Donnie is always wearing bowling shirts with other people’s names on them. Any theories?
Posted by ExtraYogurt3208@reddit | lebowski | View on Reddit | 216 comments
Does he collect vintage shirts? Is he actually homeless and lives from bowling alley to ally? Is he a serial killer, and was Walter his next target…What about the shirts!
Win-Diggity@reddit
Vintage finds. Actually there’s a lot theories that Donny is Walter’s imaginary friend and he only has interaction with the dude once and zero interaction with other characters.
Haunting_Ant_5061@reddit
FORGET ABOUT THE FUCKING SHIRTS!
ExtraYogurt3208@reddit (OP)
I am the walrus.
Haunting_Ant_5061@reddit
Oh please, dear? I’ll have you know this sub has roundly rejected various conspiracy theories surrounding Donnie’s choice of bowling apparel.
Murky_Historian8675@reddit
Way to go Donnie!
dupaq16@reddit
They are from his victims. He's Danny McGrath from Billy Madison. Changed one letter of his name for a new alias.
dupaq16@reddit
akthebarber@reddit
I was going to say I want to look at his list of people from Billy Madison now along with the bowling shirts.
valas76@reddit
I read a theory that it is because he is the killer from Con Air that escaped (or at least you didn't see dead), Garland Green https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/s/SoPxkv0jdq
ExtraYogurt3208@reddit (OP)
That’s fucking interesting.
HCPage@reddit
He’s got the whole world. In his hands!
Ok_Tour_1525@reddit
Man I was a little kid and my dad let me watch that with him one night and that scene felt so incredibly weird. I just didn’t get it at all but I knew it was all wrong.
downtune79@reddit
I like this
gruven_reuven@reddit
He also had many surfer Tees, but the bowling shirts he got thrifting
Fun_Chef134@reddit
He got them at the DAV Thrift Store NEAR the In n Out, on Radner.
Bontkers@reddit
Well Dude we just don’t know.
pompatusofcheez@reddit
After championship matches, competitors swap shirts in an act of good sportsmanship. Fred Dynarski with the Southern Cal Bowling League, is credited with starting the trend which has migrated to other sports, most notable European Football.
pm_me_flowers_please@reddit
I don't want to look this up to determine if it is correct, I am choosing to believe you, and this is now a part of my core beliefs.
dufflebag7@reddit
It was famously recorded by Knox Harrington, the video artist.
Successful_Cress6639@reddit
The one with the cleft asshole?
vhmike@reddit
What the fuck is WITH this guy? Who IS he?
Successful_Cress6639@reddit
Apparently he teaches at hogwarts.
CaptainBloodface12@reddit
How did I never realize that? I'm usually pretty good with voices and faces.
WhineyLobster@reddit
especially his...
CaptainBloodface12@reddit
Testament to his acting talent I guess. Next you'll be telling me that guy Walter gut punches with his bowling ball is a famous rockstar or something.
Dr_Middlefinger@reddit
And spends 7 years in Tibet with an asshole who befriends the Lama...
LeonSphynx@reddit
Gunga galungala
SweetPerogy@reddit
That must be exhausting.
Recreationalchem13@reddit
‘Fessor Snake.
Personal_Strike_1055@reddit
Wait... is this about the Biannale?
chemoboy@reddit
*giggles in eurotrash*
DatSauceTho@reddit
LMAO I would’ve never thought of this description on my own but it’s perfect
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
He knows Sandra, from the biannale
skonthebass24@reddit
I always thought he said Sandro..
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
Maybe he does.
64CarClan@reddit
What a great line, right?!
JBHuskers@reddit
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Gutter_Snoop@reddit
I was talking about my rug...
tmofee@reddit
Don’t be fatuous, successful_cress6639
djmizzle2@reddit
He’s no Roy Donk
soldatoj57@reddit
Did he at least fix the cable?
