Troy McClure
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| The Simpsons character | |
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| Troy McClure | |
| Age | 43 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Job | Presenter of educational videos, voiceovers, and infomercials |
| Relatives | Ex-wife: Selma Bouvier |
| First appearance | Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment |
| Voice actor | Phil Hartman |
Troy McClure was a fictional character in the television cartoon series The Simpsons, voiced by Phil Hartman. After Hartman's murder in 1998, the character was retired (along with Hartman's other recurring character, Lionel Hutz). His character last appeared in season 10's third episode, "Bart the Mother". Troy McClure's narrative delivery is reminiscent of documentary narrators from the 70's such as William Conrad. He is well known from his saying: "Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such films as..."
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[edit] Profile
Troy McClure is based on a stereotypical Hollywood has-been; he is a ubiquitous presenter of educational videos, voiceovers, and infomercials. At one stage he had a modestly successful acting career. When introducing the latest product he is paid to add his clean-cut good looks and smooth voice to, he is quick to remind the viewing audience of his previous career with his standard introduction "Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such [films, educational videos, voiceovers, etc.] as..." and will mention two titles of the same subject. Many of the movies he cites as having appeared in frequently possess (often amusingly-titled) B-grade titles that are unlikely to have been Oscar-winning material. He has narrated propaganda for everyone from the beef industry to health farms to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
McClure's career reportedly went downhill due to his unusual paraphilia, which apparently involved fish (see zoophilia), to the point where he had not worked in twelve years. To cover this up, a marriage was arranged between himself and Marge's sister Selma, which briefly revived his career, and he went on to star in Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, a musical version of the film Planet of the Apes (the episode was made well before the 2001 remake of the movie). Although Selma accepted the sham marriage, she drew the line when McClure's agent suggested that they have a child.
His name is an amalgam of B-movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure. In the earlier seasons of The Simpsons he is called Kevin McClure (e.g., the commercial in the beginning of the episode "Marge in Chains"). McClure drives a De Lorean DMC-12 and lives in an "ultramodern" house strongly reminiscent of the Chemosphere.
Before his untimely death, Phil Hartman had always wanted to do a live action movie about McClure. Several of the show's writers (including Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein) mentioned in Simpsons DVD commentaries that they would have loved to do it.
In character, McClure bears a resemblance to Futurama's Zapp Brannigan, who was originally to have been voiced by Phil Hartman before he died.
After Hartman's death, McClure was retired from the show with no explanation. However, in the Simpsons' 2nd episode guide The Simpsons Forever!, a tribute to McClure listing all his known appearances is featured, though it never once mentions his fate. Despite the character's retirement, McClure still occasionally appears via flashbacks, clip shows, and crowd scenes. Information films in a similar vein to McClure's continue to appear (for instance, in Goo Goo Gai Pan and On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister).
[edit] You might remember me from such films as...
You might remember Troy McClure from such films as:
- Alice's Adventure through the Windshield Glass (ref. Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There)
- The Boatjacking of Supership '79 (ref. The Concorde: Airport '79)
- Calling All Quakers (with Dolores Montenegro)
- Christmas Ape
- Christmas Ape Goes To Summer Camp
- The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel
- Cry Yuma (ref. Cry Havoc, Cry Freedom)
- David versus Super Goliath
- Dial M for Murderousness (ref. Dial M for Murder)
- The Electric Gigolo (ref. The Electric Horseman and American Gigolo)
- The Erotic Adventures of Hercules (ref. The Erotic Adventures of Zorro/The Erotic Adventures of Robinson Crusoe)
- Give My Remains to Broadway (ref. Give My Regards to Broadway)
- Gladys the Groovy Mule (ref. Francis the Talking Mule)
- Good-Time Slim, Uncle Doobie, and the Great 'Frisco Freak-Out
- The Greatest Story Ever Hulaed (ref. The Greatest Story Ever Told)
- Here Comes the Coast Guard (ref. Here Comes the Navy)
- Hitler Doesn't Live Here Anymore (ref. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore)
- Hydro, the Man With the Hydraulic Arms (ref. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes)
- Leper in the Backfield (ref. Angels in the Outfield)
- Make-Out King of Montana (ref. Cattle Queen of Montana)
- Meet Joe Blow (ref. Meet Joe Black, Meet John Doe)
- The Muppets Go Medieval (ref. Muppet movie series)
- "P" is for Psycho (ref. Psycho and novels by Sue Grafton)
- Preacher With a Shovel (with Dolores Montenegro)
- The President's Neck is Missing (ref. The President's Plane is Missing)
- The Revenge of Abe Lincoln
- The Seven-Year Old Bitch (ref. The Seven Year Itch)
- Sorry, Wrong Closet (ref. Sorry, Wrong Number)
- Suddenly Last Supper (ref. Suddenly Last Summer)
- They Came to Burgle Carnegie Hall
- Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die (ref. US title of Dario Argento's Western Oggi a me... domani a te!)
