London Tipton

London Tipton
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and
The Suite Life on Deck character

Brenda Song as London in "Bon Voyage"
First appearance "Hotel Hangout"
Last appearance "Graduation on Deck"
Created by Danny Kallis
Jim Geoghan
Portrayed by Brenda Song (regular)
Haley Tju (young London)
Information
Nickname(s) Princess, Londy (by Mr. Tipton)
Airhead Heiress (by Maddie)
Gender Female
Occupation Student
Owner/Manager (The Cluck Bucket)
Owner/head of the "Simply London Cosmetics"
Owner of "London's Swimsuit Line"
Former owner of "London's Boutique" At The Tipton
Owner of "One of a Kind Clothes"
Family Wilfred Tipton (father)
Louise Tipton (former stepmother; unseen)
Brandi Tipton (former stepmother)
Yolanda (former stepsister)
Karina Tipton (former stepmother)
Khun Yai (Grandmother)
(Unnamed biological mother)
15 additional stepmothers
Significant other(s) Lance Fishman (ex-boyfriend)
Relatives Rome Tipton (great-great-great-great grandson)
Nationality American
British (for tax purposes)
Pets
Dogs Ivana
Prince Percival Persimmon DuLoc (Ivana and Scamp's puppy)
Cat "Cat" (revealed in "Club Twin")

London Leah Tipton is a fictional character in Disney's Suite Life franchise which consisted of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its sequel The Suite Life on Deck. London has also appeared on cross-over episodes of other Disney series, such as Wizards of Waverly Place, That's So Raven and Hannah Montana and the special, Studio DC: Almost Live.

The character is portrayed by Brenda Song, who was offered the starring female role without an audition.[1] While the character is an obvious parody of socialite Paris Hilton, Song describes the character as being complex and has stated London Tipton is her fantasy character.[2] The character is presented as a ditzy, privileged girl with hidden depth.[3] She is the daughter of Wilfred Tipton, the owner of the Tipton Hotel chain and the SS Tipton. Along with Dylan and Cole Sprouse, she has appeared in almost every episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck.

Television series background

London Tipton is the only child of wealthy businessman Wilfred Tipton. Her mother, who has never been named or seen, is of Thai origin;[4] her father is American, though he claims British citizenship for income tax purposes. She is heiress to the Tipton corporate empire (which includes the Tipton hotel chain and many other companies, including several record labels).[5] It is revealed in The Suite Life on Deck episode "A London Carol" that London at some time loved helping people, and that every Christmas she volunteered at homeless shelters.

Despite being born into wealth and privilege, London had a very unhappy childhood; her father ignored her, and married so many times that London never felt she had a mother. The Suite Life on Deck reveals that her father married a girl named Karina because London wanted her out of her way of her relationship with a magician on the ship. London herself says that Karina is her father's fourteenth wife. It is also said in the finale of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody that her father has been married a dozen times in the past, though in an episode on Suite Life on Deck, she stated that he has been married eight times.

Her father did not attend any of London's performances because he was supposedly busy, as revealed by London to Maddie in the episode "Lip Synchin' in the Rain." As she grew older, she filled the void created by her father's absence with shopping, as Maddie discovers in the episode "Kisses & Basketball". Maddie claims that London buys clothes to cope with feelings of emptiness. In The Suite Life on Deck episode "The Beauty and the Fleeced", London admits to shopping when she is depressed.

In the episode "The Prince & the Plunger", Moseby convinces London to attend the father-daughter dance with Mr. Tipton, though London is convinced her father will not come. After Moseby gets the hotel in perfect condition and hires a band to welcome his boss, he learns that Mr. Tipton is a no-show, as London predicted. Moseby discovers London crying in the linen closet; her tough attitude about her father once again disappointing her is revealed to be a front. Moseby asks London if she would like him to be her escort to the dance, and she agrees.

At the age of 15, she met Maddie Fitzpatrick, who eventually becomes her best friend. At one point, London enrolled at Maddie's Catholic school, Our Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow. Later on in the series, London was expelled because she did not attend her classes, so she is forced to go to Cheevers High School. Then her father has her attend Seven Seas High, a high school program on the SS Tipton, because on a ship, she will not be able to run away.

