled in other jobs, being a police officer and an actor (apparently being the "black guy in Die Hard").

Cleveland lost his virginity when he was nine, and may have been married before he met Loretta, suggested in a scene from the Family Guy episode Death Lives, when Cleveland meets Peter in the 70's. Cleveland picks up Peter in his van, and Peter asks to go to Rhode Island, then checks if it's okay with Cleveland. Cleveland then mentions something to the effect of being away from "Maxine, the Cheatin' Queen". Maxine may or may not have been Cleveland's first wife. As Maxine has not been shown on screen, it is largely accepted as Family Guy canon that Loretta was Cleveland's first wife.

Cleveland and Loretta were married soon after Cleveland moved to Quahog, after which they had Cleveland Jr.. Although at first it appears that Cleveland and Loretta had a decent marriage for a time, the relationship soon soured due to Loretta's feeling that Cleveland was incapable of being anything other than lethargic and laid-back. As a result Loretta persuade a brief affair with Glenn Quagmire, partly in an effort to hurt Cleveland. The two then separated with Cleveland getting custody of Cleveland Jr. For a while following his divorce he dated a woman named Bernice (also voiced by Alex Borstein), who had a higher voice than Loretta's, but seemed as equally bossy. Presumably his desire for a more feminine, traditional woman caused him to break up with Bernice and marry Donna, as that is the woman Cleveland ultimately sought. While he originally did not take Donna on a honeymoon, he eventually brought her to New York City a few months after they wed to properly celebrate.

He now stars in a spin-off of Family Guy, entitled The Cleveland Show!, which premièred on September 27, 2009. Cleveland officially left Family Guy when The Cleveland Show! started. His son, Cleveland Jr. has also left the show and has gained weight, as well as now suffering from astigmatism. Cleveland's new house, located in Stoolbend, Virginia, is surrounded by a variety of neighbors, just like in Family Guy.

During the show's second season, Cleveland went through a mid-life crisis after realizing how much more Barack Obama had done with his life than Cleveland had. To rectify this, Cleveland helped out Kenny West and his daughter, Candice. Eventually, he wrote and sang a rap with the young Kenny, Be Cleve In Yourself, and served as his manager for a short while before he was fired.

Hobbies
Cleveland loves baseball, having played the sport back when he was in high school. Here his jersey was number nine was retired. During a particularly challenging game, he ran back and forth between third and home forty-two times. Coach McFall called it one of the most impressive run-arounds he'd ever seen. Despite his prowess at the game, he still struck out against Lester, who didn't even consider baseball an actual game during a bet in "Little Man on Campus". He enjoys watching minor league baseball and was originally going to move to California to play professionally before marrying Donna. He has tried several times to get his son interested in the sport, but to no avail. He also played basketball in his youth, attending a sports camp with Barack Obama.

Cleveland is a huge fan of fashion, especially hats and his mustache. He has an entire closet wall stocked with a variety of hats, and spent a 200 dollar bonus on a top hat. Being a fan of Worf, he purchases Worf hats for both himself and his son at a convention. He also owns an entire kit specifically made for grooming his mustache, which he also mentions in the show's Theme Song. He reads several fashion magazines, including "Mustache Mustachionado". When Cleveland gets his son fired from The Broken Stool, he gets revenge by shaving Cleveland's mustache; apparently, it was serving as a natural buffer for Cleveland's voice, and without it, he sounds and looks awkward.