Troy McClure

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 13, 2022

en.wikipedia.org · Fair use

Troy McClure is a character in The Simpsons voiced by Phil Hartman. He first appeared in the episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials and educational movies. He appears as the central character in "A Fish Called Selma", in which he marries Selma Bouvier to protect his career from failing and quash rumors about his personal life. McClure also 'hosts' two episodes named "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" and "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase".

McClure was based on B movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure as well as Hartman himself. Following Hartman's murder on May 28, 1998, the character no longer appeared on the show, making his final appearance in the tenth season in "Bart the Mother". McClure is often cited as one of the series' most popular characters; in 2006 IGN ranked him first on their list of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral Characters".

Simpson family

→ Main article: The Simpsons (family)

The Simpson family consists mainly of father Homer, mother Marge and the three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. In addition, the dog Knecht Ruprecht (in the original: Santa's Little Helper) and the cat Snowball II live in the household.

Relatives include Homer's father Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson and Marge's mother Jacqueline "Jackie" Bouvier and sisters Patty Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Stu-Simpson. Homer's mother, Mona, passed away in season 19. Homer also has a half-brother, Herbert, and presumably a half-sister, Abbie (who, however, only makes a cameo appearance in one episode).

At the nuclear power plant

Charles Montgomery Burns

Participation: continuously since season 1

Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns is the owner of the nuclear power plant, Homer's employer and the richest and most powerful man in Springfield. He is a recurring minor character. In the series, Burns represents the cliché of the evil and unsympathetic capitalist who rejects a welfare state and trade unions. Through this and his ruthlessness towards others, he tries to accumulate more and more wealth, even though he has more money than he could ever spend. In his machinations, he can rely on the support of his obsequious assistant Waylon Smithers, who also serves as housekeeper of his large estate. In some episodes, a more human side of Burns also emerges, for example when he falls in love with Marge Simpson and tries to win her heart; however, there is no further development of the character across episodes.

Apart from Burns' frequent remark "Excellent! (in the original "Excellent!"), which he always uses when something is going to his absolute satisfaction, his age in particular is the object of several running gags. Thus, in contrast to his economic power is his extreme physical weakness, which always provides comic moments. Only when he wants to harm others does he briefly have undreamed-of powers. Furthermore, he can never remember Homer's name, although they are related in many episodes. This important running gag culminates in the only Simpsons double episode to date, Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Who shot Mr. Burns?) and is revisited again and again in later episodes. Burns often lives in the past: he uses terms and objects that have not existed for decades, e.g. he wants to fill his car with petroleum distillate or send a telegram by rotary-wing aircraft to the Prussian consulate in Siam; he also often wonders about what he sees as current circumstances, which Smithers then has to enlighten him about ("No, sir, you stopped doing that in the 1930s."). Nevertheless, these gaps in his knowledge are rarely an obstacle to his business ventures.

In flashbacks, Burns is often seen as an American soldier in the Second World War - sometimes together with Abraham Simpson - but on the other hand it is also often implied that Burns collaborated with the National Socialists and only used the war for personal gain. Basically, however, there are various contradictions in his biography; the actual origin of his wealth is not clearly explained.

The plotlines around Mr. Burns contain many allusions to similar figures in film history. In particular, the fictional multimillionaire Charles Foster Kane from the film Citizen Kane serves as a model again and again. In the episode Fresh Fish with Three Eyes (Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish), the viewer not only learns for the first time that Burns shares a first name with Kane, but the scenes of his election campaign are also a clear homage to the classic film. The episode Battle for Bobo (Rosebud) also shows parallels. The original title of the episode plays a central role in Citizen Kane and both the opening scene and the breaking snow globe parody the film. But there are also several allusions to other villains in the film world. For example, in the episode Who Shot Mr. Burns, the theme tune of Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series (also known as the Imperial March) is played during the editing in Burns' office. Burns is also the chairman of the Springfield Republicans, who usually meet in a gloomy spooky castle.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Burns is voiced in the original by Harry Shearer, in the German dubbing by Reinhard Brock. Since Brock's death, Kai Taschner has been Mr Burns' German voice.

Waylon Smithers

Participation: continuously since season 1

Waylon Smithers Junior, originally dubbed by Gerhard Acktun, later by Hans-Georg Panczak, is the personal assistant, secretary and butler of C. Montgomery Burns and fulfils his task with great zeal. The fact that the boss he so admires takes his self-sacrificing services for granted and even often abandons him in dangerous situations does not diminish his loyalty in the least. Smithers' servility is hardly concealed; Mr Burns also alludes to it several times when he calls Smithers "without a backbone". In a sense, Burns regards Smithers as his "property" - when Burns loses his fortune twice, he must do without Smithers. In some rare cases, however, Smithers also turns against his boss, such as helping to clear up the rigged mayoral election of Tingeltangel-Bob, even though he was politically wanted by Burns and other Republicans.

Initially hidden, but later more often and more clearly, allusions to Smithers' homosexuality appear in the series; he reacts, for example, in panic and disgust to naked women. In several episodes, Smithers' love for his boss is alluded to - in some episodes he even confesses it to Burns, but Burns always overhears or refuses to believe it. Smithers hides his double life for a long time; he does not actually come out until the 27th season (episode 17, A Cage Full of Smithers).

He is a big fan and passionate collector of the Malibu Stacy dolls and their accessories.

Smithers seems to have a kind of love-hate relationship with Homer Simpson. On the one hand, he always chooses him when his boss is looking for a "test monkey", "someone superfluous" or even "someone with special skills", on the other hand, he mourns Homer when he fakes his death and stands up for him. In some episodes Homer gains a higher position in the company and Mr. Burns then often listens to him rather than to Smithers, which is why Smithers in this case often tries to throw Homer out or at least bring him back to his old position. Most of the time, however, this already happens through Homer's clumsiness.

In the episode The Loser, he has a much darker skin colour, which is solely due to a colouration error.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey). Smithers' voice, however, was already heard in The Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire.

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Lenford "Lenny" Leonard

Participation: continuously since season 1

Lenford "Lenny" Leonard, originally dubbed by Bernd Simon and later by Ulf-Jürgen Wagner, is a good friend of Homer's who also works at the nuclear power plant and spends his evenings at Moe's Tavern. Originally from Chicago, where he was born on 5 December 1969, he has a degree in nuclear physics. His strongly developed friendly relationship with Carl is frequently mentioned. For example, he once even carved Carl's face in stone. They are often mistaken for a couple, which they both know. Carl frequently admonishes Lenny when he makes a comment that is ambiguous in this respect ("I don't know where I start and Carl ends..." - "Lenny, it's sentences like that that make people think we're gay!").

A running gag is that he often gets all sorts of objects in his eye (for example, metal springs, coins, pudding, puzzle pieces), usually through Homer's fault. He approves of many of Homer's crazy ideas by saying, "You said it, Homer!"

First appearance: The beautiful Jacques (Life on the Fast Lane)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Carl Carlson

Participation: continuously since season 1

Carl Carlson, originally dubbed by Tonio von der Meden and Klaus Kessler and later by Peter Musäus, is a good friend of Homer's who works with him at the nuclear power plant and hangs out at Moe's Tavern in the evenings. He is African-American who spent part of his childhood with adoptive parents in Iceland.

He often shows up together with Lenny, as the two are good friends. Lenny also seems to be the reason why Carl doesn't climb further up the career ladder. He has a degree in nuclear physics, but prefers to stay with Lenny and Homer. This aspect is specifically dealt with in an episode where he is briefly promoted and Homer and Lenny are annoyed by his authoritarian leadership. His friendship with Lenny in particular is very close, so that it can often be seen as a parody of a homosexual relationship. Exemplary of this is a dialogue between Lenny and Carl: "Remember when we kissed like that" - "Our respective girlfriends, of course". Thus, in one episode, he accompanies Homer when he leaves Springfield due to an argument with Marge, while Carl sadly mentions that he had an argument with Lenny.

First appearance: Homer as a ladies' man (Homer's Night Out)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Charlie

Participation: Season 1 to Season 5

Charlie is an employee at the nuclear power plant. He is quite unlucky, likes to play with nuclear waste, but has been trained as a supervisor for radioactive radiation. At one point he mentions that he has a sister.

He only appears regularly in the first five seasons and is rarely seen as an extra after that. In the episode The Disabled Homer, it is explained that he has been doing his work from home for some time because of a disability.

First appearance: The beautiful Jacques (Life on the Fast Lane)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Flanders family

Ned Flanders

Participation: continuously since season 1

Nedward "Ned" Flanders, voiced in the first season by Frank Röth, later by Ulrich Frank, from season 27 by Claus-Peter Damitz, is the widower of Maude Flanders, father of Rod and Todd and neighbour of the Simpsons. He lives as a very devout Christian in Springfield. Ned often donates to charity, is an active member of the church community and a Republican. Because he is constantly calling the pastor and asking questions, he even gets on his nerves ("Reverend, I ... I think I desire my own wife"). Ned is the owner of a shop selling items for left-handed people - the Leftorium, called Linkshändrium in the German dubbing. Before that, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years. In addition, he runs an internet mail order business under the name Flancrest Enterprises in one episode. He doesn't have insurance on his house because he thinks it's a kind of gambling, which is his undoing in the episode The Totally Crazy Ned: In this episode, the Flanders' house is completely destroyed by a hurricane.

Ned Flanders is portrayed in many ways as an extreme contrast to Homer, which often arouses envy and hatred in the latter. For example, Flanders is relatively wealthy and owns a hobby cellar where he has a beatless collection, which Bart and Milhouse destroy in the episode "On the Warpath". He has all sorts of fancy things like a tap cabinet and a pool table and other expensive things that the Simpsons can't afford. For example, he mows his lawn with a petrol lawnmower at exactly the same time as Homer is bothering with his hand-powered lawnmower. Homer gets around such imbalances by borrowing many things he needs and that Ned has and he doesn't (e.g. tools or a TV table) from the latter and never gives them back, however, thanks to Edna Krabappel's help, Ned gets these items back after many years in season 22 in the episode Nedna. Among the running gags of the series are the scenes in which Ned politely reminds Homer to return various items. Many of these items are even marked "Property of Ned Flanders". Nevertheless, Homer usually rebuffs him curtly. Ned, however, is not bothered by this, on the contrary: unlike Homer, he puts up with almost everything and, unlike the latter, hardly ever swears.

Although Homer is recognisably just taking advantage of him, he tirelessly tries to maintain good relations with his neighbours. Homer even once wrote a hate anthem for him, which became a national hit. Flanders even hums the tune of the song himself later in the episode, singing along and listening to it on the radio. Homer can't stand Ned (frequent statement from him: "stupid Flanders"), but when he does piss him off so much in one episode (season 16, episode 20) that he leaves Springfield and a thug moves into his house, Homer misses him and does everything to get him back. Moreover, in some episodes Homer is also concerned about Ned's friendship, exaggerating - as he often does - so that Flanders in turn finds him too pushy.

In some episodes, Ned is seen with a well-toned body, which is in stark contrast to Homer. This also occasionally arouses Homer's envy (and attraction).

