Category Archives: Deaths

Season 31 News: Interview with Al Jean on the future of the show and trivias

Al Jean was interviewed by the blog /Film regarding the past, the current and future seasons of the show, and some trivia questions.

After giving their condolences about about Russi Taylor, the interviewer asked Al if Martin will disappear to the show, until what point she recorded his voice, to which Al answered: “I’m really sad that Russi passed and it’s my belief that she would want the character to continue. She was wonderful to work with and is greatly, greatly missed. There wasn’t any Martin centered show in the new season. I can’t be exactly sure.” Being asked if they considered a recast, Al answered “I don’t want to get into anything thus far.”

Al was asked regarding the season 19 DVD and if it was through Disney’s interest, and if there’s any interest on season 21, to which he answered: “The person I really want to thank the most is Denise Sirkot at Gracie Films who appreciated how people hated that gap between 18 and 20 in their collections. We finally filled it so I’m very excited. Let’s just be happy we’ve got 19. We’re still recording commentaries. We’re going to record commentary for season 24 coming up and it’s all on Disney+ starting in November so I can’t repeat that enough.”

Next question Al was asked if the idea for the Thanos couch gag come from joining Disney, and Al answered: “No, just because Thanos is such a huge, popular presence, we thought it would be funny. It was not promoting Disney nor anti. It was just Thanos.”

Being asked if he envisioned the gag of Homer backing into the bushes gif going viral and he answered “I should credit Caesar Mazariegos who’s the writer of that joke. I should credit him and say I was just surprised it was as big as it was. I guess the snake swallowing its tail really impresses people.”

Regarding when Al aknowledged the show in the real world, Al said “Oh, long ago the instant a T-shirt with Homer on it and Marge says, “A Simpson on a T-Shirt, I never thought I’d see the day.” That was about as soon as we realized we were a hit.”

Next, Mr. Teeny and if he’s an independant contractor: “Yes. So that’s very important in terms of his W-2s and his tax filings.”

Being asked where Señor Spielbergo was when Krusty made a movie in Mexico: “Well, it was Mexico in the ‘80s. He might not have started his career yet.”

Al was asked next about Homer mentioning “a tour of rocking chairs” and what they were referencing: “There’s a giant chair somewhere in America. I believe Lyndon Johnson was photographed sitting on it. So I think that was the inspiration for the chair joke.”

When asked if Jacques is faking his French accent and if it’s canon, Al denies: “No. Not everything is canon but I won’t say what is.”

Speaking of Bruce Willis, the interviewer said that there was a Bruce Willis joke in season 30, “We hope to have one every season”, and if Al ever met him, “No, never met him.”

Regarding Adi Shankar and the Apu controversy, Al is asked if he was worried about a leak: “No. He never said who it was from so as far as I can see, it wasn’t correct.”

About the phrase Marge says in “No Good Read Goes Unpunished”, “Some things will be addressed at a later time.” he was asked if they’d address it further up but Al just said: “I think her statement is correct.”

Regarding the female reboot of Itchy and Scratchy and its possible connection to the 2016 Ghostbuster movie, Al said “A little bit. There’s a lot of movies coming out where the gender flip is the premise.”

About satirizing the Comic-Con panels, Al confirmed it’s always fun.

When asked about including the live-action To Kill a Mockingbird, Al said “We once used live-action footage from It’s a Wonderful Life and we had the live-action original footage in Homer3 in the third dimension. It was the most extensive. We actually had to license it and get permission from both the estate of Gregory Peck and the girl that played Scout. It’s such a wonderful movie, I just wanted to put it in.”

Regarding Ralph, he was asked if it’s easy to do Ralph gags, “No, it’s very hard. Very, very hard to write a new Ralph line.”, and about him doing show recaps, “Yes, the recapping was a great episode and I’d say it got a little personal.”, and why they have not done a Wreck-It Ralph Wiggum yet, “That’s funny. Wreck-It Ralph, it seems like a movie like that is a funny animated movie so it’s hard to parody a comedy.”

