Transcription
Here is one fact about every recurring Simpsons character, starting with Abraham Simpson. So, creator Matt Groening famously named a lot of characters after his own family—like Homer after his dad, Lisa and Maggie after his sisters, and so on and so on—but he didn't want to name Grandpa after his own, so he left it up to the Simpsons writers, who came up with Abe, which coincidentally was Matt's grandpa's real name.
Agnes Skinner. Agnes is best known for being very awful to her son: "You're a f***ing Seymour! What is it about you and failure?" But in the season 1 DVD commentary for "The Crepes of Wrath," it implied that her bitterness might stem from her first encounter with Bart and a cherry bomb. "It right there, you thank mother, you see," director Wes Archer and writer George Meyer commented on how she was a "sweet storybook kind of lady" in her very first appearance before turning into a battle-axe in the later ones. "You certainly have done awfully well for yourself, Spanky, mother. Please don't call me Spanky," on school grounds. But I mean, being launched from a toilet while doing your business is bound to make you at least a little bit cranky.
Akira Kira Sawa. Happy Sumo waiter and one-time S.I. bar Akira was originally voiced by George Takei, best known for playing Sulu in Star Trek. But what you might not know is that The Simpsons would play homage to Takei's original character in season 28.
The Man Who Came to be Dinner. Alice Glick. The eccentric Mrs. Glick made her debut way back in season 2, but that's not her fact. Nope. Her fact is that she has the remarkable ability to return from the dead. Yep, Alice Glick was killed by a robot seal in season 23's "Replaceable You," but then she miraculously came back to life, appearing in the background in a few episodes. But then the writers must have suddenly remembered that they killed her off, as she was back to being dead by season 29 and appeared as a ghost.
Alison Taylor. Lisa's jazz-loving rival was voiced by Winona Ryder. "Actually, I'm seven. I was just skipped ahead because I was getting bored with the first grade." And although Ryder only voiced her in this one episode, her character would remain in Springfield, and yes, a lot of the times it would be in the background, but she did also have some rare speaking roles, such as in "L of the Dance." I like to think that Allison's continued presence is a welcome reminder that she still exists in this world when most of the other characters voiced by guest stars are often lost and forgotten.
By the way, I know someone's going to say I've forgotten to include some random obscure character that appeared in one scene in one episode around 25 years ago, so I just want to quickly say that I'll only be covering recurring characters—basically ones that have appeared in a good handful of episodes. That means no celebrities and no one-offs. There will be a couple of exceptions, but if I talked about every single character that ever appeared in The Simpsons, then this video would be over a week long and very, very boring. But as a little challenge, if I have missed any characters out, then please provide a little fact for them down in the comments below.
Amber Simpson. Homer's Vegas wife eventually died of an OD at a theme park in front of a sign warning guests not to stand up on a roller coaster. "Marge, could you let it go? You won. She's dead." But her relationship with the Simpsons would live on, as they would go to her funeral, and Bart would even meet her ghost. Now let's move on to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
After the Kwik-E-Mart owner was quietly retired for being considered racially insensitive, Apu's last ever speaking role was in season 19's "To Surveil with Love." Therefore, making it six years since he last spoke. Do you think it's about time they brought Apu back?
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. Annie Pie. Annie Pie provides valuable intel to Springfield from the sky. But the one thing he might not know is that he was inspired by Ernie Pyle, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and war correspondent who was unfortunately killed during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
Arthur Krandle and Gabo. Ventriloquist Arthur Krandle rose to fame with his mischievous and slightly sinister dummy, Gabo. "I'm Arthur Krandle. That's easy for you to say; you don't have a hand up your Tucker's." After knocking Krusty off his pedestal and taking Springfield by storm, Gabo ruined his career by accidentally insulting his audience while still on the air. "All the kids in Springfield are s---s." Now, this incident was based on a popular urban legend involving children's radio personality Uncle Don Carney, who supposedly uttered a similar phrase during his broadcast, although this all turned out to be false.
Artie Ziff. When he wasn't pining over his beloved Marge, sleazy prom king Artie Ziff became a wealthy software entrepreneur. He's almost always voiced by John Lithgow, except for one appearance where Homer Simpson himself—Dan Castellaneta—stepped into the role for the episode "The Front." "Hello, Marge. Have you heard? I'm stinking rich!"
Barney Gumble. In the audio commentary for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," it was revealed that Barney was originally intended to be Homer's sidekick and next-door neighbor. This is hinted at through his name, Barney Gumble, as a reference to Barney Rubble, Fred Flintstone's pal and neighbor. However, this was before the writers demoted him to town drunk instead.
Bart Simpson. Bart was the real breakout star of The Simpsons in the '90s, and his global popularity actually spawned the term "Bartmania." Merchandisers capitalized on this, and soon his face was plastered on candy bars, cookie jars, sneakers—basically everything. But not everyone took to the little guy, with some schools even banning Bart Simpson t-shirts that sported slogans like "Underachiever and proud of it," because they just saw him as a bad influence. Another "Underachiever and proud of it" has been kicked out of classes from Orange, California to Fremont, Ohio.
Benjamin, Doug, and Gary. Rock tumblers, nose bleeds, and pointing at animation errors—these nerds know how to party, with or without Homer's influence. "What did I teach you guys? Party down!" Yes, and the episode we see them most in was "Homer Goes to College," which was written by Conan O'Brien. Conan based the trio on his college roommates, who were known to drop phone books on the floor at nighttime just so they could meet the women who lived on the floor below. But I like to think that Benjamin, Doug, and Gary were far too busy arguing over Star Trek and stealing a pig to partake in those kind of juvenile shenanigans.
Bernice Hibbert. Now, Bernice doesn't receive a lot of attention in the show beyond her marriage to Dr. Hibbert. However, in The Simpsons Game, she told Carl to "get over their one-time fling at Tuskegee University," thus suggesting their possible juicy romantic past. "Carl, it's too late. You're a good man now. Go find yourself a good woman."