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

London is a very spoiled, selfish, rich teenager with her own private suite at the Tipton Hotel in Boston, complete with floors full of closets (each with its own obsequious talking mirror), and a kitchen that takes up most of the floor. Her best friend is Maddie Fitzpatrick, whom London is essentially bribing to spend time with her. She is also very good friends with Zack and Cody. Though London can often be seen as a superficial snob who looks down on lower-class people, she does make exceptions for those whom she really cares about and has been shown to be loyal to her friends. She loves fashion, and states that she has been wearing designer outfits since she was a baby, and usually never wears the same outfit twice. She has a Pomeranian named Ivana Tipton who is treated like royalty. Since London has no nanny, or any adult to look out for her, she often looks to the Tipton employees for help and/or guidance. She dislikes her stepmothers and talks to Mr. Moseby, Maddie and sometimes, Carey about her problems. When happy, London tends to clap her hands repeatedly and jump up and down while saying her catchphrase, "Yay me!" Though it seems like London may lead the ultimate rich-girl life, her childhood was far less than perfect.

London has attended several private schools, but shows very little effort in her school work. She transferred to the same private school as Maddie in the episode Forever Plaid, due to poor attendance at her old school ("And they even expect me to go on Fridays!"). In the episode First Day of High School, London transfers to Zack and Cody's public school, due to being expelled from all of the private schools she had previously attended. London's worst subject in school would probably be language arts, since she doesn't like reading and often claims to have trouble with the alphabet. As stated earlier, London has below average intelligence. She is confused with many things, and is tricked by many characters such as Maddie and Nia. London, apparently, has some belief in certain mythological aspects; Maddie and Esteban once tricked her into doing many idiotic things by changing her horoscope. Though, annoying to some characters, London being gullible is found to be quite an advantage in difficult situations. It is also revealed in one episode that she must think before doing the smallest everyday actions. For example, she was walking through the lobby while thinking "left, right, blink, breathe" in the episode Super Twins.

Having such a glamorous lifestyle, London also has trouble with anything that involves hard work, which is something her dad encourages her to do sometimes (much to the dismay of London), usually because of her frivolous money spending. London's poor ability is often caused by her lack of effort and understanding, as it's normally easy for her to get her own way in life. Though sometimes she'll put her ego aside, and show she can do more than she's given credit for, which shows her to being occasionally smart and/or selfless. Though curiously, her stupidity seems to have increased during season 3.

London has her own web-show, ever since the episode Tiptonline. The original producer of Yay Me, Starring London Tipton was Cody Martin. After Cody quit, due to crazy things London made him do on set, London's friend Chelsea Brimmer became the producer, but Chelsea left after one webshow because she was a horrible producer and the fans demanded they bring Cody back. London then realized how she needed Cody and apologized to him on the air. After Cody saw the show, he rushed to London's suite in the middle of the show and stated that he would return. However, whenever Cody was unavailable, Maddie often filled in as a substitute, and soon became the official producer. London continues to do her webshow on the SS Tipton, with Woody Fink as her producer.

She sees her father in person only rarely, but she often talks to him on the telephone. London says that Mr. Moseby appears much more times in her family’s photo albums than Mr. Tipton or any of his ex-wives.

Although she is not of Jewish descent, London observes Hanukkah. In "Big Hair & Baseball", while she and Carey swoon as the New York Yankees check into the Tipton, she says of the players, "They're even cuter than that hockey team Daddy bought me for Hanukkah".[6] In "Cookin' with Romeo and Juliet", London states that she's used to getting everything she wants on her birthday, Christmas, and Hanukkah. When Maddie points out that London shouldn't be able to celebrate Hanukkah since she isn't Jewish, London replies "And miss out on 8 days of presents? Not this Shiksa". Throughout the series, London peppers her speech with other Yiddish vernacular, such as "Oy Vey", "Plotz", and "Mazel Tov".

London hates to work out but has been shown to be very strong in several episodes. She is also tone deaf, but still likes to sing. It is revealed in "Super Twins" she is also easily hypnotized, which is also shown in The Suite Life on Deck.

