The Simpsons includes a large array of supporting characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, fictional characters within the show and even animals. The writers originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and have subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television.[1]
Agnes Skinner, voiced by Tress MacNeille [2] is the mother of school principal Seymour Skinner and first appeared in the first season episode "The Crepes of Wrath" as an old woman who embarrassingly calls her son "Spanky". However, as episodes progressed, the character turned bitter.[3] She is very harshly controlling of Seymour, and treats him like a mother would a small child, once grounding him because he did not say who was at the door after answering it, when it was "The Sugarman". She hates Edna Krabappel.[4] Agnes has married a total of four times, once with Skinner's father, Sheldon Skinner, and following Sheldon's death she then married three more times, each time, to a tow truck driver.[5] Several Springfield residents (including the Simpsons) are afraid of her.[6] When Agnes' real son, "the real Seymour Skinner" arrives in Springfield, Agnes turns him away, unhappy with her new living situation, largely because the true Seymour Skinner is a man who can stand up to Agnes and make his own decisions. Although she appears to not care for the fake Skinner, it turns out she really loves him, although she denies it in "Large Marge".[6]
Agnes's first name was revealed in the seventh season episode "Bart the Fink".[7] Before that, the character was known as "Mrs. Skinner".[7] In the beginning of the series, the writers made several references to Agnes and Seymour's relationship being similar to that of Norman Bates and his mother's in the film Psycho.[8] In "Boy Meets Curl," it is revealed that some of Agnes' resentment to Seymour may have derived from even before Seymour was born — during the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Agnes competed in the pole vaulting event while 9-months pregnant. When Seymour makes his first kick, he hits the bar, thus, making Agnes lose and subsequently crushing her dreams.[9] However, this would contradict the earlier episode when it is revealed that Seymour isn't her birth son.
Akira, works as a waiter at The Happy Sumo, a Japanese restaurant in Springfield. He first appeared in the second season in "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish". Actor George Takei originally voiced Akira in "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish". Since Akira's speaking role in "When Flanders Failed", Hank Azaria has voiced the character, doing an impression of Takei for the voice.[10]
Anastasia is a tiger that performs in casinos with Gunter and Ernst. She debuts in "$pringfield", where it is explained she was captured from the wild by Ernst and Gunter. She reappears in "Viva Ned Flanders", performing in Las Vegas. In "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", Gunter and Ernst lose it.
Arnie Pye, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is a disgruntled, somewhat eccentric helicopter traffic reporter for Springfield's KBBL-TV (Channel 6). His name and appearance are a parody of the famous, Pulitzer winning 1930s journalist, Ernie Pyle. His segments are titled "Arnie (or "Pye") in the Sky". He has an apparent dislike of anchorman Kent Brockman, with whom he often gets into arguments on the air, and Brockman once snarled that Arnie was a "jackass".
Arthur Crandall (voiced by Harry Shearer) and Gabbo (voiced by Hank Azaria) are a puppet and ventriloquist who start their own TV show that is in competition with Krusty the Clown's. The show is a huge hit that ruins Krusty's career, but Bart then ruins Gabbo's future by capturing him making a rude comment on TV. The pair are later reduced to low-paying work such as a show at an Indian casino. The pair mainly appeared in Season Four's Krusty Gets Kancelled but they also appeared in Bart to the Future, Homerazzi, All About Lisa, and The Simpsons Movie.
Artie Ziff is a former classmate of Marge who becomes an Internet millionaire. He is voiced by Jon Lovitz in all appearances, except for season four's "The Front", where he was voiced by Dan Castellaneta.[11] In "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner", where after he loses his bankrupt company to Homer, Homer is taken away by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for bankrupting the company, although Artie confesses in the end and goes to jail instead. Strongly disliked by Marge since their experience at the senior prom when he attempts to grope her, he eventually comes to terms with the fact that his personality, not his religion (Judaism), is the reason he is disliked.[12]
Animator David Silverman based Ziff's appearance and body language of a man he went to high school with.[13]
Baby Gerald, also known as "the one-eyebrowed baby", is Maggie Simpson's archenemy, known for his large unibrow. He makes his first appearance in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", where Lisa refers to Baby Gerald as Maggie's rival. On a few occasions, Gerald has been shown being pushed in a stroller by his mother outside the Simpson house as in "Lady Bouvier's Lover", as the two babies glare at one another. The character's name was revealed in the episode "The Canine Mutiny".[14]
Benjamin, Doug, and Gary (voiced by Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, and Dan Castellaneta, respectively) [2][15] are geeks that were once Homer's dormitory roommates at Springfield University. Gary carries a calculator on his belt and uses ear medicine, Doug is overweight and wears a pocket protector, and Benjamin is black and wears horn-rimmed glasses.[16] The writer of "Homer Goes to College" Conan O'Brien partially based them on three guys he went to college with, who, he said, were "incredible nerds".[17] Because time was short, director Jim Reardon used a caricature of animator Rich Moore and colored it black for Benjamin.[18]
Bernice Hibbert, voiced by Tress MacNeille.[19] She is Dr. Julius Hibbert's wife and is loosely based on the Clair Huxtable character from The Cosby Show.[20] She has two boys and a girl with Julius. Nevertheless, her marriage is on the rocks;[21] Bernice refuses to kiss Julius, even when an entire audience is looking at them.[22] Her drinking has been joked about on several occasions; she faints when she reads that prohibition had been introduced to Springfield[23] and attends Springfield Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.[24]
Bill and Marty, voiced by Harry Shearer and Dan Castellaneta, are two radio show hosts and DJs on Springfield's own radio station KBBL. Marty is middle-aged and balding, while Bill is younger and has a full head of hair. They are responsible for giving Bart his elephant, Stampy, although they were surprised when Bart wanted Stampy, because they thought he would choose the other prize, $10,000. When Mr. Burns monopolized the local media in Fraudcast News, he fired the duo, but they have returned to the job in later episodes.
Billy is Troy McClure's assistant who appeared in "Lisa the Simpson", and "Bart the Mother". He was supposed to appear in more episodes but due to McClure's voice actor Phil Hartman's death, he was retired along with McClure. He is a child who appears in Troy McClure's educational films. He appears in the films "Birds: Our Fine Feathered Colleagues", and "In The Kitchen with DNA". He was voiced by Tress MacNeille. A similar child named Jimmy (who at one point McClure also calls Billy) appears in "The Meat Council Presents: 'Meat and You: Partners in Freedom'" in the episode, "Lisa the Vegetarian".
Birchibald "Birch" T. Barlow (voiced by Harry Shearer on "Sideshow Bob Roberts" and Maurice LaMarche on "You Kent Always Say What You Want"). He is a conservative talk show host on the radio station KBBL, who in voice and appearance is modeled after Rush Limbaugh. As of "You Kent Always Say What You Want", he also has a show on Fox News, and serves as a parody of Fox News conservative bias.
On his radio show, he declares himself to be "the fourth branch of government" and "the fifty-first state". He is also the author of the book Only Turkeys Have Left Wings. Barlow plays an important part in the episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts", in which Sideshow Bob, while jailed, calls Barlow on his radio show, giving Bob an outlet to voice how the prison treats him unfairly. Barlow, knowing Bob is a fellow Republican, sympathizes with his complaints, and influences the rest of Springfield to as well. This leads to Bob's prompt release and ensuing mayoral election-rigging.
Barlow also appears in the episode "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" as a customer at Marge's prescription drug-laden "yard sale", a reference to Limbaugh's Oxycontin addiction. Most recently Barlow appears with other Springfield Republicans in the episode "E Pluribus Wiggum", in which he tells Lisa to make Ralph Wiggum decide whether he wants to run for President as a Republican or a Democrat.
Bleeding Gums Murphy, voiced by Ron Taylor and Daryl L. Coley,[25] was a jazz musician, idol, and mentor of Lisa Simpson. His actual first name has never been revealed, though Murphy claimed his nickname came from the fact he had never once been to a dentist, as "I got enough pain in my life as it is". His significant roles were in the episodes "Moaning Lisa" and "'Round Springfield", though he appears in other episodes, such as "Bart the Daredevil" (where he is yellow), "Dancin' Homer", "Old Money", "Flaming Moe's, "Bart Gets an F", "Radio Bart", and "Lisa's Pony". In "Dancin' Homer", he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley.[25] In "Round Springfield we learn that at one point he had enjoyed a fairly successful career, releasing an album ("Sax on the Beach") and appearing on Steve Allen's Tonight Show,[26] and as one of the Cosby children's four grandfathers on an episode of The Cosby Show, but quickly lost his money feeding his $1500-a-day habit of purchasing and smashing Fabergé eggs.[27] He had taught Lisa to display her emotions through music, prompting Lisa to hold him as an important figure in her life.[27] His last appearance was in "'Round Springfield"[28] - after Bart ends up in the hospital, Lisa wanders off to find Murphy dying in a nearby ward. He explains about his life, family, and work to her as well as giving her advice for her upcoming school performance, giving her his saxophone. When Lisa returns, she finds out that Bleeding Gums has died from circumstances which are never revealed. No one, except for Lisa, attends Murphy's funeral. Lisa soon learns that though he may be gone, he still is alive in her.[26] It is strongly hinted that Murphy and Doctor Hibbert are long-lost brothers, most notably by Murphy's quote: "I don't really have a family. All I had was a little brother who grew up to become a doctor. He used to laugh at the most inappropriate times." Hibbert then laughs inappropriately and says, "Hey, I've got an older brother that I'll never see. He's a jazz musician or some such. Oh well, bye, bye."[26] Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on Blind Willie Johnson, at whose feet the young Bleeding Gums character learned.[29] The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor, while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins.[30] As a sign of respect for the character, Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons opening sequence since the second season. Originally, even after his death, Bart would skateboard past him on the street.In "The Great Wife Hope" Bleeding Gums Murphy is mentioned and supposedly according to Carl he is still alive after Homer asks Carl if he knows African-American boxer Dedrick Tatum; Carl takes offense, saying that just because he is African American, he doesn't know all the other African-American citizens in Springfield. Carl then says that he met Dedrick Tatum while he was at a party with Dr. Hibbert at Bleeding Gums Murphy's house. [31]
Blinky is a three-eyed orange fish featured primarily in "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish". Likely mutated by toxic waste from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant pouring into the river, Blinky became a major news story when he was caught by Bart Simpson. Mr. Burns defends the fish, arguing that his extra eye is merely the next step in evolution. Mr. Burns later goes to the Simpsons' house for a meal to boost his race for governor. Marge, a supporter of Burns' opponent Mary Bailey, deliberately serves Blinky for dinner. Mr. Burns spits the fish out and subsequently loses the election. Blinky was briefly seen again in episodes "Homer's Odyssey" and "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"". Blinky also made a brief appearance in an underwater section of tube-way Fry travels through in the pilot episode of the animated series Futurama, which was created by Simpsons creator Matt Groening.
Mr. Burns' Lawyer,[32] also known as "The Blue-Haired Lawyer", is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.[33] He first appeared in the second season episode "Bart Gets Hit by a Car".[34] He is Springfield's most prominent and powerful lawyer, known for his blue hair and nasal New York accent. He also occasionally appears to serve as a prosecutor. Unlike Lionel Hutz or Gil Gunderson, he is a competent though not necessarily ethical lawyer. He has served as Burns' head lawyer, helping him out with threats of the Power Plant closing down and of Burns losing his money. He is a member of the Springfield Republican Party. His clients often tend to be antagonists of the Simpsons.
The character's demeanor, as well as Dan Castellaneta's voice for the character, are based on Roy Cohn, best known as Joe McCarthy's chief counsel during the Communist witchhunts in the 1950s. Animator Jim Reardon modeled the character's appearance on actor Charles Lane.[35]
Boobarella is an ample-chested vampire-looking woman, first seen in the episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can". She is aware of her large breasts, and often makes reference to them on the rare occasion she appears on TV. Her character is a takeoff of Elvira, a character portrayed by Cassandra Peterson, herself a takeoff of Vampira. Her name is probably a takeoff from Vampirella and the 1968 cult science fiction/fantasy/horror film Barbarella, which stars Jane Fonda in the title role. Boobarella uses a stereotypical Eastern European "horror" accent and makes school supplies.
Brandine Spuckler is voiced by Tress MacNeille[2] and is the partner of Cletus Spuckler. Brandine and Cletus are depicted as stereotypical yokels. Throughout the series, the two are shown to be brother and sister,[36] boyfriend and girlfriend,[37] mother and son,[38] and father and daughter.[39] She is apparently the daughter of Cletus and an alien. She has suffered from rabies,[40] and admitted to being illiterate.[41] More recently, Brandine is shown fighting in the Iraq War.[42] She comes back revealing Cletus is the father of only two of the kids, casting doubt over the paternity of her other children.[42] Assuming that all of the children believed to be Cletus' are also hers, Brandine has 45 specifically named children. Brandine and Cletus were married by Homer during his brief stint as a priest.[43] On April 27, 2008, more is revealed about Cletus and Brandine in an episode entitled "Apocalypse Cow"; Brandine had married Cletus at the age of 13, and had married four times before that. Some of the most distinct features of Brandine are that she speaks in a thick accent, and wears her hair up high in red ponytail.
The school gym teacher, voiced by Tress MacNeille/Maggie Roswell (in Moaning Lisa) First appeared in "Moaning Lisa", although her name is not mentioned until "The PTA Disbands". She has blond hair and usually wears a whistle and takes a tough-as-nails approach to teaching. In "Little Girl in the Big Ten", she decides that because of the oath she took on Xena, she has to fail Lisa but decides to let her make it up by taking private lessons. In a more recent episode, "My Fair Laddy", she decides to leave for the year and return the next semester as "Mr. Pommelhorst, the new shop teacher."
The Bumblebee Man, voiced by Hank Azaria, is the star of a Spanish-language television sitcom on "Channel Ocho", in which he dresses in a bumblebee costume and performs slapstick comedy. In the episode "Team Homer", his bowling shirt bears the name "Pedro". He works at the same studio as Kent Brockman. His first appearance was in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie". Bumblebee Man is never seen to take off his costume, even when by himself; the sole exception is the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", in which his private life is shown. In this short segment, he is portrayed as innately clumsy rather than simply acting as such.