Bill and Marty. In the season 5 episode "Bart Gets an Elephant," the KBBL radio host put on a competition to win either $10,000 or a fully grown African bush elephant. And of course, Bart chose the elephant. "The elephant's a gag prize. Nobody takes the gag prize. I want the elephant!" This was most likely based on a true story from 1996 where a paper products manufacturer, Crown Zellerbach, ran a similar promotion. They said that whichever grocery store sold the most toilet paper could either have $3,000 or a baby Indian elephant, and the winner, Jack Snider from Alaska, chose the elephant. Now, this was only supposed to be a gag gift, but true to their word, they soon shipped over a baby elephant called Annabelle.
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Bleeding Gums Murphy. Lisa met her mentor, Bleeding Gums Murphy, while he was playing saxophone on a bridge one night. His character in this episode was in tribute to famous jazz musician Sonny Rollins, who in 1959 took a break from performing to practice on the Williamsburg Bridge, and he would play the saxophone on that same bridge right through to the end of 1961. This story became popular when a journalist stumbled across it one day and wrote an article for Metronome.
Blinky. Created through toxic waste from Springfield's nuclear power plant, Blinky's descendants would live on to the year 3000. We'd see them when they make their cameo appearance in Futurama's very first pilot when Fry took a ride in the new New York tube transport system.
The Blue-Haired Lawyer. Even though he's had many appearances, the Blue-Haired Lawyer is still called the Blue-Haired Lawyer. He was inspired by McCarthy-era lawyer Roy Cohn, and he was modeled on character actor Charles Lane. This includes Lane's characters like his antagonistic authority figures in films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life.
Bella. TV personality Barbara Linsky is best known as her stage name. "Then you can see more of my boobs!" As a late-night horror movie host, Bella is clearly a parody of Elvira, and Elvira, in turn, is also inspired by Vampira, who is a 1950s horror host who appeared in movies such as Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Brandine Spuckler. Brandine holds the title of being introduced in the first episode to be written and directed by women. This is, of course, the episode "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield," so therefore we can thank Jennifer Crittenden and Susie Dietter for expanding the Spuckler clan by giving Cletus the love of his life—or his mother, or his sister; who knows? We all kinda think…
Bumblebee Man. Pedro Chesperito captivates audiences as Bumblebee Man, the star of a slapstick Mexican sitcom that always seems to be on the air, no matter the time of day. His character was inspired by Mexican comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños, known more commonly as Chespirito, who starred in El Chapulín Colorado as the red grasshopper.
The Capital City Goofball. This character was inspired by the Philadelphia Phillies' furry green baseball mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, and was voiced by guest star Tom Poston. "If there's anything I can do for you, just squeeze the wheeze!" But following Poston's death, the mascot has only occasionally appeared in the background, but he hasn't spoken since season 14.
Carl Carlson. Carl's last name may seem unoriginal, but it might actually hark back to his Icelandic heritage and the naming system which all Scandinavian countries once used. Basically, it's that the father would give their children their first name as their last name, adding "son" if the child is a boy and "daughter" if the child is a girl, which adds up, seeing as his adopted father was called Caron, or Car for short.
Clancy Bouvier. Not much is known about Marge's dad, except for the fact that he currently resides in hell for tax evasion, as we see in Homer's adventures through the windshield glass.
Cecil Terwilliger. Cecil was introduced in season 8's "Brother from Another Series" and was voiced by David Hyde Pierce. "Hello, brother. I'm happy to see you." Who performed fantastically opposite Kelsey Grammer's Sideshow Bob, which is parodying their sibling dynamic on Frasier. Forever jealous of Sideshow Bob's former career as Krusty's sidekick, Cecil planned to blow up the Springfield Dam and frame his brother. However, the episode's original idea involved an opera house explosion, and although the story was changed to a more exciting location, the opera house would have been a very fitting setting for the snobbish double act, as well as making yet another great reference to Frasier.
Charles Montgomery Burns. Mr. Burns is one of the greatest villains in pop culture history, and part of the character's success is undoubtedly thanks to Harry Shearer's stellar voice performance. "Excellent! It's all falling into place!" However, Shearer wasn't actually the original voice for him. Christopher Collins played the role in four episodes of the show's first season, including the pilot. "However, for you semiskilled workers, there will be no Christmas bonuses." He even had a brief stint voicing Moe, although his recordings were never used. According to Hank Azaria, Collins was replaced because he was difficult to work with, therefore allowing Shearer and himself to then take those roles.
Charlie. Now, Charlie works alongside Homer, Lenny, and Carl at the nuclear power plant but receives far less attention than his coworkers. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who created the character by simply doing an impression of Lenny. "I won't bore you with the details of our miraculous escape. We desperately need a real emergency exit!"
Clancy Wiggum. When he's not busy cleaning up the streets as Springfield's chief of police, Clancy Wiggum is a doting husband and father to Sarah and Ralph. However, it took four years before The Simpsons officially established Ralph as his son, and although Ralph's surname was teased in "Kamp Krusty," it wouldn't be until later on in season 4 that Ralph sought dating advice from his pops after receiving a Valentine's Day card from Lisa. "Never underestimate the appeal of a man in uniform. Oh, yeah!" It was Al Jean who thought it'd be funny to connect these two characters because, well, the similarities speak for themselves.
Cletus Spuckler. This slack-jawed yokel was only intended to be used for a one-off gag when he was first introduced in "Bart Gets an Elephant." "Hey, Marge, look at that pointy-haired little girl!" Hell, but he was so fun that the writers kept bringing him back, but didn't receive his official name until he partook in a parenting class in season 7. "I love you, Paul! I love you, Cus!"
Comic Book Guy. Despite first appearing in the show's sophomore year, Comic Book Guy's secret identity wasn't revealed until the 16th season episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary." "My name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me Comic Book Guy." According to Al Jean, the name Jeffrey Albertson was deliberately chosen to annoy fans who expected something far more exciting. And the episode aired on the same day as the Super Bowl to gain maximum attention. However, Matt Groening had planned to give Comic Book Guy a far more fitting name of "Ls Lane," referencing Lois Lane.