SpaceOk9358@reddit
But he WAS a regular guest on the Colgate hour
Fit_Leather9366@reddit
hlqmdmn666@reddit
/nod "it is known." /shrug
soldatoj57@reddit
This guy internets
pompatusofcheez@reddit
It was developed to nurture morale after an altercation when a bowler drew a loaded weapon during league play which contravenes a number of the league’s by-laws.
Fun_Pressure5442@reddit
Over the line!
Ok-Swimming8024@reddit
Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you, and stick it up your ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it goes "click."
no_vale_verga817@reddit
Jesus!
Aggressive_Ad60@reddit
You said it Man..
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
Pederast
pm_me_flowers_please@reddit
I fucking love this subreddit so much.
ObvslyNotAGolfer@reddit
At least it's an ethos...
emily311783@reddit
LoL!
Mysterious-Street966@reddit
I will also defer to the above comment as absolute truth from this day forward. New shit has come to light.
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
We are not privvy to this new shit
zorbacles@reddit
its correct, i did it when i was a competitive bowler. its not just in championships either. we would do it in junior comps
JBP_85@reddit
@zorbacles…that creep can roll
no_vale_verga817@reddit
eight year olds dude…
druebleam@reddit
LOL
Hopeful-Flounder-203@reddit
I'm going to start a religion based in this.
CommonSensei-_@reddit
That sort of thing is done in lacrosse sometimes. Swapped jersey’s w some guys from a Japanese college once.
They weren’t worthy adversaries though
Gunkwei@reddit
And American football
Stunning_Health8678@reddit
Donny, please.
Natural_Distance_812@reddit
Me and Charlie, eyeball to eyeball.
dildoteamtaskforce@reddit
Now thats fuckin' combat
junklore@reddit
the man in the black pajamas
no_vale_verga817@reddit
Just a bunch of sushi eaters tryna find the top shelf
opopkl@reddit
This has been a thing in football since before I started watching it in the 70s.
byPCP@reddit
new shit has come to light!
Gunkwei@reddit
Wait there’s actually a southern cal bowling league?
thisguyfightsyourmom@reddit
Like 1.2 million league members. They operate more like Freemasons at this point because it’s so fucking hard to get a lane at these corporate lanes man.
MarcBulldog88@reddit
If there wasn’t one before the movie, I’m sure there was afterwards.
alloutofchewingum@reddit
So this is sort of like an Indian wearing a belt decorated with enemy scalps?
Duke-City@reddit
Damn! Fred Dynarski. That’s a deep cut. Well done!
hettuklaeddi@reddit
that’s an, uh, informal report
2wheelsThx@reddit
Quiet_Addendum7923@reddit
Anyone ever tried pouring powdered creamer into an iced drink? Futility floating on the surface.
Vistaer@reddit
That’s far out man - far fucking out!
Perfect_Earth_8070@reddit
What are you a fucking sportsman now?!
ExtraYogurt3208@reddit (OP)
Awesome!
GhostofAyabe@reddit
Dude, that’s interesting, that’s fucking interesting. New information
Kane_of_Runefaust421@reddit
That's fucking interesting man
CriticalSuit1336@reddit
[ Removed by Reddit ]
ReggieOnTop@reddit
He's not blowing
mudamuckinjedi@reddit
Serial killer Donnie, he hangs out with the dude and Walter and is constantly being told to "shut the fuck up!" So he takes his hostilities out on random people he finds coming out the bowling alley by killing them in the parking lot and going back in their shirts. He is also really really good at getting all those pesky blood stains out of the shirts too.
31770j@reddit
My favorite theory is a loooong character arc spanning multiple movies and ending with the persona “Donny”… from what I remember it starts with Buscemi’s character in Airheads, where after the band splits up he loses his mind and goes on a serial killing spree, targeting characters in Billy Madison (where you see his list of targets with some already marked out). Eventually he gets caught and sent to maximum security prison but escapes in a transport plane crash (Con Air) and flees to LA to take on a subdued, unassuming personality of Donny, which is why he never has his own shirt.
Ok-Adeptness3884@reddit
And he was looking for Earl Denton.