The Suite Life on Deck

London journeys onto the SS Tipton with the belief that she is on a vacation, until she is informed otherwise by Mr. Moseby that it is for her to attend Seven Seas High (or as London refers to it "stupid sea-school") so she can attend school properly without skipping class. London bitterly sees this as more as a punishment than an opportunity. When London finds out later that she has to share a cabin, she bribes her cabin-mate, Padma, with jewellery to leave in "The Suite Life Sets Sail", so she can have her own cabin. At the end of the episode, Bailey Pickett is revealed to be a girl, which prompts her to be assigned in London's half-vacant cabin. This pushes a stubborn London to escape the SS Tipton via helicopter to Parrot Island, after bribing an employee. Therefore, in the following episode, the ship makes a special journey to the island to rescue her, as she has been imprisoned because Tipton Industries cut down Parrot Island's trees, which made the native parrots immigrate to Seal Island close by. Later, she writes a check for 10 million to rehabilitate the island, and resumes residence on SS Tipton.

At the school, London is treated like a regular student. In order to skid her way through school, London has often tried to bribe the teacher (such as handing in a blank report with $100 bills on each page). However, she has been seen putting a little more effort into her school work, and even states in the episode "Sea Monster Mash" that she enjoys having a feeling of accomplishment. London is also slightly smarter than what she was in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, as seen in multiple episodes (though she still retains the ditzy demeanor). Also despite her frequent attempts to escape the SS Tipton so she can resume her normal free life, London has found ways to adapt on the ship. Since London now has limited closet space in her cabin, it is mentioned that most of her clothes are carried by a submarine that follows the ship, though she continues to find more room.

London quickly establishes a tenuous friendship with Bailey. In Broke N' Yo-Yo, she moves Bailey to a cramped loft near the ceiling of the cabin, and Bailey retaliates by faking an attack of fictional "Sea Snarks", but eventually comes clean and they agree to share the cabin equally. London later reunites with Ivana, her dog, flown in by a helicopter in The Kidney of the Sea, and Cody referees an intelligence competition between her dog and Bailey's pet, Porkers the pig, but in the end Ivana and Porkers end in a draw. London occasionally mistreats Bailey such as humiliating her using her webshow, "Yay Me" on a segment called "Boo You". Despite this, London means well as a friend and Bailey is willing to forgive her.

Although London admits that she doesn't "do things for other people", she has often attempted to do many generous things, with unfortunate results. In "Mom and Dad On Deck", she hoped to find Moseby the perfect gift for his birthday, but resulted in her annoyingly following him everywhere in order to find out what he likes. She even tried to nurse Moseby after he got injured slipping on the sky deck, but only ends up making him feel crowded. In the same episode, it is revealed that it takes her half-an-hour to read one page in even the simplest books (she reads 'The Pokey Little Princess' to Moseby, and her problem is revealed). In the season two episode "Smarticle Particles", Bailey tricks London into doing well in school by giving her a "smart perfume", to which London responds to as planned. However, London finds out later that the perfume is fake, and is upset that her 'smarticles' weren't real, and she states while crying that she can't be smart now, and that she likes "being smart" Bailey then cheers her up with a "smart lipstick", which London happily uses. This shows that London is actually very bright but lacks enough confidence to believe so. But other instances conclude that she doesn't know very much at all (e.g., in "So You Think You Can Date?", when she's mentioned the number of her father's marriages she holds up six fingers, though clearly saying "eight"). In "Family Thais", the gang travels to Thailand, where London meets her grandmother, and at first is upset, and disgusted after finding out that she was a farmer. In "Lost at Sea" London pretends to go insane and that she's on an island resort in order not to have to do any work. After they finally escape the island in a balloon made out of her clothes and fly back to the SS Tipton, she reveals her deception and makes Cody and Bailey acknowledge she's a lot smarter than they give her credit for. She is also seen to be precise with her hands, such as when she repaired a small boat with various eyebrow care products in "Shipwrecked".