Constable Harm. Constable Harm first appeared in season 13's "To the Parent Rap," and her no-nonsense attitude and colorful expressions were a clear parody of Judge Judy. "It was an accident, ma'am! Don't spit on my cupcake and tell me it's frosting!" However, Constable Harm's nasty demeanor is also inspired by guest star Jane Kaczmarek, who is best known for playing hot-tempered Lois on Malcolm in the Middle.
Cookie Kwan. So we all know that Cookie is number one on the West Side. "Are you guys talking about the West Side? No, Cookie, I swear it! I'm scared of you!" But who's number one on the East Side? Well, it's her cousin, Nuki Kwan. So now we just need to meet her cousins who are number one on the North and South Sides. Thanks to Jim Bon on Twitter for this fact.
The Crazy Cat Lady. Ellena Abany was inspired by Edith, aka Big Edie, Edie Bouvier Beale, the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy. Now, Edith was an eccentric singer who became a recluse, living in her dilapidated Long Island mansion with perhaps far too many feline friends. And although the Crazy Cat Lady definitely doesn't live in a mansion, she does share Edith's love of singing.
Database. A member of the exclusive Super Friends, Database joined the expedition to recover the stolen lemon tree from Shelbyville, but he rarely ever gets a spotlight on the show, possibly because Matt Groening considers Database to be one of his least favorite characters, to say this episode, although it's one of my favorite features. My least favorite character in the entire history of this series.
Dave Shutton. Now, all I've got here is that the Springfield Shopper journalist was named after John Swartzwelder's very close friend. There we have it. And if you don't remember John Swartzwelder, he is the mysterious writer of The Simpsons who many thought didn't actually exist.
Declan Desmond. Homer once made fun of Desmond's English accent, calling him "dogor." "Who? Check with me in 8 years, Doctor Who. I'll be kicking your ass with a solid gold boot!" And the smug documentary filmmaker is voiced by Monty Python star Eric Idle, who was rumored to have been in the running for the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 TV movie.
Dewey Largo. Lisa's music teacher was closeted for the longest time. "We were carpooling, and that's it!" That was until the writers gave him a bit more character development when he publicly came out and actually got married. And although this marriage didn't last very long, he has been in a relationship with a guy called Jeffrey ever since season 30.
Disco Stu. The owner of Springfield's Groovicus nightclub and one-time husband of Selma first appeared in "Two Bad Neighbors." Hey, Disco Stu doesn't adver…Stu was originally envisioned to be a withered old John Travolta-like figure, which was a clear nod to Saturday Night Fever, as well as intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, best known for playing Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. However, when the character was redesigned as an afro-sporting stud, Hartman was unavailable to dub his lines, so therefore the role then went to Hank Azaria.
Dolph. One-third of Springfield Elementary's bullies, Dolph was named after one of Matt Groening's classmates. But the only thing they had in common was their names, as the real Dolph definitely wasn't a bully and actually became a high school teacher.
Drederick Tatum. This heavyweight boxer is an obvious nod to Mike Tyson, and although The Simpsons have used this character to make fun of Tyson's criminal records, Tyson is a pretty good sport about it, saying in an interview that he thought it was pretty cool. And when they parodied his cannabis ranch business in season 31, Tyson simply shared the clip on Instagram and wrote, "Mike Tyson did it first!"
Duffman. This tall, muscular drink of beer is modeled on Budweiser's mascot, Bud Man, but his catchphrase comes from the song "Oh Yeah" by Yello, which became extremely popular after appearing in the classic 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. "Oh yeah!"
Eddie. One of the most popular Simpsons theories out there was that the police officer Eddie is the actual biological father of Ralph because they have similar hair, and the creators actually played into this in a non-canon season 34 episode, "Lisa the Boy Scout." "My son's breath smells like cat food!"
Eddie. Eddie Klum. Although Nelson's dad is pretty much a deadbeat dad stereotype, leaving one day to get cigarettes and never coming back, it is easy to forget that in the earlier seasons he was a pretty devoted dad and even coached his son's soccer games.
Edna Krabappel. Mrs. K was quite the fashion icon because Tilda Swinton modeled her hairstyle after the character in the Coen Brothers film Burn After Reading. And although Swinton intended to look ridiculous, that is a pretty tall order when your inspiration is Springfield's most in-demand divorcee.
Elizabeth Hoover. Lisa's second-grade teacher hasn't had many spotlight moments, but very recently, in a season 34 episode, she got married to Old Gil, and they didn't ignore this either, carrying this relationship over into season 35.
Fat Tony. Arguably the most dangerous person in Springfield, Fat Tony likes to keep his surprisingly real name close to his chest because it's a little hard to be taken seriously in the world of waste management when you have a name like Marion. But this actually references a real famous tough guy, Western star John Wayne, who was born Marion Robert Morrison.
Frankie the Squealer. As a member of Fat Tony's Mafia, Frankie just can't keep his mouth shut and has gotten him into a whole lot of trouble. "Did you know Fat Tony's real name is Marion? You just don't get it, do you?" In fact, he's been killed several times throughout the show for squealing, but just like many men, he somehow keeps coming back.
Gary Chalmers. "Super Nintendo Chalmers" is, in fact, not a Super Nintendo, despite what Ralph says. "Hi, Super Super Nintendo Chalmers!" But aside from this, Chalmers is perhaps best known for the steamed ham sketch. Its writer, Bill Oakley, was inspired to write it because Chalmers was his favorite character, and in his words, "is the only sane man in town. He knows everything around him is crazy, and people are lying, and he just doesn't care enough to pursue it." This perfectly explains why he would simply go along with Skinner's claim that there was an aurora borealis in his house. Bill wrote the scene in one afternoon, and it was so good.
That the finished sketch was almost identical to its first draft. Jay Lauren, prior in the season 2 DVD commentary for Bar, gets to nit. It's revealed that the school psychologist, Dr. Jay Lauren Pri's name is supposed to be a play on the word "prying," like prying into people's minds.
