Which McDonald's character was originally presented as a thief who stole hamburgers?

The Hamburglar was originally presented as a thief who stole hamburgers in McDonald's advertising.

The Hamburglar was one of the characters introduced in the McDonaldland campaign. Early versions of the character had a more sinister and exaggerated appearance, including a mask and a long black cloak. His defining behavior was attempting to steal hamburgers, especially from Ronald McDonald.

McDonald's later redesigned the character to make him shorter, friendlier, and more appealing to young children. The updated version wore a striped outfit and retained the hamburger-stealing theme in a comic rather than threatening form.

The Hamburglar is sometimes confused with Captain Crook, another McDonaldland villain associated with Filet-O-Fish. Their roles were different: the Hamburglar targeted hamburgers, while Captain Crook was linked to fish sandwiches. Both belonged to the same character-based advertising era.