Charlie Young was the Deputy Special Assistant to Chief of Staff and formerly the Personal Aide to the President during the Bartlet Administration.
Biography
Charlie was President Bartlet's "body man", his personal assistant and works closely with the President's Secretary to ensure the smooth operation of the Oval Office. He originally came to the White House to get a part-time job as a messenger, but was picked by Ms. DeLaguardia (Deborah Fiderer, later to become the President's secretary) to replace the President's previous personal aide, and was interviewed by Josh Lyman for the job.
Young's mother was a police officer in Washington, D.C. who was killed in the line of duty. ("A Proportional Response") He takes care of his sister, Deena (known later as Deanna), as his father is "long gone". Charlie graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, a public school in D.C., but later said that he would have preferred to go to Gonzaga High, a Catholic school with a better academic reputation and a comparatively crime-free history. Though he had high grades at school, Charlie decided not to go to college until Deanna finished school. However, during Season 2, he decided to take courses at Georgetown University while still keeping up with the demands of his job.
After graduating from Georgetown, Charlie was forced to make good on a promise he made to the President to move on and leave his job as the President's body man once he graduated. Charlie found it hard to leave the White House and began passing his résumé around the West Wing. C.J. Cregg, the newly appointed Chief of Staff, asked Charlie to stay in the West Wing as a special aide to the Chief of Staff. A man named Curtis Carruthers replaced Charlie as President Bartlet's body man.
Charlie began dating Zoey Bartlet, the President's youngest daughter, in Season 1. Because of this, he was the target of an assassination attempt by a white supremacist group at the end of Season 1. He and Zoey later broke up, though he often professed his love for her, much to her chagrin (and secret delight). As Season 5 progressed, we saw that Charlie briefly had a new love interest. At first there was no clear indication on whether Charlie and Zoey would reunite, although he asked her out on a date and they were later sighted sitting next to one another at Zoey's birthday party in the East Room watching Penn and Teller burn a flag. Later in Season Six, it was revealed that they had gotten back together, as evidenced by Charlie sneaking out of Zoey's room and being caught by the President.
Charlie is also a mentor to Anthony, a troubled young man whose "Big Brother", Simon Donovan (a Secret Service Agent assigned to protect C.J. Cregg), was killed (at the end of Season 3).
In a "flash-forward" three years into the future, shown at the beginning of the Season 7 premiere at the dedication of the Bartlet Presidential Library, Charlie congratulates Bartlet for his role in peace talks in Jakarta, Indonesia, although his specific function was not defined.
In the series finale, Charlie is accepted to Georgetown Law School, thanks in part to a personal letter of recommendation from President Bartlet.
Personality
Charlie at first appears to be an affable, modest young man severely out of his depth in the White House. However, his intelligence (which is of an order to enable him to engage in debates with almost everyone in the building) soon shows itself in his deduction of the President's location when he lost his glasses. ("A Proportional Response") Charlie rapidly demonstrates a fearlessness whether it's guarding a man a foot taller than him on the basketball court ("The Crackpots and These Women"), defusing a situation and defending Zoey at a bar ("Mr. Willis of Ohio") or standing up to various influential people who want to get into the Oval Office.
Resume
Education
- 2005: Bachelor's Degree - Georgetown University
- 1999-2005: Personal Aide to the President
- 2005-2007: Special Aide to the Chief of Staff
- 2007-: Juris Doctor - Georgetown University Law Center
Behind the scenes
- The character's name may be a tribute to Charles Young, the first ever black Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army.
- Dule Hill made only a few appearances in Season 7, as he began starring in another TV show: Psych.
References
| PREDECESSOR Ted Miller |
Personal Aide to the President Charlie Young |
SUCCESSOR Curtis Carruthers |