No_Variety9420@reddit
Serial killer
Trprt77@reddit
If I recall, there was also a scene in the Sopranos where Buscemi was at the massage place he was opening with the Korean dude, and he had a shirt with the name Luis.
HaptRec@reddit
Obviously you’re not a thrifter
pucks4brains@reddit
At Donnie's funeral, the Dude wears a Medina Sod bowling shirt, the name on the front is 'Art' which seems to be as much about the film as anything else.
U-Rsked-4-it@reddit
He's poor?
Tall_Wrangler_19@reddit
Well Dude we just don't know
IChurnToBurn@reddit
Donny was an FBI informant working a case against Jesus. The different shirts were disguises.
Soulless--Plague@reddit
What are you some sort of conspiracy theorist now?
BiggDrippKillua@reddit
They theory is he's the best guy from Con Air and once he escaped he went to Vegas won money and stayed out the way and played the opposite the non threatening character but yet he still was looking hence the Bowling shirts with the different names
joeypublica@reddit
Donny was a good bowler and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved the outdoors… and bowling
don_teegee@reddit
Denver-Ski@reddit
GOD DAMNIT WALTER!
laserguidedhacksaw@reddit
Everything is a fucking travesty with you
emily311783@reddit
LoL!!!
Successful_Cress6639@reddit
I have some really burdensome friends and I steal this line from time to time
Ok-Swimming8024@reddit
The way they hug after this line might be the most touching part of the movie
Riverboated@reddit
Donnie was a bowling hustler in Jersey/NYC for eight years before moving to west coast. He took his game to LA and got tangled up with the Big Lebowski. Huge mistake!
HooChooDadoo@reddit
Dudes shirt says Art
SeaBag8211@reddit
We got 4 more deceives working on the case
eugenesbluegenes@reddit
They got em working in ships!
YoullBeFiiine@reddit
Haha! Leebs!!!
CdnfaS@reddit
The boys down at the crime lad
Ok_Tour_1525@reddit
Leads? Yeah, shire.
ChinaCatProphet@reddit
We're working in shifts.
outdoorgearguy@reddit
If he wore any other shirt, he’d be out of his element.
Feeling_Penalty_8141@reddit
It's really a false reality Donnie does not exist.
MrGabogab0@reddit
He buys them from thrift stores.
leesharon1985@reddit
I still love the theory that Donnie is a figment of Walter’s imagination.
2wheelsThx@reddit
Because Donny, who loved bowling, shopped at thrift stores, from Santa Monica to El Monte, and on up to...Burbank.
PantsDontHaveAnswers@reddit
You know, Dude, I used to dabble in thrifting myself. Not during 'Nam of course.
vhmike@reddit
It can be a natural, zesty enterprise
stubradley@reddit
It’s the wave of the future Dude, 100 percent second hand.
Dr_Middlefinger@reddit
He shops in the bargain bin?
TrainwreckTrials@reddit
And Hill 364!!
taco_bones@reddit
and in his wisdom, lord, he bought em
DangitThatHurt@reddit
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
Harley420000@reddit
What the fuck does this have to do with Vietnam Walter?
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
Well theres no literal connection
TrainwreckTrials@reddit
"Ah shit Dude sorry man, fuck it let's go bowling 🎳
ExtraYogurt3208@reddit (OP)
Pismo…
safetycommittee@reddit
https://bamfstyle.com/2019/04/20/medina-sod/
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
I actually want a Medina Sod bowling shirt
sakko303@reddit
That would be awesome.. with the customizabillity of bowling shirts why you crazies don’t have this dialed in yet is beyond me. Despite your lack of bowling shirts, though, you went out and achieved anyway, heh.
joshloveless1976@reddit
Like so many young men before him
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
He thrifted before his time
DavesDogma@reddit
Thrifters. Fuck me! Say what you want about the tenets of consumerism. Dude, at least it’s an ethos.
john_in_columbus@reddit
Don Wayne Gacy
Botosi5150@reddit
Donny is Mr. Pink. He hocked the jewels and became a surfer, and as a surfer he explored the beaches of southern California from La Jolla to Leo Carillo... and up to Pismo.
homie_j88@reddit
I like the theory he's the same character from "Con Air." Never found again and is just living his life below the radar under false name wearing shirts of bowlers he's killed up and down the coast
MuleGrass@reddit
Also from Billy Madison, he was about to go on a killing spree
Dr_Middlefinger@reddit
Boy am I glad I called that guy..
skeenerbug@reddit
Jesus.