In general, Bumblebee Man only speaks in simple, over-enunciated (and inaccurate) Spanish sentences. His catchphrases of choice are typically "¡Ay, ay, ay, no me gusta!" ("I don't like it!"), "¡Ay, ay, ay, no es bueno!" ("That's not good!") and "¡Ay, Dios no me ama!" ("God doesn't love me!"). Quite commonly, his phrases will be intentionally sloppy Spanish. For example, in the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", there are several words used that are not real (such as "wudpequero" for "woodpecker", rather than the correct pájaro carpintero). The crude Spanish is used so that English-speaking viewers would still understand what was being said.[44] On occasions, he also speaks English, such as briefly in "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington". In "Bart Gets Famous", he anchored the news with an articulate English accent, filling in for the regular, Kent Brockman.
Bumblebee Man is a caricature of El Chapulín Colorado, a character created and portrayed by Mexican television comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños (a.k.a. "Chespirito"), and his show consists of simple skits, often involving heavy slapstick. The staff have said that whenever they watched Telemundo, this character was "always on", thus they created Bumblebee Man, who is also always on the air when the Spanish-language channel is depicted.[45] His costume was based on one used in the Saturday Night Live sketch "Killer Bees".[46]
Hank Azaria won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Bumblebee Man, and various other characters, in 2003.[47]
The Capital City Goofball is the mascot for Capital City. He was voiced by Tom Poston. His appearance seems to have been inspired by the mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, the Phillie Phanatic. The costume is a creature with a baseball body, with a blue Capital City T-Shirt, yellow arms and legs, a long flat-ended nose, tufts of fur at the side, a red hat with two springs, two costume eyes that look in either direction, and two more eyes that peek outside the mouth. The Capital City Goofball first appeared in the episode "Dancin' Homer" and shared the stage with Homer. In "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade", the Capital City Goofball represents Capital City in the state legislature; he spent 80 million dollars out of his own pocket to win the seat, and now is leading an effort to change the state's embarrassing, Confederate-symbol centered state flag. With the death of Tom Poston in 2007, it is likely that this character will be retired, if the precedent regarding Phil Hartman and Doris Grau's characters (except for Lunchlady Doris, who is still used and is now voiced by Tress MacNeille) is followed. He has not spoken since "Bart and Lisa vs. the Third Grade" and has been reduced to making minor background appearances and usual honking sounds.
Captain Lance Murdock is a professional stunt devil who appeared more in the early days of the show rather than the newer episodes. He first appeared in "Bart the Daredevil" which featured him in more scenes than other episodes. He later appeared in "I Married Marge", "Selma's Choice", and "Viva Ned Flanders". He was most recently featured when Krusty was flicking channels on his TV in "Today I Am a Clown". He also appears in Lisa's lecture about Lake Springfield in The Simpsons Movie sitting in the audience. His signature bike is the suicycle and has his own action figure complete with ambulance.
Charlie, voiced by Dan Castellaneta works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant as the 'Dangerous Emissions Supervisor'. He was briefly replaced by Mindy Simmons, but she got fired afterwards. His first appearance was in "Life on the Fast Lane". He was briefly out of work due to a unnamed on-the-job injury, where he collected workers' compensation, however future episodes show him back to work.[48][49] He has a wife and two kids[50] as well as a sister with a wooden leg.[51] In "The Trouble with Trillions", Charlie tells Homer (who is working undercover) that he has plans to overrun the American government due to their stalling on making HDTV available; he is soon arrested by FBI agents for conspiracy. Dan Castellaneta said that he did "an imitation of Lenny" (voiced by Harry Shearer) for the voice.[52]
Chase, also known as Pyro, is an American Gladiator. He is a parody of the real-life Gladiator Nitro. He first appears in the episode "A Milhouse Divided", when he is dating Luann after she divorces Kirk. Their relationship ends when she's caught cheating on him with his best friend Gyro. He also appears in "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", "Mom and Pop Art", "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge, Day of the Jackanapes, A Star Is Born Again, and "The Bart of War". He is voiced by Hank Azaria.
Cookie Kwan (voiced by Tress MacNeille), is an Asian American real estate broker who first appears in the Season 9 Simpsons episode "Realty Bites". She is the stereotypical competitive woman.[53] She touts herself as being "number one on the West Side", although she also works on the East Side.[53] She is very aggressive toward anyone whom she deems a threat to her business, evidenced by when she threatens Gil Gunderson.[53] She had once attempted to seduce Ned Flanders,[54] had an illegitimate baby with Mayor Quimby,[55] and flirted with Homer.[56] She is friends with Lindsey Naegle.[56] She is a Republican.[57] She is played by MacNeille with a strong and harsh Asian accent.
Eleanor Abernathy[58] (voiced by Tress MacNeille), better known as the Crazy Cat Lady, is a woman with the appearance and behavior of a stereotypical mentally ill person. She first appears in "Girly Edition". Abernathy is always surrounded by a large number of cats, and in every appearance she screams gibberish and/or throws cats at passersby.[59] She gives Lisa one of her cats, Snowball V, who looks exactly like her original Snowball II.[60]
Abernathy has an unfortunate past. When she was eight, she was a smart and ambitious young girl who wanted to be both a lawyer and a doctor "because a woman can do anything". She was studying for law school at 16, and by 24 she had earned a law degree from Harvard Law School and a medical degree from Yale Medical School. However, by 32, suffering from burnout, she had turned to alcohol and became obsessed with her pet cat. By the time she turned 40, she had assumed her present state as a drunken, raving lunatic.[61] Abernathy briefly reverts to her sanity and high intelligence thanks to some pills that she shows the Simpsons, but after Marge points out that the pills are actually Reese's Pieces candy, Abernathy abruptly resumes her deranged behavior.[62] When participating in a mayoral election, she lucidly discusses topics such as health care, economy and public education in between her screams and gibberish.[58] In the episode "A Midsummer's Nice Dream," Abernathy is shown to be a hoarder. After Marge helps her clean up her house, she begins speaking normally and wearing proper clothing. Later, in an attempt to fix Marge's new hoarding problem, Abernathy reverts back to her crazy self, reclaiming all of the hoarded junk and calling her cats back to her.[63]
Crusher (also referred to as Joey) and Lowblow are a pair of stereotypical henchmen often found in the employment of Montgomery Burns as he prefers the hands-on touch you only get with hired goons. Crusher's first appearance was in the second season episode Blood Feud where he is seen escorting Homer off the premises of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. The two seem to be on first name terms as Homer calls him Joey. Their first appearance together was in the episode Last Exit to Springfield when the two of them kidnap Homer and take him to Burns Manor. They introduce themselves as "Hired Goons", a term that Homer apparently is not familiar with. The pair rarely had speaking roles and were often used as Mr Burns' goons for a number of early episodes but eventually they became background characters.
Database, or Data, (real name unknown to viewers) is a nerdy student who attends Springfield Elementary School. He first appeared in the episode "Bart's Comet" as a member of "the Super Friends". He has since had speaking parts in several episodes. He is usually seen with his fellow nerd Martin Prince. Database is a common target for Nelson, Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney. Database is part of the group of boys who invade Shelbyville in "Lemon of Troy". He is one of the Pre-Teen Braves in the episode "The Bart of War". He is a member of the school band, as seen in "The PTA Disbands". Database is known for his annoying, nerdy voice which is supplied by Nancy Cartwright. Database's father is shown in "Lemon of Troy", although he utters no dialogue and is only in the background and has not appeared since that episode.[15] Matt Groening has stated that Database is his least favorite character in the show.[64]
Dave Shutton, voiced by Harry Shearer,[2] is a reporter for The Springfield Shopper. Writer John Swartzwelder named Shutton after a friend of his.[65] His first appearance was in the season two episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish." Since then, his roles have become less relevant and have been reduced to cameos and appearances in crowd scenes. According to "Who Shot Mr. Burns", Part 2, Kent Brockman does not like Dave Shutton and thinks he is unprofessional.[66][67][68]
Declan Desmond (voiced by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame) is an odd and skeptical British documentary filmmaker who has directed several films, including Do You Want Lies with That?, American Boneheads: A Day In The Life Of Springfield Elementary, Growing Up Springfield, and Ain’t No Mountain: A Blind Man Climbs Everest. Growing Up Springfield is his most notable documentary. It follows the lives of the inhabitants of Springfield, starting when they were in third grade and continuing every eight years. It is a parody of Michael Apted’s Up Series. Desmond appeared in the episodes "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" and "Fat Man And Little Boy" and his Growing Up Springfield series were featured in the episode "Springfield Up". The character is based on real British filmmakers David Attenborough and Desmond Morris.
Dewey Largo, voiced by Harry Shearer, is the music teacher, whom Lisa credited with proving that any piece of music could have the soul sucked out of it. He is very uncreative and is a poor, pathetic music conductor. He is always seen in the opening sequence, teaching his class and throwing Lisa out of his band class when she plays a funky/jazzy tune on her saxophone. His last name Largo is also an Italian word for a slow, broad musical tempo, a possible reference to the fact that he can make any piece of music uninteresting.
He has not played a large role in the series, but was originally intended to be an uptight foil for Lisa, and her non-conformist ways. After the first few seasons, Mr. Largo was rarely seen. However he has since resurfaced as a recurring character in the seventeenth season, making appearances in several episodes. In the 17th season in the episode "Homer's Paternity Coot" it is revealed that Largo was accepted to the Juilliard School, but never got the letter as it was frozen atop Mount Springfield. He ended up at Springfield Elementary instead. A recurring gag since the 17th season episode "See Homer Run", are allusions that Largo is gay. The 22nd season episode "Flaming Moe" confirmed Largo is gay and in a relationship with an older man.
Disco Stu, voiced by Hank Azaria,[69] is a man who is mentally stuck in the disco era.[70] He is normally featured wearing a rhinestone-encrusted leisure suit. Stu was introduced as the punchline to a joke in "Two Bad Neighbors". In a garage sale, Homer attempts to sell a jacket on which he had once tried to write "Disco Stud" in rhinestones, but having made the letters too big he did not have room for the final '"d". After Marge remarks that nobody would ever want to buy a jacket that read "Disco Stu", another customer recommends it to Stu, but Stu replies "Disco Stu doesn't advertise".[70] Stu's speech pattern is similar to that of Duffman, also voiced by Hank Azaria; he speaks in the third person, often referring to himself as "Disco Stu" (emphasizing "Stu" and then pausing before saying anything else; whatever follows usually rhymes with "Stu"). According to "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", Stu actually is aware disco is dead, does not like disco music at all, and worries that his personality may make him a "one-note guy". He is a Roman Catholic, having gotten an annulment from Pope John Paul II after a brief marriage to Selma Bouvier.[71]
Stu was originally to be voiced by repeat guest star Phil Hartman. However, when the animators remodeled the character, show runner Bill Oakley described the original Disco Stu as "a black, wrinkly John Travolta", and Hartman was not available to dub the voice, Hank Azaria took over the role.[72] Out of 25, IGN named Stu the 24th top peripheral character in The Simpsons.[73]
Doctor Colossus, voiced by Hank Azaria, is a supervillain and a mad scientist, who resides in Springfield. He has light blue skin and wears a white laboratory coat, gloves and goggles. Doctor Colossus is a minor character and usually only appears in the background. He lives on "Death Mountain". Doctor Colossus is often shown in jail, hinting that he is very incompetent as a supervillain.
Dolph, voiced by Tress MacNeille, is a bully and student at Springfield Elementary School. Dolph is recognized by his asymmetrical haircut which covers one eye and wears cutoff shorts and basketball shoes. He is left-handed and does not talk as much as the other bullies. He usually comes across as very intelligent and speaks a variety of languages including Esperanto, Swahili, and Klingon. It turns out Dolph is Jewish and attends Hebrew school. Despite the fact that he appears to be wholly Caucasian, in the episode "Little Big Girl" he shows up to multicultural day with a disked lower lip, suggesting some African or South American descent. He lied to his friends about not having a bar mitzvah, later claiming it had been "just family". He has also mentioned the fact that he has two fathers. Dolph was named after one of Matt Groening's classmates from Lincoln High School named Dolph Timmerman. Groening stated that Timmerman was not a bully but just a real cool guy.
Drederick Tatum (voiced by Hank Azaria) has appeared in several episodes. He is a professional boxer and the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He features prominently in the episode "The Homer They Fall", in which Homer takes up boxing and is lined up as an opponent for Tatum, soon to be released from prison. The fight proves one-sided, and Homer is rescued by Moe just as he is about to be knocked out by Tatum. Tatum grew up in Springfield, but in "Flaming Moe's" he calls the city "a dump" and says "if you ever see me back there, you know I really fu*#ed up bad!"
A former 1984 Olympic Gold medalist, he first became champion after defeating Watson in the heavily promoted "Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out!", a fight Homer and his friends watched on his illegal cable hookup. He was so feared inside prison he could stop riots just by telling the rioters to shut up. Tatum also appears in "Bye Bye Nerdie". Lisa tests her nerd spray on him, which forces Nelson Muntz to involuntarily get up and start punching Tatum, to little effect. A sobbing Nelson tries to apologise but Tatum rolls up his sleeves and declares "you leave me little recourse!"
Tatum is a parody of Mike Tyson, with a high-pitched lisping voice, a menacing demeanor, a criminal record, financial problems and a tendency to make pseudo-intellectual comments like "I insist that you desist" and "your behavior is unconscionable". He also has an unscrupulous manager named Lucius Sweet, who closely resembles Tyson's promoter/manager Don King. Indeed, in "The Homer They Fall" Homer notes that Sweet "is as rich and famous as Don King, and looks just like him". King and Tyson were asked to appear in the episode but declined. Paul Winfield, who played King in a 1995 Tyson biopic, took the role instead.
Duffman, voiced by Hank Azaria, is a recurring character, who according to Turner, "embodies all the self-importance and over-statement of contemporary marketing."[74] He is the mascot for the fictional Duff Corporation that sells Duff beer,[75] and is based on Budweiser's former mascot Bud Man.[76] Duffman is an muscular actor, dressed in a superhero costume who spouts slogans while he thrusts his hips.[74] Duffman's thrusts were first acted out by Brad Bird.[77] His catchphrase comes from the song "Oh Yeah" by Yello, which the producers say became extremely popular after Ferris Bueller's Day Off and many advertisers started using it. As a result, the writers felt that the song and phrase "Oh yeah!" would be suitable for the character.[76] While usually loyal to his corporate sponsors, in the season 15 episode "Co-Dependent's Day", Duffman reveals he is ashamed of betraying his Jewish heritage by doing a Nazi-esque performance at Oktoberfest ("This reich will last a thousand beers! Oh, ja! [muttering]: I do this, and I'm Jewish."). In the season 17 episode "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play", it was revealed that there were two more Duffmen working.