Ned is designed as a parody of Christian fundamentalists in the USA. He doesn't like Catholics. Yet the character has only developed over the course of the series. While Ned appears as a relatively "normal" neighbour in the first episodes, he becomes more and more religious and his character takes on stranger and stranger traits. While in one of the first episodes he greets Homer with "Hello, Simpson" or "Greetings, neighbour", later he says: "Hey-Didelldi-Doo, Homerchen/Nachbarino". He forbids his two sons to play Uno because he sees it as a gateway game to poker.

Flanders' parents were beatniks (as shown in several episodes) and lived with him in Manhattan (New York) during his childhood.

At the end of season 22, Ned gets together with Edna Krabappel. The viewers then had the opportunity at the end of the episode Nedna to vote on Ned and Edna staying together during the summer break. They decided in favour of the characters' relationship. The character Edna Krabappel was taken off the show in 2014, a few months after the death of voice actress Marcia Wallace, making Ned a widower twice over.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Maude Flanders †

Participation: Season 1 to Season 11, then occasionally in flashbacks etc.

Maude Flanders, originally dubbed by Michaela Amler and later by Manuela Renard, was the brunette wife of Ned Flanders and mother of Rod and Todd. Like her husband, she was very religious. Maude actively supported Ned in establishing his shop for left-handed people, The Leftorium. She was killed in an accident at a race track: Maude fell from the last row of a grandstand because some T-shirts shot from cannons hit her. Actually, the T-shirts were shot at Homer Simpson, who had called out for them but bent over because of a hair clip lying on the ground. Additionally, Homer had parked his car in such a way that the ambulance could not get to her, preventing possible resuscitation. After her death, Ned mourned for a long time.

The background to Maude's death in the series was a dispute over the salary of the original voice actress Maggie Roswell, who wanted to be reimbursed for her travel expenses between her home (Denver) and the recording studios in Los Angeles.

First appearance: The competition (Dead Putting Society)

Original speaker: Maggie Roswell/Marcia Mitzman Gaven

Rod Flanders

Participation: continuously since season 1

Rodney Flanders, originally dubbed by Beate Pfeiffer and Natascha Geisler and later by Caroline Combrinck, is one of the Flanders' two children, usually the taller. He is nevertheless the younger of the two. He suffers from asthma and diabetes. Like his brother, he is very faithful to the church.

In the episode Bart's View of the Future, Rod and Todd are seen as homosexual carpenters in the garden. Ned says to Bart about this (when Bart asks him for money), "But only because you didn't out Rod and Todd." In the episode A Simpsons Christmas Story (based on Dickens' A Christmas Carol), the taller of the two says, "I'm jealous because the girls get to wear dresses." He and his brother are also watching the Simpsons shower when they have to stay in the garden because of a problem (a motorbike gang has occupied their house). In heaven, Maude looks down on him and Bob Hope calls him a "faggot". However, in one episode, when Ned and his sons move for a short time (Homer has evicted them) and Ned then decides to return, Rod says: "But I've got a girlfriend!" - "Then you have a pen pal now."

First appearance: Watch out, wild Homer (The Call of the Simpsons)

Original speaker: Pamela Hayden

Todd Flanders

Participation: continuously since season 1

Todd Flanders, originally dubbed by Natascha Geisler and Beate Pfeiffer and later by Caroline Combrinck and Timo Link, is also one of the Flanders' two children. In most episodes he is the younger of the two, but the producers got confused themselves over time. Todd is older than his brother Rod, though. There are a few allusions to a kind of faith disease in both of them. The two children have passages from the Bible told to them by Ned as a bedtime story. Both are also not vaccinated against flu for religious reasons and have their eyes washed with soap when they see something obscene ("That it burns is called love.").

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

At school

Second class

Janey Powell

Participation: continuously since season 1

Janey Powell, originally dubbed by Michèle Tichawsky and later by Caroline Combrinck. Janey is a dark-skinned, eight-year-old friend of Lisa's with whom she attends 2nd grade at Springfield Elementary School. Janey Powell sometimes plays with Lisa, but sometimes bullies her with Sherri and Terri. She has a special ability to touch the tip of her nose with her tongue. Her hobbies include playing with Malibu Stacy, jumping rope and playing prank phone games on boys.

First appearance: Lisa is moping (Moaning Lisa)

Original speaker: Pamela Hayden

Ralph Wiggum

Participation: continuously since season 1

Ralph Wiggum, voiced by Beate Pfeiffer, is the son of Police Chief Wiggum. Since his father dropped him as a baby, he has been severely mentally disadvantaged and retarded, having problems understanding or dealing with the simplest things. Despite everything, he has made it to the second grade. He loves glue, glue, coloured chalk, wax and grass and shows a strong desire to put all kinds of things in his nose or mouth and eat them. In early episodes, Ralph repeatedly has a little green leprechaun tell him to set fire to other people's property. Ralph only ever replies to this with an approving smile. On the side, Ralph likes to pee his pants, which he always proudly announces to those around him. He is in love with Lisa in one episode (Ralph loves Lisa). In the episode Hello, Mr. President he becomes the joint presidential candidate of the Democrats and Republicans.

The band Bloodhound Gang dedicated a song to him called Ralph Wiggum, which consists mainly of quotes from him.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

Becky

Participation: continuously since season 1

Becky is another friend of Lisa's. She is eight years old, blonde and has a pigtail. Becky usually wears a green dress and braces. Her German voice actress is unknown.

First appearance: Bart fights a battle (Bart the General)

Original speaker: Pamela Hayden

Alison Taylor

Participation: continuously since season 6

Alison Taylor, dubbed by Jennifer Wippich, is Lisa's new classmate, seven years old and has already skipped a grade. This is also the reason why Lisa became jealous in Lisa's Rival. Furthermore, she plays the saxophone like Lisa.

First appearance: Lisa's Rival (Lisa's Rival)

Original speaker: Maggie Roswell

Fourth class

Database

Participation: continuously since season 6

His real name is unknown. Nicknamed Database or Data, he is a member of the nerd clique ("The Super Friends") at Springfield Primary School around Martin Prince and thus also a frequent victim of the school bullies around Nelson Muntz. He has had minor speaking roles ever since. His father appears briefly with him in the episode about the enmity of the two towns of Springfield and Shelbyville over a lemon tree, but has no leading role. In the DVD commentary for this episode, Simpsons creator Matt Groening says that Database is his least favourite recurring character. In episode 389, he has the first name Martin on a student list.

First appearance: Bart's Comet (Bart's Comet)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

Lewis Clark

Participation: continuously since season 1

Lewis, voiced by Michèle Tichawsky, is a dark-skinned classmate of Bart and Richard's best friend. He is a good friend of Bart's and both an accomplice and a victim of his pranks.

In the more recent episodes he takes a back seat and no longer speaks. His parents live separately.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Russi Taylor

Martin Prince

Participation: continuously since season 1

Martin, originally dubbed by Gabor Gomberg and Inez Günther and later by Michèle Tichawsky, is the best pupil in Bart's class, probably even in the whole school. In fourth grade, he sits right in front of Bart. He has an extremely high intelligence quotient of 216, which was once attributed to Bart when he switched the names on the exams. He is also elected class president. He is able to outperform Bart because only two students go to the election and the rest are already celebrating Bart's victory at Bart's election party. Because of his achievements and his behaviour (for example, he once pleads for the school day to be extended by 20 minutes), he is very popular with the teachers, while his classmates see him as a nerd and often enough bully him because of this and because of his excess weight. For these reasons, he is also often the victim of the four bullies. His most ardent career wish is to become a systems analyst.

On Halloween, he dresses up several times as Oberon, King of the Elves (see Treehouse of Horror: B.I.:Bartifical Intelligence, Malevolent Games).

A determined, ambitious and dedicated student, he is the polar opposite of Bart Simpson. He therefore describes himself as "Bart's natural enemy", but often also appears as Bart's friend, with whom he engages in joint activities. After Bart issues himself a fake driver's licence in an episode of the seventh season, Martin accompanies him with Nelson and Milhouse on a chaotic drive across the country to Knoxville (Tennessee) during spring break to visit the World's Fair. Martin also has a chequered relationship with Lisa Simpson. They often work together on homework and school projects in various episodes, but are also fierce competitors now and then in the recurring school exhibitions.

Martin often appears full of enthusiasm, which mostly annoys those around him. In addition, in some episodes his possible sexual orientation is sometimes more and sometimes less clearly addressed. In one dream sequence, for example, Martin (as a clearly older, athletic teenager) examines another boy from top to bottom, while ignoring a girl who is also standing next to him. Those around Martin also often make fun of his almost girlish cheerfulness.

First appearance: Bart becomes a genius (Bart the Genius)

Original speaker: Russi Taylor

Milhouse Mussolini van Houten

Participation: continuously since season 1

Milhouse van Houten, dubbed by Michaela Amler, is Bart's best friend. He has blue hair and wears thick red glasses, just like his parents Kirk and Luann van Houten. Milhouse is not exactly one of the most popular kids at school, so in Bart's presence he enjoys at least a little recognition from some of his classmates. He is desperately in love with Lisa; in several visions of the future he is still involved with Lisa as a high school student and adult.

Milhouse is very slight in stature, whiny and has a severe visual impairment. Homer can't stand him and keeps forgetting his name or calling him Milton. Milhouse's parents divorce, but later get back together.

Millhouse visits his grandmother in Tuscany for 2 weeks every year and speaks fluent Italian.

The model for the character Milhouse was Paul Pfeiffer, a character from the American series Wonderful Years.

The first name is derived from former President Richard Nixon, whose middle name was Milhous. The surname van Houten is based on Leslie Van Houten, who is a convicted murderer in the USA and was a member of the Manson Family.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Pamela Hayden

Nelson Muntz

Participation: continuously since season 1

Nelson Muntz, dubbed by Wolfgang Schatz, is a thug at school who constantly makes himself known with a sardonic "Haha!" and thus also often appears in places where mishaps happen to people. Characteristic of his appearance are his protruding teeth and his blue waistcoat, which he almost always wears. Nelson is not overly intelligent and is a rather mediocre student. He once dropped out and is therefore still in the fourth grade. His favourite victims include Bart Simpson, Milhouse van Houten, Martin Prince and other physically weaker pupils. His first name is derived from the wrestling hold Full-Nelson.

His mother is not particularly interested in Nelson because, when she is not in prison, she is busy with her alcohol abuse. It is repeatedly hinted that she works as a prostitute and stripper. Nelson suffers greatly from the fact that his father has left the family, although he only wanted to buy cigarettes for a short time. Despite this, Nelson thinks he knows he is deliberately causing car accidents. He reappears for the first time in the 3rd episode of season 16. In the episode "The Treasure Hunt" (S7E22), Nelson's grandfather introduces himself as a judge who has already sentenced 47 people to death.

In the episode Lisa Wants to Love, Lisa was in love with Nelson; since then there have been repeated episodes in which the closer good relationship between the two is the theme.