In a confirmation about The Simpsons Guy, he was asked if it was Seth MacFarlane to voice Stewie in the episode: “No. I think that was Chris Edgerly imitating him.”

When asked about the future plans for seasons 31 and 32, Al answered: “31 we have episode 666 which is “Treehouse of Horrors.” We also have a scary Thanksgiving show. We have a show where Artie Ziff gets married.”, and if there’ll be a a permanent marriage for Artie: “You’ll have to watch. Nothing is permanent.”

Speaking of Treehouse of Horror XXX, Al was asked if it was intentionally done to be the 666th episode: “Nope. It’s just like we intended it from the beginning.” and what they’re spoofing in the episode: “We have a Stranger Things parody and the opening is a little bit of an Omen parody, reflecting on the fact that it’s episode 666.”

Being reminded about Odder Stuff, the Stranger Things parody they did in season 30, Al answered: “Yeah, this is somewhat different. Stranger Things is such a big thing. It’s The Simpsons kids like Bart and Milhouse as the Stranger Things boys.”

Last question was regarding working with Disney and if it was any different: “No, they just said, “Do what you do” and we’ve been doing it. It’s been full speed ahead.”

Source: /Films

Russi Taylor, voice actress for The Simpsons, has died


Russi Taylor, recurring voice actress for The Simpsons, died yesterday, July 26th, at the age of 75. As of now, the cause of her death is unrevealed.

Taylor voiced Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri and Üter Zörker in The Simpsons, among many other characters. She was credited for 190 episodes before her death. Outside of The Simpsons, Taylor was the voice of Minnie Mouse.

It is currently unknown if Taylor has recorded for any season 31 episodes or what, if anything, will happen to her characters. In the past, characters have been retired from the show when their voice actors died.

Guest Star R. Lee Ermey Dies, Aged 74

The Simpsons guest start R. Lee Ermey died today, April 15th, aged 74. He died today due to complication of pneumonia.

He voiced Leslie Hapablap in the season 7 episode “Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming” and the season 26 episode “Waiting for Duffman“.

Stephen Hawking Dies Aged 76

World renowned physicist and The Simpsons guest star Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76.

Stephen Hawking made several appearances on the show, voicing himself via his voice synthesizer. He also made an appearance in The Simpsons: Tapped Out as a playable character.

In 1963, Hawking was only given a few years to live due to his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which gradually paralyzed him over years and could only communicate via a voice synthesizer. He passed away peacefully in his home in Cambridge on March 14th.

Hawking first guest starred on the show in the season 10 episode “They Saved Lisa’s Brain“. His daughter, Lucy Hawking, knew one of the scriptwriters for The Simpsons who was interested in writing an episode involving Stephen Hawking, and she convinced him to guest star.

Sources:

Bye 2017, hi 2018! The summary of 2017!

2017 is gone and 2018 has arrived. Which means it’s time to recall what has happened during 2017 in the universe of The Simpsons.

The year 2017 has brought lots of news related to The Simpsons. It’s been a long year, and lots of events have taken place. There have been good news and bad news, milestones to celebrate, Tapped Out updates to play with (and connection issues to get mad with), and much more. In conclusion, here’s a summary of the most relevant Simpsons-related news from 2017!

The Simpsons airs its first one-hour episode, “The Great Phatsby”


On January 15, The Simpsons aired its first one-hour episode, “The Great Phatsby“!

In the episode, Mr. Burns tries to relive his glory days, and crosses paths with a mysterious music mogul. After being conned by him and reduced to bankruptcy, Mr. Burns seeks revenge on the music producer with the help of Homer, Bart, rapper Jazzy James and the mogul’s ex-wife, Praline. Also, Lisa is courted by the richest kid in town, Smithers begins a perilous journey and Marge opens an obscure boutique store.