Eddie, voiced by Harry Shearer,[2] and Lou, voiced by Hank Azaria,[15] are Springfield police officers. They first appeared in the first season episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home".[78] The two do not have surnames, as Lou says "we're like Cher";[79] in his younger years, Lou referred to himself as "Lou the cop".[80]
Lou is the police sergeant and a competent officer of the Springfield Police. He is a foil to Chief Wiggum, and often takes the time to point out Wiggum's mistakes. Lou has been shown to resent Wiggum, and is aware of his chief's ineptitude.[81] Lou was married to a woman named Amy.[82] In "The Bart of War", it is shown that Lou is divorced from his wife, and Eddie has been seeing her occasionally.[83] Lou is a Democrat.[84]
Al Jean and Mike Reiss named Lou after Major League Baseball player Lou Whitaker.[78] Azaria based Lou's voice on actor Sylvester Stallone's.[85] Though he has nearly always been African-American,[86] Lou originally appeared yellow in "There's No Disgrace Like Home".[78] In "Bart vs. Thanksgiving", Eddie was animated to Lou's voice and Lou was animated to Eddie's.[87]
Elizabeth Hoover is a second grade teacher at Springfield Elementary, voiced by Maggie Roswell and Marcia Mitzman Gaven while Roswell was involved in a pay dispute. Miss Hoover has been worn down by her years in the public school system, and in Lisa Gets an "A" implies that she frequently drinks during lunch. In the episode Lisa's Substitute, she thought she had lyme disease. She is very apathetic and bored with her job, and seems overwhelmed with stress, seeking whatever remedies she can to alleviate it. She is often seen smoking even while teaching, once even under a "No Smoking" sign in the assembly hall. Her desperate attempts to regain her stability include rushing out of class to recite "Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean" with her eyes closed, getting into her car and driving off on two occasions, and even letting Ralph teach the class when she was granted tenure.
When the series began Miss Hoover's hair was pale blue, but from Season 4 onwards, she has had brown hair, presumably because of stress.
In the series, Fallout Boy first appears in a 1950s Radioactive Man serial film shown at a comic book convention in the episode "Three Men and a Comic Book." However, unlike many Simpsons characters, he has only made a handful of appearances since. While Radioactive Man is a broad parody of many superheroes, most obviously containing elements of Batman and Superman (and the comic incorporates an origin story similar to Marvel's Hulk), among others, Fallout Boy is mainly a parody of Robin (with his costume, references as being the 'young ward' of Radioactive Man, and his younger age and sidekick status) with elements of Spider-Man (his fictional comic book origin, for example). His catchphrase is "Jiminy Jillickers!"
Additionally, Fallout Boy also appears in a real-life comic book titled Radioactive Man, published by Bongo Comics (a comic created in part by Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons). In these comic books, Fallout Boy's real name is Rod Runtledge, he has a brother named Dodd Runtledge, and they live in Zenith City. Rod is a high school nerd living with his aunt, Aunt June.
Fallout Boy was an average book worm, until one day, he was at a Radioactive demonstration, where he met up with Claude Kane. A tall piece of machinery fell towards them. Claude grabbed Rod and jumped over the rail, Claude holding onto the machine. The machine came to life, and as the ray passed through Claude, who became Radioactive Man, it hit Rod. Rod then got a pint sized version of RM's powers, and became Fallout Boy.
In the episode "Radioactive Man", Milhouse was chosen over Bart to play Fallout Boy in the Radioactive Man movie to be filmed in Springfield. Rock band Fall Out Boy took the name of this character after, when they asked a concert audience what band name they should have, a fan shouted "Fallout Boy!"
Frankie the Squealer is a member of the Mafia and associate of Fat Tony. However, he does not appear to be very useful to his colleagues in criminal activity due to his uncontrollable habit of squealing (he claims that "it makes [him] feel big"), even squealing on himself one time. On several occasions, the mob has attempted to kill him for his squealing, though they have repeatedly been unsuccessful. Frankie first appeared in episode "Insane Clown Poppy" where his squealing habits are introduced after he squeals on himself for squealing.
Gil Gunderson, a.k.a. Ol' Gil, voiced by Dan Castellaneta[33] and first appeared in the ninth season episode "Realty Bites" as a real estate agent with Lionel Hutz's Red Blazer Realty.[88] He is a spoof of actor Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in the 1992 film adaptation of the play Glengarry Glen Ross.[88] (Lemmon himself voiced a character similar to Levene in the eighth season episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson".)[89] Show runner Mike Scully said that the writers thought that Gil would be "a one-shot thing".[90] "Dan Castellaneta was so funny at the table read doing the character", Scully elaborated, "we kept making up excuses in subsequent episodes to put him in."[88] Writer Dan Greaney said that it was a great take-off on Levene to make Gil more desperate than he was. Even so, the writers like to write Gil with "a little bit of the old sparkle" left in him.[91]
In 2006, "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II", the only episode to center on Gil, won a Writers Guild of America Award in the animation category.[92]
Gloria, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Snake's girlfriend. She is a meter maid. She first appears in "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love", dating Mr. Burns. She ends up leaving him to return to her ex-boyfriend Snake, for criticising but unintendedly complementing him in the same sentence. Gloria visits Snake in prison in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." She appears once again in "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes", where she is now pregnant. However in "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" they have broken up. Then, in "Wedding For Disaster" they seem to have gotten back together and apparently got married.
God, voiced by Harry Shearer, has had many appearances in the series, including "Homer the Heretic", "Thank God, It's Doomsday", and a quick scene with him, Buddha, and Colonel Sanders in "Pray Anything" as well as appearing in the flick across the town in the opening sequence (in the HD episodes) where he is fighting with the devil. He is portrayed in the traditional depiction of the Abrahamic God in the Western world: a gray-haired Caucasian man in a white robe with a booming voice. In most episodes, only his beard is seen as the camera only films him up to the shoulders (God is a head taller than everyone else in the Simpsons universe). His body is usually surrounded by a glowing light, and his robes float around him, though not always. He does not seem to be all-knowing. Another notable characteristic of him is his ability to forgive and tolerate Homer's mishaps, despite his later often heretical attitude. In fact, he is good and even friendly terms with Homer, but he would not hesitate to severely punish him if Homer become too obnoxious. One of God's distinctive features is that he and Jesus are the only two Simpsons characters to be drawn with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, though not always.
Grady, voiced by Scott Thompson and Julio, voiced by Hank Azaria are two gay men who become Homer's roommates when he leaves Marge in "Three Gays of the Condo". Julio reappears in "There's Something About Marrying", marrying another man, in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" as one of the bank robbery hostages, and has speaking cameos in "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" and "E Pluribus Wiggum". He appeared in the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure", in which he was seen as "King Julio" in Lisa's first story, "Elizabeth the First". He works as a photographer, as seen in "The Devil Wears Nada". Grady made his second appearance to date in "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", in which he persuades Homer to break up his (Grady's) relationship with Julio, so that he could pursue a relationship with Duffman. Julio made further appearances as Marge's Hairdresser in "The Blue and the Gray" and "Homer Scissorhands".
Gunter and Ernst, Las Vegas-style entertainers voiced by Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria, are obvious parodies of Siegfried & Roy: they speak with German accents, their act involves magic and white tigers, and one has black hair while the other has bleached-blond hair. The duo appear in the episodes "Viva Ned Flanders", "$pringfield", "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", and "Jazzy and the Pussycats". In "Jazzy and the Pussycats", they are seen at Amber Simpson's funeral. In "The Simpsons Game" it is revealed they performed at an aquarium.
In a case of life imitating art, the 1993 episode "$pringfield" (the first episode featuring Gunter and Ernst) depicts the duo being savagely mauled by their trademark white tiger, Anastasia. Ten years later, the trained white tiger Montecore dragged Roy Horn off-stage by his neck during a performance at The Mirage. According to the DVD commentary on this episode on the Simpsons season five DVD set, the part where Gunter and Ernst get attacked is considered "the greatest prediction" the Simpsons ever made, but it was "bound to happen" considering how the tiger was treated.
The Happy Little Elves are a parody of The Smurfs, who appeared more often in the show's earlier episodes. They are a favorite of Lisa and Maggie Simpson. Bart, however, hates them; he mainly refers to them as either "those stupid elves" "The Crappy Little Elves", or "The Little Green Idiots". Their movies include Return of the Happy Little Elves, an unnamed Christmas movie as seen in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", The Happy Little Elves Meet The Curious Bear Cubs, The Happy Little Elves in Tinkly Winkly Town, and The Happy Little Elves meet Fuzzy Snuggleduck (which was listed as an R-rated movie along with Thelma & Louise and The Erotic Awakening of S on Rancho Relaxo's cable system). They were first mentioned in a short on The Tracey Ullman Show entitled "Scary Movie". The most recent appearance they had was in "Dial N for Nerder" in March 2008. In more current episodes, they appear as wall decorations in Maggie's and Lisa's rooms.
Helen Lovejoy (née Schwartzbaum), voiced by Maggie Roswell and Marcia Mitzman Gaven, is Rev. Lovejoy’s judgmental and gossipy wife, and the mother of Jessica Lovejoy. She introduced herself in the episode "Life on the Fast Lane" as "the gossipy wife of the minister." Her catchphrase is "What about the children?! Won't somebody please think of the children!?" which she always says among a crowd when something bad is happening in the city. In "Wedding for Disaster", the Parson remarks to Reverend Lovejoy that he remembers when Helen Lovejoy was Helen Schwartzbaum and prior to that, Harold Schwartzbaum, before deciding he has said too much, implying that Helen was not always a woman, however this is directly contradicted as in flashbacks she is shown to be a girl as a child, and the fact that she and Reverend Lovejoy have a biological daughter in Jessica. In E Pluribus Wiggum, it was revealed that Helen is a member of the Springfield Republican Caucus while in one of their dungeon meetings.
Herman Larson, voiced by Harry Shearer,[2] is the owner of Herman's Military Antiques. He is a right-arm above-elbow amputee; he tells Bart that the arm was lost when he stuck it out the window of a moving bus as a kid. A brilliant military tactician, Herman was instrumental in Bart’s victory in water balloon combat against Nelson and in the negotiation of the peace treaty between the two combatants in "Bart the General", which is his most significant and first appearance.
He is friends with Abraham Simpson, to whom he sold a fez, claiming it was previously owned by Napoleon; Herman then advertised Abe's old hat as "the hat McKinley was shot in". He also tried to sell counterfeit jeans out of the Simpsons' garage, but was foiled by Marge Simpson.
Harry Shearer does an impression of George H.W. Bush for the voice.[93] Herman's facial appearance is modeled after Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder.[93] The original idea behind Herman, said Groening, was that each time he appeared, he would give a different explanation for how he lost his arm. However, the second joke, involving Herman having stuck his arm in a ball return at a bowling alley, got cut, and the writers never pursued the idea.[94]
Janey Powell, voiced by Pamela Hayden, is a classmate and friend of Lisa Simpson. Janey first appeared in "Bart the General" and was once Lisa's closest friend. She has been at Lisa's sleepovers, and Lisa is seen watching cartoons at her house on numerous occasions.
Her description on The Simpsons POG set described her as "Lisa's fair-weather friend". Though she is sometimes seen spending time with Lisa, other times she teases her along with the other children. She is not portrayed as being nearly as intelligent or nerdy as Lisa. Janey may have had a crush on Milhouse Van Houten, who has a crush on Lisa. She enjoys reading babysitting books.
Jasper Beardly, voiced by Harry Shearer[2] is one of the elder residents of Springfield, often portrayed as Abraham Simpson's best friend. His most distinguishing features are his ultra-low, gravelly voice and very long beard. Jasper made his first appearance in "Homer's Odyssey". He is a veteran of World War II, but (according to the episode "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play") he attempted to avoid the draft by disguising himself as a woman. He stayed in Springfield to play in the local women's baseball league, along with his friend Abe, who was also avoiding the war but was exposed during a game. In a deleted scene, it was shown that Jasper was the town pastor, prior to Reverend Lovejoy. He briefly served as substitute teacher of Lisa's class during which time he confiscated everything made of tin, got his beard caught in a pencil sharpener and threatened paddling for minor infractions such as looking out the window or talking out of turn.
In the subplot of the season nine episode, "Lisa the Simpson", Jasper put himself in crude "suspended animation" in the Kwik-E-Mart's freezer, and under advice from Dr. Nick Riviera, Apu kept him frozen. When Jasper's frozen form became popular with customers, Apu started exploiting the spectacle, and transformed the Kwik-E-Mart into a special interest store dealing with weird items, or perfectly ordinary ones which had been made out to be abnormal, called the Freak-E-Mart. Jasper was accidentally unfrozen, and stepped out into what he thought was a future world, just as Apu was considering selling him to the Rich Texan. In the episode "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Jasper mentions he is a diabetic.
Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield (a.k.a. Hans Sprungfeld) is the founder of the town of Springfield. He is voiced by Harry Shearer.[2] According to legend, Jebediah Springfield and his partner Shelbyville Manhattan, led a band that left Maryland in search of "New Sodom" due to a misinterpretation of the Bible, but they parted ways over political differences: though both men are devoted to chastity and abstinence, Manhattan wanted to let people be free to marry their cousins if they wish, to which Springfield strongly opposes. It was then Manhattan went on to found the rival town of Shelbyville, taking half of the settlers with him.
Springfield had many famous quotations, such as "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man". He also wears a coonskin cap. The Springfield Marathon commemorates an occasion on which he ran across six states in order to avoid his creditors. In "The Telltale Head" Bart beheaded the statue, thinking that this would make him more popular. In reality, the town became depressed and angry, leaving Bart to endure "The Tell-Tale Heart"-style guilt before replacing it. This episode is referenced in multiple Simpsons video games such as The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants, where the statue's head serves as a power-up item, or The Simpsons Road Rage and The Simpsons Hit & Run, where characters can kick or ram Jebediah's head off the statue.
Many Jebediah legends have been debunked during the run of the series. For instance, "The Telltale Head" repeatedly refers to Jebediah killing a bear with his bare hands, but on the news, Kent Brockman reveals that recent historical evidence suggests the bear actually killed Jebediah. On an expedition to Springfield's historic "Fort Springfield", Bart uncovers other inconsistencies in the Jebediah legend, such as that he fought at Fort Ticonderoga the same day as the first Whacking Day.
