The Hamburglar was introduced by McDonald’s in 1971 as a mischievous character who wanted to steal hamburgers.
The character became part of McDonald’s fictional advertising community, which was often called McDonaldland. Early versions of the Hamburglar had a more elaborate, impish appearance; later redesigns made him shorter, more child-friendly, and easier to recognize in television advertising and merchandise.
His role was simple and repetitive: he tried to take hamburgers, usually while being discovered or stopped by other McDonaldland characters. That behavior gave McDonald’s a comic story device for promoting hamburgers to children.
The Hamburglar is sometimes mixed up with Captain Crook, another McDonaldland character associated with stealing Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. Grimace, by contrast, was not the hamburger thief; he was a separate character whose design and role changed substantially over time.