The Caretaker is a character from The Haunted Mansion franchise. His true name is a matter of much contention: Cast Members traditonally, though unofficially, refer to him as Dick O'Dell; in a 1972 TV special, he was identified as Clyde; the SLG comic line called him Horace Fusslebottom; and most recently, a prop in the WDW ride's queue implied his name to be Silas Crump.
The Caretaker primarily appears in the various versions of The Haunted Mansion, as an audioanimatronic figure. Though all the animatronics share the same face mold and basic costume (barring variations in the length of his scarf), the hair style of the Caretaker varies considerably; when Walt Disney World first opened, he sported red hair with a Lincoln beard, something still displayed in the Tokyo Disneyland attraction, but the Disneyland version is clean-shaven with white hair. At any rate, the Caretaker is seen in the transition between the Attic and Graveyard tableaus, cowering at the sight of the ghosts' reveling as he stands by the gate of the Graveyard alongside his dog.
The Caretaker has made a handful of meet'n'greet appearances as a face character, where he gives his dog's name to be "Bones". He notably opened the opening show to the Mansion's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2019, warning the audience that he was feeling, down into his bones, that more supernatural activity would be afoot tonight than there had been ever since the Mansion first opened five decades earlier.
The Caretaker, under the name of Clyde, is briefly seen in Episode 4 of the TV series, Spooks and Magic, now being the caretaker of "Diller's Midnight Manorr" (the Mansion as renamed and taken over by host Phyllis Diller).
Haunted Mansion film
The caretaker and his dog make a brief cameo as ghosts during the Graveyard sequence.
Early script drafts gave him a speaking role warning the Evers about the hauntings with the intent of casting Don Knotts.
The Caretaker is named Horace Fusselbottom in the comics. While depicted as incredibly nervous and easy to frighten, Horace actually has a courageous spirit beneath his frightened facade, with the ghosts enjoying his company so much that they frighten away a replacement in "The New Groundskeeper".
In "The Groundskeeper's Secret", his motivation for taking the job of watching over a haunted house and graveyard is revealed. A widower, Horace buried his deceased wife in the graveyard adjacent to the Mansion, allowing him to meet her spirit every night while on the job.