See also: The official plot for “The Great Phatsby” has been released!

“Kamp Krustier”, the sequel of “Kamp Krusty”


On March 5, the episode “Kamp Krustier” aired as a sequel of the season 4 episode “Kamp Krusty”.

In the episode, when Bart and Lisa return home abruptly after a traumatic incident at Kamp Krusty, they put an end to Homer and Marge’s romantic encounters. Without sex to distract him, Homer becomes a more productive worker and caring husband, but Marge misses the old Homer. Then, Bart and Lisa return to camp to confront the source of their trauma.

See also: he Plot, Air Date and Special Guests of “Kamp Krustier” have been released!

“Embiggen” becomes a perfectly “cromulent” word


On April 12, the Oxford English Dictionary added the words “embiggen” and “cromulent”. The words were both made popular in The Simpsons episode “Lisa the Iconoclast“.

See also: “Embiggen” is now a perfectly “cromulent” word!

30 Years of the Simpson family


On April 19, the world celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first ever appearance of the Simpson family, as the first Simpson short from The Tracey Ullman Show aired on April 19, 1987.

See also: 30 Years of the World’s Most Beloved Family!

DVDs are back!


The ‘Simpsons’ panel on Comic-Con 2017 brought a huge surprise for the fans: DVDs are back. After FOX cancelled the production of Simpsons DVDs and Blu-Ray back in early 2015, showrunner Al Jean announced during the 2017 panel that S18 was going to be released on DVD on December 5.

See also: SD Comic-Con 2017: Panel Highlights!

Alf Clausen got ‘fired’


In late August, Alf Clausen, long-time composer for The Simpsons, was “fired” from the show after 27 years composing music for the show. ‘The Simpsons’ producers said that he would continue to have a role on the show.

He is currently being credited as “Compositor Emeritus”.

See also: Alf Clausen Fired from ‘The Simpsons’!

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson


On October 22, a documentary about the episode “Homer at the Bat” aired on FOX Sports. The documentary was titled “Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson”.

See also: A documentary on “Homer at the Bat” was announced!

Disney to Acquire Rights to ‘The Simpsons’


In early December, Disney announced that they plan to buy a majority of 21st Century Fox‘s assets.

Among these acquisitions are the X-Men, Avatar and The Simpsons.

It is currently unknown what impact, if any, this deal will have on The Simpsons (apart from the fact that Princess Kashmir would technically become a “Disney Princess”).

See also: Disney to Acquire Rights to ‘The Simpsons’!

 

In Memoriam



Among the Simpsons-related people who left us during 2017 are:

*Sooan Kim, age 62, on January 20.
*Dan Spiegle, age 96, on January 28.
*Chuck Berry, age 90, on March 18.
*Adam West, age 88, on June 9.
*Martin Landau, age 89, on July 15.
*June Foray, age 99, on July 26.
*Dell Hake, age 73, on August 10.
*Jerry Lewis, age 91, on August 20.
*Len Wein, age 69, September 10.
*Hugh Hefner, age 91, on September 27.
*Tom Petty, age 66, on Octobe
r 2.


Thanks for reading

Thanks for reading this post and let’s hope that 2018 will continue to bring more Simpsons-related news as 2017 and previous years have done.

Happy New Year 2018 from Wikisimpsons/The Springfield Shopper!

And don’t forget,
Stay tuned for more!

Adam West Has Died at 88

American actor Adam West, best known for playing Batman in the 1960s TV series Batman, has died at age 88 after a battle with leukemia. He died on Friday night, surrounded by his family.

Adam West had multiple roles on The Simpsons, voicing himself in the season 4 episode “Mr. Plow” and reprising his role as Batman in the season 14 episode “Large Marge“. He also voiced Mayor Adam West in Family Guy, a role which he reprised in the Family Guy/The Simpsons crossover episode, “The Simpsons Guy“.

West is survived by his wife Marcelle, his six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Sources