Katatonia13@reddit
Damnit. I won’t be able to unsee that.
False-Storm-5794@reddit
This is the answer! Witness protection!
YouOk5627@reddit
So is Dude when they pour out Donnie’s ashes
YouOk5627@reddit
Obviously you’re not a golfer
Key-Constant-5717@reddit
It was the style at the time
CornFedPrairiePenis@reddit
He's actually not real and just the Walter's buddies who died face down in the muck. The coffee can scene symbolizes his acceptance of the fate of his friends. The Dude just goes along with whatever Walter does because it's not worth fighting him on everything - plus he's high. It's actually a commentary on the Military Industrial Complex and understanding the role war plays in civilization and is at times a necessity. Also, Bunny Lebowski will suck your cock for $1000.
Dudenysius@reddit
Donnie was a proponent of Anatta; non-self. He had transcended ego and had no “self”, therefore any arbitrarily-labeled identity was as good as any other.
TripleBobRoss@reddit
I used to live next a uniform supply / industrial laundry business about 30 years ago. They would sell used work shirts with name tags or company logos sewn on them for like a buck or two. In the 90's, that was obviously a fucking cool shirt. One time I went in and they had 5 gray work shirts with the name "Dick" on the tag. Best goddamn 5 dollars I ever spent.
TheSouthsideSlacker@reddit
Donny be thriftin.
no_vale_verga817@reddit
Now so far, we have, what appears to me… to be series of victimless serial murders.
What about the shirts?!
Forget about fuckin shits!
pickinscabs@reddit
All his competitors that he's killed.
DeuceOfDiamonds@reddit
Thrift stores.
Repulsive-Appeal-742@reddit
Thrift QUEEEEEEEEN
JBHuskers@reddit
Shut the fuck up Donny.
Dweebil@reddit
Donny was a surfer. He bought his clothes at thrift stores, from La Jolla to Leo Carrillo.. and up to Pismo.
Rule556@reddit
Not my theory, but I like it… It’s now my head canon.
Donny is Garland Greene from Con-Air.
al3x_7788@reddit
Walter sees others as Donny.
drmhagarty@reddit
Donny is imaginary
carryon4threedays@reddit
Trophies of the people he killed after sparing Billy Madison.
Tarphiker@reddit
There is a theory that Donny is Danny from Billy Madison in hiding and the shirts he wears are the people he’s killed.
vhmike@reddit
Forget about the fucking shirts!
ihatepalmtrees@reddit
The 90s
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
Right around the time of our conflict with Saddam Hussein and the Iraquis.
imnotsafeatwork@reddit
This has been covered many times. Have you been listening to the dude's story?
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
I was buying bowling shirts so I have no frame of refernce.
jjames34@reddit
Well first off dude, it's Donny
organicdelivery@reddit
Just really a fan of Medina Sod.
Affectionate-Flan-99@reddit
That good sod Walter.
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
STFU A-F-99!!
Altruistic_Glove_602@reddit
I dig his style
Aggravating_Bat3618@reddit
Its more than just a thing
Hopeful-Flounder-203@reddit
Someone on this sub once opined he worked with the kraut at the league office and got free shirts out of the lost and found. I find that slanderous.
PrimoBachs@reddit
For your information, the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint!
pop_em5@reddit
Don't be fatuous Jeffrey
amorican88@reddit
Witness protection program.
Dick-in-a-fan@reddit
Donnie is a figment of Walter’s imagination— likely he was a comrade in Vietnam.
dtuba555@reddit
So why did the Dude tell him he was going home, if he didn't exist?