Gerald Samson, Maggie's monobrow rival, has been the thorn in her diaper ever since his debut in Season 5, but this rivalry would eventually turn into love, as they'll become a couple in a Flash Forward episode and even an item in the comics too. Gil Gunderson, old Gil, is a parody of Jack Lemmon's character in the 1992 film *Glenn Gary Glenn Ross*, and Lemmon had already guest-starred a year before.
Olga was introduced to the Simpsons playing a similar role as the struggling owner of a pretzel wagon franchise. Ginger Flanders—it wasn't Ned's fault that he threw himself into a whirlwind marriage in Vegas with Ginger, because it's in his DNA; because his distant relative, Nedar N. Doell Flanders, also ran into the arms of a lady who looked strangely similar to Ginger. And I found out about this fact in the Flanders's Book of Faith.
God—yes, God Almighty himself—is a recurring character in *The Simpsons*, appearing in at least 14 episodes. But God's character design is unique to him in that he's the only one with five fingers, whereas everyone else has four. Groundskeeper Willie—Willie is about as Scottish as folk comes, so we shouldn't be so surprised that he once threw his kilt into the ring as leader for Scotland. This is because, in 2014, Willie endorsed the vote for Independence in the upcoming Scottish referendum. Also, I've lived in America most of my life, so I've seen firsthand how not to run a country. And after Scotland voted to remain in the UK, *The Simpsons* released this image of a sad-looking Willie in front of the Union Jack.
Gunter and Ernst, parodies of Siegfried and Roy, were booked as entertainers at the Monty Burns casino, but their act didn't go as they planned. And, unfortunately for the real Siegfried and Roy, a similarly terrifying event actually happened 10 years after this episode. Ed Hank Scorpio—okay, so I did say that I was only going to be doing recurring characters, but Hank was actually going to be a recurring character. Yep, the Simpsons' most charming villain, voiced by Albert Brooks, was going to make his grand return as the villain of *The Simpsons Movie*. However, Hank was replaced by Ross Cargill, but luckily *The Simpsons* still called Albert Brooks to voice him. Man, I love Albert Brooks. Hmm, man. Despite dying countless times, you just can't keep a good M man down—not even Mr. Burns.
After M Man's first appearance in "Principal Charming," Mr. Burns objected to the strange, wrinkly prune of a man, claiming he looked far too much like a mole and shouldn't appear on the show ever again. Under duress, though, the writers responded by giving viewers all the M Man they could possibly want, and now everyone's gay for M Man. The Happy Little Elves—Maggie's favorite TV show is seemingly based on the Smurfs, and although this show is mostly aimed for little kids, one of its movies is all rated for some weird, bizarre reason. This picture is called *The Happy Little Elves Meet Fuzzy Snuggle Dark*, and I don't know—maybe it's some kind of weird, strange porn.
Helen Lovejoy—before the town gossip went gray, Helen actually used to have pink hair, as seen in this flashback. Herbert Powell—Homer's long-lost brother made a fatal mistake of allowing him to design a car, and he immediately lost his fortune. "I'm ruined!" But originally, Herb's first episode was going to end up with him coming up with a brand-new business idea, which was changed in order to allow for an entire other episode in Season 3 to flesh out Herb climbing back to the top and therefore repair his bond with Homer.
Herman—Herman, the proprietor of Military Antiques in Springfield, was first introduced in Season 1's "B the General," and he's most recognizable mostly because of his missing arm. Telling Bart that he lost it while sticking it out of a school bus window. Now, his running gag was going to be that Herman would provide a brand-new reason each time he'd appear for how he lost his arm, but the writers abandoned it for the longest time until this flashback showing how his arm was severed by a van.
Homer Simpson—in *Treehouse of Horror VI*, Homer entered another dimension and wound up in the nightmarish hellscape that is the real world. But this wasn't Homer's first foray into live action. No, in a 1992 episode of *L.A. Law*, Dan Castellaneta guest-starred as a theme park employee who was fired for inappropriate behavior while wearing a Homer Simpson costume. "I'm not allowed to take my head off in public; that's why Family Land gave me the heave-ho in the first place."
Hubert Wong—much like another character that I'm going to mention on this list, Hubert first debuted in a *Treehouse of Horror* episode, and although Lisa got jealous of him in that episode, the two will actually date when they're older, as seen in Season 34's "When Nelson Met Lisa." Hyman Krustofsky—Crusty's rabbi father, Hyman, was voiced by comedy legend Jackie Mason, whose own father was a rabbi, as was his grandfather, as was his great-grandfather, as was his great-great-grandfather.
Itchy & Scratchy—in my Crisis book, *Springfield Confidential*, he wrote that Groening considered giving the ultra-violent cat and mouse their very own spin-off show. He said, "To test out the possibility, our production team cut together every single Itchy & Scratchy short. It lasted just 40 minutes and contained such concentrated gore and mindless violence that it made people physically ill," and someone compared the assembled footage to the brainwashing films Alex had to watch in *A Clockwork Orange*.
Jacqueline Bouvier—Marge's mother was named after President JFK's wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Janie Powell—or should that be Hanstrom, or maybe even Henderson, or was it Jackson? Because Janie's surname has changed multiple times until it was made official that her second name was Powell. A reason for this ever-changing surname was strangely given in *The Simpsons: Tapped Out* of all things. In it, Jamie says, "My dad's not allowed to have a credit card on account of being wanted for counterfeiting, which is why I have so many last names."
Jasper Beardsley—back when Jasper was a young man, he tried to escape conscription for World War II by joining an all-women's baseball team. By the way, if you've made it this far, put a little old man emoji down in the comments below; otherwise, that's a paddlin'. Jebediah Springfield—the statue of the town's founder sits directly in the main square, and although Springfield isn't based on just one town specifically, the most popular theory is that it's based on Springfield, Oregon, and in this town there is also a statue of a man called Jebediah Springfield. Coincidence? Nah, I think not.