In the season three episode "Silent Treatment", after Bailey is ready to go onto the Sky Deck carrying a cat in a dress, London snaps Bailey out of her depression after her breakup with Cody by calling Bailey young, smart and pretty which she responds to in shock. In "My Oh Maya", London pretends to be Zack's ex-girlfriend to help him get a girl and pretends to be Marcus' wife to get Dante (Marcus' identity thief) off the ship. It isn't revealed whether or not she did it for free but it can be assumed that because she is maturing she did it without cost. Since then she has been displaying continuous signs of attraction towards Zack. In the last episode, it was shown she would miss Mr. Moseby, since he was the one that raised her. Her last line in the series is "Little me, off to Paris", in a French accent, apparently trying to sound rich, smart, and sophisticated. This line mirrored her first ever line in the original series "Little me, back from Paris".

Family

Father

Mothers

Friendships

Ivana

Ivana Tipton
'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
The Suite Life on Deck' character
First appearance Hotel Inspector
(The Suite Life of Zack & Cody)
The Kidney of the Sea
(The Suite Life on Deck)
Last appearance Sleepover Suite
(The Suite Life of Zack & Cody)
The Kidney of the Sea
(The Suite Life on Deck)
Voiced by Emma Stone (credited as Emily Stone)and her Greek voice by Katerina Girgis
Information
Species Dog (Pomeranian)
Gender Female
Occupation London Tipton's pet
Significant other(s) Scamp Fitzpatrick
Children Prince Percival Percimmon DuLac(son)
Maria Consuela Margarita Fransesca DeCielo (daughter)
Scruffy Fitzpatrick (son)
Elizebeth Katherine Margaret DeJulia (daughter)
Cliff Fitzpatrick (son)
Emma Tipton Fitzpatrick (daughter)

Ivana Priscilla Veronica Tipton-Fitzpatrick is a character on the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. She is voiced by Emma Stone and her Greek voice Katerina Girgis in episode "Crushed".

Ivana is the pet dog of The Tipton Hotel heiress London Tipton. (She is named after Ivana Trump, one of Donald Trump's ex-wives.) She is a Pomeranian breed although Estaban calls her a Shih Tzu. She does not talk to the human characters, but communicates to Maddie's dog Scamp, who she will have puppies with and marry. However, Maddie Fitzpatrick herself treats Ivana as a real person in one episode when she takes care of Ivana for a day. In this case, she was given sub-titles and barked, unlike how she talks to Scamp (although Maddie reacted, it is unknown whether or not she was actually understood). There was a book about Ivana in one episode, called Ivana lives in a Hotel. London copied it from Maddie for a short story assignment and gets an 'A', and in the end it becomes apparent that Maddie spoke it from a book her mother used to read to her when she was little.

When Ivana has puppies with Maddie's dog Scamp, Maddie names her puppy Scruffy and London names hers Prince Percival Persimmon Du Loc. London looked down on Scamp, who had to stay at The Tipton Hotel because Maddie's house was being fumigated, and set Ivana up with a "fancy pants" White Pomeranian duke, named Lord Quorckeran, (whom Ivana wasn't fond of, despite what London thought). Until Scamp showed up and whisked Ivana to suite 25. Esteban had been secretly feeding them, and stated "they are in love". When Moseby was showing the Ambassador to "his" suite, the dogs were found out. London eventually saw that Ivana was happy with Scamp.

They ended up having four puppies: Maddie's (Scruffy), London's (Prince Percival Percimmon Du Loc), Esteban's (Maria Consuela Margarita Fransesca DeCielo), and Moseby's unnamed puppy, it is unknown if Mr. Moseby's puppy is a boy or girl. Apparently Ivana is aware of London's lack of intellect, stating, when London thought she liked the Pomeranian Duke, "you also think one and one is four", although it isn't surprising that Ivana is smarter than London. In Fairest of them All Esteban said "She's making you give her Shih Tzu a shiatsu" even though Ivana is a Pomeranian. She is often seen in the first season, but not as much in the later seasons. In "Poor Little Rich Girl", Ivana is unseen but Zack and Cody said they took her Doggy Day Care. Ivana returns in "The Kidney of the Sea" on The Suite Life on Deck being dropped in by a helicopter and helps clear Zack's name after being blamed for stealing the kidney of the sea. In the episode "The Defiant Ones", she is mentioned.