Like most of the bullies in Bart's school, Nelson has immense emotional problems, which he is able to conceal as far as possible through his brutal manner, but which occasionally break out. For example, when he thinks he is alone, he shows his knowledge of home economics and likes the pop singer Andy Williams. In general, despite his character, he is more cooperative in many situations than the other bullies in the school and, unlike them, occasionally a friend to other students. Nelson is a member of the gang and beats up other students, such as Bart, or causes other mischief, but he also often goes off on his own. In addition, the thug gang often performs without him. However, the recognition of the other thugs is important to him; for example, in the episode Lisa wants to love he is mocked by them for his relationship with Lisa and falls out with them. Reconciliation follows soon after, however, when they throw things at Principal Skinner's house together. At the same time, he ends his relationship with Lisa.

Nelson has an ambivalent relationship with Bart. Most of the time Bart also gets to feel his hobby as a thug when he steals Bart's pocket money with his buddies. In various episodes, however, Nelson is also Bart's friend, especially when Bart himself acts as a hooligan and plays pranks. However, it also often happens that Nelson punishes Bart with blows for doing wrong or immoral things, for example when Bart shows off or "wastes the teachers' time" when he reports without knowing anything.

In the first seasons, he had two comrades who always accompanied him. However, they disappeared in the course of the series.

First appearance: Bart fights a battle (Bart the General)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

Richard

Participation: continuously since season 1

Richard, dubbed by Michèle Tichawsky, is a grey-haired classmate of Bart and Lewis' best friend. He always wears a leather jacket. He was shown in early episodes with Bart, Milhouse and Lewis as they pull pranks. He goes down better with girls than Milhouse, according to Lisa. In later seasons he was almost exclusively in the background in school scenes.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Jo Ann Harris, Maggie Roswell

Melissa

Participation: continuously since season 1

Melissa, voiced by Caroline Combrinck, is a classmate of Bart. She is blond and wears two pigtails with purple bows on them. Her name is first mentioned in The Simpsons.

First appearance: Bart becomes a genius (Bart the Genius)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

Sherri and Terri

Participation: continuously since season 1

Sherri and Terri, dubbed by Caroline Combrinck, are twins with long purple hair who attend the fourth grade at Springfield Elementary School. You can't tell them apart at all, but Springfielders seem to be able to tell them apart anyway. In the episode Barthood (season 27), teenage Bart confuses the two when he accidentally kisses Terry instead of her sister. In the German dubbing they sometimes had different voices in the beginning, but this is no longer the case. Both only ever appear together and complete each other's sentences. Sometimes they think they are better and enjoy teasing Lisa and playing tricks on Bart.

The names are based on Jerry Hall and her twin sister Terry.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Russi Taylor

Wendell Borton

Participation: continuously since season 1

Wendell, dubbed by Caroline Combrinck and others, attends Bart's class. He wears a light blue T-shirt and has white, curly hair. He is very pale, and because he is constantly sick, he has the most absences at Springfield Primary School. Every time he rides the school bus, Wendell gets sick, and he doesn't have the strongest stomach - which suits Doris, the kitchen help, just fine. He often vomits in the sandbox in the schoolyard, which caretaker Willie then has to clean very angrily.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Russi Taylor

Sixth grade

Dolphin Starbeam

Participation: continuously since season 1

Dolphin Starbeam, called "Dolph", originally dubbed by Dirk Meyer and later by Nico Macoulis, is a Jewish friend of Jimbo and one of the four thugs at school. He has long red hair that always covers his right eye, but no longer does in the more recent episodes. Dolph's brutal behaviour and disregard for all authority eventually brought him to kindred spirits Kearney, Jimbo and Nelson. He confesses his Jewish faith, among other things, in the episode The Security Salamander (S17E07): he says goodbye to Kearney and Jimbo with the words, "I'm outta here. I have Hebrew lessons".

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Jimbo Jones

Participation: continuously since season 1

Corky James "Jimbo" Jones, originally dubbed by Alexander Brem and Jennifer Wippich and later by Natascha Geisler, is one of the four thugs at the school. He can be recognised by the skull and crossbones T-shirt and the purple knitted cap. His real first name is "Corky". His family is obviously wealthy as he lives in an exceptionally large house in a better neighbourhood. In a comic strip, it is clear that when he was new at school, he was still a good boy. However, that changes in the course of this story. In the absence of his thug friends, he is a very sensitive and emotional boy. This is also evident when he is threatened by Moe and breaks down crying. He has no hair on top of his head, which is why he almost always wears a cap.

Due to his disillusionment with society, he plans to study law later.

The role of Jimbo Jones is inspired by the character of Ted in Bill & Ted's Crazy Journey to the Future, portrayed by Keanu Reeves.

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Pamela Hayden

Kearney Zzyzwicz

Participation: continuously since season 1

Kearney Zzyzwicz [ˈzaɪzwɪks], dubbed by Beate Pfeiffer, is the last of the bunch of four school bullies. His surname only became known in the 18th season. He is bald and has studded wristbands. In various episodes, it can be seen that he is considerably older than the other pupils and, accordingly, has presumably often stayed in school. For example, he has a driving licence and drives a car to primary school. He is also already divorced and the father of a boy who attends the same class as him in at least one episode and looks exactly like him except for his height. Furthermore, Otto mentions once that he was in the third grade with him. In another episode, it is mentioned that Kearney has already experienced Springfield's 200th anniversary celebration in 1976. He doesn't seem to be 21 yet, though, as he once tried to buy beer at the Kwik-E-Mart with a fake ID. Furthermore, in one episode he mentions that he is in his teens during a satirical dig at the Youth Protection Service.

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Nancy Cartwright

Other pupils

Uter Zörker

Participation: continuously since season 5

Uter, originally dubbed by Nico Macoulis and later by Caroline Combrinck, is an exchange student from Switzerland, originally from Germany. He loves to eat chocolate and other sweets and is consequently very overweight. He is often teased by other students because of his obesity and his nationality. His father works as a foreman at the Basel chewing gum factory. In the original version, his father works as a foreman at the Düsseldorf Gumworks.

In the US original of the series, Uter is German and is called Üter. The American illustrators named him this because they thought "Üter" was a common German name, but confused it with "Günther". Uter is obviously modelled on the German Augustus Gloop from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is sometimes referred to by the reference to Düsseldorf.

He is dressed like a Tyrolean and corresponds to the cliché of the "Lederhosen Bavarian" that is widespread in America. He speaks an imitation Swiss High German in the German version and with a German accent in the English version, which probably also goes back to the American clichés. In the eleventh season, Skinner mentions that Uter disappeared on the last school trip - but he reappears in later seasons.

First appearance: The Ride to Hell (Treehouse of Horror IV)

Original speaker: Russi Taylor

Teaching staff and other personnel

Headmaster Seymour Skinner

Participation: continuously since season 1

Seymour Skinner (birth name Armin Tamzarian), originally dubbed by Fred Klaus and later by Klaus Guth, is the 44-year-old headmaster of Springfield Elementary School, which Bart and Lisa Simpson attend. He is very strict and orderly. He still lives with his mother Agnes, who patronises him and often berates or exposes him in public. He also has an affair with Edna Krabappel over several seasons. Skinner is a veteran of the Vietnam War, which influences his actions to this day and leads to absurdly traumatic flashbacks for much of the series (hardly any later). In the episode All Fake (S09E02), it is revealed that Skinner was in fact a thoughtless criminal youth named Armin Tamzarian instead of the present-day spitfire, and had only assumed the identity and dreams of his army superior in order not to have to tell his poor-sighted mother (Agnes Skinner) of his supposed death. In the course of the episode, he is officially given the name "Seymour Skinner", along with the associated past and his mother, as Agnes rejects the real Skinner as being unsubmissive to her.

The first name Seymour is composed of the English words "see more", the surname Skinner goes back to Burrhus Frederic Skinner or to the godfather of the US southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, an order-loving former high school teacher of their founding members, Leonard Skinner.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Superintendent of Schools Gary Chalmers

Participation: continuously since season 1

Gary Chalmers, born and raised in Utica, New York, originally dubbed by Joachim Höppner, later by Berno von Cramm, Fritz von Hardenberg and Reinhard Brock, shows up every now and then for an inspection of Springfield Primary School. However, Principal Skinner's meticulous order regularly ends in chaos, mostly caused by Bart Simpson, so that Skinner tries to save the day with embarrassed excuses. Chalmers has a love affair with Principal Skinner's mother in several episodes. Since his father raised him according to the concept of Radical Behaviourism, he constantly shouts "Skinner!" loudly, even when it is not necessary. This clearly upsets Skinner. In some episodes, Chalmers repeatedly insinuates homosexual intentions in Skinner's attempts at ingratiation, but Skinner's relationship with Edna proves that the headmaster is not gay at all.

Chalmers is the father of Shauna Chalmers, a teenager who has a relationship with Jimbo Jones, among others.

First appearance: The Snake's Nest (Whacking Day)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Edna Krabappel †

Participation: Season 1 to Season 25

Edna Krabappel, originally dubbed by Gudrun Vaupel and later by Inge Solbrig, is Bart Simpson's fourth grade primary school teacher and smoker. She is characterised by a mocking laugh ("Ha!") when she gives Bart detention or makes a comment. In the episode The Seemingly Never-Ending Story, we learn that she broke up with Moe because Bart claimed to have detention all summer, but only wanted to steal microscopes with Nelson. So she became Bart's teacher. Frequently picked on by him and his pranks, she does seem to have certain friendly sympathies for Bart. Despite all this, she is nominated by Bart as teacher of the year. She seems to be frustrated by her job; the viewer often sees her sighing, moaning and, above all, smoking, moreover, the rings under her eyes speak for this. According to her own statement, she studied at Harvard. Her biggest dream is often to find a "free pass" out of the teaching profession, e.g. as an estate agent.

Ever since Edna was abandoned by her husband when he ran off with the attractive young marriage counsellor during marriage counselling, she has been lonely and single and longing for love, which is why she had several affairs with various Springfield citizens in earlier episodes, including Moe Szyslak and the comic book salesman. Most notably, however, a very erratic relationship develops between Edna and headmaster Seymour Skinner even before this, leading to a scandal among the school's parents and demands for dismissal. However, since the two never seem to have sexual intercourse and only make out, the situation relaxes abruptly. The relationship is not always harmonious, especially because Edna feels oppressed by Seymour's highly dependent and despotic mother and Seymour shows no courage, which is why their wedding fails in the episode Wedding in Klingon.

At the end of season 22, Edna gets together with widower Ned Flanders. The viewers then had the opportunity at the end of the episode Nedna to vote on Ned and Edna staying together during the summer break. They decided in favour of the characters' relationship. They later married; however, Edna apparently kept her last name.

Following the unexpected death of voice actress Marcia Wallace, producer Al Jean announced that Edna Krabappel would be removed from the series. After two remembrances of Edna in a panel gag and a couch gag, a small final scene in the episode The Lord of Genes in season 25 draws attention to the fact of her death by showing Ned with two framed photos of his deceased wives and expressing his grief, as does Nelson Muntz.

First appearance: Bart becomes a genius (Bart the Genius)

Original speaker: Marcia Wallace.