Gender—so the future episodes aren't really considered canon, but Bart's future wife, Gender, has remained a constant in quite a few of them, appearing in three different episodes, and together they'll have two kids called JF and Skippy. Jessica Lovejoy—although three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep has only voiced the Lovejoy's daughter in one episode, the character has reappeared a fair few times over the years. "I was expelled, Dad. Remember the pipe bomb? The glee club bra? Remember the school chapel collection plate?" And in Season 33, we learn that Helen heavily medicates her daughter, which is perhaps the in-universe reason for why she doesn't talk anymore.
Jimbo Jones—now, the real reason why this bully wears a beanie all of the time is because he wants to hide his bald patch. Joe Quimby—Springfield's mayor was based on womanizing President JFK, as well as his brother, Senator Ted Kennedy. And even though Quimby is a heavily corrupt politician, Ted totally embraced this parody of them by spearheading a campaign to promote the town of Springfield, Massachusetts, as the official site of *The Simpsons Movie*'s world premiere. Now, I can't seem to find this 2007 video anywhere online, but apparently Ted said, "Just think, after 400 episodes, you'll be able to enjoy some real chowder."
Sherri & Terri—chowder. Johnny Tightlips—another member of Fat Tony's Mafia, Johnny is the total opposite of Frankie the Squealer in that he keeps his mouth shut. "Did you have a nice flight?" "Johnny Tightlips—I ain't saying nothin'." Johnny is likely based on Frank "Tightlips" Gusenberg, a mobster who died in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. He was shot 14 times but survived long enough to be asked, "Who shot you?" to which he replied, "Nobody shot me."
Jonathan Frink—Hank Azaria based the professor's voice on Jerry Lewis's character from *The Nutty Professor*, and funnily enough, Lewis himself would then voice Frank's father in *Treehouse of Horror XIV*. "I'm here to accept the Nobel Prize for Stupid." Julio Franco—another character originally voiced by Azaria, seemingly based the voice of this character on the one he plays called Agador in the movie *Birdcage*, and they even look alike.
Julius Hibbert—when *The Simpsons* was moved to air opposite *The Cosby Show*, the creators then turned Dr. Hibbert into a more Cosby parody. Kang & Kodos—now, this alien duo has appeared in every single *Treehouse of Horror* episode from 1990 right up until today. Kearney—although Kearney is still in elementary school, he's old enough to shave and have his own son. "I sleep in a drawer." He even remembers the national bicentennial, meaning that he was born at least a few years before 1976.
Kent Brockman—news reporter for Channel 6, Kent is known for his signature white hair, but it isn't why due to age but rather shock. Because when he was a kid reporter, he followed Mickey Mouse backstage and discovered that he was, in fact, a man in a suit. This horrible truth turned his brown hair into white. Also, thank you to Twitter user @darkspider9994 for this amazing fact. Kirk & Luann Van Houten—because these two look so much alike, a common joke about Milhouse's parents is that they are related in some kind of way, with Bart even asking them, "Is it true that you're brother and sister? Because you really look a lot alike." "No, half-brother and half-sister." "No." And this family connection was confirmed in Season 26's "Let's Go Fly a Coot." "Marrying a cousin worked out great for my parents."
Crusty the Clown—Mr. Burns' original idea was that Homer and Crusty would be the same person, which is why they look so much alike. Groening said that, "The satirical conceit that I was going through at the time was that *The Simpsons* was about a kid who had no respect for his father but worshipped a clown who looked exactly like his father." Thankfully, this idea was scrapped. Kumiko Albertson—Comic Book Guy's wife was originally voiced by Tress MacNeille but was replaced in 2021 by Jenny Yokobori. And she's voiced tons of anime, which is absolutely perfect casting for anime fanatic Kumiko.
Lance Murdock—it might not be surprising to learn that this Daredevil stuntman was heavily inspired by Evel Knievel. Larry—despite appearing in the background for hundreds and hundreds of episodes, we never really knew anything about this mysterious barfly, but that was until Season 35's "Cain't Even," where we found out that he was actually a jewel smuggler for Fat Tony. Legs—we don't know much about Legs' private life, but the comics did reveal that he has a son called Cares, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because he works for Fat Tony's son's mini-mafia.
Lenny Leonard—although some people like to say that Lenny loves Carl romantically, a lot of people seem to forget that he was married to a lady. K mentions that he sang at Lenny's wedding, and in one brief scene, we see him shaving her legs. Plus, in Season 7's "Home of the Smithers," we see Lenny with his arm around a lady. Could this have been his wife? Either way, it looks like she divorced him because he was seen being homeless in Season 9. Leopold—aside from calling people "freaks" and terrorizing their kids at Springfield Elementary, this character is kind of an enigma. "Well, look what you've done, you little freak!" But Issue #24 of the *Bart Simpson* comic shed more light on his personality. In it, we find out that, despite his scary appearance, Leopold isn't so bad at all; in fact, he's downright cute and supportive, and he even teaches Bart how to cheerlead. Now, this was a struggle of a fact to find, so big thank you to @LeavesForLife1967 on Twitter for helping me.
Lewis & Richard—and I've got to be honest, this was a really, really tough one because these guys are essentially background characters who occasionally say an unmemorable line. And the only interesting thing we know about them is that Milhouse hates Lewis because he licked him during a glass-blowing tour, and he hates Richard simply because girls like him more. I'm, I'm sorry, guys, but not every single Simpsons character is going to be fleshed out. Also, shout-out to Sarah on Twitter for this fact. Thank you. Lindsay Naegle—this business executive was based on *Simpsons* writer Dana Gould's then-wife, Sue Naegle. And Naegle was the president of HBO Entertainment and was named the 46th most powerful woman in the world by *Forbes* magazine in 2012. Ling Bouvier—and from wife to daughters, Dan also based Ling on his own adopted daughter, Lulu, which is so cute.
