From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hank Azaria has been a part of the
Simpsons regular voice cast since the second season.
This is a complete listing of cast members from the long-running animated comedy television series The Simpsons. Each of the actors has voiced numerous one-time, background characters, but only the notable characters that the actors voice are listed. Characters from The Simpsons Movie are also not included.
The principal cast consists of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. Castellaneta and Kavner were asked to voice the lead roles of Homer and Marge Simpson as they were regular cast members of The Tracey Ullman Show on which The Simpsons shorts appeared.[1] Cartwright auditioned for the part of Lisa, but felt her voice was better suited to Bart, and so was given that role.[2] Smith was brought in to voice Lisa instead.[3] When the show was commissioned for a full half-hour series, Shearer joined the cast and performed multiple roles. Groening and Sam Simon asked Shearer to join the cast as they were fans of his radio show.[4] Azaria was only a guest actor in the first season, but became permanent in season two.[5] He first appeared in "Some Enchanted Evening", re-recording Christopher Collins's lines as Moe Szyslak. As he joined later than the rest of the cast, Groening still considers Azaria the "new guy."[6] Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell, Russi Taylor, Marcia Wallace, Marcia Mitzman Gaven and Karl Wiedergott have appeared as supporting cast. Repeat guest cast members include Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Joe Mantegna and Kelsey Grammer.[7]
Up until 1998, the six main actors were paid $30,000 per episode. In 1998 they were then involved in a pay dispute in which Fox threatened to replace them with new actors and went as far as preparing for casting of new voices. However, the issue was soon resolved and from 1998 to 2004, they were paid $125,000 per episode. In 2004, the voice actors intentionally skipped several table reads, demanding they be paid $360,000 per episode.[8] The strike was resolved a month later[9] and they now earn something between $250,000[10] and $360,000 per episode.[11] In 2008, production for the twentieth season was put on hold due to new contract negotiations with the voice actors, who wanted a "healthy bump" in salary to an amount close to $500,000 per episode.[11] The dispute was soon resolved, and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 per episode.[12]
With one exception, episode credits list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wanted to keep their identities secret during the early seasons and, therefore, closed most of the recording sessions while refusing to publish photos of the recording artists.[13] However, the network eventually revealed which roles each actor performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers said the voice actors should receive credit for their work.[14] With the exception of Shearer, every main cast member has won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.[15] Azaria and Castellaneta have both won three, while Kavner, Cartwright, Smith, Wallace, Grammer and guest star Jackie Mason have each won one.[16]
[edit] Regular cast
[edit] Recurring guest voices
- Further information: List of guest stars on The Simpsons
| Actor |
Character(s) |
Notes |
| Marcia Wallace |
Edna Krabappel |
Wallace is always credited as a special guest star, even though she has appeared in over 100 episodes since the series' inception.[18] |
| Kelsey Grammer |
Sideshow Bob |
Grammer has appeared since 1990. |
| Joe Mantegna |
Fat Tony |
Mantegna has appeared since 1991. |
| Albert Brooks |
Hank Scorpio, Jacques "Brunswick", Cowboy Bob, Brad Goodman, Tab Spangler. |
Brooks has appeared as one-time characters in several episodes since 1990. |
| Jon Lovitz |
Artie Ziff, Professor Lombardo, Aristotle Amadopoulos, Jay Sherman, Llewellyn Sinclair and Mrs. Sinclair, Enrico Irritazio. |
Lovitz has appeared in several episodes since 1991. |
| Jan Hooks |
Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon |
Hooks has appeared as Manjula since 1997. |
| Maurice LaMarche |
Various |
LaMarche has appeared in several minor roles since 1995. |
| Jane Kaczmarek |
Judge Constance Harm |
Kaczmarek has appeared as Judge Harm since 2001. |
[edit] Former cast members
| Actor |
Character(s) |
Notes |
| Doris Grau |
Lunchlady Doris |
Voiced between 1989 and 1995, when the character was retired due to Grau's death.[19] |
| Phil Hartman |
Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz |
Voiced between 1991 and 1998, when the characters were retired due to Hartman's murder.[20] |
| Frank Welker |
Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II and various other animals. |
Voiced between 1991 and 2002, but has not appeared since "The Lastest Gun in the West".[21] Dan Castellaneta now provides the voices after Welker left the show, having asked for a raise because the voices were hurting his throat.[22] |
| Marcia Mitzman Gaven |
Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Elizabeth Hoover |
Voiced the majority of Maggie Roswell's characters between 1999 and 2002, whilst Roswell's contract with the show had been terminated over a pay dispute. Gaven has not appeared since.[17][23] |
| Jo Ann Harris |
Various |
Voiced various additional parts between 1989 and 1992, but has not appeared since.[24] |
| Christopher Collins |
Moe Syszlak, Mr. Burns, the presenter of America's Most Armed and Dangerous |
Collins provided the voices of Mr. Burns and Moe in several season one episodes, but was replaced in the roles by Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria respectively. Collins died in 1994.[25] |
[edit] References
- ^ "The Voice Behind Homer Simpson Steps into the Spotlight and...D'oh!", Barnes & Noble, 2002-04-25. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ "Bart's voice tells all", BBC News, 2000-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
- ^ Yeardley Smith. Network Ten. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
- ^ Harry Shearer. Listen to Me. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ Azaria, Hank. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. WHYY Philadelphia. 2004-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Groening, Matt. (2001). The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Finley, Adam (2006-06-20). The Five: Great Simpsons guest stars. TV Squad. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Dan Glaister. "Simpsons actors demand bigger share", The Age, 2004-04-03. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ "'Simpsons' Cast Goes Back To Work", CBS News, 2004-05-01. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ Peter Sheridan. "Meet the Simpsons", Daily Express, 2004-05-06. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ a b Michael Schneider. "Still no deal for 'Simpsons' cast", Variety, 2008-05-19. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva. "'Simpsons' voice actors reach deal", The Hollywood Reporter, 2008-06-02. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- ^ Groening, Matt; James L. Brooks, David Silverman. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Groening, Matt; Jay Kogen, Wallace Wolodarsky, Al Jean, David Silverman. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ O'Niel, Tom. "Shearer snubbed again! Blame that Mr. Burns?", The Envelope, 2006-07-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search. Emmys.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b c d Ian Jones, Steve Williams. "NOW LET US NEVER SPEAK OF IT AGAIN". Off The Telly. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
- ^ Warren Martyn; Adrian Wood (2000). Grade School Confidential. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ Lunchlady Doris (Character). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Groening, Matt. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. WHYY Philadelphia. 2004-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
- ^ Frank Welker. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ ASK FRANK!. The Frank Welker Homepage. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
- ^ Marcia Mitzman Gaven Biography (1959-). Film Reference. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ Jo Ann Harris. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- ^ Chris Latta. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
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