Most of Springfield's biography is revealed in the 1996 episode "Lisa the Iconoclast", wherein Lisa Simpson discovers Jebediah Springfield's biggest secret: he was formerly a bloodthirsty pirate named Hans Sprungfeld, who once brawled with George Washington and lost after Washington crushed Sprungfeld's genitals in one of his sets of iron false teeth. Sprungfeld fled and changed his name in 1795 to hide his identity. He was well known for his "silver tongue" (literally; a metal prosthetic tongue, his original tongue having been bitten off by a Turkish pirate in a grog house fight). Before he died of diphtheria, he wrote his confession on a scrap of canvas that he hid in a fife. The canvas scrap formed the "missing piece" of the famously incomplete 1796 Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington; Sprungfeld picked it up during a fight against Washington which occurred while the latter was having his portrait painted. Lisa decides not to reveal this secret to the people of Springfield, seeing that the myth of Jebediah has brought out the good in everyone and that the true story will cause them to lose hope and morale within themselves.
The Australian rock-band "Jebediah" was named after Jebediah Springfield.
Corky James "Jimbo" Jones, voiced by Pamela Hayden[2] but was originally voiced by Tress MacNeille in his first appearance in the first season episode "The Telltale Head".[95] A real lowlife, he wears a purple knit cap and a black T-shirt emblazoned with a menacing skull. He can often be seen hanging around Kearney, Dolph, and sometimes Nelson. He is generally acknowledged as the leader of this clique. He enjoys intimidating his schoolmates and shoplifting. It is hinted that he comes from a well-off family, most notably in season six's The PTA Disbands when — with the school closed for a teacher's strike - he and his mother watch soap operas and sip tea together in a very nice living room. In season seven's Bart the Fink, Bart discovers that Jimbo's real name is Corky. Jimbo's other known aliases are Jamesbo, Dr. J and Hector Gutierrez. Jimbo is named for executive producer James L. Brooks.[95] Jimbo runs for mayor in the Season 17 episode "See Homer Run", with a campaign slogan of "Tough on Nerds. Tougher on Dorks."
Johnny "John" Tightlips, voiced by Hank Azaria, is a member of the Mafia and associate of Fat Tony. He says very little, which spares him from accusations of being a "squealer", but his reticence tends to be unhelpful to others and even himself. In "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" he tries to help Fat Tony in taking away Marge's earnings from her 'Pretzel Wagon' franchise. In "Insane Clown Poppy", there is a shoot-out in Fat Tony's mansion and Tightlips is shot by accident. When asked where he's injured, he says "I ain't sayin' nuthin'!", and when asked what to tell the doctor he says, "Tell him to suck a lemon."[96]
Jub-Jub is Selma Bouvier's pet iguana and was originally owned by Aunt Gladys. It was first seen in "Selma's Choice". Gladys gives Jub-Jub to Jacqueline Bouvier, who is highly unattached to it. As a result, she later passes it on to Selma. Selma once said that Jub-Jub will eat her remains upon her passing.
The name Jub-Jub was coined by then-writer Conan O'Brien.[97] He often said nonsensical things around the office for no apparent reason, one of which was "Jub-Jub". Fans of Sportsradio 1310 in Dallas voted that Jub-Jub be the new nickname of morning radio host George Dunham. O'Brien, on October 17, 2007, mentioned his creation of Jub Jub and asked Joe Buck, the play-by-play commentator of the MLB World Series on FOX, to say it during his broadcast. O'Brien promised $1,000.00 to the charity of the announcer's choice. On October 24, 2007, during Game 1 of the 2007 World Series, Buck called field level reporter, Chris Myers, "our own little Jub-Jub." Jub-Jub was used as the first Twitter hash tag for O'Brien's "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" in 2010.
Constance Harm, voiced by repeat guest star actress Jane Kaczmarek. She is a harsh, unforgiving disciplinarian.[98] She enjoys creating cruel punishments for criminals in her court and frightening them with a miniature guillotine on the bench. She might be a transsexual based on a statement she makes during her first appearance in "The Parent Rap": "you remind me of me, when I was a little boy". Her name is a play on "constant harm". The character is a parody of Judge Judy. In "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister", she reveals she has a husband. Although Judge Snyder resolves court cases, Judge Harm has mainly been used for handing down negative verdicts, such as sentencing a family member to prison. She also appears in "Brawl in the Family", "Barting Over", "The Wandering Juvie", "Brake My Wife, Please" and "Chief of Hearts".[99]
Roy Snyder, voiced by Harry Shearer.[19] He is a Springfield judge known for his lenient punishments and somewhat unorthodox rulings (as in the episode "Sweets and Sour Marge," when he bans sugar from Springfield). The character was originally named "Judge Moulton", but show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein did not know that, and called him "Snyder".[100] His appearance is modeled on Robert Bork.[100] Snyder's skin color has gone back and forth between yellow and brown repeatedly throughout the series.[101]
This man first appears in "When Flanders Failed" when he goes to the Leftorium to get his parking validated because it is the only store that does it without requiring a purchase. Ned Flanders says he is "right as rain, or, as we say around here, 'left as rain' but the man bluntly responds "Just stamp the ticket." His next appearances is in "Homer Alone", when the Squeaky Voiced Teen tries to hand him a flyer he brushes him off by saying "Don't touch me". In a later episode, "Mr. Plow", he tells Barney Gumble (who is handing out flyers dressed as Lullabuy$'s Big Baby) that he "sickens" him. He reappears again in Homer's Barbershop Quartet, at the Springfield Swap Meet, he derides Marge's "cool" wishbone necklaces, stating he doubted his "son or daughter is that stupid". The character also appears in the episodes "Homer Loves Flanders", "Homer and Apu", "Bart of Darkness" (in which he punched a hippie for singing "Sunshine On My Shoulders") and "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy".
Dr. J. Loren Pryor, voiced by Harry Shearer, is the school psychologist. He is based on an early design for Seymour Skinner, and first appears in "Bart the Genius" where he decides to send Bart to a school for gifted children after Bart cheats on a test. Bart later approaches him to request returning to Springfield Elementary. In "Bart Gets an F", he tells Bart that he may have to repeat the fourth grade. He appears again, discussing Bart's problems at school and Lisa's special gift in a flashback sequence of "Lisa's Sax". In this episode he also inadvertently reveals that Milhouse Van Houten possesses "flamboyantly homosexual" tendencies. Pryor does not appear again for several years until the episode "See Homer Run", in which he tells Lisa that she is going through a developmental condition.
Kearney Zzyzwicz, voiced by Nancy Cartwright, is one of Springfield Elementary's many bullies. He has a buzz cut, and wears a torn white T-shirt, blue shorts, and studded wristbands. Although he looks and sounds to be around Jimbo or Dolph's age, Kearney is actually older. He is the only Springfield Elementary School student who remembers the Watergate Scandal and the 1976 Bicenntenial (according to Principal Skinner), was in Otto the bus driver's third-grade class (according to Otto), owns a car (even though he rode the school bus on "A Milhouse Divided", "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife, and Her Homer", and "How the Test Was Won"), regularly shaves, has custody of a child from a divorce, is old enough to vote in a general U.S. election, was sent to prison, and pays taxes.
In "She of Little Faith", Kearney dated Jimbo's mother. In the same episode, it is revealed that he is on the church council of the First Church of Springfield and is "a teenager and the parent of a teenager".[102] Kearney often relies on (or tricks) Homer into procuring alcohol for himself and his friends (as seen in "The Springfield Connection", "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", and "Last Tap Dance in Springfield"), and once used a fake ID (as seen in "Much Apu About Nothing"), though it is heavily implied that Kearney is of the legal age to buy alcohol for himself (as in "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", in which he is seen drinking at Moe's Tavern).
Kearney's last name (Zzyzwicz) was revealed in a computer file in season 18's "24 Minutes". Prior to that episode, Kearney's surname was never mentioned. In "Bart Gets a 'Z'", Kearney can be seen sitting in the back row of Bart's classroom, implying that Kearney is a fourth grader. Kearney's father was shown on the season eight episode "The Homer They Fall", but in "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?", Kearney reveals that both of his parents are incarcerated and they only meet when the prison and insane asylum have their annual mixer.
Kirk Van Houten (sometimes called Milhouse's Dad) is voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the father of Milhouse, and the remarried husband of Luann Van Houten. He wears glasses just like his son and wife. He first appeared in "Bart's Friend Falls in Love". Kirk has been portrayed as a stereotypical middle-aged male loser and deadbeat dad. Much of his character revolves around his extreme emotional depression after his divorce from his wife Luann. Luann got custody of Milhouse when they divorced, but Kirk has visiting rights and is often seen with Milhouse in later episodes. Kirk suffers from the need to cry all the time after his divorce, even in good times. The Van Houtens remarried in the nineteenth season episode "Little Orphan Millie". In that episode it was established that Kirk is of Dutch and Danish ancestry. Kirk previously served in the U.S. Army, and attended Gudger College. Apparently Kirk's mother is of Greek ancestry, based on the nineteenth season episode "Husbands and Knives". In the episode, Milhouse says, "But that's the money Yaya Sophia gave me for Greek Orthodox Easter!".
According to Luann, Kirk was not a very good provider, and she had to borrow money from her sister to make ends meet. When Luann demands a divorce, Kirk is all too happy to oblige. Unfortunately, he loses his middle-management job at Southern Cracker, a job given to him by Luann's father, as a result. Kirk briefly attempts a career as a singer-songwriter, recording a demo tape of an original song titled "Can I Borrow A Feeling", with mediocre results. Later, he attempts to win Luann back by singing the song to her. Luann does not reciprocate Kirk's feelings, choosing instead to remain with her boyfriend.
Kirk reveals in the episode "I Am Furious Yellow", where he visits his son's school on career day, that he was currently employed as an assistant to the guy who puts fliers under people's windshield wipers. Kirk also had a job standing on the curb holding a sign directing people to a condo development and worked as a scarecrow protecting a soy-bean crop, which resulted in his eye being gouged by a crow. Since being fired from the cracker company, Kirk seems to be unable to maintain a steady job. He once shouted at Luann that she had to keep up the alimony payments she owed him, and he has been seen at the Springfield unemployment office, perhaps suggesting that alimony and unemployment benefits are his only steady sources of income. Kirk was put in jail in the episode "Pranksta Rap" for "kidnapping" Bart which he greatly enjoyed due to him being envied by women and fed three meals a day. In The Simpsons Movie, Kirk is briefly seen attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Laura, voiced by Sara Gilbert is the teenage daughter of Ruth Powers. Her first and only appearance is in the episode "New Kid on the Block" when her and Ruth move in next door to the Simpsons. When Marge and Homer ask her to babysit Bart, Lisa and Maggie, Bart immediately develops a crush on her. However he is shocked to find out that she is dating local bully Jimbo Jones who she later breaks up with after Moe threatens to kill Jimbo over a prank call that Bart made. Ruth mentions Laura in "Marge On The Lam" when Ruth tells Marge that she has to head home before her daughter watches "that naked talk show."
Laura presumably moves away from Springfield with her mother in the episode "The Bob Next Door".
Legs, voiced by Karl Wiedergott (formerly voiced by Hank Azaria), and Louie, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, are the two Springfield Mafia hitmen who accompany Fat Tony at all times. The two lack any real definitive characteristic and are almost always seen together. Legs has a dark blonde short haircut and raspy voice. Louie has a slight black afro and a more high-pitched, even squeaky tone. Castellaneta based the voice on actor Joe Pesci, one of the several references to Goodfellas used in the episode "Bart the Murderer".[103] Louie says that tear gas is "[his] one weakness," though this is likely an embellishment. Dan Castellaneta was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 for the voice of Louie, Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, and Krusty the Clown thanks to the episode Donnie Fatso.[104]
Leopold, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is Superintendent Chalmers' assistant. He is a large, surly, snarling man that frequently speaks through clenched teeth, and is one of the few characters on The Simpsons to have eyebrows. When Principal Skinner has to be temporarily replaced, Leopold stomps in, issues several threats, and terrifies the children by making them think he is the replacement, and then suddenly politely introduces the actual substitute, Ned Flanders. The children then collectively sigh with relief. The gag was repeated when Marge Simpson becomes a substitute teacher in the episode "The PTA Disbands". Leopold often refers to the children of Springfield Elementary as "little freaks."[105][106]
Lewis is an African American character, and student at Springfield Elementary School in Bart's class. He can be seen playing the bassoon in the opening sequence of the show. Although one of the most minor characters in the show, Lewis appears frequently in scenes involving the Springfield children, and occasionally speaks. He is usually seen with Richard. While Lewis has never had significant dialogue, he has been voiced by Nancy Cartwright, Jo Ann Harris, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, and Russi Taylor throughout the series. Lewis's seeming insignificance to the show is underscored in the episode "Das Bus", in which Bart mistakenly calls him "Wendell".
Lindsey Naegle is voiced by Tress MacNeille[19] and first appeared in the eighth season episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show".[107] In that episode, she had no name and was known only as "The Generic Female TV Executive".[16] She appeared again in "Girly Edition", also as a generic female TV executive (only her hair and facial features differed from her first appearance).[108] In "They Saved Lisa's Brain", she was introduced as "Lindsey Naegle", a member of the Springfield Chapter of Mensa, and has since become a recurring character.[107] The writers modeled Naegle on a number of network executives that they have encountered while working on the show.[109] The character gets her last name from Hollywood talent agent Sue Naegle, president of HBO Entertainment and wife of Simpsons writer Dana Gould.[110][111] Writer Matt Selman chose the first name "Lindsey" because he thought it sounded like the name of an annoyingly talkative woman.[110] Naegle prototypes have appeared throughout the series, such as the OmniTouch Rep from "Make Room for Lisa" and Laramie executive Mindy from "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)".[112] In "Blame It on Lisa", it is revealed that she frequently changes jobs because she is a sexual predator. Chris Turner, author of the book Planet Simpson, called Naegle "an excellent allegory for the modern corporate age: you don't see through her because there's nothing else to see."[113] Her political allegiances are not concrete: In "You Kent Always Say What You Want," she is shown at the Republican Party headquarters; in "E Pluribus Wiggum," Naegle is conversely depicted as a Democrat.