Elizabeth Hoover

Participation: continuously since season 1

Miss Hoover, dubbed by Manuela Renard, teaches second grade at Springfield Primary School. She is thus the teacher of Lisa and Ralph Wiggum, the son of the police chief, among others. She has a nervous problem (hypochondria) and seems to be frustrated by her job, so that she often asks the students to sit quietly for the last few minutes of class and stare intently into space instead of teaching them. Ralph in particular frustrates her. She is friends with Edna Krabappel. She has brown hair, blue in early episodes, and wears glasses. Furthermore, Miss Hoover smokes, as do almost all the teachers at the school, and she is a drinker.

First appearance: Marge's masterpiece (Brush with Greatness)

Original speakers: Maggie Roswell, Marcia Mitzman Gaven

Dewey Largo

Participation: continuously since season 1

Mr. Largo, originally dubbed by Ulrich Bernsdorff and later by Ivar Combrinck and Berno von Cramm, is a music teacher and leader of the school orchestra. Visually, he embodies a typical male teacher with longer hair, and a shirt and jumper. He can be seen in the opening credits. His musical talent seems to be rather limited, as the band is almost always just rehearsing Stars and Stripes Forever when they are seen. Once Mr. Largo leaves the room, the band plays the song Pop Goes the Weasel, which they call the "forbidden music". Mr. Largo may be homosexual and is occasionally seen with Mr. Smithers.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Sports teacher Mr Krupt

Participation: Seasons 17, 20, 21, 22, 23

Mr Krupt, also called Coach Krupt, is a primary school PE teacher. He is feared by the pupils because he often plays bombardment with them by forcefully throwing balls at them. He was introduced in A Perfect Gentleman as Mrs. Pommelhorst's successor.

First appearance: A Perfect Gentleman (My Fair Lady)

Dr J. Loren Pryor

Participation: Season 1 and 2

Dr. J. Loren Pryor, originally dubbed by Michael Gahr and later by Thomas Rau, Fritz von Hardenberg and Reinhard Brock, is the school psychologist at Springfield Elementary School in the first seasons. Homer and Marge Simpson have to consult him when Bart has done something wrong again. He sent Bart to a school for the gifted in the episode Bart Becomes a Genius because Bart had mixed up his work with that of his classmate Martin on an IQ test and thus got the best result in the class.

He first meets the Simpsons in the episode The Saxophone Story, which is set in a time when Bart is just starting school. In his first appearance in the episode Bart Becomes a Genius, which was of course produced much earlier, he first meets the Simpsons. This is a typical continuity inconsistency in the series that occurs quite often in this form.

First appearance: Bart becomes a genius (Bart the Genius)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Caretaker Willie

Participation: continuously since season 1

Caretaker Willie MacMoran, originally dubbed by Michael Habeck (season 3), then by Werner Abrolat, then Peter Thom, later by Thomas Rauscher, is the caretaker of the primary school. He is characterised by his bushy red hair. He has a half bald head and wears a full beard. He is Scottish and has a Scottish accent in the original English version. He wears a kilt on special occasions without underwear underneath. Willie is very well trained and likes to wrestle wild animals. He is usually in a bad mood and doesn't think much of his boss Seymour Skinner.

Willie is often portrayed as a loner and lives in the hut on the school grounds where the caretaker's equipment is kept. He can't stand the pupils at the primary school, and they don't like him either. His biggest enemy is Bart Simpson, who is always annoying him with various actions, such as ruining the lawn, littering the school or his hut, or stealing his tractor. Both never miss an opportunity to bully each other. Willie owns a red "Willy" tractor, which he uses for his work and which is also his normal means of transport.

First appearance: The Marriage Candidate (Principal Charming)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Kitchen assistant Doris Peterson

Participation: continuously since season 1

Doris, dubbed by Inge Solbrig, works not only as a kitchen help in the school kitchen, but also at times as a school nurse (though without qualifications), because this allows her to collect two salaries. She is tall, bulky and smokes a lot. As a kitchen assistant, she prepares meals from old sports mats or animal guts ("More testicles means more iron.") and hands them out to the children. As a result, she is often annoyed by Lisa, a vegetarian. In the episode, when Lisa, a vegetarian, asks for an alternative vegetarian meal, she puts a hot dog bun on her tray and says: "Rich in the finest quality bun".

Apparently she is also the mother of the teenager with acne who appears in numerous episodes. In one episode, when he's working at Bowlarama and says to Homer that it's so crowded he can't even give his own mother a ride, she just comes over and announces: "I don't have a son anymore."

First appearance: Lisas Pony (Lisa's Pony)

Original speaker: Doris Grau, Tress MacNeille

Bus driver Otto Mann

Participation: continuously since season 1

Otto Mann, originally dubbed by Gudo Hoegel, later by Nico Macoulis, is the chaotic school bus driver (without a driving licence until the end of the third season) who constantly wears headphones, plays the guitar and often consumes various drugs. A good friend of his is Bart, whom he often greets with "How are you, Bartimaus?" when boarding the school bus. He has his own band that plays speed metal. The school kids like him because he feels like one of their own. He was bad at school: he had to repeat the fourth grade twice. Despite all this, he was once student body president at Springfield Primary School and studied at Brown University. He doesn't seem to get along well with his parents, especially his father, who is an admiral. Nevertheless, he probably lives with them ("Squirt it between my toes, my mum controls my arms!"). He has (at least) three tattoos: A burning skull pierced by a dagger on his upper left arm, a skeleton with an oversized skull, protruding eyes and dressed as a rose cavalier in a high-speed racer on his chest, and probably another on his buttocks ("If they like that, they should see my bum first."). In many episodes, his preference for music of a somewhat heavier nature is evident.

Once he introduced himself with the words "My name is Otto, drink yourself silly is my motto". This describes his attitude to life very aptly. But he is not averse to other drugs either; in another episode, a drug test reveals that he has consumed almost every available drug at least once.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

In show business

Krusty the Clown

Participation: continuously since season 1

Krusty (real name: Herschel Shmoikel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski), dubbed by Hans-Rainer Müller, works as a TV clown, has his own show and displays an exaggerated silliness in this role. He is a heavy smoker, has various addiction problems on and off and also wears a pacemaker. Another sign of his unhealthy lifestyle is his white skin, which is not make-up, which is why you always find him "in full make-up" outside his show. His audience consists of children who adore him as a superstar, although he is not actually funny. One of his biggest fans is Bart Simpson. Bart has often helped him out of awkward situations, but Krusty can never remember him. This is similar to Homer's situation with his boss. In the more recent episodes, however, this is no longer the case.

He is a Jew, grew up in the Jewish neighbourhood of Springfield and went to Springfield Elementary School, where he was student body president. Krusty's Jewish faith plays a role in several episodes. His father is the rabbi of the Beth Springfield congregation and his name is Hyman Krustofski. Although he does not agree with his son's profession and lifestyle, Lisa and Bart manage to overcome the estrangement between father and son in one episode and reconcile the two.

His nemesis is Tingeltangel-Bob, a former assistant on his show. He has a daughter named Sophie, the result of a night with an Israeli soldier during the Second Gulf War. In this, through Krusty's clumsiness, an assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein by said female soldier was foiled, which is why she has hated clowns in general and him in particular ever since. His paternity is undeniable, as Sophie has the same green-turquoise curly hair as he does. In the episode Homer Gets Going he also has a son.

Krusty supports the Republican Party. He is illiterate, but seems to be able to read in some episodes. He owns a more or less large business empire that offers various product groups, mainly sweets and toys or fan articles. Most of the products, which are made under questionable conditions in China, are of inferior quality, yet Bart owns almost all of them. He also does pretty much anything for money, for example advertising, without knowing what for. His unit commercial has the text: "I heartily endorse the event or product." Krusty is also the owner of the fast-food chain Krusty Burger.

Krusty is portrayed as very moody in many episodes, time and again he also insults his assistants with expletives ("idiot", "shut the fuck up"). This is another reason why the intellectual Tingeltangel-Bob turned against him. Tingeltangel-Mel usually puts up with this treatment, but it becomes clear a few times that he is not very happy with it either.

According to the authors, his name is a reference to Rusty Nails, an American television clown of the 1960s.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Tingeltangel Bob

Participation: Appearances in seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Tingeltangel-Bob (in the original Sideshow Bob, real name: Dr. Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr.), originally dubbed by Randolf Kronberg, later by Ivar Combrinck and Christian Tramitz, initially keeps his original name in the first season of the German version, for which the TV station ZDF was still responsible at the time. He has borne his name in the German version since the episode Sideshow Bob Roberts (first broadcast in 1994, in Germany in 1995 under the title Tingeltangel-Bob).

Tingeltangel-Bob is the former assistant to Krusty the Clown on his TV show. He hates his job because Krusty's superficiality disgusts him. He frames Krusty for a robbery of the Kwik-E-Marts, takes over his show and tries to turn it into a highly intellectual programme. In doing so, he fails and thereupon reveals his true nature as a psychopath. Later, he tries to blow up Selma Bouvier. Bart stops him in both cases and thus puts him in prison. In revenge, he constantly tries to kill Bart. His megalomania is the subject of several episodes. However, his crimes are always thwarted by Bart and Lisa. Despite countless murder attempts, he is always released from prison early, often without any reason. Tingeltangel-Mel becomes his successor in Krusty's television show.

Despite his craziness, Bob is one of the most intelligent characters in the series, which leads to mental duels with Lisa Simpson on several occasions. When he is in prison, he often daydreams about a better world. His accusations against the administration and the economy of Springfield, as well as his sarcasm, usually seem to have a kernel of truth - only he is the only one it bothers.

Bob has a younger brother named Cecil, but the two are often described as rivals. Cecil looks relatively similar to his brother and has unmistakably the same hairstyle. Their mother is a Shakespearean actress and their father is a doctor. Just like Bob, the other members of the family are also very cultured and intelligent, and their willingness to commit crime does not seem to be limited to Bob alone.

Characteristic for Tingeltangel-Bob are his huge feet.

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Kelsey Grammer (known from the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier)

Tingeltangel Mel

Participation: continuously since season 1

Tingeltangel-Mel (in the original Sideshow Mel, real name Melvin van Horne) - dubbed by Ivar Combrinck, from mid-season 17 by Axel Malzacher - is the assistant to Krusty the Clown on his TV show since Tingeltangel-Bob revealed his psychopathism and is in prison for various offences.

In his piled-up green hair, Mel wears a bone; his other characteristics (naked torso, bamboo skirt, necklace with animal teeth) also correspond to those of a caricature of the "primitive savage". Contrast this with his distinguished and chosen original Oxford English pronunciation.

In the German version he is called Tingeltangel-Mel. He speaks only rarely at first and then usually only a single sentence; in the later episodes he speaks more. When an angry mob appears, the town meeting or jurors pass a verdict, he speaks in a very theatrical way on their behalf, as an "educated" counterpart to Moe, who has the same function: Both represent the vox populi. Sometimes, however, he regales himself in his speeches to such an extent that everyone else disappears with boredom. Tingeltangel-Mel bears Krusty's disrespectful treatment better than his predecessor Bob, but he still harbours a certain resentment towards Krusty.

