Henry Warnimont

Henry Warnimont was the building manager of the apartment building where Punky found a new home in an apartment on the second floor after being abandoned by her mother in a car. He was portrayed in the original live action series and voiced in the cartoon series by the late George Gaynes.

Pre Original Series
Not much was known about Henry's childhood or early life, although it is likely his interest in photography started at a young age. As a teenager he dated a girl named Maggie McLerie. He had a date with her in 1941 where he intended to propose to her at a restaurant named Luigi's. However, that date was spoiled by people reacting to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Henry elected to put his social life on hold and enlist in the U.S. Navy to support the war effort. However, in doing so he lost contact with Maggie. When his military career was over, he resumed his interest in photography, soon becoming a professional photographer. He also resumed his love life, marrying a woman named Claudia. The marriage was apparently a happy one, though they had no children. When Claudia died of an unknown ailment, Henry took it hard. His personality changed for the worse, becoming a grumpy man with a cold personality towards others. Henry, however, still retained some of his former personality by holding a candle for Claudia in keeping photographs of her in his residence. He had also ventured into a second trade, becoming the manager of the apartment building where he worked. In his duties as building manager, he discovered an abandoned child squatting in his building. Though angry at first, this would change his life for the better.

Original Series
Realizing she was all alone, Henry begrudgingly took Punky in and cared for her. He fights to foster Punky until he wins the case in court. One day his original studio burned down in a fire. The stress of the loss of his business caused Henry to be hospitalized for an ulcer. As Henry was both incapacitated and bereft of income, he was declared unfit to be a parent and Punky was sent to Fenster Hall. Henry recovered from the ulcer, then managed to resume his photography business. During this time, he legally fought to adopt Punky, which he won in court. Later, when his photography career had gone into a slump, Henry closed down his second studio and rolled over his capital into buying a restaurant, which he christened "Punky's Place".

Pre Reboot Series
Henry continued to stay close to Punky, although it was likely as a full grown woman she found her own way to support herself. Punky recalled that she had a date with Travis in the Treehouse. Later, when she married Travis, Henry walked her down the aisle as her true parents were unavailable to give away her hand in marriage.

Reboot Series
Henry passed away of an unknown cause by the start of the reboot series, although it could have likely been old age. Punky keeps a portrait of Henry in her residence, where he is the posthumous grandfather of her children. Punky has kept Henry's spirit alive through raising kids, some of whom are not her blood relatives, in the same type of relationship Henry had with Punky as a child.

It's Punky Brewster
As in the live action series, the animated Henry also was responsible for raising Punky. This version of Henry, however, like other adults, was unaware of the existence of Glomer. However, Glomer managed to cause problems for Henry, such as fooling around with his magic and accidentally transforming Henry into a marble statue akin to Julius Ceasar, which is then shipped to France. When Henry was declared an art forgery, Punky had to get Glomer to undo the spell before Henry was smashed to pieces. Another episode had Henry mistakenly classified as an unfit father and Punky removed from his home. However, when Punky was seen by many in a life-threatening situation, it was Henry who saved her, proving to the public he was a devoted foster parent.

Personality
Despite being a bit gruff at times, he is a good man, caring and sincere.

Trivia

 * Henry is a bit of a cheapskate, although at other times he has been generous to others.
 * Henry has an interest in the opera.
 * The role of Henry was first considered by Fred Gwynne, who was best remembered for Herman Munster. However, when a producer mistakenly called him "Herman" during an audition, Gwynne became annoyed with being accused of typecasting and refused to continue the audition. This opened the door for George Gaynes, who won the audition.