Lois Pennycandy is the executive assistant to Krusty the Clown.[114] She swayed Krusty into visiting Bart after he saved Krusty from jail time,[115] and later reunited him with his estranged father the Rabbi Hyman Krustofski.[114] She was at Krusty's side during the auditions in which Robert Terwilliger became Krusty's new sidekick,[116] and was at Krusty's "funeral" when he was presumed dead after crashing his private plane into a cliff.[117] In a phone conversation, Marge once asked her, "How can [Krusty] hurt someone who loves him so?" While looking at a framed photo of Krusty, Pennycandy replied, "Oh, Mrs. Simpson, I've wasted my womanhood asking that same question."[114] Her only speaking roles are in "Like Father, Like Clown" and "Krusty Gets Kancelled", in which she was voiced by Pamela Hayden.
Luann Van Houten is voiced by Maggie Roswell. When Roswell left the show in 1998, she became a primarily nonspeaking character. However, Roswell returned in 2002. Since the season 8 episode, "A Milhouse Divided", Luann was depicted as a promiscuous, single mother, who stuck her successful love life in the face of her ex-husband, Kirk. She first appeared in "Homer Defined". She wears glasses, a trait that she shares with her husband and son. Luann Van Houten's mother is Italian. She was born in Shelbyville, and moved to Springfield in early life. It is stated in "A Milhouse Divided" that she has a sister.
Luann was married to Kirk for several years, giving birth to a son, Milhouse, yet the marriage was an unhappy one. After an argument over a game of Pictionary, she leaves Kirk after he remarks he can't draw "dignity", since he gave it up when he married her. Although Kirk found the new liberty of a single life tough, Luann uses her newfound freedom to live life on the fast lane. Luann began dating American Gladiator Pyro shortly after her divorce with Kirk for several seasons, but was caught cheating on him with his best friend, Gyro. In Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's bachelor years, she had been one of his bachelorettes. In "Milhouse of Sand and Fog", it is revealed that Luann had also gone out with Disco Stu as well and had begun a relationship with Sea Captain.
In "Milhouse of Sand and Fog" the Van Houtens reunited. Since then, they are often seen together (although in the episode "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)", Kirk was seen with Milhouse at a single father's outing, showing he and Luann were still not married). As of "Little Orphan Millie", they are remarried.
Luigi Risotto, voiced by Hank Azaria,[33] is the proprietor of Luigi's, a Springfield Italian restaurant. He is a parody of the "Italian pasta/pizza chef" stereotype (and in fact is on a bowling team called "The Stereotypes" along with Cletus Spuckler, Captain Horatio McCallister, and Groundskeeper Willie), but seems to be aware of his status as a stock character. He is polite to his customers and treats them with respect when they order and then loudly insults and belittles them to his cook Salvatore, apparently unaware that they can hear him from the kitchen. In the episode "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas," he reveals that he does not speak Italian. It is hinted that Luigi is an illegal immigrant, even though he tried to run for mayor, telling Springfielders, "I make-a you the good government, just how-a you like it!" The animators copied Luigi's appearance from a chef that was on the front of a pizza box.[118]
Lunchlady Doris Freedman, voiced by Doris Grau up until her death, and now voiced by Tress MacNeille, is a sardonic chef for Springfield Elementary. She can frequently be seen serving deeply unpleasant meals, such as animal genitalia and ground up gym mats, because of the school budget cutbacks. She has also made a handful of appearances acting as a school nurse, apparently due to budget cutbacks.
After Grau's death in 1995, Lunchlady Doris was retired out of respect for over 10 years. Due to the delay between recording some episodes and the time they actually air, Grau's voice was included in episodes airing as late as 1997 such as "Lisa's Sax".[119] Lunchlady Doris is seen as a silent background character until she speaks in the 18th season during "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", where she is voiced by Tress MacNeille, season 19's "The Debarted", where she is again voiced by Tress MacNeille but with a different voice, and season 20's "Father Knows Worst".
Lurleen Lumpkin (voiced by Beverly D'Angelo) is an aspiring country singer who is managed by Homer in "Colonel Homer". Homer discovers her in a redneck bar in the middle of nowhere and is amazed by her voice. He decides to help her launch a singing career, much to the chagrin of Marge. Grateful for Homer's help, Lurleen becomes attracted to him and tries to lure him with an erotic song called "Bunk with Me Tonight". Homer, who had been ignorant of this, suddenly realizes that managing Lurleen could hurt his marriage, so he quits as her manager. A saddened Lurleen sings a song called "Stand By Your Manager".
Lurleen's next appearance is in "Krusty Gets Kancelled", in which she is briefly seen in the center square of Springfield Squares. In an earlier episode, "Marge vs. the Monorail", a much rougher-looking Lurleen, voiced by Doris Grau, makes a brief appearance, in which it is revealed that she had been to the Betty Ford Clinic and "spent last night in a ditch". In this episode her voice sounds exactly the same as Lunchlady Doris's, rather than her soft, Southern voice she had when she was first introduced.
The nineteenth season episode "Papa Don't Leech"[120] follows up on her story with her moving into the Simpsons' home and taking a waitress job at Moe's in order to pay a $12 million tax bill. It is revealed she has a father named Royce Boss Hogg Lumpkin, who was never much supportive of her and had been missing for years. Marge undertakes efforts to find him and reunite him with Lurleen. As soon as it happens, Lurleen writes a new, upbeat composition called "Daddy's Back", but Royce sells the song, taking the writing credits for himself (but altering some lyrics), to the Dixie Chicks. As soon as she learns of this, Lurleen confronts Royce and reveals the truth to the Dixie Chicks, who assault him with their musical instruments and invite Lurleen to join their tour. Lurleen ends up engaged to a man who looks very much like Homer (like her previous husbands did) and tours as an opening act for the Dixie Chicks.
Dr. Marvin Monroe is a psychotherapist who first appeared in the first season episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home". Homer pawns the family television in order to afford a session with Monroe for him and his dysfunctional family. The failed attempt at therapy culminates with the Simpsons electroshocking each other endlessly, to the point of causing a blackout. Unable to help the Simpsons, Monroe refunds double what the Simpsons paid, and the Simpsons buy a new TV.
Monroe appears in "Some Enchanted Evening" in which 70% of that episode's original animation had to be redone, although the scenes involving Monroe were mostly untouched, said co-director David Silverman.[121] The script of "Some Enchanted Evening" describes Monroe as "a heavy, chain-smoking, compulsive eater."[122] The original idea behind the character, said Matt Groening, was that he was born Marilyn Monroe and was "very caught up over that", which is why he became a therapist.[123] Monroe's voice is based on psychiatrist David Viscott's.[124] Among Monroe's works is Dr. Marvin Monroe's Guide to Etiquette, which Bart receives as a birthday gift in "Radio Bart".
Since the seventh season, the character Monroe has been retired. This is because voicing the character strained Harry Shearer's throat and, eventually, the voice became too annoying for Groening, which, he acknowledges, is the point.[125][126] The character's retirement was marked by the broadcast of a Dr. Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital over Lou's walkie-talkie in "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", Part Two.[127] Since then, several references to Monroe being dead have been made: a glimpse of his gravestone in "Alone Again, Natura-diddily", a Dr. Marvin Monroe Memorial Gymnasium seen in "Bye Bye Nerdie", and an interstitial in the "138th Episode Spectacular". However, Monroe is seen alive in the fifteenth season in "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" to purchase a copy of Marge's novel "The Harpooned Heart", stating simply that he has "...been very sick" when asked about his absence by Marge.
Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon is the wife of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and the mother of their eight children. She first appeared as a little girl in Apu's flashback in the seventh season episode "Much Apu About Nothing", in which Apu tells her that he is sorry that their arranged marriage will not happen, before getting on a plane departing for the U.S. to pursue the American Dream. Her first adult appearance is in the ninth season episode The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons.[128] She claims that Fried Green Tomatoes is her favorite book, movie, and food. She has excellent culinary skills, demonstrated by her ability to make a wide variety of dishes using only chickpeas, lentils, and sometimes rice. She is also one of Marge's best and only friends, and they often walk their babies together.
In "The Sweetest Apu", Apu has an affair with the Squishee lady. After Homer discovers this, he and Marge confront Apu, who caves under the guilt and vows to apologize to Manjula, who sets him a number of grueling tasks in penance.[128]
Writer Richard Appel had pitched the idea of Apu marrying years before he wrote "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" for season nine.[129] For that episode, it took several attempts by the character designers to model Manjula because making women look appealing in Matt Groening's drawing style is hard for the animators to do.[130][131] Writer David Cohen named Manjula after a friend of much of the staff.[128] Manjula was voiced by former Saturday Night Live cast member Jan Hooks from seasons 9 to 14,[132] and also by Tress MacNeille and Maggie Roswell.
Martha Prince, voiced by Russi Taylor, is the wife of Martin Prince Sr. and mother of Martin Prince. Martha is probably best known for attempting to sell Martin's extremely valuable Star Wars merchandise to Comic Book Guy for an extremely cheap price. She was warned by Bart and Milhouse before she sold them and decided to not to sell them. It was also hinted by Martin that she shoplifts a lot, "stuff she doesn't even need". She also was responsible for all of the guest getting sick at Martin's birthday party, by serving diseased oysters instead of cake, with the exception of Bart, Lisa, Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel.
Martha Quimby is the wife of the Mayor of Springfield Joseph Quimby. She wears a pink outfit and a pillbox hat similar to the outfit worn by Jackie Kennedy on the day of the Kennedy assassination. According to Mayor Quimby, the couple met while Martha was working at the "Maison Derrière", a local burlesque house. She first appeared in "Bart Gets Famous",[133] when she walks in on Mayor Quimby in bed with another woman, an event she laughs off when he defends himself with "I didn't do it." She is humiliated when Marge accidentally uncovers her husband's lothario ways in "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas" and kicks Marge and her friends out before they can have tea. Martha Quimby is voiced by Maggie Roswell.
Martin Prince Sr. is the father of Martin Prince, and husband of Martha Prince. He is a stock broker in Springfield and was shown bringing his son to work on "Go To Work With Your Parents Day", where Martin made over $1 million trading soy futures (and subsequently lost all but $600). He appears to be a nerd much like his son, seeing as he has somewhat of a lisp. Martin Sr. was also one of the fathers that went in Ned Flanders's RV, to find their sons in Shelbyville. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
Mary Bailey is the governor of Springfield's state. She is voiced by Maggie Roswell.[2] She ran against Mr. Burns in "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", winning in a landslide after Mr. Burns spit out a piece of baked Three eyed Fish during a photo-op at the Simpsons' home. Mary Bailey would later appear briefly in the episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" when Bart and Lisa's class visit Capital City. They show Bailey their class projects (designing a new state flag). Mary Bailey wails in disgust after unfurling Lisa's flag. Bart had redesigned it to look like a butt with "Learn to Fart" underneath. She also appears in "The Seven-Beer Snitch" where a prison is built out of a defunct concert hall. She decides to release all the abused prisoners to a garbage barge where they would "bare-knuckle box until one of you emerges as king of your floating hell." She looks nearly identical to Bea Simmons, Abe Simpson's former girlfriend in the episode Old Money.
Maude Flanders, voiced by Maggie Roswell and temporarily by Marcia Mitzman Gaven between 1999 and 2000 when Roswell did not work for the show, was the wife of Ned Flanders, and is the deceased mother of Rod and Todd. While she was not employed outside the home, Maude was a busy homemaker and a tireless advocate for the children, whose innocence is so often sullied by the "evils" of cartoon violence, liberal education, and the insidious influences of popular culture. Even though she spent much of her free time in prayer and reading the Bible and helping out her husband at the Leftorium, Maude was known to let her hair down for the occasional dinner party at the home of her neighbors, the Simpsons. Homer often made statements insinuating his attraction to Maude, thereby literally coveting his neighbor's wife. Also, in the second season episode "The War of the Simpsons", Homer ogled at Maude's very low-cut dress at a dinner party, which resulted in him and Marge going to marriage camp.
In the season eleven episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", Maude was killed by a t-shirt cannon at the Springfield Speedway when Homer ducked at the last second to pick up a bobby pin on the ground.[134] She was knocked off the grandstand and her rescue was prevented as Homer had parked in the ambulance zone, impeding their rescue attempt. Her death crushed Ned who, though used to some measure of hardship, assumed that they would always be together. This kill-off was the result of Roswell leaving The Simpsons in spring 1999 after a pay dispute with the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs the show.[135][136] Voice actress Marcia Mitzman Gaven was hired to fill in for Roswell's characters,[137] including Maude in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" and the earlier episodes of the eleventh season,[138] although the producers decided to kill the character off to open up new storylines for the show.[137] Roswell returned to The Simpsons in 2002[139] after reaching a deal with Fox to record her lines from her home in Denver.[140] Since returning, she has voiced Maude in flashbacks and as a ghost.[139][141]
Maude's ghost appears in the opening sequence for "Treehouse of Horror XIII", and during the credits of "Bart Has Two Mommies" she is seen in heaven with Bob Hope and God, wondering how her boys are doing. Maude appeared through flashbacks in "Dangerous Curves", "Take My Life, Please", and "Postcards from the Wedge". Maude also appears in "Treehouse of Horror XXII" as the devil's wife.
Ms. Albright is voiced by Tress MacNeille.[2] She is the First Church of Springfield Sunday school teacher. She speaks with a soft Southern accent. She appears to be good friends with Helen Lovejoy. She is occasionally seen in the background of various episodes as well as in church scenes (such as in "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star").
Miss Springfield (voiced by Pamela Hayden) is a beauty pageant winner, who first appears in "Whacking Day". She is the lover of Mayor Quimby, and is seen several times in bed with him. She only appears with the sash and the crown of Miss Springfield.
In "Mayored to the Mob", she is one of two women escorting Mayor Quimby to a convention. Since then, she is often seen escorting him to Springfield events such as conventions, recitals, and plays. In one episode, it is revealed she is illiterate. Quimby scolds her for lying about her graduating from "typing school". She then admits she has trouble with the space bar. In "Smoke on the Daughter", she appears (and claims to be) pregnant, and Quimby believes he may be the father.
Mr. Costington, voiced by Hank Azaria,[69] is the president of Costington's Department Store. He first appeared as "Chairman"[142] in the season nine episode "Trash of the Titans", in which he invented "Love Day", and later in "Homer vs. Dignity". He is one of very few characters on the show who has eyebrows. Costington's catchphrase is "You're fiiired!", delivered while shaking his jowls. In "The Boys of Bummer", he hires Homer with a jowl-shaking "You're hiiired!" Homer has worked for him on three occasions: as a Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus, mattress salesman, and model for top-brand jeans. He also employs the Yes Guy, who is seen working at the store in most of his appearances.
