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"I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck like other men and I couldn't get on the cops with my build. I got to sling beer and sing when I just want to sing. I drink because I got responsibilities I can't handle."
Bob likes his liquor, and in large amounts. He may realize he has a problem, and get on and Off The Wagon, or he may be a Drunken Master, and this is merely a part of his 'training,' or a result of his... 'skills.'
Sometimes, this character is merely Drowning His Sorrows, and will bounce back later in the series. Other times, he's been this way from the beginning and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
The Always Female versions are Bottle Fairy and Lady Drunk, but alcoholism is only one of her character traits. Related To Drunken Master, Bottle Fairy, Off The Wagon, Best Beer Ever, Quick Nip.
Examples:
Advertising
- Berman, of the Magic Bullet infomercials, is quite obviously hungover when he stumbles into the kitchen. He's the drunk of the whole shebang.
Anime and Manga
- Sumeragi Lee Noriega from Gundam00.
- Quent Yaiden from Wolfs Rain. I'm sure he's been mentioned in a similar context before.
- To some extent, Major Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the second episode, Shinji observes her fridge contains fifty gallons of beer.
- Sylia Stingray from Bubblegum Crisis 2040 is definitely abusing something. She's seen drinking pretty often, but might have a drug habit on the side.
Comic Books
- Tony "Iron Man" Stark. In The Movie, nearly every scene that's not a fight scene has him drinking an alcoholic beverage of some sort. Possibly Foreshadowing for one of the sequels, but we'll have to wait to find out.
- Stark helped Carol Danvers (aka Ms. Marvel, Binary and Warbird) get a handle on her drinking problem.
- Of course the Ultimate version takes this to the Ultimate extreme. A prime example is this dialogue between Black Widow and Stark;
"Listen...but do you really think it is wise to knock back so many vodkas before you fly that thing?"
"Oh, absolutely, darling. in fact, its really quite essential...I mean, who in their right mind's going going to climb into it sober?".
- On The DCU side of the fence, Renee Montoya, former Gotham Police detective and now the current Question, was/is also an alcoholic.
- Katchoo in Strangers In Paradise.
- Captain Haddock in Tintin. The portrayal is horrifying in his first appearance- The Crab with the Golden Claws, where he's arguably more dangerous to Tintin than the baddies they're fighting. Although often the subject of jokes, readers are left in no doubt that it's an addiction and has terrible side effects not only on Haddock himself but everyone around him.
- Haddock's alcoholism varies through the series. Occasionally he's shown to, while drinking constantly, rarely actually get drunk. Other comics show that he'd get drunk as soon as he can get the chance. It's also a running gag that he is so addicted to alcohol, he's incapable of drinking non-alcoholic drinks, especially water.
Film
- Arthur: Arthur Bach is one of the best-known Played For Laughs examples.
- Tom Reagan from Miller's Crossing.
- Dexter in The Philadelphia Story.
- Jack Torrance from The Shining. Tried to stay on the wagon but the haunted hotel kept throwing him parties with ghost booze that worked like the real stuff.
- Alcohol is the one weakness of Captain Invincible.
- The king of this trope is Withnail from Withnail & I
Literature
- Harry Driscoll in Adam Davies' The Frog King.
- The protagonist of Russian novel Moscow Petushki by Venedikt Erofeev.
- Several Stephen King protagonists (especially the writers), have this particular affliction. King himself went through alcoholism and recovery during the course of his career, so that's not too surprising. Ironically, many people think he wrote better books before he stopped drinking.
- He mentioned in his memoirs that he have no recollection of writing Cujo. That is one pretty impressive bender there.
- Commander Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett's Discworld is a recovering alcoholic, though he objects to the term (he was a drunk, he wasn't rich enough to be an alcoholic).
- In fact Vimes actually has a negative blood alcohol level, which means he has to drink to avoid being knurd. Colon estimated that he was two drinks under par and needed a stiff double just to be sober. Of course, he didn't always get the dose right.