Lionel Hutz—Lionel was named after real-life lawyer Sir Lionel Luckhoo QC, and he holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for most successful lawyer with 245 consecutive successful defenses in murder cases from 1940 to 1985, which is hilariously ironic seeing as Lionel Hutz is a very, very crappy lawyer. "This verdict is written on a cocktail napkin, and it still says 'Guilty,' and 'Guilty' is spelled wrong." Lisa Simpson—Yeardley Smith originally auditioned to play Bart, saying, "I always sounded too much like a girl." "I read two lines as Bart, and they said, 'Thanks for coming.'" But thankfully, she got the role as Lisa, and Yeardley Smith would eventually guest star as herself in the Season 32 episode "Podcast News." "Where do I know you from?" "From my true crime podcast, *Small Town Dex*, and nowhere else." And speaking of the legend that is Yeardley Smith, she kindly endorsed my book, *Collecting The Simpsons*, on the inside cover. She took the time to write such a lovely and kind message, and I honestly still can't believe it. And if you're interested in reading it, simply type in "Collecting The Simpsons" into Amazon.
Luann Van Houten—in this 1994 Skybox trading card, we find out that his pet peeve is phony TV and film actors prostituting their art for filthy lucre, which is money, but his secret shame is that he can't wait to prostitute his art for filthy lucre. Also, he is just one of many characters voiced by John Kassir. Lou—for the entirety of Season 1, Lou was yellow, and it wouldn't be until Season 2 that they then made him black. Apparently, this was an animation mistake because he was named after Lou Whitaker, who was a major league baseball player. Louie—now I've spoken about a few of the real-life inspirations behind the characters in the show, and some people really embraced it and found it funny, but there's others that definitely didn't like it. Actor Frank Caronia, who sued Fox in 2014 for $250 million. According to Deadline, the actor said that *The Simpsons* ripped off his Frankie Caroni character from *Goodfellas*, and the suit claimed that he lived next door to the Simpsons in 1989 as he was preparing for *Goodfellas*, but the case was legally dismissed in 2018. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
Luigi Risotto—Luigi's brother is called Mario, which is, of course, a reference to the two Italian plumbers. Woo-hoo! Lene Lumpkin—Lene made her debut in Season 3's "Colonel Homer." She was voiced by actress Beverly D'Angelo, who was cast because of her country singer role in the movie *Coal Miner's Daughter*. And what's really impressive is that Beverly wrote the songs "Your Wife Don't Understand You" and "Bagged Me a Homer" in just one hour and presented them to Groening at the episode's table read, as well as also pitching several jokes for the episode. Lunchlady Doris—when she's not serving assorted horse parts or gym mats, Lunchlady Doris goes on dates with eligible bachelors all around Springfield. "No, we're just trying to put our relationship back together." Also, her son is Squeaky-Voiced Teen, who we'll talk about a bit more later.
Maggie Simpson—in the main series, the first person to voice baby Maggie was Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor in Season 4's "Lisa's First Word." "Daddy." The Oscar-winning actress was asked to say "Daddy" 20 times because she was saying it far too sexually, apparently. Yeardley Smith even tweeted that she ended the session by saying "[expletive] you" in Maggie's voice, which is absolutely hilarious. Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon—she and Apu have octoplets, and when they grow up, each of them will have their own octets, which means that poor Manjula will have to care for 64 grandchildren. Marge Simpson—now, the original reason for Marge having such long hair was to conceal bunny ears. This was in reference to Groening's comic strip *Life in Hell*, which featured anthropomorphic rabbits. He originally planned for the final episode to reveal her long ears, but thank God this was scrapped. Although the show isn't over yet, who knows, maybe they'll still do it, but dear God, I hope not.
Martin Prince—the original voice actress for Martin was Russi Taylor, the Disney Legend who voiced Minnie Mouse in 1986. She was also married to Mickey Mouse's voice actor, Wayne Allwine, which is perhaps why Martin sounds a little like Mickey himself. "This feels good. No wonder you do it." Mary Sparkler—now, this is the only one of Cletus and Brandine's kids that I'll be talking about because, last time I checked, they have probably around 70, and there's absolutely no way that I'm going to be able to talk about all of them. So Mary is quite the talented musician, and you might recognize her voice from *New Girl* because she's voiced by actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel.
Marvin Monroe—you might find it interesting to know that *The Simpsons'* old family therapist was killed off because Harry Shearer found doing the voice so damn painful. Maude Flanders—the reason why Ned's wife was killed off in Season 11 was because her voice actress, Maggie Roswell, had relocated to Colorado to raise her daughter, and Maggie requested a pay rise as she had to keep flying backwards and forwards to California to record her lines. And when Fox refused, they simply killed off her character. They eventually worked out a deal so she could record from home, and she returned to the show in 2002. Also, I am 100% on Maggie's side here. Like, Fox can afford it.
Maya—now, I wasn't really going to include most fiancés, seeing as Maya has only appeared in two episodes, but Al Jean just tweeted that she's coming back, presumably by the next season. So, therefore, according to this flash-forward ending of Season 29's "Flanders' Ladder," it looks like that Maya will get married to old Ned at some point. He's had a lot of wives. Milhouse Van Houten—Bart's best friend made his very first appearance not on the show but in a Butterfinger commercial. Groening originally created the dude for another show that he was developing that never got made, and it was only when David Silverman and Wes Archer were rifling through Groening's designs that they found him to use in the Butterfingers 1988 commercial.
Miss Hoover—in 2020, actress Kerry Washington tweeted, "Dear animators looking for Black voices, I'm available." So executive producers Carolyn Omine and Matt Selman reached out to her, believing that she'd be the perfect fit for Bart's new teacher. And Washington, being a big fan of the show, liked the idea, and she's since been a recurring character since Season 33. Miss Springfield—this beauty pageant winner has been Quimby's mistress for decades, which explains how she always wins Miss Universe, and it was revealed in Season 16 that they secretly have three kids together. "What do I have to do to enjoy a Sunday brunch with my secret other family?"
Moe Szyslak—one of the oldest recurring jokes in the show is Bart's prank calls. "Is there an alcoholic here?" These were inspired by *The Chew Bar* prank calls from the 70s, where two guys from New Jersey would call up the owner, Lou, "Red" Deutsch, and ask to speak to non-existent customers. Alcoholic, alcoholic, alic… Mona Simpson—Season 7's "Mother Simpson" was written by Richard Appel, who named his mom after his own wife, Mona Simpson, and yet her last name really was Simpson. Mr. Teeny—Crusty's performing ape is just one of many Teenys that he's had over the years, because as soon as one dies, he then replaces it with another. "Oh, don't worry, nothing's going to happen to you, Mr. Teeny Number Seven." But Crusty's personal favorite one was Mr. Teeny Number Three. "You couldn't hold a candle to him."