Louis “Mr. Teeny” Toot, also known as Joseph Teeny and voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is Krusty’s trained chimpanzee who frequently appears on the show. He first appeared in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge". Like Krusty, he is a heavy smoker, and often seems depressed off-stage. He is sometimes seen as Krusty’s driver and butler. Teeny’s uncle was former head monkey at the ministry of tourism in Brazil. Three other monkeys have died while working for Krusty known by the same name. Krusty once said he missed the third Mr. Teeny and the current one couldn’t hold a candle to him. In the episode "Day of the Jackanapes" Teeny saves Krusty from a bomb that Sideshow Bob has attached to Bart. His mother’s name is Toot-Toot, and she refers to him as Louis when they are reunited in "Bart Has Two Mommies". Teeny also was a writer for the “Good Guy Awards” and quit after being insulted on-stage by Krusty. He is an immigrant from Brazil and has been deported but was returned. He wears a pink hat and bow tie but has also been seen in a tuxedo and golden encrusted thong. Krusty has implied that if he can not find a human willing to donate a lung when he gets cancer, he is planning on harvesting one from Mr. Teeny. As of "Wedding For Disaster", there have been seven Mr. Teenys.
Alice[143] Glick is an elderly shut-in for whom Bart did chores in "Three Men and a Comic Book"; he didn't get paid very well, so he started to hate her. She had a brother named Asa, mentioned in the same episode, who died during World War I; he was killed by his own grenade, which he held for too long. Doctor Hibbert once confessed to leaving his car keys inside her. She is occasionally seen in the background of various episodes, often with a toothless laugh. She is a stereotypical lonely old woman, who spends her days "watching her stories." She was originally voiced by Cloris Leachman[144] and later by Tress MacNeille.
She later dies due to a heart attack caused by an invention Bart and Martin create in the episode "Replaceable You".[143] Her final scene is dancing with Jesus in Heaven.[143]
Mrs. Muntz, voiced by Tress MacNeille.[19] She is Nelson Muntz's mother. Nelson receives his trademark laugh from her. Early on in the series, Nelson would often mention his parents, and it was often implied that Nelson's mother does not care for him. In "A Milhouse Divided", Nelson tells Milhouse that his mom is addicted to cough drops, which is why his father left the family. Mrs. Muntz works at Hooters in "Bart Star", but was fired in a later episode for gaining weight. She owns a dilapidated house and is depicted as a jailbird, a prostitute, a stripper, or something similar.
In "'Tis the Fifteenth Season", she appears, telling Nelson that his father simply did not like him, and he left with her golden tooth. Nelson's mother was fully introduced in "Sleeping with the Enemy", after years of being mentioned. A loud, high-pitched contemptuous woman, she neglects Nelson. She implies she misses Nelson's father. At the end of the episode, the three Muntzes reunite, and she receives a new job as Lady Macbeth, with "the third director she slept with". Since then, she is often seen around in Springfield. Curiously, in Season 18's "The Haw-Hawed Couple", she appears with brown hair. As revealed in "Dial 'N' for Nerder", Nelson even refers to her as Mrs. Muntz.
Jake the Barber[145] originated in one of the Tracey Ullman shorts, "Bart's Haircut".[146] In the short, he cuts Bart's hair not to his liking and Bart tries several ways to hide it. Dan Castellaneta, voiced the Old Barber in that short and in subsequent episodes in the series, based the voice on comedian Bob Elliott's.[147]
The Old Barber made his last appearance in the twelfth season episode "Lisa the Tree Hugger". He was voiced by Harry Shearer in that episode.[148] David Silverman had to create a model sheet of the Old Barber for Jim Reardon, who directed "22 Short Films about Springfield." Before then, there was no model sheet for the character.[149]
Asa, a.k.a. Old Jewish Man, or Crazy Old Man (according to "Krusty Gets Kancelled") is Abraham Simpson and Jasper Beardly's friend. Mayor Quimby once referred to him as "Old Jewish Man"; also, a list of heart recipients in "Homer's Paternity Coot" listed him as "Old Jewish Man". He speaks with a stereotypical Jewish-American accent (voiced by Hank Azaria), and curses in Yiddish in one episode. He is apparently friendly with Krusty the Clown and Krusty's father, according to "Simpsons Christmas Stories". He is often seen yelling at people, and as seen in "Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores", owns a store called Zip Boys, a parody of Pep Boys. He once had a brief period of stardom after his act of dancing on a street corner singing "The Old Gray Mare" with his pants down became a hit on television. In "Natural Born Kissers", it was revealed that he worked as a studio executive during the making of Casablanca and suppressed an alternate ending to the film. He was also responsible for a "Killing Spree Ending" to It's a Wonderful Life. He observes that the quality of studio management has changed over the years. In "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing" he dies by dancing too hard, although his ghost continues dancing. He reappears in "Replaceable You" alive.
Opal (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a talk show host. This celebrity is based on Oprah, as is her show. She first appears in "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)" where her segment on successful women depresses Marge, who feels her life of chores and child-raising has left her without any purpose. She later appeared in the back-to-back nineteenth season episodes "Husbands and Knives" and "Funeral for a Fiend". Marge is a fan of hers, and was interviewed by Opal after achieving success through her chain of Shapes gyms for women.
Patches and Poor Violet are two of Springfield's orphans, voiced by Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille, respectively. Introduced in “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace,” Patches gives the dollar they were saving to Bart, which was their vitamin money. They have since had cameos in “I'm Goin' to Praiseland” and “Simple Simpson,” but are seen in many other episodes. Poor Violet often has a cough, while Patches seems to vaguely resemble Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Their skin color is not the “healthy” yellow of the Simpson family, but rather a more sallow, sickly tone.
Plopper, also known as Spider-Pig and later renamed to Harry Plopper (a play on the popular fictional character Harry Potter), is a pig who first appears in The Simpsons Movie. Plopper has since become memetic, gaining immense popularity in the real world and on the internet, especially his theme song "Spider-Pig", which peaked at number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.[150] The pig is voiced by Tress MacNeille. Plopper has also made appearances in the episodes and comics, and also appears in the reanimated opening sequence, featuring in the pan across Springfield.
Plopper's first appearance is in the movie, where he stars in a TV ad to promote Krusty's new burger, The Clogger. After the filming is completed, Krusty orders the pig to be killed. Homer becomes upset about this, and immediately adopts him. Since Homer does not spend time with Bart, because he's always seen with Plopper, Bart goes fishing with Ned Flanders. Homer then spends a lot of time with Plopper and neglects Bart. Later in the movie, Homer is seen making the pig walk on the ceiling whilst singing "Spider Pig", a parody of the Spider-Man theme song. Homer later calls him Harry Plopper, and the pig is seen with glasses and a lightning bolt-shaped scar, based on the character Harry Potter.
At one point in the movie, the Simpsons' house is completely destroyed after being sucked into a sinkhole in their backyard. This may lead to the assumption that the pig is killed in the movie or could've run off to the Springfield Retirement Castle. But at one point Bart's dog survives without the family and tells Bart "I did what no other dog could do" which possibly implies that the dog ate the pig to survive. However, during the 2007 San Diego Comic Convention, an official Simpsons Panel revealed that there was a scene at the end of the movie involving the pig that was cut which later appeared on the DVD.[151] This removed sequence is a slightly alternate ending of the movie when the townspeople are rebuilding the Simpsons' house and involves Plopper, the Multi-Eyed Creature, and Santa's Little Helper painting a dog house. During the following TV seasons, Plopper makes a few more appearances.
When network executives decided that The Itchy and Scratchy Show needed an "update" to keep the interest of its audience, they devised Poochie, a cartoon dog "with an attitude." After widespread auditions, Homer was chosen to provide Poochie's voice. The character debuted to an unimpressed audience following a massive publicity campaign; he only served to interfere with the well-oiled machine of hyperviolent slapstick that Itchy and Scratchy had perfected over the years. When dissatisfied viewers flooded the network with letters crying for Poochie's immediate removal, if not death, the executives quickly decided to get rid of the character. Homer begged for another chance, insisting that Poochie would grow on the audience; this argument held little weight until the actress who performed voices for both Itchy and Scratchy declared her support for Poochie as well. Homer was shocked, however, when the next cartoon aired: it contained a hastily-animated, retroscripted segment stating that Poochie had decided to return to his "home planet," and that he died when his spaceship crashed.
He has since been seen once in a cameo at a funeral in an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon featured in Little Big Mom. Also in "Treehouse of Horror IX," he skateboards in the road and gets run over by Scratchy driving a car. However he survives only to have his skateboard falling form the sky and hitting him in the head. He also continues to be released in Itchy & Scratchy related merchandise such as on t-shirts in "Fat Man and Little Boy". A matrix Poochie also appears in Kill Gil Vols. 1 & 2 during the Krusty on ice show and a Poochie balloon appears in the cartoon in "Funeral for a Fiend".
Poochie reappears in The Simpsons Game as a boss on the Grand Theft Scratchy level.
Princess Kashmir is the belly dancer who first appears in "Homer's Night Out" (and was the first woman who almost ruined Homer's marriage to Marge as Marge saw Homer dancing with her as a bad example for Bart in how to treat women). She dated Apu in "Lisa's Pony," dated Apu's brother Sanjay on a few occasions, and is seen dancing with Chief Wiggum in the episode "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" (which also shocked and offended the women in town, much like what happened with Homer). She has also appeared in two couch gags (the one on "Marge vs. The Monorail, in which the Simpsons sit on the couch, followed by three rows of recurring extras and secondary characters, and the Sgt. Pepper album parody on "Bart After Dark" and the original airing of "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy Show"), and is seen dancing on the stage in the Maison Derrière in the episode "Bart After Dark". Her nickname is 'Queen of the Mysterious East'. Her real name is Shauna Tifton, and also goes by April Flowers when performing in strip clubs. According to the DVD commentary for the season eight episode "Bart After Dark," Princess Kashmir was originally going to be an actual bachelor party stripper on her premiere episode, but the FOX censors at the time objected (though they had no problem letting Princess Kashmir tell Bart that she works under the name "April Flowers" when she performs at strip clubs).
Harlan Dondelinger, voiced by Harry Shearer was Springfield High School's principal, first seen in the episode "The Way We Was", a flashback to Homer and Marge's senior year in high school. He later appeared in the episode "The Front" at Homer and Marge's high school reunion and teaches night classes to ease the pain of his wife's recent death. He appeared in "Half-Decent Proposal" when Artie Ziff, Marge's high school prom date, recreated their prom. Dondelinger made his most recent appearance in the twentieth season episode "Take My Life, Please".
Hyman Krustofski is the father of Krusty the Clown. He first appeared in the third season episode "Like Father, Like Clown".[152] In this episode, in season fifteen's "Today I Am a Clown", and season twenty-one's "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" he is voiced by comedian Jackie Mason (because in the three episodes, he was a major character, while in cameo speaking appearances, he is voiced by Dan Castellaneta).
In "Like Father, Like Clown", Rabbi Krustofski had been estranged from his son for twenty-five years. He disowned Krusty when the young man chose to become a clown when Krustofski had wanted him to follow the family tradition of becoming a rabbi. Years later, after much exchanging of Talmud passages between Bart Simpson and Rabbi Krustofski, Bart read the Rabbi a quote from Sammy Davis, Jr. admiring the Jews, which finally convinced Rabbi Krustofski to accept his son for his career in entertainment. He and Krusty reunited on the air of Krusty's show. The episode is a parody of the film The Jazz Singer. The parody was writer Jay Kogen's idea.[153] He thought it would be a funny parallel—and a chance to do a lot of easy jokes—if it were a clown instead of a singer who gets rejected by his father.[154] The character's casting was fitting in that the real-life Mason, like Krusty, also came from a family of rabbis but rejected his destiny in order to become a comedian.
Jackie Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his performance as Krustofsky in "Like Father, Like Clown" in 1992.[155] The Phoenix named Mason one of the show's 20 best guest stars.[156]
Rachel Jordan (voiced by Shawn Colvin) is the lead singer of Kovenant, a fictional Christian rock band. She is first seen in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", when she befriends Ned Flanders after Maude’s death. She appears towards the end of the episode singing the song "He's the Man" while the organist at the church was on a much needed vacation. The song was featured on The Simpsons: Testify. She returns in "I'm Goin' to Praiseland". She stays at the Flanders' house with Ned, and leaves briefly after Ned attempted to mold her in the image of his deceased wife Maude only to have her think Ned is using her and runs off. At the end of the episode, she returns and has a date with Flanders. She has not made an appearance since.
Radioactive Man is a fictional comic book superhero. The character was heavily featured in the episodes "Three Men and a Comic Book" and "Radioactive Man".[157] Within the Simpsons universe, he was created by Morty Mann. He has been portrayed in many media since his debut in Interesting Stories #27.[158] The first issue of Radioactive Man appeared in 1952. He was featured in at least one 1950s era black-and-white serial, sponsored by Laramie Cigarettes.[159] There was also a campy early 1970s television series resembling Batman. In one episode of The Simpsons, a Hollywood studio attempted to film a Radioactive Man movie in Springfield. The movie starred Rainier Wolfcastle as Radioactive Man. The role of Fallout Boy, Radioactive Man's sidekick, was cast from local children and went to Milhouse Van Houten. The movie was never completed due to budget overruns caused by constant price-gouging by Springfield vendors, and Milhouse snapping from the pressure of the role, and refusing to continue to portray Fallout Boy.[160]
Outside of The Simpsons, the Radioactive Man character also appeared in a real comic book series based on him that was first published by Bongo Comics in 1993.[161] The Bongo comics expanded more on the character, including his powers, giving him several which parodied those of Superman including super speed, flight, and the power to fire beams of "clean, nuclear heat" from his eyes. The character has also appeared in issues of Simpsons Comics[161] and Simpsons Super Spectacular, and in the 1992 video game Bartman Meets Radioactive Man.[157]
Rainier Luftwaffe Wolfcastle (voiced by Harry Shearer) is an action hero star and a close parody of actor/bodybuilder/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.[162] This basis has been drawn out over the series. Wolfcastle's wife is named Maria, just like the real Schwarzenegger's now separated wife Maria Shriver. Like Schwarzenegger, Wolfcastle is an active member of the Republican Party and owns a Hummer. In the episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", Bart Simpson tells Wolfcastle that his "last movie really sucked" (Along with Chief Wiggum's line of "Magic Ticket, my ass, McBain!"), alluding to Schwarzenegger's film Last Action Hero, which was panned by critics.[163] Wolfcastle owns a restaurant named Planet Springfield, a parody of Planet Hollywood, which Schwarzenegger co-owned with other celebrities.[164] Wolfcastle has starred in many action movies, most notably the McBain series (a parody of action movies) and the movie of Radioactive Man. Rainier’s more recent movies have gained less renown, and he is even forced to do comedies and even standup comedy. Wolfcastle has made cameo appearances as an Academy Award presenter, a celebrity spokesperson, and a celebrity judge. In a recall election of Mayor Quimby, Wolfcastle ran for his seat. He has a daughter named Greta who had a crush on Bart in the episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants".