- Winky the house elf in Harry Potter, who being an elf gets drunk on butterbeer.
- In the Nightwatch series, there is a vast amount of booze consumed by all and sundry - in fact, in Night Watch, there's an entire chapter devoted to all the Light characters having a massive drinking party. Then again, these are Russian books...
- Johnny Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
- Charles Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski. Most of Bukowski's novels are autobiographical, so it's pretty obvious that he really enjoyed beer by the bucketful.
Live Action TV
- Garibaldi from Babylon 5
- Both Saul Tigh and his wife Ellen on Battlestar Galactica, especially in proximity to one another though his biggest bout of drinking was on Galactica after he was forced to kill her on New Caprica. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is also referred to as a {very high-functioning) alcoholic both by other characters (there are repeated references to "not needing another Tigh onboard") and by the actress portraying her (Katee Sackhoff is quoted saying that Starbuck "drinks most of her calories").
- Dylan McKay in the original Beverly Hills 90210.
- In one episode of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard's mother shows up, talks to Penny as they climb the stairs to Leonard & Sheldon's apartment, leaving Penny an emotional wreck (Leonard's mom's a psychiatrist). Later in the episode, Leonard goes over to talk to Penny, asks if she has any booze, and Penny admits to having been "bombed since she showed up." Leonard then admits to "seriously considering alcoholism as a career path."
- Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital, who was Put On A Bus for many years, returned to the show as a Shell Shocked Senior with a drinking problem.
- Jinx in In Plain Sight
- Nate Ford on Leverage.
- Jack Shephard after he left the Island on Lost; also Frank used to be one.
- Tommy Gavin on Rescue Me has a decidedly volatile relationship with the bottle (specifically whiskey), as do many other characters.
- Letti Mae Thornton in True Blood
- Claire Meade in Ugly Betty.
- Leo McGarry on The West Wing was a recovering alcoholic
- Also, Vice President John Hoynes - stopped drinking at age 22.
- Fun Bobby, an occasional boyfriend of Monica's in Friends. Alcohol was what made him entertaining. When he quit drinking, Monica started upping her alcohol intake to cope with his stories about shoelaces.
- Herman "Duck" Philips from Mad Men is a recovering alcoholic.
- Kitty Forman on That 70s Show
- Abby Lockhart on ER
- Father Jack Hackett from Father Ted.
- Eddie of Bottom, who cheerfully drinks Old Spice, cooking oil, and bleach.
Music
- Gary Stead, from the Saint Etienne Concept Album Tales From Turnpike House. He spends most of the album as a comedy alcoholic in the Barney Gumble mould (in "Milk Bottle Symphony" he "staggers downstairs with a heavy head", i.e. a hangover), but eventually "Last Orders For Gary Stead" reveals him to be Drowning His Sorrows over an awkward divorce.
- The unnamed subject of Richard Thompson's bitter, brilliant "God Loves A Drunk
 ." Notable for the balance of the portrayal—while drunkenness itself is portrayed very harshly, the titular drunk is treated quite sympathetically and gets to do his own lashing out against the banal nature of the life he's escaping.
Video Games
- Part of the first quest in Fable 2 is returning a drunk's lost bottle. The 'good choice' is to give it to his wife, who's trying to make him quit, while the 'evil' one is giving it back to him.
- Gen of Saga Frontier is a drunken samurai. His 'win' animation after the battles show him drinking...and drinking...and drinking.
- Players of Final Fantasy X could speculate that the jug of sake hanging from Auron's belt was well used
Web Comics
Web Original
- Danielbeast in lonelygirl15 became an alcoholic at one point, as a result of trying to drown his sorrows.
- Glitch, of the Whateley Universe, who's obviously alcoholic, and a sophomore in high school. He blames his parents for all his problems.
Western Animation
Real Life
- The Former Soviet Union. In Russia & many other eastern european countries, alcoholism is rampant & liver disorders & other complications are the leading causes of death.
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