- The Verdict Was Mail Fraud
- The Wackiest Covered Wagon in the West (ref. The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West)
[edit] Educational films and self help videos
You might remember Troy McClure from such educational films and self help videos as:
- 60 Minutes of Car Crash Victims
- Adjusting Your Self-O-Stat (with Brad Goodman)
- Alice's Adventure through the Windshield Glass (ref. Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There)
- Alice Doesn't Live Any More (ref. Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More)
- Birds: Our Fine Feathered Colleagues
- The Decapitation of Larry Leadfoot
- Designated Drivers: The Lifesaving Nerds
- Dig Your Own Grave and Save
- Earwigs, Ew!
- Firecrackers: The Silent Killer
- Fuzzy Bunny's Guide to You-Know-What (sex education film for children, shown in Springfield Elementary, the film shown was loosely based on Fritz the Cat)
- Get Confident, Stupid!
- The Half-Assed Approach to Foundation Repair
- Here Comes the Metric System
- Lead Paint: Delicious But Deadly
- Locker Room Towel Fights: The Blinding of Larry Driscoll
- Man Versus Nature: The Road To Victory
- Meat and You – Partners in Freedom (a Meat Council film, part of the "Resistance is Useless" series)
- Mommy, What's Wrong With That Man's Face? (ref. The Man Without a Face)
- Mothballing Your Battleship
- Phony Tornado Alerts Reduce Readiness
- Shoplifters BEWARE
- Smoke Yourself Thin
- Someone's in the Kitchen with DNA! (ref. children's song "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah")
- Two Minus Three Equals Negative Fun
- Young Jebediah Springfield (A Watch-and-Learn Production)
- Welcome to Springfield Airport (an information kiosk film)
- Where's Nordstrom? (an information kiosk film)
[edit] Television
[edit] TV specials
- Alien Nose Job (ref. Alien autopsy)
- Carnival of the Stars (ref. Circus of the Stars)
- Five Fabulous Weeks of The Chevy Chase Show
- Let's Save Tony Orlando's House
- Out With Gout '88
- The Miss American Girl Pageant
- The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
- The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
[edit] TV series
- AfterMannix (ref. AfterMASH and Mannix)
- America's Funniest Tornadoes (ref. America's Funniest Home Videos)
- Buck Henderson, Union Buster
- Handel with Kare (ref. The Odd Couple and Switch).
- I Can't Believe They Invented It! (an infomercial)
- Shortland Street (unlikely to be any relation to the real-life New Zealand hospital Soap Opera Shortland Street, however)
- Son of Sanford and Son (ref. Sanford and Son)
- Troy and Company's Summertime Smile Factory (ref. all those short-lived, B-celebrity hosted comedy/variety programs of the 1960s and 1970s, especially The Late Summer-Early Fall Bert Convy Show).
[edit] Cartoons
- Christmas Ape (ref. Grape Ape and Ernest)
- Christmas Ape Goes to Summer Camp (ref. Ernest Goes to Camp, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July)
[edit] Other
[edit] Celebrity funerals
- Herschel Shmoikel Krustofsky, aka Krusty the Clown
- André the Giant, We Hardly Knew Ye (ref. Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye)
- Shemp Howard: Today We Mourn A Stooge
[edit] Musicals
- Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off! (references Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, a broadway musical from the 60s and Planet of the Apes)
[edit] See also
- List of characters from The Simpsons
- List of recurring characters from The Simpsons
- Fictional characters within The Simpsons
