Which McDonald's character was introduced in 1971 as a striped-shirt food thief?

The Hamburglar was introduced in 1971 as McDonald’s striped-shirt food thief.

The character belonged to McDonaldland, the fictional world used in McDonald’s advertising to give children a cast of recognizable brand personalities. In his early design, the Hamburglar was a small, mischievous figure with a black-and-white striped outfit and a strong interest in stealing hamburgers.

McDonald’s later redesigned the character into a younger-looking figure wearing a red cape, gloves, and a wide-brimmed hat. His role remained comic rather than threatening, making him suitable for family-oriented advertising.

The Hamburglar is sometimes confused with Captain Crook, another McDonaldland villain associated with Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. Mayor McCheese and Grimace were also McDonaldland characters, but neither was defined by stealing hamburgers.