Rolfe Dewolfe
Rolfe Dewolfe is one of the supporting characters of the Showbiz Pizza Place franchise, having made his debut as an animatronic at Jacksonville, FL (9820 Atlantic Blvd).
History
Origins
Rolfe Dewolfe was based off of the announcer and the Wolfman from the Wolf Pack 5. He was originally meant to be a rotating character, and not a permanent member of the cast. He got his first animatronic in Jacksonville, FL (9820 Atlantic Blvd).
Showbiz Pizza Place
Rolfe originally had a show with his puppet, Earl Schmerle. This would be called "The Rolfe and Earl Show", which presented Rolfe as an egotistical Wolf with an angry puppet. This was short lived in showtapes, as Rolfe would be replaced by Uncle Klunk in 1983. Uncle Klunk was a failed concept however, which led to most stores reinstalling their Rolfe & Earl animatronic. Rolfe would only make brief appearances from then on, usually insulting or making fun of the other band members. He rarely sang, unlike Earl. Rolfe would be retrofitted into the Statue of Liberty for the 1986 and 1987 liberty shows. As a test, Rolfe would also be retrofitted into Yogi Bear for the Yogi Bear Stage. During Concept Unification, several Rolfe animatronics would be retrofitted into Chuck E. Cheese. Earl was scrapped during this process.
The New Rock-afire Explosion
After Concept Unification, Creative Engineering wanted to find a new way to bring the Rock-afire Explosion back into the public spotlight. They developed the New Rock-afire Explosion. Rolfe would be one of the only characters in the cast to not receive a new animatronic, instead appearing on screens.
Present Day
Several showtapes would be produced over the years by Aaron Fechter, all of which show that Rolfe has not changed since the Showbiz days. Original parts for Rolfe would start to be reproduced by Creative Engineering's new employees in 2023.
Animatronics
| Types | Years Produced | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolfe Dewolfe & Earl Schmerle (Animatronic) | 1980-1983 | Retrofitted during Concept Unification. | Several publicly and privately owned. |