First appearance: It's all TV's fault (Itchy & Scratchy & Marge)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Mr. Teeny

Participation: continuously since season 1

Krusty's chain-smoking monkey, dubbed by Ivar Combrinck, who often accompanies the clown and takes part in his show. Mr. Teeny is originally from Brazil, where his uncle was the "chief monkey of the tourist office". His mother lives at the zoo in Springfield. Even nicotine gum cannot stop the addict from smoking. Driving a car is no problem for the cheeky, disrespectful monkey. In a comic strip, we learn that "he" is actually female. Teeny is a parody of Michael Jackson's monkey Bubbles. Teeny and his mother meet in the episode Bart Has Two Mothers.

In another episode you see that there were already three predecessors and Krusty liked Mr Teeny II best of all three monkeys.

First appearance: The father of a clown (Like Father, like Clown)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Itchy & Scratchy

Participation: continuously since season 1

→ Main article: Itchy & Scratchy

Itchy and Scratchy, both dubbed by Inge Solbrig, are the characters from the Itchy and Scratchy Show, an animated series very popular among the children of The Simpsons, in which the mouse Itchy constantly and usually successfully tries to kill the cat Scratchy in a grotesquely brutal way. The show is often presented by Krusty the Clown. In one episode, Marge goes on strike against violence on television, especially on the Itchy & Scratchy show.

Itchy and Scratchy is supposedly a parody of Tom and Jerry.

First appearance: A Normal Family (There's No Disgrace Like Home)

Original speaker (Itchy): Dan CastellanetaOriginal speaker
(Scratchy): Harry Shearer

Bee Man

Participation: continuously since season 4

The Bee Man (in the US original "Bumblebee Man") Pedro Chespirito, dubbed by Ivar Combrinck, makes a comedy series for television (on the Mexican "Canal OCHO"), which Homer and Bart enjoy watching. For his series, he wears the costume of a bumblebee ("Bumblebee Man" was mistakenly translated as "bee man"). In his series, each of which features short sketches, he always says the phrase "Ayayay, no me gusta!" (meaning: "O woe, I don't like it"), or something similar like "Ay, Dios no me ama!" ("Oh woe, God doesn't love me") or "Ayayay, un burro muy amoroso" ("Oh woe, a donkey badly in love"). These lamentations result from the misfortunes that befall him in his sketches: From attacks by wild woodpeckers ("el woodpequero loco!") to collisions with oversized baseball balls to giant mousetraps in which he gets his butt stuck, the Bee Man mainly has to deal with painful and sometimes humiliating situations. He has a pet Chihuahua with an oversized head, in reference to a former advertising figure of the American fast-food chain Taco Bell. In one episode you see Pedro's wife, but she wants to divorce him just at the moment because he destroyed her house in that episode.

In the Simpsons comics, the Bee Man also claims in a television interview that he was born in Belgium and had to learn Spanish first.

First appearance: Bart is punished (Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Kent Brockman

Participation: continuously since season 1

Kent Brockman, originally dubbed by Werner Abrolat, later, until his death, by Donald Arthur, followed by William Cohn, is the news anchor for Channel 6 in Springfield and host of the programmes My two cents, Bite Back, Smartline as well as Eye on Springfield. The latter is called Ein Auge auf Springfield in the German version in early episodes, then Blickpunkt Springfield or also Brennpunkt Springfield. In the comics, the name used to be translated consistently as Vor Ort in Springfield, but in the new comics and also in the new editions of the old comics, the title was left in the original.

In some episodes he also hosts a programme called Action News. Kent Brockman became very rich after winning the lottery. His trademarks are exaggerated and rash actions, as well as contempt for his subordinates. In a flashback to the 1960s, it is shown that he began his television career under the name Brock Kentman; however, his real name is Kenny Brocklestein. His former name represents Brockman's Jewish heritage; in some episodes he is also seen wearing a gold necklace with a chai pendant, the Jewish symbol for life.

He has a daughter who looks very much like him, but who appears very rarely. Among other things, she tips him off to do a report on the new Lisa Lionheart (Lisa Löwenherz) (who is fabricated by the creator of Malibu Stacy at Lisa Simpson's insistence). She had also tipped him off to do a report on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Kent's sister works at CNN. He is jealous about that.

First appearance: The clown with the Biedermask

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Arnie Pye

Participation: continuously since season 1

Arnie Pye, dubbed by Tobias Lelle and others, is one of Kent Brockman's colleagues and reports on the traffic situation from the TV station's helicopter. He is addressed by Kent Brockman as Arnie Pye or Arnie in the Sky. He and Brockman don't get along and their arguments often go live over the air. Arnie Pye replaces Kent Brockman as anchorman in the 18th season episode The Bad Word when Brockman is demoted to weatherman.

The character first appeared in the last episode of the first season, entitled The Babysitter Is Off, but there under the name "Bill Pye".

First visible appearance: When Mother Goes on Strike (Homer Alone), here still called Arnie Angel in the German version.

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Rainier Wolfcastle

Participation: continuously since season 2

Rainier Wolfcastle (actually Rainer Wolfgangsee), dubbed by Willi Roebke and Thomas Albus, is a successful Hollywood actor who appears primarily in action films. His most successful work is the McBain series. His appearance and, in the original English, Austrian accent suggest that he is the Springfield equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger; in episode 18/16 he marries Maria Shriver Kennedy Quimby (Maria Shriver is a niece of John F. Kennedy and Schwarzenegger's wife) and utters (in English) the typical Burns "Excellent!". He has a daughter named Greta, who was once Bart's girlfriend. He is a member of the Republican Party. In one episode he is also seen fishing as a child, where he is clearly in Austria. Mostly Rainier is portrayed as a slightly mentally deficient actor.

He is the co-founder of the "Planet Springfield" restaurant chain, a reference to the "Planet Hollywood" chain in which Schwarzenegger has a stake.

In the 16th episode of season 18, it is revealed that his middle name is "Luftwaffe". The resemblance of Rainier to the common German name Rainer is striking, but here again one sees the writers' quirk of giving the characters names of distinctive landmarks and streets near Portland, Oregon, the hometown of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening (in this case, the volcano Mount Rainier).

First appearance as McBain: How it all began (The Way we Was). First appearance as himself: He Who Digs a Well for Others (Radio Bart).

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Troy McClure

Participation: Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15

Troy McClure (called Kevin McClure in the first German episodes), originally dubbed by Frank Muth and later by Thomas Albus, is a moderately successful performer in B-movies who has passed the zenith of his career. He mostly appears in strange TV shows, commercials or cheaply produced documentaries as a presenter. Each of his appearances begins with a "Hello, I'm Troy McClure, you may remember me from films like ... and ..." (usually two films are listed below).

His character was named after actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure, whose careers had taken a downturn in Hollywood. Doug McClure, a Western actor of the 1960s and 1970s, portrayed a washed-up actor in the late 1980s TV series My Father's an Alien. He died in 1995, but continued to appear regularly on The Simpsons until original voice actor Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998. Since he was good friends with Groening, no new voice actor was cast for McClure, but the character disappeared.

First appearance: The Eighth Commandment (Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment)

Original speaker: Phil Hartman

Lurleen Lumpkin

Participation: Appearances in seasons 3, 4, 7, 11, 16, 19, 20

Lurleen is a seductive blonde country musician who works as a waitress at "The Beer 'n' Brawl". When Homer hears one of her songs, he can't get it out of his head, so he asks her to record a CD. In the process, she is discovered by a radio station and shortly after becomes famous. Since she finds slow-thinking, bald family men attractive and Homer is her manager, she falls in love with him, which makes Marge extremely angry when Lurleen comes out of the woodwork again and goes into hiding with the Simpsons because of gigantic tax debts.

Lurleen has never attended school and lives in a pink caravan. Her hobby is bowling and she plays in a team called "Home Wreckers".

First Appearance: Homer on the Wayside (Colonel Homer)

Original speaker: Beverly D'Angelo, Doris Grau

Duffman

Participation: continuously since season 9

Duffman, dubbed by Thomas Albus, is the mascot of the Duff brewery, played by various actors. The Duffmen are extremely muscular and almost always talk about themselves in the third person. Their role as mascot includes representing the Duff Brewery at various folk festivals or sponsored parties. When he appears, Oh Yeah by the band Yello is often played. Also, considering its appearances, the mascot often dies.

First appearance: Homer & New York (The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

With the police

Chief Clancy Wiggum

Participation: continuously since season 1

Clancy Wiggum, dubbed by Gernot Duda (season 1), Michael Habeck (season 2 and 3) and since season 4 by Thomas Rau, is the police chief of the city of Springfield. His colleagues on the police force are Lou and Eddie. Wiggum is obese, slow-witted, naive and gullible, and largely incompetent - instead of dealing with incoming emergency calls, he prefers to take breaks or deal with unimportant matters; he also often proves to be on the take. On the other hand, in some episodes and situations he is quick and energetic on the spot, so that he is not to be judged exclusively badly as a police officer. He has a son, Ralph Wiggum, who made it to the second grade despite his stupidity, and is married to Sarah Wiggum. His father was Iggy Wiggum, who is already deceased.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Officer Lou

Participation: continuously since season 1

Lou, originally dubbed by Ivar Combrinck and later by Ulf-Jürgen Wagner, was, by his own account, once married to a woman named Amy. In the episode Am Anfang war die Schreiraupe (In the Beginning Was the Caterpillar), his police colleague Eddie states that Lou and he have no last names ("We don't have any, we're like Cher.").

Lou is probably the most capable police officer in Springfield. He often questions Chief Wiggum's mostly stupid suggestions and conclusions, but he rarely lets him finish ("Ehhh... Chief..." - "Oh, fiddle-dee-dee, shut up, Lou.").

Lou was white in the first Simpson episodes, instead of black as in subsequent seasons.

First appearance: A Normal Family (There's No Disgrace Like Home)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Officer Eddie

Participation: continuously since season 1

In the first episodes it seemed that Eddie, dubbed by Peter Pussy, was the "more important" policeman, but later he fades very much into the background and rarely speaks a word at all. Also, for example, in the episode Pranksta Rap Lou is promoted from sergeant to chief of police and Eddie from "Eddie" to sergeant. When asked what would happen to Eddie's position now, Wiggum responds with "We don't need Eddie!". Further, Eddie seems similarly incompetent to Chief Wiggum, at least he rarely shows his knowledge, if at all as an endorsement of Lou: "He's right, Chief." His silence is explained in one of the non-canon Treehouse of Horror episodes, set in the 19th century, by Chief Wiggum cutting out his tongue.

First appearance: A Normal Family (There's No Disgrace Like Home)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Businessmen

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

Participation: continuously since season 1

Apu, originally dubbed by Peter Musäus and later by Tobias Lelle, is a salesman at the Kwik-E-Mart and a good friend of the Simpsons. His age varies between 24 and 41, depending on the episode. He came to the US from India as an exchange student, but stayed in the country beyond the validity of his visa because he didn't want to part with his new circle of friends. In the episode Referendum in Springfield, he (like other Springfield residents) is threatened with deportation, but passes the naturalisation test with flying colours.

