Mike Rostenkowski
Character
Gender	Male
Occupation	Police officer, retired
Series Information
First episode	"The Launch Acceleration" (mentioned in "The Vacation Solution")
No. episodes	3
Portrayed by	Casey Sander

Mike Rostenkowski^[1] is a retired police officer and the father of Bernadette Rostenkowski, as well as several younger children and the father-in-law of Howard Wolowitz. His first appearance was in "The Launch Acceleration." He is portrayed by actor Casey Sander.

PersonalityEdit

Before he was first seen, Bernadette warned Howard not to mention Jimmy Carter, gardeners, foreigners, homosexuals, Sean Penn, Vatican II, organic food, gun control, recycling, or Howard's Jewish heritage, indicating that he is far-right-wing.

Overall, Mr. Rostenkowski is a hardened police officer, who has a rough and rude personality, and often bullies others. He admitted to Howard that he does not like him, but is impressed with him being an astronaut. He appears to have a soft spot for Bernadette, calling her his "little girl." He has called Howard's mother a "piece of work" and pointed out that she had an even bigger mustache than him. He mentioned that his former partner was shot and killed by his partner's insane wife.

He doesn't seem to care about Howard, despite the fact that he's Mr. Rostenkowski's son-in-law. His respect for Howard grew, however, when he learned Howard had been selected to become an astronaut. When Howard told him of his terror of going to space, Mr. Rostenkowski said "It's gonna be fine, son. A cute girl like Bernadette...She'll find a new guy."

He appears to be incredibly strong, since he was seen cracking walnuts with his bare hands in "The Launch Acceleration."

TriviaEdit

• He is one of three fathers of the main cast who has physically appeared on the show; the others being Raj's father V.M. Koothrappali and Penny's father Wyatt. (Leonard's father is only mentioned, Sheldon's is dead, Howard's left him at 11, and neither Amy's nor Stuart's have ever been seen or mentioned).

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ first name revealed in The Fish Guts Displacement