Gilbert, although he appeared in a few eps with Larry, was somewhat the extension of Larry after he left. Richard evidently was thought of as 'Larry's replacement,' but he and Gilbert are so interchangeable that I think both of them were. Still, neither Gilbert nor Richard were particularly well-developed as individual characters; they were just there to continue the basic plotline of Beaver's friend(s) talking him into doing something against his better judgment, then leaving Beaver holding the bag.
Eddie and Lumpy, instead, were the more devloped individual characters. It is evident by the final 2 seasons that the producers and writers realized that more fully, and centered more of the action around Wally and "Creeps Inc."
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