Apu often works through days and nights. On the few occasions when he is not in the shop, his brother Sanjay stands in for him. Despite his diligence, his professional ethics are questionable: he often falsifies the expiry dates of his groceries and also likes to sell low-quality and overpriced goods in other ways. The Kwik-E-Mart is regularly robbed, preferably by Snake. In addition, the school bullies like to steal goods from his shop. Apu has been gunned down so many times that there is now only a $100 fine on the offence.

Apu marries Manjula, who was promised to him as a child, during the course of the series. Initially, Apu wanted to avoid this arranged marriage, but when he meets Manjula, he falls in love with her and they have had a largely happy marriage ever since. In one episode, he cheats on his wife. They become parents to octuplets named Anoop, Uma, Nabendu, Poonam, Priya, Sandeep, Sashi and Gheet, who often get on their nerves.

Apu is a Hindu and a convinced vegan. He is friends with Paul McCartney, who is also a vegetarian, and his wife Linda.

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon

Participation: Season 2 - 10, 16, 18, 21

Sanjay, voiced by Tobias Lelle and Willi Röbke, is Apu's younger brother who often helps him out at the Kwik-E-Market. Occasionally he runs the shop together with Apu, but is not always there. His wife, about whom relatively little is known, is called Janette. Sanjay's children are his daughter Pahusachetta, who competed in the Springfield beauty pageant, and his son Jamshed (calls himself Jay), who temporarily took over the Kwik-E-Mart in one episode. Like Apu, Sanjay is Hindu.

First mention by name: The Eighth Commandment (Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment)

First appearance: The Wonder Bat (Homer at the Bat)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Herman

Participation: continuously since season 1

Herman, dubbed by Peter Thom, Kai Taschner, Ivar Combrinck and Niko Macoulis, among others, is a weapons fanatic and the owner of Herman's Military Antiques, a shop where you can buy Nazi pants, cherry bombs (M-80s) or former possessions of Napoleon, among other things. He has only one arm, clearly recognisable by the fact that the sleeve of his shirt is folded up and pinned with a safety pin.

First appearance: Bart fights a battle (Bart the General)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Comic book seller

Participation: continuously since season 2

The comic book salesman, voiced by Manfred Erdmann (until season 30), is the owner of the comic book shop "The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop", where Bart and Milhouse often shop. His real name is Jeff Albertson; however, the name is only mentioned in one episode - he is just called Comic Book Salesman by everyone. The comic book salesman is grossly overweight and therefore often has important roles when it comes to the obesity of Springfield's population. He also, like Homer, often has heart problems caused by a heart attack, which the Comic Book Salesman suffers in the 2001 episode The Worst Episode Ever.

As his profession suggests, he is a very big comic book fan. The comic book salesman is the nerd or geek of the Simpsons world: he has above-average intelligence, but lavishes his education on pop-cultural topics such as science fiction, fantasy literature and films, comics and computer games, about which he has extensive knowledge, and prefers to maintain social relationships virtually. On appropriate occasions, he appears in costumes of comic and science fiction franchises; several times he mentions the Star Trek franchise and wears corresponding uniforms. His frequent, very sarcastic comments also indicate his lifestyle.

In the episode Moeback Mountain, his cousin Comic Book Gay makes an appearance. In the 2021 episode Forward into the Past, we learn the exact family origins of the comic book salesman: According to this, he comes from a dynasty of passionate collector personalities; his full-bearded father, for instance, who lives in an old stately mansion, is an avid stamp collector and thus bears the nickname Postage Stamp Fellow, his aunt collects stuffed grey-headed starlings, their twin brother collects brutalist birdhouses, his step-great-uncle amasses old gynaecological instruments and his aristocratic aunt collects antique Chinese cricket boxes. In his childhood, spent as an only child, the comic book salesman enjoyed playing baseball. In the first seasons, the Comic Book Salesman was a single bachelor, but since the 2014 episode Manga Love Story, he has been married to his Japanese wife Kumiko Albertson, after a temporary liaison with the much older Agnes Skinner.

First appearance: Drei Freunde und ein Comic-Buch (Three Men and a Comic-Book)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Roger Meyers Junior

Roger Meyers Junior, dubbed by Joachim Höppner and others, is the son of the late Roger Meyers Senior, the inventor of Scratchy and thief of Itchy (stolen by Chester J. Lampwick) and thus president of the Itchy and Scratchy studios. His enemy is Chester J. Lampwick. He loses the Itchy and Scratchy Studios for a short time, until he receives the necessary money from the state through Lester and Eliza to put them back into operation.

First appearance: It's all TV's fault (Itchy & Scratchy & Marge)

Original speakers: Alex Rocco, Hank Azaria

Artie Ziff

Participation: Season 2, 4, 6, 12, 13, 15, 24

Artie, dubbed by Ivar Combrinck, was Marge's Jewish boyfriend before she met Homer. Marge's two sisters had tried to bring the two together, and almost succeeded. The sisters never miss an opportunity to badmouth Homer to Marge and bring Artie into the conversation in his place. To this day he is madly in love with Marge. Until his bankruptcy, he owned his own stock company called Ziff Corp.

After losing everything, he reappears in the Simpsons' attic in the episode Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. As it turns out, he survived on insects and the water from the roof cracks; in this episode he also fell in love with Marge's sister Selma. Eventually, he went to prison for stock fraud.

The character Artie Ziff is based on a man called Michael who went to the same high school as David Silverman.

First performance: How it all began (The Way We Was)

Original speakers: Dan Castellaneta, Jon Lovitz

Horatio McCallister (old captain)

Horatio, originally dubbed by Karl-Heinz Krolzyk, later by Gernot Duda and Michael Rüth, is a gruff sea dog who prefaces every sentence with a characteristic "Arrr...!" (with a rolled "r") and wears one glass eye (in some episodes even two). He used to be a captain, but now he operates the projector on movie night. He also has a restaurant called The Frying Dutchman and owns an anchor shop (Ye olde Anchor Shoppe) in the episode Homer Gets Going. He has been exposed as a false captain by Lionel Hutz. "Working" for him in the harbour is Jolly Pete, a little clown who plays a song for five cents and sings for hours for a quarter. He is once portrayed as a Krusty parody.

First appearance: Laura, the new neighbour (The New Kid on the Block)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Luigi Risotto

Luigi, originally dubbed by Ivar Combrinck and later by Gudo Hoegel, is a cook and waiter in his own restaurant. One might think he emigrated from Italy (because of his accent and his Italian restaurant), but he once admits that his parents only taught him to speak broken English mixed with Italian words. His moustache is only glued on, he plays the mariner's piano and when he goes into the kitchen, he can be heard talking shit about the customers with his staff. His creative insults for the customers are:

Headmaster Skinner: The Old Principal Failure
Bart: The Ugly Boy
Burns: The old tipster
Mrs. Bouvier: Zombie he (Burns) dug up

His hobby is bowling.

First Performance: Friend or Foe (Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song)

Original speakers: Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta

Lindsay Naegle

Lindsay Naegle, dubbed by Manuela Renard, is a conniving businesswoman who is constantly changing companies. Among other things, she has already been a manager, a specialised saleswoman, a television producer and a customer advisor in a telephone company.

Lindsay is friends with Cookie Kwan and doesn't like Marge.

First appearance: Homer is "Poochie the Wonder Dog" (The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Cookie Kwan

Cookie Kwan, dubbed by Manuela Renard, is a Chinese-born real estate agent who considers the West District her territory. Despite many efforts, she can't get rid of her pronounced accent. She had an affair with Mayor Quimby, which resulted in an illegitimate child.

First appearance: Death Trap for Sale (Realty Bites)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Raphael

Participation: continuously since season 2

Raphael (also Rafael; the name is almost never mentioned) (English: wise guy), presumably currently voiced by Erich Ludwig, is a character who, along with old Gil and Jeremy Peterson, has a different profession in almost all of his appearances. He usually has grey hair, a moustache and a high balding forehead. Raphael has a rather condescending behaviour towards people and often deceives his customers with what he is trying to sell. For example, he tried to sell Homer a dog as a pony or simply overcharges. He has a very sarcastic disposition, which is why Raphael attends a support group for sarcasm addicts together with Agnes Skinner. Apart from his sarcasm, he is disinterested, egotistical, cynical and doesn't really take anything seriously. Acquaintances of his are Krusty and Tingeltangel-Bob.

First performance: How it all began (The Way we were)

Original speakers: Hank Azaria and Dan Castellaneta

Julio

Participation: from season 14

Julio (pronounced Spanish) works as a hairdresser at Hairy Shearers, a hair salon that Marge often visits. He is homosexual and lives with his friend Grady in the gay neighbourhood in Springfield, where Homer moved in between because of another argument with Marge. Julio behaves very much according to gay stereotypes, which is why he has a lisp and speaks very nasally. Hailing from Costa Rica (Mexico in the original), he is a member of Springfield's Democratic Party. Julio is currently dubbed by Pascal Breuer.

First appearance: Homer on the wrong track (Three Gays Of The Condo)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Doctors

Dr Julius Hibbert

Participation: continuously since season 1

Dr. Julius M. Hibbert, originally dubbed by Klaus Guth, later by Fritz von Hardenberg and Berno von Cramm, is the Simpsons' family doctor. He is married to Bernice Hibbert and has three children, a girl and two boys. Hibbert always laughs in the most inappropriate situations to relieve stress, his IQ is 155. He also often makes tasteless jokes about his patients' ailments. A loyal patient of Dr. Hibbert is Marge, who greatly appreciates the advice of her family doctor. He is presumably gum bleeder Murphy's younger brother. Another brother, of whom he is also unaware, is the director of the orphanage in Shelbyville.

In flashbacks, Dr. Hibbert is often seen with changing hairstyles, for example, in the seventies he wore an afro and at times the look of Mr. T. Furthermore, it is noticeable that he seems to have put on a lot of weight over time.

First appearance: The Devil's Leap (Bart the Daredevil)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Dr Nick Riviera

Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Dr. Nick, voiced by Michael Habeck in season 2, then by Karl-Heinz Krolzyk (season 3), Tonio von der Meden (season 4), Nico Macoulis (seasons 5-13), Ivar Combrinck (seasons 14-17) and now by Hans-Georg Panczak, is another doctor in Springfield alongside Dr. Hibbert and is significantly cheaper than his competition. When Homer gets to decide which doctor the Simpsons go to, be it for surgery, he always prefers him, because Homer doesn't value competence like Marge, but low prices, so a heart operation costs $129.95 with Dr. Nick, but $40,000 with Dr. Hibbert. For this reason, Dr Nick is also usually preferred by Mr Burns. Dr. Nick is often greeted by his patients with a "Hello Dr. Nick!", which again comes in many variations (for example: Shalom Dr. Nick! in the Christmas special in Bethlehem). In addition, he often sells supposed miracle cures and devices on television, such as an electric orange juice squeezer that extracts a few drops of juice from several oranges, at inflated prices. He also issues fake medical reports for money, which is why he occasionally works together with Lionel Hutz or is hired by Mr. Burns. It becomes clear several times that Dr. Nick is totally incompetent as a doctor and has almost no medical knowledge (before operations he tries to acquire it through instructional videos), although he apparently has a degree in medicine. Thus, in the episode Oh Pain, the Heart! he is only able to successfully operate on Homer's heart because Lisa helps him, having previously acquired the necessary knowledge through reading. Nevertheless, Dr Nick often operates on patients together with Dr Hibbert.