The writers invented Wolfcastle as the action hero McBain for the episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?". Because they liked the scene involving the character from that episode, they used him again in "The Way We Was", which was recorded and aired before "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" The McBain films satirize clichés of action films.[165] The character was originally named McBain, until an actual film called McBain was released in 1991. That film's producers refused to allow the show to use the name, so "Rainier Wolfcastle" became the name of the actor playing the McBain role.[166] Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, doubles as Wolfcastle when Harry Shearer is absent from table reads.[162]
Colonel Antoine "Tex" O'Hara, often referred to simply as the Rich Texan, voiced by Dan Castellaneta.[33] He is a stereotypical rich, callous but gregarious business owner. He is an active member of the Springfield Republican Party and speaks with a heavy Texas drawl. His morality can wildly vary from episode to episode; he can sometimes be selfish and sadistic, and at other times polite and friendly. He is based on the Texan oil tycoon character from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In the fifth season episode "$pringfield" (the Rich Texan's debut, though a similar character once appeared in the season two episode "Old Money"), Homer addresses the Rich Texan as Senator, although this was never again referenced. Rich Texan sports a bolo tie and a white cowboy hat. He is also obsessive-compulsive, as revealed in "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story". He has stated in "Marge's Son Poisoning" that he enjoys moonlit walks on the beach; in the same episode he held Homer and Moe at gunpoint while forcing them to walk along with him after being tricked by the two. He is well known for pulling out a pair of revolvers and firing them into the air while yelling "Yee Haw!" whenever he is happy or excited. He has a gay grandson, as revealed in "Million Dollar Abie" and a daughter named Paris Texan (who looks and acts like hotel heiress Paris Hilton). In the episode "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times", it is revealed that the Rich Texan is originally from Connecticut, despite his brash, stereotypically Southern persona. This is a reference to George W. Bush's Connecticut roots.
Richard is a gray-haired student at Springfield Elementary School and is one of Bart's good friends. He is first seen in "Bart the Genius". He is usually seen with Lewis and has a leather jacket and a shirt with a small diamond embroidered on the center. Richard appears frequently in scenes involving the Springfield children, and in the early seasons was often involved with mischief. he's been voiced over the course of the series by Nancy Cartwright, Jo Ann Harris, Pamela Hayden, and Maggie Roswell. In early seasons he was commonly seen hanging out with Bart, Lewis, and Milhouse, but in recent years he is only seen in the classroom and in crowd scenes. He had a brief speaking part in "The Haw-Hawed Couple", in which he was voiced by Pamela Hayden. His hair color changes from black to gray, to brown, and then to blue throughout the course of the show. However, in Simpsons Comics, his hair always appears gray.
Rod Flanders is voiced by Pamela Hayden. Rod is Ned Flanders' 10 year old son. Rod prays often; first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. He prays for God to watch over him and his younger brother, Todd, as well as for the success of his father's business. He also prays for all of the other children like his neighbor Bart Simpson, who do not pray for themselves. Ned has described Rod's hobbies as including "being quiet during trips, clapping with songs and diabetes". Rod's largest role was in "Bart Has Two Mommies", where he obtains new climbing skills and rescues Bart from a chimpanzee atop a church. This episode also reveals that Rod thinks of Marge as the most fun he has had since his mother died. In "'Tis the Fifteenth Season," he mentions that he is "jealous of girls 'cause they get to wear dresses," suggesting nascent transvestism.
In a "freeze-frame gag" in the episode "Homer Badman", Rod is stated to be the younger Flanders child.
Ruth Powers is the Simpsons' next-door neighbor, introduced when she moves to their neighborhood in the episode "New Kid on the Block". She is divorced and has a daughter, Laura Powers. According to "New Kid on the Block", Ruth divorced her husband because his career got in the way with his family life, but in "Marge on the Lam", Ruth tells Marge that all her husband ever did was "eat, sleep, and drink beer" and never gave her money for child support (which led to Ruth stealing her husband's convertible). She is usually seen as a background character, sometimes in events that occurred even before she moved next door (such as the baby shower for Maggie in "And Maggie Makes Three"). She even continues to be a background character despite her later imprisonment. She nearly always wears a red headscarf. In the episode "The Cartridge Family" she was part of the NRA. She was voiced by Pamela Reed in her first two speaking appearances. David Mirkin said that Pamela Reed would always give great performances and that he does not know why they did not use her more.[167]
The episode "Marge on the Lam" features Ruth and Marge going on the run from the law in a stolen convertible, a parody of Thelma & Louise. Ruth makes an appearance in the episode "Strong Arms of the Ma", as a huge female bodybuilder, advising Marge (who is taking up weightlifting) to use steroids. She reveals during her time in prison, she was "Miss Mexican Mafia".
In the episode "The Bob Next Door" Ruth moves away from evergreen terrace.
Sam and Larry, also known as "Barfly #1" and "Barfly #2", are two regular patrons of Moe's Tavern. Their first appearance is in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Virtually nothing is known about them, except that Sam always wears a cap and glasses and Larry has an orange jacket and a balding head and either looks extremely drunk or very depressed. Sam has spoken only a few times throughout the series; on the season three episode "Lisa the Greek", Sam asks Homer who he bet on during the Super Bowl. In "Worst Episode Ever" Sam is shot in the back by Moe, for trying to pay in Sacagawea dollars. Larry hasn't spoken, except for in fantasy sequences.
Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon (Bengali), voiced by Harry Shearer[19] and is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's younger half-brother and uncle of Apu's eight children. He has a daughter named Pahusacheta and a son named Jamshed. Sanjay has a wife, as he asked Apu to promise not to sleep with her if he dies (Apu's response to this request was a cheery "I promise nothing!"). Sanjay was shown as Apu's business partner at the Kwik-E-Mart in the earlier episodes. His final speaking appearance was in I'm with Cupid. However, he has appeared as a background character in Moe Letter Blues and The Simpsons Movie.
Sarah Wiggum (née Kanickee), voiced by Pamela Hayden.[19] She is the gentle wife of Chief Wiggum and mother of Ralph Wiggum. She first appeared in the fourth season episode "Duffless".[168] Like Bernice Hibbert and Martha Quimby, she is one of the less notable characters who hardly ever speaks; however in The Simpsons Game she only ever says "Clancy!", whether hit or in Marge's mob. In the episode, "A Star Is Born-Again", at the Jellyfish Dance, Clancy mentions she was more beautiful at that moment than the day he arrested her, to which she giggles in reply. He then mentions he only planted the crystal meth on her so she would "notice" him. Sarah (according to Clancy) is his "home force" and he affectionately calls her "Poppin' Fresh". In the episode, "Grade School Confidential", she immediately dials the authorities to Clancy's command. Ralph apparently gets his appearance from her, as the two look very similar.
Scott Christian (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is a newsreader from the early seasons of the show. Originally, Christian and Kent Brockman shared the anchor desk equally, but eventually Brockman started to become the more commonly used anchor. In his final appearances, Christian was used mostly when Kent was in the field and an introduction was needed. His final speaking appearance was "The Boy Who Knew Too Much". Christian was supposed to be permanent anchor,[169] always filling in for an absent Brockman, but was quickly phased out as the show progressed. He briefly appeared (with red colored hair) with the other Springfield celebrities in the season 18 episode "Homerazzi" and made a cameo in "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?".
Captain McCallister (Horatio or Pete), more commonly known as "The Sea Captain", voiced by Hank Azaria.[15] Azaria modelled the voice on actor Robert Newton, who played pirates in several movies.[170] The writers' "love of sea talk" is what inspired them to invent the Sea Captain.[171] His character is based on the stereotype of sailors and pirates, including the stereotypical pirate catchphrase, "Yarr!" He is a member of the Springfield Alcoholics Anonymous and has a peg leg in which he keeps liquor. In "The Bart of War" he uses his wooden leg to have a vicious sword fight with Sideshow Mel's bone.[83]
The Sea Captain is always seen holding a corncob pipe and squinting: because he has at least one glass eye - though once he was seen tapping both of his eyes and says he has 'two glass eyes.' In addition to eye(s), he also has an artificial leg. As an entrepreneur, McCallister is equally incompetent. On several occasions, he acknowledges his incompetence with a depressed: "Yarr, I don't know what I'm doin'." Although he once states under oath (in "New Kid on the Block") that he is not a real sea captain, at various occasions in later episodes he is indeed shown captaining a ship. His restaurant, The Frying Dutchman, is a failing business venture that does not generate enough income to support its owner. During the episode "Mr. Plow", the Captain pitches his 90 track sea shanties CD set in a commercial, which aired on Public-access television cable TV channel 92. In the episode "Lisa Gets an "A"", the captain appears as a penniless bum. When seeing Homer and Marge walking Homer's pet lobster at the beach, he approaches them and claims that he runs a "small academy for lobsters". However, when Marge refuses to send the lobster away to "some snobby boarding school", McCallister asks her for spare change instead.
His only main roles were in episodes "New Kid on the Block" and in "The Wettest Stories Ever Told". In the former, Homer sues his restaurant The Frying Dutchman because they kicked him out at the restaurant's closing time before Homer had eaten all he could eat. In the latter, he cannot bring the Simpsons their food for numerous reasons like the "chef having problems with tonight's special", which was an octopus. He then ignores the family while playing pickup basketball games with the restaurant's staff.
Sherri and Terri, voiced by Russi Taylor, are identical twins with long purple hair and pale skin. They perpetually reinforce their identities as twins, with things such as making up their own 'twin' language. They are in the same class as Bart at Springfield Elementary School. In "Homer's Odyssey" it is revealed that their father is Homer's supervisor at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He fires Homer for causing an accident while waving to Bart from a cart during a school tour of the plant. Homer, however, had the last laugh when he was promoted above the twins' father to safety inspector. Their mother is shown in "Bart Sells His Soul" and looks just like her daughters. Sherri is two seconds older than Terri;[172] they share their birthday with Rod Flanders.
The girls themselves dress identically, reinforcing their "twin-ness". They are quite snobbish, and never miss an opportunity to berate Bart. Bart appears to have a crush on one of them, as admitted in "Hungry, Hungry Homer". Sherri referred to Bart as an ugly, smelly dork, but was persuaded by Homer to go on a date with Bart after he told her that she could not do much better. One of the twins stated that her sister had a crush on Bart in "Bart Star". Another time, in "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder", Homer openly addressed Terri as "the girl Bart has a crush on". In The Way We Weren't, they introduce a cousin who has a crush on Bart. In The Blue and the Gray it was revealed that they were actually conjoined triplets, and that the third triplet is seeking revenge. In "Lisa's Substitute, they nominate Bart as the class president.
Melvin Van Horne, better known as Sideshow Mel (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), is Krusty the Clown's sidekick. He replaced Sideshow Bob after Bob was incarcerated for framing Krusty for armed robbery. Mel's hiring was never explicitly shown in the series and his full name was only revealed when he announced himself while trying to solve the mystery of who shot Mr. Burns in the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" and in the episode "All About Lisa" on the portrait of Sideshow Mel in the past. He first appeared in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge", shortly after Sideshow Bob was sent to prison, filling the exact role that Bob once did. Little is known about Mel. He is a Cornell University graduate, and a former Gulp 'n Blow employee. Sideshow Mel is revealed, in the episode entitled "All About Lisa", to have been the winner of the prestigious Springfield Entertainer of the Year award. The intoxication of applause made him reduce himself to ridiculous behavior for laughter, which he compared to heroin and checking email. Sideshow Mel uses a slide whistle to communicate on camera just like Bob. When not in character, Mel speaks in a grandiose English/Shakespearean accent (Castellaneta's play on Kelsey Grammer's character, Sideshow Bob) and owns poodles. When Springfield inhabitants form an angry mob, Mel often takes a leading role. Mel wears a bone in his hair that has been used as a weapon. In "Homerazzi" it was revealed that Mel was in a bitter custody battle and that he has a son, who looks just like him except without a bone in his hair. In "I'm with Cupid", he reveals he has a wife named Barbara, who appears in "Realty Bites" where they are bowling in a house that Marge tries to sell to them. She is revealed to be giving birth in the episode "All About Lisa", suggesting that Mel has at least two children. She looks like a European woman, and has light hair. It has been suggested that Mel is very wealthy, able to afford betting thousands of dollars on football regularly.
Sideshow Mel is often subject to abuse by Krusty, just as Sideshow Bob was before him. Such occurrences include 'Krusty's Slide', where he is forced into a mixture of pudding, pickle brine and laundry detergent, a tub of rancid Béarnaise sauce and a tub of refried beans; another unseen one is in "Krusty Gets Kancelled" where he states that Krusty once poured liquid nitrogen down his pants and cracked his buttocks with a hammer. In the episode "Day of the Jackanapes", it is shown that Krusty can remember Sideshow Bob's name, but not Sideshow Mel's.
Chester "Snake Jailbird" Turley[173] is voiced by Hank Azaria.[15] A prominent antagonist in the series, he is Springfield's resident recidivist felon, consistently getting arrested for violent crimes but rarely appearing to stay in jail. He speaks with a "Valley Boy" accent. He is partial to fast cars and fast women, and has a knack for reckless abandon. He owned a car called Li'l Bandit, which Homer won at a police auction (as seen in "Realty Bites").