Mrs. Krabappel—although Nelson's actually tough, deep inside of him is a sad little boy who longs for his papa. And with his dad barely in their lives, his mother has looked everywhere for a new father figure for him, and her choices have been eclectic: Principal Skinner, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Crusty, Capital City Goofball, Barney, and even Hank Scorpio. Ned Flanders—when Ned Flanders isn't praying…
He's selling left-handed goods at his store, the Leftorium, introduced in season 3's "When Flanders Failed." This idea came about because writer George Meyer had a friend who had a left-handed store, which had to close due to lack of business.
Also, fun fact: Mt. Graining is also left-handed. Nelson Muntz—Nelson is the toughest kid at school, and he's partly based on bad boy John Bender from *The Breakfast Club*, right down to the "don't care" attitude and his funky, torn sleeves.
Nick Riviera: According to writer Mike Rice on Twitter, Dr. Riviera's design was based on Gabor Szücs, a Hungarian artist who co-founded the studio Kusky Szücs Inc., which was not only involved in the early Simpsons shorts but also created *Rugrats*. His voice is Hank Azaria doing an impression of Ricky Ricardo from *I Love Lucy*.
Oh, Old Jewish Man. The most well-known thing about Old Jewish Man is that he likes dropping his pants and dancing for free. But what's less known about him is his real name. However, in a deleted scene of the episode "The Old Man and the Sea," it reveals that his name is Mr. Schulman. Thank you to Potato Potatoes for that fact.
Uter Man. Otto does two things: he drives a bus and he listens to rock and roll. In one episode, we learned that his father is an admiral, which is a nod to rock legend Jim Morrison's father, who was also a naval admiral.
Pygmy Bouvier. Mt. Graining used the names of his family members to name many of his characters, with him naming Patty after his sister. I don't know how I'd feel about that if I was his sister.
Princess Kashmir (real name: Shauna Tiffin). This character is best remembered for dancing with Homer during a bachelor party, and Marge naturally wasn't too happy about it. "There's nothing between me and Princess Kashmir," Princess says. But when she's not belly dancing, she plays bowling in a team called "The Home Wreckers," along with Mindy, Lenny, and Jack.
Radioactive Man. Radioactive Man exists as a comic in *The Simpsons* world, as well as our real world, with his first issue debuting in 1994. The really fun thing about this comic is that each issue jumps forward, with the second issue being number 88, the third being 216, followed by 412 and then 679, before jumping all the way to 1,000. By doing this, it created a fictional impression that he is one of the oldest and longest-running comic book superheroes.
Rainer Wolfcastle. So, apparently, if you combine all of the McBain movie clips that we see on the show into order, it actually forms a cohesive, full movie.
Ralph Wiggum. So, to put it kindly, Ralphie is a little bit slow. "I don't have a red crayon." "Why not?" "I ate it." But there's a reason for that. In a flashback, it was revealed that Clancy accidentally dropped Ralph on his head, therefore causing him to have brain damage.
Raphael. So, he's had a lot of jobs, but how does he have the energy? Well, in the episode "Lisa the Boy Scout," we find out he has hundreds upon hundreds of clones. But it's also worth noting that this episode isn't considered canon.
The Rich Texan (or Richard Texan). Basically, Richard Texan is an obsessive-compulsive, counting "1, 2, 3, 4" right before firing his pistols.
Rod Flanders. In the episode "Bart to the Future," it was revealed that Rod and Todd are gay. But this isn't the only example of them being a part of the LGBTQ+ community because, in issue 47 of *The Simpsons* comics, set in the future, it showed that Rod and Todd are trans.
Lounge Singer. Roger Meyers Jr., chairman of Itchy & Scratchy Studios. His father, Roger Meyers Sr., was based heavily on Walt Disney, right down to the rumors that Walt was an anti-Semite and that his head was frozen.
They're comfortable in their daddy's. Roy Schneider. Like Officer Lou, Roy was also yellow in his first appearance. But, unlikely, the animators couldn't decide on Roy's skin color, so they kept changing their mind from episode to episode. And so, he'd be yellow for 10 whole episodes until it was finally decided to make him black.
Ruth Powers. The Simpsons' neighbor was voiced by actress Pamela Reed in season 4's "The New Kid on the Block." And after voicing her again in season 5 and season 14, she wouldn't return for another 18 years until season 33. "Is the ways were you haven't stopped by to say hello in 25 years and I live next door?"
Sam. Much like Larry, we don't really know anything about Sam the Barfly. And one of the only things that we've learned about him is that he has a dog, as seen in "Bart's Dog Gets an F." Also, thank you so much to Sarah on Twitter for this fact.
Samantha Stanky. Milhouse's old girlfriend's appearance and name were based on writer Wallace Wolodarsky's daughter.
Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon. Apu's brother has a son called Jay, who he first saw in season 4 when he was only a little kid. But flash forward to season 27's "Much Apu About Nothing," and suddenly Jay is in his mid-20s. This is very strange considering that Maggie hasn't aged a day. Time really does work in mysterious ways in Springfield.
Santa's Little Helper. The Simpsons' Greyhound debuted in the very first episode of *The Simpsons*, where Homer adopted him after he was kicked out for being too slow in a race. Despite this, though, SLH only reappears in one other episode in season 1. This is because "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was never supposed to be the pilot episode, therefore intended to air later on in the season.
Sarah Wiggum. Clancy's wife has been voiced by Pamela Hayden ever since 1993. But that all changed in season 32's "Uncuttable," where Sarah was given far more development and an actual backstory. This meant that voice actress Maggie Roswell took on the role, and she returned to voice Sarah ever since.
"I'm just quiet, even though everyone thinks I'm an idiot."