First appearance: Bart gets hit by a car (Bart Gets Hit by a Car)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Dr Marvin Monroe

Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 26

Dr. Marvin Monroe, dubbed by Manfred Erdmann, is a psychiatrist and owner of the Springfield Family Therapy Centre. In this he tries, among other things, to solve the Simpsons' problems with electroshock therapy, but it fails. He hates poor people with emotional problems, mental health and patients who nail him on his "money-double-back" guarantee.

The character only appears in the first five seasons. For a long time he is thought to be dead, but in a later episode (Fantasies of a Nutty Housewife, season 15) he gets an autograph from Marge, who publishes a book in the episode. The fact that the viewer thinks he is dead is partly due to the fact that you get to see a gravestone with his name on it. In addition, the Springfield Elementary School gymnasium and the Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital are named after him, and a special episode asks which "popular" characters have died in the past year, on which the silhouettes of him and Bleeding Gums Murphy can be seen. At this, it is mentioned that neither of them was ever popular, which could account for their disappearance. He is briefly seen as a ghost in the Treehouse of Horror episode of season 26.

First appearance: A Normal Family (There's No Disgrace Like Home)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Seniors

Jasper Beardley

Jasper Beardley, originally dubbed by Werner Abrolat, later by Gernot Duda, Ulrich Bernsdorff and Michael Rüth, is a 75-year-old, 1.60 m tall and 60 kg heavy pensioner with a white long beard. He lives in a nursing home in Springfield. He was shot by Smithers, has a wooden leg, had himself frozen in a freezer in the Kwik-E-Mart in the episode "Goofy Lisa?" in order to wake up in the future, and is not allowed to take the wrong pills on Wednesday and Friday so that he does not mutate into a white-feathered yeti-like creature.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Hans Mole

Hans Mole or Moleman (original: Hans Moleman), originally dubbed by Gernot Duda, later by Michael Rüth, is a 1.32 m tall, 63.6 kg heavy and, depending on the episode, 31- to 80-year-old pensioner. In one episode his name is given as "Ralph Melish". Hans is extremely short-sighted, but this does not prevent him from driving motor vehicles. His role is always that of an unlucky fellow, who usually gets into awkward situations through no fault of his own. Often these situations seem to end fatally, yet he can always be seen alive in one of the next episodes.

First appearance: The Marriage Candidate (Principal Charming)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Asa

Asa is a Jewish pensioner who is about 80 years old. He lives in a nursing home in Springfield. Asa is grumpy, unfriendly, has problems with both chewing and bowel movements, needs a new heart, drops his trousers for free on request and starts singing, and his excess skin can help him fly thanks to air resistance. He was dubbed by Hans-Rainer Müller, among others.

First appearance: The inheritance (Old Money)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Mrs Glick †

Alice Glick is a pensioner who has blue hair and wears blue clothes. In later episodes she lives in the Springfield old people's home until her death. Margit Weinert and Astrid Polak dubbed her.

Mrs Glick likes erotic films and forces children to eat her old sweets. At the flea market she sold a chocolate bowl for $90, which she says you can only put chocolates in. She dies in season 23.

First appearance: Three Friends and a Comic Book (Three Men and a Comic Book)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille, Cloris Leachman

Mr. and Mrs. Winfield

The Winfields are the Simpsons' neighbours. Sylvia Winfield and her husband don't really like the Simpsons - especially Homer. In the episode "Laura, the New Neighbour", the couple moves away and Ruth and Laura Powers move into their house instead.

Sylvia, dubbed by Haide Lorenz, is a pensioner with pink hair, married to Mr Winfield.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original voice-over Mrs Winfield: Russi Taylor, Maggie Roswell, Tracey Ullman Original voice-over Mr Winfield: Dan Castellaneta

Moe's Tavern

Morris "Moe" Szyslak

Moe, voiced in German by Bernd Simon, from season 29 by Gudo Hoegel, runs a small, dingy tavern that Homer, Carl and Lenny like to frequent. Moe is in love with Marge and uses arguments between Homer and Marge for advances. He lives in a dump. In the episode The Seemingly Neverending Story, we see that he was once with Edna Krabappel.

Moe is not a native-born American. In the episode Outlaw, he tells his guests that he has a permanent visa and is actually from Holland, whereupon he leaves the bar wearing typical Dutch clogs. Moe has been friends with Homer, Lenny and Carl since he was a teenager. However, it becomes clear on several occasions that this friendship only exists when they regularly join him in the pub. Once, when Homer was not allowed to drink beer for a while and therefore did not come to the pub, Moe said that he hated him. Furthermore, Moe gets annoyed when Homer goes to other pubs.

Moe's best customer is the always drunk Barney, who is also friends with Homer, Lenny and Carl. Moe is often the victim of Barney's prank phone calls.

Moe's actual first name is apparently not properly established. In the audio commentary of the Simpsons episode On to the Fight, the writers discuss the names: Morris, Moesha and Mohammar, with Morris seeming to be the most common name, as Moe's girlfriend called him that.

Moe has little luck with women: This is partly because he is portrayed as ugly. He often scares away potential candidates with his awkward and boorish manner and is, according to his own statement, "known in the ladies' world as: Hey, you there, behind the bushes!".

Moe regularly has "Christmas accidents" (failed attempts to kill himself) at the end of December. For example, he sticks his head in the oven or drives his sleigh across a highway. To keep him from getting depressed, Lenny and Carl spend the holidays with him.

In an angry mob, Moe is always at the forefront, usually inciting the mob to riot. In this situation, he also acts as the vox populi counterpart to Tingeltangel-Mel through his coarse language.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speakers: Hank Azaria, Christopher Collins

Barney Gumble

Barney, dubbed by Thomas Albus, formerly by Gernot Duda and Michael Rüth, is an alcoholic regular in Moe's tavern. When he is temporarily sober, he drinks coffee as a substitute, but then becomes addicted again because Moe puddles the coffee with alcohol. His trademark is frequent, unabashed and loud burping, usually at the end of a sentence.

Barney is Homer's best friend (at least that's how he is referred to several times) and had shared a room with him at high school. Barney was a highly intelligent student until Homer encouraged him to drink beer the night before an important exam, which immediately led to an addiction. However, his talent always emerges when he is exceptionally sober. However, despite their friendship, there is often competition between the two, such as in the episode Once Upon a Time as Snow King! where Barney steals Homer's customers when the latter works a part-time job as a snow shovel during a harsh winter. Furthermore, in the episode Homer, the Space Hero, Homer and Barney are both chosen for an astronaut job, but only one can get it. Barney is able to clearly beat Homer in training, as he abstained from alcohol during this time, and is to receive the post, but relapses again when there is non-alcoholic champagne at the celebration of his appointment as astronaut. Therefore, he fails and Homer is allowed into space.

His girlfriends were Chloe, Daria and a stranger. The Jane Doe is obviously a reference to Yoko Ono. His singing talent was noticed when he was looking for his toothpick on the toilet floor in Moe's Tavern.

The German oi-punk band Gumbles is named after him. Some of their songs begin with quotes from Barney.

First appearance: Christmas is hard (Simpsons Roasting on an open Fire)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Sam

Sam is also a regular at Moe's Tavern. He wears a cap and glasses. He owns a dog. He almost never says anything and always sits next to his friend Larry. His German speaker is unknown.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer's Odyssey)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Larry

Larry is a friend of Sam's (probably the best) and has hardly any hair, wears contact lenses and is a pig according to Moe. He was formerly voiced by Peter Musäus, Ivar Combrinck and Werner Abrolat.

First appearance: The Loser (Homer Odyssey)

Original speakers: Harry Shearer, Dan Castellaneta

More regulars

Homer Simpson
Lenny Leonard
Carl Carlson

Municipality

Mayor Joseph Quimby

Seasons: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge Quimby is the corrupt and extremely incompetent mayor of Springfield who keeps getting elected despite the many criticisms of his administration. He was originally voiced by Gunnar Möller and Manfred Erdmann, then for the most part by Randolf Kronberg and currently by Michael Schwarzmaier.

Quimby often embezzles money from the city's budget for private holidays on Aruba or a private swimming pool in the ancient Roman style. Quimby's penchant for corruption is already manifested in his seal, which bears the Latin inscription corruptus in extremis. He has numerous affairs with models, secretaries and other young ladies and therefore lives in constant fear of discovery by his wife, whose outward appearance is strongly modelled on Jacqueline Kennedy. Like Ted Kennedy, Quimby is a member of the Democratic Party.

First Appearance: The Model Student (Bart Gets An F)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Freddy Quimby

Seasons: 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18

Freddy is the 18-year-old nephew of Joseph Quimby. He tends to become aggressive and violent very quickly when dissatisfied, has the "evil gene" just like Walt Disney and Adolf Hitler, and he left school in the 4th grade. In German he was dubbed by Ivar Combrinck.

First appearance: Bart unpacks (The Boy Who Knew Too Much)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Mary Bailey

Squadrons: 2, 14, 16

Mary Bailey is governor of the state in which Springfield is located. In the episode Fresh Fish with Three Eyes she wages a fierce election campaign against C. M. Burns, who almost manages to drive her from the government post with his inflammatory propaganda. Bailey makes another appearance in the episode Homer the Rat, when an opera house in Springfield is turned into a state prison. She is voiced by Astrid Polak in German.

First appearance: Fresh fish with three eyes (Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille, Maggie Roswell

Legal

Roy Snyder

Roy is a judge and adjudicator at wet T-shirt contests. At the moment he is dubbed by Manfred Erdmann. He has black hair, dark skin (yellow skin in older episodes) and a chin beard. He usually judges according to the principle "boys will be boys", which is why underage troublemakers like Bart and Milhouse generally get away with no punishment at all with him. His hobby is fishing. His lover was Lindsey Naegle and his enemy is lawyer Lionel Hutz because he ran over Snyder's wife and son several times.

First Appearance: The Clown in the Biedermask (Krusty gets Busted)

Original speakers: Harry Shearer, Dan Castellaneta

Constance Harm

Constance, voiced by Inge Solbrig, is Roy Snyder's holiday replacement and a cruel judge. She is humourless, tough as nails and childless. In a lawsuit against Bart, she even mentions that she doesn't like children. Her houseboat at 1 Oceanview Drive was sunk by Homer and Marge during this trial of Bart. Constance Harm was once male.