Reception

The show's breakout character, London Tipton has garnered much media recognition. Song became a household name after The Suite Life of Zack & Cody debuted in 2005. In an April 2009 andPOP.com article, they stated that as London Tipton "Song is the One to Steal the Spotlight" on the Disney Channel. They said: "If you ever watched an episode of ‘The Suite Life with Zack & Cody’ you should realize that show is watchable because of one character: London Tipton. Brenda plays the ditzy spoiled hotel heiress London (yup, an allusion to Paris Hilton) and, if I could say so myself, she does quite an excellent job doing so."[7] While commenting on Song, MSN's 2009 cover story of the series states, "Song is one of the main reasons why the "Suite Life" franchise remains one of the most successful and highly rated series in the Disney stable."[8] In a 2009 article, People magazine described the character as a "melodramatic high-seas diva."[9] Allmovie described Song as a "charming and appealing personality, even when playing a shallow airhead".[10]

In August 2006, Song won an Asian Excellence Award for "Outstanding Newcomer" because of her portrayal of London Tipton in the series.[11] Song was also named the "Queen of Disney" by Cosmogirl Magazine due to her major contributions on the Disney Channel including her leading role in the Suite Life series.[12] Song ranked ninth in Netscape's 2007 "Top 10 Beautiful Petites in Entertainment",[13] was voted one of AOL's "Top 20 Tween (and Teen) Television Stars",[14] and Maxim ranked Song as the "Top Female Television Actress" in the winter of 2008 for her breakout performance as London Tipton in the Suite Life on Deck. Song was also ranked #45 in AIM's "Top 100 Celebs Under 25" list.[15] TV Guide listed Song in its 2008 list of "13 Hottest Young Stars to Watch" for her portrayal of London Tipton.[16] Zap2it named London Tipton the "Most Stylish" character of 2008 and one of "TV & Movie Shopaholics".[17]

References

  1. ↑ Jacques Steinberg (June 15, 2006). "Brenda Song Turns Warrior in Disney's 'Wendy Wu'". The New York Times. Accessed 2008-12-11.
  2. ↑ Interview with Brenda Song (April 2005). TheStarScoop.com. Accessed 2008-12-11.
  3. ↑ "Poor Little Rich Girl". The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Season 1. Episode 13. 2005-08-28. 1:45 minutes in. Disney Channel.
  4. ↑ "Family Thais". The Suite Life on Deck. Season 2. Episode 6. September 18, 2009. 01:46 minutes in. Disney Channel.
  5. ↑ The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Episode 1x09: Band in Boston
  6. ↑ "Big Hair & Baseball". The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Season 1. Episode 16. 2005-08-28. 1:45 minutes in. Disney Channel.
  7. ↑ "Rant ‘N Rave: Disney Channel Stars". andPop.com. April 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  8. ↑ Pemberton, K.O. "Q&A: Brenda Song of 'The Suite Life on Deck'". MSN. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  9. ↑ "Girl Power". People. Retrieved 10-9-2008. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  10. ↑ Craig Butler. Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior review. allmovie.com. Accessed 2008-12-12.
  11. ↑ Asian Excellence Awards Nominees (December 6, 2005). internationalnetworks.com. Accessed 2008-12-11.
  12. ↑ Brenda Song re-launches her Official Site (January 17, 2009). The Insider. Accessed 2009-03-25.
  13. ↑ Stacy Jenel Smith (2007). Top 10 Pretty Petites in Entertainment. Netscape. Accessed 2007-11-20.
  14. ↑ AOL's Top 20 Tween (and Teen) TV Stars. Aol.com. Accessed 2008-04-04.
  15. ↑ 100 Celebs Under 25. dashboard.aim.com. Accessed 2009-2-21.
  16. ↑ TVGuide.com reveals tomorrow's tween stars today, overlooks mini Clay Aiken (July 2, 2008). MTV Buzzworthy. Accessed 2008-10-10.
  17. ↑ "TV & Movie Shopaholics". Zap2it. Retrieved 7-9-2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

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