Professor E. Gadd Character Profile & Biography

Character fact sheet

Name: Professor Elvin Gadd (オヤマエルビン, Professor Oyama Elvin in Japan; aka "E. Gadd")

First Appearance: Luigi’s Mansion (GameCube, 2001)

Home: Boo Woods Laboratory / various mobile labs

Voiced by: Kazumi Totaka (Japanese vocalizations, 2001–present)

Associates: Luigi (principal client / partner), Mario, Princess Peach, the Toad Brigade, the paranormal-research community

General profile

Professor Elvin Gadd, universally known as E. Gadd, is the Mushroom Kingdom’s premier scientist of the paranormal and the inventor of the iconic Poltergust vacuum cleaner. Introduced in 2001’s Luigi’s Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube, E. Gadd is an elderly, eccentric, hyper-energetic researcher with frizzled white hair, oversized round glasses, a long white lab coat, and an almost-permanent state of caffeinated excitement. He stands roughly half Luigi’s height, making him one of the smaller named human-character types in the Mario series. His name is a play on "egad" — an old-fashioned exclamation of surprise — with the "Elvin" first name being a deliberate fairy-tale flourish.

E. Gadd’s defining role across his career is as inventor and equipment-supplier to the Mario Brothers and various Mario series protagonists. He invents the Poltergust 3000 (Luigi’s Mansion 2001), Poltergust 5000 (Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon 2013), Poltergust G-00 (Luigi’s Mansion 3, 2019), F.L.U.D.D. (Super Mario Sunshine, 2002), the Time Machine (Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, 2005), the Gadd Sweep musical recorder (Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, 2005), and Gooigi (Luigi’s Mansion 3, 2019). His ghost-research enterprise — the Gadd Science Innovation Laboratory — is the unifying through-line of his appearances and is the organisational rival of King Boo’s ghost-conquest schemes.

E. Gadd’s personal relationship with Luigi is the most significant friendship in the Luigi-focused side of the Mario universe. He saves Luigi’s life multiple times across the Luigi’s Mansion games, equips him with all his paranormal-hunting gear, and — in Luigi’s Mansion 3 — explicitly refers to Luigi as "the best ghost hunter I’ve ever worked with." The professor has no romantic interests and no canonical family beyond his research; his focus is exclusively on his paranormal investigations.

Quotes

"EGAAAAD! Did you see that ghost? Quickly, Luigi! Capture it!" — E. Gadd, Luigi’s Mansion

"The Poltergust 5000 is my masterpiece! Use it wisely, my boy!" — E. Gadd, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

"Gooigi! My newest invention! He’s made entirely of goo!" — E. Gadd, Luigi’s Mansion 3

"The Time Machine works! Now, brothers Mario, prepare yourselves!" — E. Gadd, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

"Science! It’s all about science!" — E. Gadd, recurring across his appearances

Enemies

E. Gadd’s primary enemy is King Boo, the imperious king of the Boo species whose ghost-conquest schemes have been the recurring antagonist of the Luigi’s Mansion series. The professor’s research enterprise is fundamentally opposed to King Boo’s, and the two have been antagonists across three full Luigi’s Mansion games. He also opposes Wario (whom he encounters in the Mario & Luigi RPGs as a comedic foil), Princess Shroob (the Shroob alien from Partners in Time), and assorted paranormal entities across his research. He has no other personal enemies.

Friends

E. Gadd’s closest friend and most-trusted collaborator is Luigi, whom he has equipped and assisted across the entire Luigi’s Mansion series. The two have an almost-fatherly relationship: E. Gadd is older, smaller, and quirky; Luigi is younger, taller, and easily rattled by ghosts. The professor has also worked extensively with Mario (saving him from a cursed painting in the original Luigi’s Mansion and being his F.L.U.D.D.-supplier in Sunshine), Princess Peach (who funds his research as the Mushroom Kingdom’s ruler), the Toad Brigade, and the Mario series scientific community broadly. His most consistent ally is Gooigi — his goo-clone of Luigi created in 2019.

Appearances

Luigi’s Mansion (GameCube, 2001)

Professor E. Gadd with early Poltergust design E. Gadd debuted in Luigi’s Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube as Luigi’s primary scientific support and the inventor of the Poltergust 3000. The professor is Luigi’s portal-into-the-mansion contact — he calls Luigi on the Game Boy Horror (a paranormal-detection device) and equips him with the Poltergust before the protagonist enters the mansion. E. Gadd’s Boo Woods laboratory serves as the hub between mansion sessions, with the professor offering equipment upgrades and lore tidbits. The character was designed by Hideki Konno of Nintendo EAD’s GameCube team, with character art by Yusuke Akifusa.

Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube, 2002)

E. Gadd appears in Super Mario Sunshine in a brief but significant role: he is the inventor of F.L.U.D.D. (the Flash Liquidising Ultra-Dousing Device), Mario’s water-shooting backpack throughout the game. Although the professor himself does not appear on Isle Delfino, his branding on F.L.U.D.D.’s components and his recorded voice messages establish him as a Mushroom Kingdom-wide scientific institution rather than just a Luigi-specific contact.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS, 2005)

Professor E. Gadd in Mario and Luigi Partners in Time E. Gadd has his largest non-Luigi’s-Mansion role in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS (2005). The professor invents the Time Machine that allows the Mario Brothers to travel back to an earlier era of the Mushroom Kingdom. He serves as a recurring NPC throughout the game, providing exposition and saving the brothers in several key plot moments. Partners in Time gave E. Gadd considerably more dialogue than any of his previous appearances and helped establish his definitive personality.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS, 2013)

Professor E. Gadd in Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon E. Gadd returns as Luigi’s primary collaborator in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for Nintendo 3DS (2013). He invents the upgraded Poltergust 5000 and serves as Luigi’s communication contact via the Dual Scream device throughout the game. The professor’s laboratory — now portable and located in Evershade Valley — serves as the hub between Dark Moon’s six mansion missions. The character was given more comedic personality in this entry, with frequent excited interjections and gadget-pitching scenes.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch, 2019)

Professor E. Gadd with Poltergust G-00 in Luigi's Mansion 3 E. Gadd returns in Luigi’s Mansion 3 for Nintendo Switch (October 2019) with his upgraded Poltergust G-00 and his most important new invention: Gooigi, a goo-clone of Luigi that the player can control as a co-op partner or use in single-player to access areas Luigi cannot reach. E. Gadd accompanies Luigi to the Last Resort Hotel and provides equipment upgrades and lore exposition throughout the game. His portable laboratory — stored within the hotel’s utility floor — serves as the game’s hub.

Other appearances and Cameos

E. Gadd and Luigi in Dark Moon bunker E. Gadd has appeared in supporting roles in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (2009, where he assists Mario and Luigi from the "outside" of Bowser’s body), Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (2005, where he invents the Gadd Sweep musical recorder), Mario Party 4-7 (2002–2005), and various Mario Party spin-offs. He also cameos in Super Mario Maker 2 (2019) as a Mystery Mushroom costume, and is referenced in artwork from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) pre-release materials.

Trivia & Official Sources

Professor E. Gadd was designed by Hideki Konno’s team at Nintendo EAD for Luigi’s Mansion (2001), with character art by Yusuke Akifusa. The character’s eccentric scientist aesthetic was inspired by a combination of Albert Einstein’s public image and the "mad scientist" trope of 1930s sci-fi cinema.
The name "E. Gadd" is a play on the old-fashioned exclamation "egad" — an expression of surprise common in 19th-century English literature. The full name "Elvin Gadd" adds the fairy-tale flourish of "Elvin" as his first name.
Kazumi Totaka has provided E. Gadd’s vocalizations (a series of excited squeaks, hums, and snorts rather than full dialogue) continuously since 2001. Totaka is also Yoshi’s voice actor and has been at Nintendo since 1993, making him one of the longest-tenured Mario series sound designers.
E. Gadd is the only major Mario series character whose physical appearance has remained essentially unchanged across his entire 25-year career. His character model has been refined for graphical updates but his proportions, hair, glasses, lab coat and overall design have not been substantially altered since 2001.
The Pix’n Love Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros. (2018) describes E. Gadd as "the Mushroom Kingdom’s premier scientist of the paranormal and Luigi’s most-trusted equipment supplier."
E. Gadd’s inventions across the Mario series form one of the most extensive equipment-supply roles of any character: the Poltergust 3000/5000/G-00, F.L.U.D.D., the Time Machine, the Game Boy Horror, the Dual Scream device, Gooigi, and assorted "Gaddget" mini-equipment. He is functionally the Mario series’ quartermaster.
Gooigi — the goo-clone of Luigi created by E. Gadd — was introduced in Luigi’s Mansion 3 (2019) and has since become a recurring assistant character in his own right. Gooigi is technically E. Gadd’s invention and his property, though the character has gained considerable personality of his own.
E. Gadd’s portable laboratory — a small mobile research unit that he carries with him on field missions — was introduced in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (2013) and has been featured in every subsequent Luigi’s Mansion game. The laboratory contains his ghost containment vault, his upgrade workstation, and his communication equipment.
The character’s short stature — he is canonically about 100 cm tall (~3´3"), making him roughly half Luigi’s height — was a deliberate design choice by Konno to emphasise his elderly, "wizardly" characterisation. The Pix’n Love Encyclopedia (2018) lists his height as "approximately the same as Toad."
E. Gadd’s Boo Woods laboratory — his original 2001 setting from Luigi’s Mansion — is canonically located somewhere in the forest near the haunted mansion of that game. The location has been referenced in subsequent games as the "Gadd Original Laboratory" but has not been depicted in any later entries.
E. Gadd’s 2018 Mario Tennis Aces appearance as an unlockable character is the only time he has been a playable Mario series character. He is classified as a Defensive type with the special trick shot "Poltergust Pull," which uses his vacuum invention to pull the ball back to his side of the court.
The professor’s role in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005) is widely considered his most substantive RPG performance — he was given over 100 lines of dialogue and his Time Machine invention drives the entire game’s plot.
In the Luigi’s Mansion 3 (2019) ending cinematic, E. Gadd refers to Luigi as "the best ghost hunter I’ve ever worked with" — the only time the professor has explicitly characterised his relationship with Luigi.
E. Gadd amiibo figures have not been released as of 2025, despite ongoing fan campaigns for one. The character was not included in the 2017 Mario Sports Superstars amiibo line nor in the 2019 Luigi’s Mansion 3 amiibo wave.
The character has been confirmed by Illumination to appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (April 2026) in a minor scientific-advisor role. Pre-release marketing has shown E. Gadd-branded laboratory equipment in several scenes.
E. Gadd holds the record for most distinct inventions credited to a single Mario series character. The Luigi’s Mansion series alone credits him with over twenty unique gadgets, machines, and inventions.