Turdfurgeso@reddit
No shots were fired
hornwalker@reddit
Call the paramedics Dude. I’d do it but I’m pumping blood here.
weswesruss@reddit
We got help chopperin’ in
faucetpants@reddit
. "Donny's" story can be seen through three movies. He first appears in billy madison a budding serial killer then he vanished into his life of killing. He appears later in con air as he was serving time for his spree of murders, but he escapes. Then, ultimately he is hiding in Los Angeles in the big lebowski. So, are these shirts from his later victims in LA? Did donny decide to liquidate the bowling competition in the only way he knew?
Dan_Berg@reddit
What in god's name are you blathering on about? (this was my answer too)
faucetpants@reddit
What are you? The fuckin blathering police?
2wheelsThx@reddit
Don't forget he was Wiley in Grown Ups...
Biscuits4u2@reddit
He was always out of his element
Outrageous-Serve4970@reddit
I like to think it’s because he has zero frame of reference and is way out of his depth
901Soccer@reddit
Does this contravene any of the league's by-laws?
BlooNorth@reddit
Ask that Kraut Burkhakter…
BlooNorth@reddit
Let’s me check with the boys down at the crime lab….
Ghosts_of_the_maze@reddit
You don’t go out looking for a job dressed like that, do you? On a weekday?
Darkhelmet3000@reddit
Employed?
JimmyRockfish@reddit
All the bowling shirts appear to be sourced from Minnesota where the Coen brothers are from. Park Cleaners, Medina Sod.
GivenToFlyGuy@reddit
He’s a serial killer and they’re the shirts of his victims.
pop_em5@reddit
Lady, I got button ups that fell tie side down in the muck so that you and I could enjoy our washing machines
DumboIsAHero@reddit
Donnie's character is a caution against taking The Dude's passive ethos too far. He stands for nothing, has no opinion, never knows what's going on, etc. He has no identity. He's constantly out of his element because he has no element. All we know about him is that he throws strikes. Until the one time he doesn't, after which he dies. Ceases to exist because even the shallow identity he's established as a rock thrower has dissolved.
CucumberParty3388@reddit
I used to collect them from thrift stores back in my bowling days.
Pupikal@reddit
Not in Nam, of course
michaltee@reddit
Come on. Let’s get us a lane.
ExtraYogurt3208@reddit (OP)
I guess we just don’t know dude.
TRDOffRoadGuy@reddit
Donny was an avid thrifter, he only bought bowling shirts.
loodgeboodge@reddit
Present-Algae6767@reddit
He probably gets them from thrift stores, although the serial killer theory is interesting
ailyara@reddit
well dude we just don’t know
Pimpstik69@reddit
Obviously your not a golfer
Fuckern-shitern@reddit
Sod company from Ohio bowling shirts. Their real. Dude’s sats Art. My name is Art.
tuggernaut27@reddit
They are the names of all of Walters Nam' buddies.
burntorangecycle@reddit
Free wheeling surfer community: grab a shirt on your way out
Turbulent_Ad9508@reddit
When he escaped prison in Las Vegas, he changed his name and moved to LA to start fresh.
Needed a hobby, started bowling...but the itch came back....got back into serial killing, but just bowlers
Dvd3r1n0@reddit
Donnie, please
Mindless_Log2009@reddit
The bowling shirt with the name Music ⚡ Band is kinda meta.
Electrical_Guest_869@reddit
Just like a child who wanders in and out of conversations, Donnie also wanders in and out of widows lives taking along with him bowling shirts from deceased strangers and the hearts of the lonely brokenhearted.
usbekchslebxian@reddit
Donny was a good man, and a good bowler
useless_modern_god@reddit
It don’t matter to Jesus
Black_Lodge_Beats@reddit
Donnie is a ghost.
Agile_End_3049@reddit
Well Dude, we just don't know.
TheSamurabbi@reddit
Obviously, you’re not a golfer.