Scott Christian. So, the original running joke for this character was that he was going to keep filling in for Kent Brockman, who would always be unavailable. But they quickly dropped this idea. Thanks to Nico on Twitter for this little bit of trivia.
The Sea Captain (real name: Horatio McAlister). He first appeared in season 4's "The New Kid on the Block" as the owner of The Frying Dutchman all-you-can-eat restaurant. And when Homer doesn't eat all he can eat, he sues the captain. Now, this is so funny because it's so, so ridiculous. But this situation actually happened a fair few times in real life, like in 2017 when a man from Massachusetts sued a restaurant for $2 million for false advertising after he was thrown out.
Selma Bouvier. Although it appears that Selma and her sister have gray hair, that's not really true. They just smoke so damn much that the ash actually goes into their hair to make it appear gray, as revealed in season 22 when she's shown to actually have blonde hair.
Seymour Skinner. So, I recently bought a pack of vintage 1990s postcards to send to my Patreon members. And on Skinner's card, there's a joke about wearing a toupee. So I looked into this, and it turns out that the original plan for Skinner was that he wore one, but the writers soon changed their minds because they didn't really like that type of joke. So I'm thinking some of them actually wore toupees. However, they eventually changed their minds decades later in season 31 when Bart demands Skinner to pay up.
Sherri Mackleberry. This bad girl made her Simpsons debut in 2009, but it wouldn't be until 5 years later we'd actually learn her father was Super Nintendo Chalmers. "What's my no-good daughter up to now?"
Sherry and Terri. So, we all know that these two are identical twins. But what you might not know is that they're technically 2/3 of conjoined triplets, and the third one is out for revenge.
Sideshow Bob. A massive reason why Sideshow Bob is so iconic is, in part, due to Kelsey Grammer's incredible voice. "You have such a beautiful voice." "Guilty as charged. Uh-huh. I just couldn't imagine anyone else doing it." But the Frazier style wasn't actually the first choice to play him. Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones, was also considered for this role. And what's weird is that he would then go on to voice Maggie. This is indeed a disturbing universe.
Sideshow Mel. So, moving on to Bob's replacement, and Mel has such a distinctive look with long green hair and a bloody bone sticking out of it. And like everyone, I just assumed this was a costume. But *Simpsons* comics issue number 72 revealed that the bone is actually a genetic trait, as both his parents have it.
Snake Jailbird. So, I bet you didn't know that Snake's car only takes premium. "Hey, that smells like regular." "She needs premium, dude. Premium." Now, I'm only joking. Everyone knows that—well, except for Homer. Before he was robbing convenience stores, Snake was robbing tombs as a professor and donating the artifacts to museums.
Snowball II. Cats and dogs are supposed to be sworn enemies, but it seems nobody told Snowball II or Santa's Little Helper that, as it's been heavily implied that the two of them are in a secret relationship.
Sophie Krovsky. Crusty's daughter debuted in season 12 and has reappeared sporadically over the years. And in the flash-forward episode "When Nelson Met Lisa," we find out that she'll eventually go on to marry Jimbo Jones.
SP M Pig. To promote the release of *The Simpsons Movie* on DVD, the marketing team flew a giant pig balloon over Battery Park. There was even a sniper ready in case the ropes broke and it needed to be shot down, therefore being a direct reference to Pink Floyd's *Animals* album.
Springfield Elementary's Gym Teachers. Now, there are four gym teachers at Springfield Elementary: Coach Krabappel, Miss Pommeroy, Miss Hoover, and this random lady with absolutely no name. But you know what? None of them seem to be interesting enough to have any trivia about them. Personally, I think the writers wanted to have a recurring gym teacher character, but they didn't really know what to do with any of them, so they just kind of used stereotypes.
Squeaky-Voiced Teen. Jeremy Freedman is known for his squeaky voice, but it finally broke in this season 15 episode, "It's Time to Put Away Childish Things and Become a Man." His new voice, however, was very, very temporary and went back to being all squeaky by the next episode. The poor kid can't catch a break.
Timothy Lovejoy. The good Reverend is just one of many characters named after street signs in Portland, Oregon, with others including Flanders and Quimby.
Troy McClure. So, before Phil Hartman's tragic passing, he and Matt Groening had discussed the possibility of Troy McClure getting his very own live-action spin-off show. It's unknown if this would have been greenlit if Hartman hadn't been killed, but I think it sounded like such an awesome idea.
Todd Flanders (or should that be Todd Homer Flanders?). Because after Homer helped deliver baby Todd into the world, Ned and Maude gave their baby boy Homer's name as his middle name as a thank you, which doesn't really make much sense timeline-wise because, originally, The Simpsons moved into Evergreen Terrace after Todd was born. But, uh...
Uter Zörkler. This German exchange student holds the distinction for being the very first recurring character introduced in a Treehouse of Horror episode.
Mrs. Vanderbilt. This wealthy socialite appears to have been named after Gloria Vanderbilt, an heiress, socialite, and fashion designer.
The Weasels. Nelson's original cronies primarily appeared in the earliest episodes of *The Simpsons*. But when Bart defeated Nelson in season 1's "Bart the General," they went from secondary characters to background regulars until they almost outright disappeared. So the writers gave us insight into the boys' whereabouts in season 25's "The Winter of His Content." "Hey, my old weasels!"
Shelbyville Elementary. Whan Smithers. As we all know, Smithers was black in his first appearance, and he had blue hair. And according to Matt Groening, this was simply an animation mistake. But because their budget was so low, they couldn't afford to get it fixed in time.
Wendel Borton. So, because this character barely speaks and only really throws up, he's been voiced by four different actors.
And finally, we have the Years Guy. So, this character was based on actor Frank Nelson. Yes, and they even gave him the same catchphrase: "Mmm, yeah. A you. Oh, my God!"
We have come to the end of the video. And if you've made it this far, then please drop me a comment and let me know you're still alive. It'll be really interesting to know how many people actually got through this. And if you did, thank you so, so much. And if I did miss a character, then drop a fact about them down in the comments below.