Stanley Roper - Background

Background

In Three's Company, Stanley Roper owns and manages the apartment building in Santa Monica that is home to Jack Tripper, Janet Wood and Chrissy Snow. He has a love-hate relationship with his wife, Helen. Although they care deeply for each other, Helen and Stanley regularly bicker and engage in one-upmanship, with Helen usually the intellectual victor. A significant amount of their tension is due to Helen's regular desire for romance with Stanley, while Stanley is either clueless or uninterested. During the character's time on the series, he was known for breaking the fourth wall by smiling and snickering at the camera after telling a one liner joke, often at his wife's expense. He usually uses the term "Not tonight Helen, I got a headache."

Stanley is generally friendly towards the roommates but can be very angry if the rent is late. He is also not above exploiting his tenants' fear of raised rents to get chores and favors done. He is told that Jack is homosexual to bypass any objections he might have to a man living with two women. He does not appear to hate Jack or homosexuals in general, but he does see Jack's supposed homosexuality as a source of amusement and makes several jokes at his expense.

Stanley is extremely cheap (from episode "Stanley's Hotline" in which the roommates call him 'the cheapest man alive' and very much penny wise, pound foolish). He drives a run down 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air, which he attempted to sell to the roommates, but reneged when he learned he could get a lot more money for it from another buyer (who thought it was the classic and far more valuable 1957 model). After the intended buyer learned it was actually a 1958 model, he offered to tow it away if Roper paid him $25.

After Roper sold the building to Bart Furley, Bart's brother Ralph took over as landlord.