Snake first appeared in the season two episode "The War of the Simpsons" as one of the partygoers during Bart and Lisa's wild house party. Whenever Snake appears in prison, his prison number is always 7F20, the production code of "The War of the Simpsons".[91] Hank Azaria's voice for Snake was based on a roommate he had while in college.[85]) His name was first mentioned by Sideshow Bob in "Black Widower" when Sideshow Bob was saying goodbye to his prison friends after being granted parole. The character was originally named Jailbird. The animators assigned him to the role of Snake in season three's "Black Widower" and the character has gone by that name ever since.[174]
In the episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", Lisa tells a story in which Snake refers to himself as Professor Jailbird, an Indiana Jones-like archeologist who turned to robbing convenience stores as revenge for the theft of valuable coins he had excavated. Snake attended Middlebury College, as he robs Moe's Tavern to pay off his student loans and is shown wearing a Middlebury shirt in "22 Short Films About Springfield". He also played lacrosse at Ball State University, according to "Treehouse of Horror IX",[175], although it should be noted that the "Treehouse" episodes are considered non-canon. He has a casually hostile relationship with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, whose convenience store he robs so frequently that Apu considers the continual robberies perfectly normal. Snake is often used as a cutaway foil for Apu; often, when Apu mentions his absence from the Kwik-E-Mart, Snake is shown robbing it, with various snide remarks. In the episode "Marge in Chains", he literally "shoplifts", stealing the entire Kwik-E-Mart shop via a flat-bed truck, declaring "I'm taking this baby to Mexico!". In "Yokel Chords", he and Apu are seen in a psychiatrist's office, bickering about Snake's robberies and shootings in the manner of an unhappily married couple.
Snake has a son named Jeremy, who looks just like him (who was introduced in "Pygmoelian") and likes to steal bicycles, a trait that Snake encourages. Unlike his father, Jeremy is rather timid as seen in The Seemingly Never-Ending Story. Snake has another child on the way; however, it has been implied he and the mother, Gloria, are no longer in a romantic relationship in the episode "Homer and Lisa Exchange Crosswords". In the episode "Wedding For Disaster" Snake and Gloria are seen getting married at city hall. In the episode, "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes", he is seen with the pregnant Gloria driving a car.
Squeaky Voiced Teen, aka Pimple-Faced Teen, real name Jeremy Freedman (voiced by Dan Castellaneta),[19] is one of few teenagers on the show and is perpetually trapped in a series of dead-end jobs, usually working at Krusty Burger (as a cashier or, in the case of "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", a supervisor in charge of training new employees), the grocery store (as a bagboy, as seen in "Selma's Choice" and "Simpson Safari"), or at a movie theater (as either the ticket master, concession stand clerk, or usher). The Squeaky Voiced Teen has acne, and his voice is in the process of breaking. The Squeaky Voiced Teen's personality is shy, pathetic, miserable, and awkward. He is often concerned about others and usually reports them to his boss; however, when he very rarely is the boss himself, he seizes opportunity and becomes stubborn and evil. Beginning with Team Homer, it is revealed that the Squeaky-Voiced Teen's mother is Lunchlady Doris.
Castellaneta lifted his voice for the character from actor Richard Crenna's as Walter Denton in the sitcom Our Miss Brooks.[176] Several different models of Squeaky-Voiced Teen have been used throughout the series, featuring counterparts in Mexico, Australia and England. Steven Dean Moore uses them all as waiters at the ice cream parlor the Simpsons eat at in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge".[177] Matt Groening called Squeaky-Voiced Teen his second favorite "unnamed" character after Comic Book Guy, whose name was finally revealed to be "Jeff Albertson" in the episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass".[178]
Stampy is a male African elephant first appearing in the episode "Bart Gets an Elephant" (voiced by Frank Welker). Bart wins the elephant in a radio contest called "KBBL Is Gonna Gimme Something Stupid". As a prize, Bart was offered either an elephant or $10,000 in cash, with the elephant option as a joke. Bill and Marty had anticipated all winners would opt for the cash and were caught off guard when Bart chose the elephant. With the prospect of being fired looming, they eventually get Bart an elephant. Bart decides to name the elephant Stampy, who soon starts to cause trouble and costs a large amount of money in upkeep. Anxious to escape this, Homer offers Stampy to a wildlife reserve. However, on his realization that he will get nothing in return, he elects to sell Stampy to local poacher and ivory dealer, Mr. Blackheart. Homer later changes his mind after Stampy rescues him from a tar pit. Stampy likes peanuts and putting people in his mouth. He does not like other elephants, as can be seen when he is first introduced to the wildlife reserve.
Stampy is alluded to in other episodes. At Apu's wedding, Bart sees Apu riding an elephant. Bart comments that he wishes that he had an elephant. Lisa responds, "You did. His name was Stampy. You loved him." Bart simply replies, "Oh, yeah." Stampy also appears in "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" in Bart's water dream, and made a second (and more important) appearance on season 14's "Large Marge", where he was involved in an attempt to restore the public opinion of Krusty the Clown. Stampy also attacks a bear in the final scene of "The Fat and the Furriest" and appears in The Simpsons Movie, where he cracks the dome that covers Springfield, prompting the government's drastic action.
State Comptroller Atkins, voiced by Hank Azaria, is the comptroller of Springfield's state. In "Lisa Gets an "A"" he is sent to deliver the basic assistance grant to Springfield Elementary after Lisa cheats on a test and raises the school's GPA up to the state's minimum requirement. Otto's impersonation of Atkins suggests that he is of Canadian origin. He appears later in "Saddlesore Galactica", where he moderates the elementary school band competition at the state fair. He plans to give Lisa the unusually large good sportsmanship award until he hears her brand the first-place band "cheaters" for using glow-sticks in their performance. Atkins' most recent appearance was in "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere", in which Superintendent Chalmers and Atkins are participating in a video conference with Skinner. He is also on Lisa's list of "interesting adults" in "Moe'N'a Lisa".
Superintendent Gary Chalmers, voiced by Hank Azaria, is the superintendent of Springfield's school district. He first appears in the episode "Whacking Day". Chalmers is a strict and largely humorless man, with a short temper and low tolerance for disorder or rule-breaking; his general manner and personality are like those of a military officer. Whenever he visits Springfield Elementary, some sort of disaster strikes. He produces extreme anxiety in Principal Skinner, who offers increasingly improbable stories to explain what is happening. He is also known for seeming to be in complete disbelief of these improbable stories, but ultimately winds up actually believing them, teasing Skinner and the audience that he may actually take some action. Chalmers is known for throwing open the doors to the room and bellowing "SKIN-NER!!!" or "SEY-MOUR!!!", to which Seymour stammers "S-Superintendent Chalmers!". His catchphrase has caused some paranoia in Skinner (as seen in "Lisa's Date with Density"). On a few occasions, he says Skinner's name this way when absolutely nothing has gone wrong, implying that he either pronounces Skinner's name this way by habit, or does it on purpose to scare him. In Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words, he even pronounces the words "skimmer" and "dinner" in a similar manner to Skinner's name, who mistakes it as Chalmers wanting his attention. However, Chalmers does on at least two occasions show a fondness for Skinner. In "The Debarted", both Skinner and Chalmers are lost in the foam of a massive explosion resulting from the mixture of Mentos and Diet Coke, he screams Skinner's name and upon not receiving an answer, says it again in a softer manner. Skinner then replies to which Chalmers tells him in a frightened voice, "Don't ever scare me like that again." More notable, in How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?, when Edna uses a pigeon to taunt Skinner about how much better her life is without him, Chalmers shows compassion for Skinner and even offers his friendship, but unfortunately, Edna reveals that she had an affair with Chalmers, leaving Skinner angry and forcing Chalmers to flee. In "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life", it is revealed that Chalmers has nothing personal against Skinner and that he is only mad at the antics of the students and teachers, but he can only scold Skinner because he would have to face the ire of the parents or of the Teachers' union if he tries to chatise any group.
Chalmers' own competence and dedication to his job are questionable. He lets Ned Flanders allow the school to descend into anarchy when he (Flanders) is principal, freely admitting that he had fired Skinner for far less, explaining simply that "Skinner really bugged me." He seems disturbingly unconcerned with the school's decline, saying that "the way America's public schools are sliding, they'll all be like this in a matter of months. I say enjoy it — it's a hell of a toboggan ride!" He also promotes people based on personal bias as opposed to actual competence, promoting Principal Holloway, described by Skinner as a "drunk" and Chalmers as a "pill-popper", to assistant superintendent, overlooking the efforts made by Skinner to improve his school's standing. In the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", he mentions he is from Utica, New York. He has also mentioned that he attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
In several episodes, such as "Bart the Fink", Chalmers is seen dating Agnes Skinner (much to Seymour's chagrin), although in other episodes, he mentions he is married. His first name is revealed to be Gary in "Yokel Chords" and in "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", and it is revealed that he is a Spanish immigrant Señor Chalmers. In the DVD commentaries to "22 Short Films About Springfield" and "Grade School Confidential", it is noted that Superintendent Chalmers seems to be one of the few "normal" characters on the show and is frequently alone in his awareness of the show's zaniness. In "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts", Chalmers indicates that he had a wife that has since passed on. In the episode "Replaceable You" it is suggested, by Dolph's science fair project, the toupee detector, that Chalmers wears a wig.
Tina is a cast member on the Krusty the Klown Show and is a heavyset ballerina, most probably used for comedy purposes. Her first appearance was in the episode "Like Father, Like Clown".
Todd Flanders is Ned Flanders' eight year old son, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. His voice is based on Sherman's from Peabody and Sherman.[13] Todd is the most impressionable member of the Flanders family. When exposed to profanity, he himself starts to curse ("Hell, no" and "I said I don't want any damn vegetables"). When Moe Szyslak loses his temper at Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag restaurant, Todd responds with "Ow, my freaking ears!" Whether due to immaturity or relentless sheltering by his parents, whenever Todd comes into contact with anything outside his family and their pious ways, such as the time he was tricked into eating a Pixy Stix by Bart Simpson, he turns aggressive, telling his brother to "go to hell zitface", much to the delight of Bart. Todd can play the violin quite well, and is a part of the Springfield Elementary School band. He also plays mini golf quite well.
Üter Zörker, voiced by Russi Taylor, is an overweight German foreign exchange student with a sweet tooth, and odd habits such as offering his already-licked lollipops to others as a sign of friendship, and eating marzipan candies (called Joy Joy) fortified with iodine. He was left behind on the Civil War field trip, according to the season six episode "The PTA Disbands". His subsequent disappearance from the show for a significant period of time has become a running joke. In "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" his parents asked Skinner where their missing son was, and in "24 Minutes" he is seen stuck in a cobweb in the school air vents. It is revealed in the episode "Jazzy and the Pussycats" that he can play the trumpet quite well. He even makes a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory diorama, but eats it before it can be graded in "Lisa's Rival". During the school science fair in the season 23 episode "Replaceable You" Kearney has a human skull on display questioning "Is This Üter?" In the German dub of the show, Üter is an exchange student from Switzerland.
A rich couple who are frequently shocked by Homer's antics. They first appear in Saddlesore Galactica where Mr Vanderbilt breaks his monocle after being shocked. This gag is reused in A Tale of Two Springfields. In Homer vs. Dignity Mrs Vanderbilt is shocked by Homer Simpson's antics twice. In The Frying Game, Mrs Vanderbilt is shown as friends with Mrs. Bellamy, Mrs. Glick and Agnes Skinner. They are a parody of the actual Vanderbilt family.
Wendell Borton is a perpetually nauseated and very pale boy with worried eyes and curly hair. He first appears in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" although his first speaking appearance is in "Homer's Odyssey". He becomes especially sick on field trips, with a tendency to become even paler than usual. He makes frequent appearances at the school nurse's office at Springfield Elementary School. A classmate of Bart Simpson, Wendell is most often seen with classmates Richard Lewis and Martin. He voted for Martin Prince, thus making Bart lose in the class election, and ensuring Martin's victory. He is one of the few characters (like Bart, Lisa, and Maggie) whose hair is the same color as his skin. Throughout the series, Wendell has been voiced by Jo Ann Harris, Pamela Hayden, Nancy Cartwright, and Russi Taylor.
The Winfields are an elderly couple who live next door to the Simpson family early in the series and often talk about how crude and uncivilized the family is. They first appear in the season one episode "Homer's Odyssey", cracking jokes about Homer. The couple eventually move to Florida in the season four episode "New Kid on the Block" and have not been seen since. The couple appear in the season two episodes "Simpson and Delilah" and "Bart's Dog Gets an F", in which the wife is revealed to be named Sylvia. She also has a small speaking role in the Season 3 episode Separate Vocations when she mistakenly thinks Bart is being arrested by the Springfield police. The couple appear in the pre-2009 opening credits of The Simpsons, during the segment where Marge and Maggie pass many characters while driving home. Matt Groening named the Winfields after friends of his.[179]
Raphael, a.k.a. Wiseguy, is voiced by Hank Azaria.[69] He first appeared as the chauffeur in the second season in "The Way We Was", but he has held numerous other jobs in the series.[180] Simpsons sound editor Bob Beecher commented on alt.tv.simpsons that, "He doesn't have one name. His character's name always fits the scene so he's gone by many names, 'Clerk', 'Shopkeeper', etc. But in the script the direction given to the voice is 'Wiseguy Voice'. So call him 'Wiseguy' if you want."[181] Azaria does a Charles Bronson-impression for the voice.[85] In "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", Al Jean and Mike Reiss had Azaria voice a Simpsonized Charles Bronson as a reference to this.[182] Wiseguy has been dubbed "The Sarcastic Middle-Aged Man" by the show's Internet fans.[183] In "Day of the Jackanapes", Sideshow Bob calls Wiseguy by the name "Raphael".[184]
The Frank Nelson Type,[185] also known as "The Yes Guy", is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.[69] He first appeared in season ten's episode "Mayored to the Mob" as the maître d΄ at the Springfield Dinner Theater. He is a character known for bellowing "Ye-e-e-s?!" in a falling, then rising intonation, and appears to be highly eccentric in both his speech and appearance. The Yes Guy is a tribute to the recurring Frank Nelson character from The Jack Benny Program, I Love Lucy, and Sanford and Son, whose trademark greeting in all his characters was a loud, drawn-out "Ye-e-e-s?!" Inexplicably, the original character could always be found working behind the service counter of whatever shop Benny or Fred Sanford might be patronizing, and his Simpsonian counterpart is similar.
In the Yes Guy's first appearance, Homer asks why his voice is always stretched, and the Yes Guy replies by saying "I had a stro-o-o-oke".[186] He also appears in "Homer vs. Dignity". He works at Costington's department store,[187] works as juror number twelve of the Springfield Panel of Jury,[188] and as an executioner at Springfield Penitentiary.[189] Homer refers to him as "that jerk who always goes Yessss".[190] A Brazilian version of him was seen in "Blame It on Lisa", uttering "Si-i-i-m?!" ("Yes" in Portuguese).
| The Simpson family and relatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Around Springfield | ||
| Springfield Elementary School faculty, staff, and students | ||
| Springfield Nuclear Power Plant | Villains | Lists |
|
||