First performance: I am with you, my son (The Parent Rap)

Original speaker: Jane Kaczmarek

Lionel Hutz

Lionel Hutz is a lawyer. He is originally voiced by Christoph Lindert, later by Berno von Cramm. As a lawyer, he is often entrusted with mandates by the Simpson family or individual family members in their various legal disputes, even though his qualities in the courtroom are usually limited even for laymen. The nature and academic background of his legal training are also unknown. Lionel Hutz has already worked as an executor of wills, a cobbler and an estate agent. His law firm bears the motto: "I can't believe, it's a law firm!" (I can't believe it, it's a law firm!) and is located in the Springfield Mall. He was also one of Selma's many husbands. Lionel doesn't like the idea of a world without lawyers, where everyone lives in peace. His enemy is Judge Roy Snyder because he repeatedly ran over his son.

First appearance: Bart gets hit by a car (Bart Gets Hit by a Car)

Original speaker: Phil Hartman

Blue haired lawyer

His name is not known, which Homer also mentions in Simpsons Comics#10: Homer: "Ladies, gentlemen of the jury: The blue-haired lawyer!" Lawyer: "I have a name!" Homer: "Of course." He is most often voiced by Ulrich Frank and Hans-Georg Panczak. He has blue hair, a long face, large glasses, a pale complexion, a nasal voice, a law degree and he is a Republican. Unlike Lionel Hutz, he is a very competent and successful lawyer who has almost never lost a case. He is Mr. Burns' personal lawyer and he works for "Luvum & Burnham - Family Lawyers". He also employs an assistant named Ua (pun on the English question: "You are?") who seems to be from the South Seas.

The blue-haired lawyer was modelled on the appearance and roles of actor Charles Lane.

First appearance: Bart gets hit by a car (Bart Gets Hit by a Car)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Gil Gunderson (Old Gil)

Gil is currently voiced by Tobias Lelle. He tries his hand at various jobs, mostly as a salesman or lawyer, but can't hold down a job for more than one episode. Gil often talks about himself in the third person ("You can't do that to old Gil!").

First appearance: Death Trap for Sale (Realty Bites)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

In the church

Reverend Timothy Lovejoy

Timothy Lovejoy, formerly dubbed in season 1 by Ulrich Bernsdorff, later by Ivar Combrinck, now by Walter von Hauff, is the Presbylutheran pastor of the church congregation to which the Simpsons belong. The Presbylutherans are a fictional association of various Protestant denominations. His education consisted of seminary in the 1970s. He has also been a marriage counsellor for ten years. His hobby is model trains. Timothy hates the National Football League, Catholics and warm beds on Sunday mornings, and is also annoyed by Ned Flanders' pious posturing.

First appearance: Bart decapitates Head (The Telltale Head)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Helen Lovejoy

Helen Lovejoy was dubbed by Linda Joy in season 1, later by Michèle Tichawsky, Astrid Polak and Sonja Reichelt, among others. She grew up in a small house on the prairie, where the only occupation for a young woman was baling hay or repairing the baling machine for the hay bales. Helen fought boredom by keeping up to date with the personal affairs of her neighbours. When a dashing young Bible salesman from Springfield named Timothy Lovejoy showed up at her door, she was charmed by his good Protestant looks and his exciting stories from the big city. Out of old habit, she inadvertently spread a rumour about herself and Lovejoy, which is why they were forced to marry.

In the episode Wedding Comes Before the Fall (season 20), the Parsons, the head of the Presbyterian Church, notes that he still knows Helen Lovejoy by her maiden name Helen Schwartzbound and then that he actually still knows her as Harold Schwartzbound, an indication that Lovejoy has changed her gender.

Helen is a parish assistant, rumour monger and juror. Her hobby is embroidery with psalms. In older episodes her signature phrase was "Can't anyone here think (even once) about the children?"

First appearance: The beautiful Jacques (Life on the Fast Lane)

Original speaker: Maggie Roswell, Marcia Mitzman Gaven

Jessica Lovejoy

Jessica Lovejoy, voiced by Jennifer Wippich, is a student and the daughter of Helen and Timothy Lovejoy. At one point she was Bart's girlfriend. She can get boys to do what she wants, gets straight A's, wears pink clothes and her hair is long, black, luscious and it smells like red fruit gums. Jessica can make the baton twirl and took part in the Robot Rumble show with her father, but their robot lost to Bart's chief Knock-a-Homer.

She got expelled from school for pipe bombs, the riot at the glee club and the explosion in the toilet. Her hobbies include setting off the fire alarm, throwing toilet paper at the Jebediah Springfield statue, extreme skateboarding, eating ice cream in front of fat people at the diet centre and stealing the bell bag at church.

First appearance: Bart's Girlfriend (Bart's Girlfriend)

Original speaker: Meryl Streep

With the Mafia

Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico

Fat Tony, alternately dubbed by Manfred Erdmann, Willi Roebke and Bernd Simon, is a Mafioso, leader of the Springfield Mafia and head of the "honourable businessman's club". He started in the Mafia when his house was destroyed by the 12 o'clock train. Anthony decided his family had nothing left to offer him and sought his salvation in the local mafia. He has a son named Michael who attends Springfield Elementary School for a time.

First appearance: Crime doesn't pay (Bart the Murderer)

Original speakers: Phil Hartman, Joe Mantegna

Legs

Legs is a buddy of Fat Tony and also a Mafioso. He has a deep voice and is dubbed by Thomas Rauscher, among others.

First appearance: Crime doesn't pay (Bart the Murderer)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Louie

Louie is also a mobster and Fat Tony's buddy. He has a high, squeaky voice. He is dubbed by Tobias Lelle, among others.

First appearance: Crime doesn't pay (Bart the Murderer)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Johnny (Narrow-lipped)

Johnny doesn't talk much and is therefore not very helpful to Fat Tony. Nevertheless, he is his buddy and mobster. The German dubbing actor is Hans-Georg Panczak.

First Performance: O My Clown Poppy (Insane Clown Poppy)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

In the city

Jacques Brunswick

Jacques Brunswick, dubbed by Holger Schwiers, is a passionate bowler who has had an affair with Marge before. He is of French descent and gives bowling lessons. Bart races past him on his skateboard in the opening credits (season 2-20), among other things.

The name Brunswick is based on that of one of the world's largest companies for bowling concepts and accessories.

First appearance: The beautiful Jacques (Life on the Last Lane)

Original speaker: Albert Brooks

Disco Stu

Disco Stu is voiced by Gudo Hoegel, is a devotee of disco music, which Marge got him hooked on as a teenager. His style of dress is that of the 1970s. He, like Moe, is in love with Marge, which is often seen at parties as he always asks her to dance. Disco Stu has his own special way of expressing himself. He always speaks in the 3rd person when talking about himself ("Disco Stu was talking to you!").

First appearance: The Bad Neighbours (Two Bad Neighbors)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Eleanor Abernathy (Cat Lady)

Dr. Eleanor Abernathy, better known as the Cat Lady, is a 40-year-old apparently insane woman who owns tons of cats and throws them at people. She was originally a lawyer who had also completed a medical degree and was a typical career woman. To overcome her loneliness, she buys her first cat and then falls prey to animal hoarding, the messie syndrome and alcohol addiction. The German dubbing artist is Inge Solbrig.

First appearance: The latest children's news (Girly Edition)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Prof. Frink

Prof. John Frink, spoken by Ivar Combrinck, Peter Musäus and Kai Taschner, among others, is a scientist and inventor. His developments and inventions are characterised by the fact that they usually have no everyday use. His trademark is a pair of glasses with very thick lenses through which you cannot see his eyes.

First appearance: The inheritance (Old Money)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Kirk van Houten

Kirk van Houten, originally voiced by Fritz von Hardenberg and later by Reinhard Brock, is Milhouse's father, who once divorced his wife Luann. Later they got back together. In older episodes he was the foreman of a regional biscuit factory. After he was fired and divorced, social decline followed, and since then he has stood for the divorced deadbeat father who keeps doing various cheap jobs. While divorced from his wife, he lived in a single flat.

First appearance: Love and intrigue (Bart's Friend falls in Love)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Luann van Houten

Luann van Houten, dubbed by Astrid Polak among others, is Milhouse's mother. She divorced her husband Kirk for a while. Later they got back together. During the time she was divorced, she had several relationships with other men, including a member of the American Gladiators.

First Appearance: The Serious Case (Homer Defined)

Original speaker: Maggie Roswell

Shauna Tifton (Princess Kashmir)

Shauna Tifton, dubbed by Linda Joy in season 1, is a go-go dancer who, among other things, once performed in Moe's bar.

First appearance: Homer as a ladies' man (Homer's Night Out)

Original speakers: Maggie Roswell and Pamela Hayden

Snake

Snake is a criminal, womaniser and smoker. The current voice actor is Willi Roebke. He spends most of his time in prison, from which he regularly escapes. Snake likes to rob shops (preferably the Kwik-E-Mart). He has a sports car called "Li'l bandit", a son called Jeremy and a boa constrictor called Snake Jr. He carries his pack of cigarettes under one sleeve of his T-shirt. In his first appearances he is referred to simply as Jailbird.

First appearance: Fighting the Marriage War (The War of the Simpsons)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Jeremy Peterson (pimply teen)

Jeremy Peterson, voiced by Niko Macoulis, is a teenage, extremely acne-covered boy. He has an annoying, sing-song voice due to the fact that he is going through puberty. His mother is kitchen help Doris Peterson. He is a reference to the poorly paid teenagers in the USA. He has been a clerk at the drive-in counter or behind the cash register at Krusty Burger, a ghost train vampire, a customs officer, a clerk at Sprawl-Mart (a reference to Wal-Mart, which is denied in this episode), a clerk at IRS Burger, a clerk at Barney's Bowlarama and a clerk at the Sole Provider. He is also in the film, at the very end as a cleaner at the end of the credits, where we learn that he went to film school and at that moment is the production assistant who is actually being exploited as a cheap temp.

First appearance: When Mother Goes On Strike (Homer Alone)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Agnes Skinner

Agnes Skinner, dubbed by Margit Weinert, Alice Franz and Eva Maria Lahl, is Rector Skinner's mother. Her son, Rector Skinner, still lives with her. She runs a strict regime and patronises her son. Once she had a short-lived affair with the comic book salesman and now she is with Headmaster Chalmers. Together with Homer, Marge and their son Seymour, she won the curling championship.

First appearance: Barter and Spies (The Crepes of Warth)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Cletus and Brandine Del Roy/Spuckler

Cletus (original voice: Hank Azaria, in German Peter Musäus) and Brandine (original voice: Tress MacNeille, in German Eva-Maria Lahl) embody the cliché of the uneducated and simple-minded hillbillies that is widespread in America. They live outside Springfield in a primitive wooden hut and have between 7 and 27 children, depending on the episode. Cletus usually works as a farmer, but in some episodes he also ekes out a living by picking up animal carcasses from the street or selling vegetables, while Brandine has worked at McDonald's, Hooters and various striptease bars, among other places.

The two live in an undefined incestuous relationship with each other (Cletus, you are the best husband and son anyone could wish for; on the other hand, a family tree shows that Brandine is the daughter of a relationship between Cletus and an alien; accordingly, when asked about their relationship in one episode, she answers that they are all sorts of things). Brandine and Cletus are not particularly intelligent, and this is most evident in the way they speak: They make many grammatical mistakes in the original English (Cletus, you coward! Is you man or turtle?), while in the German version they tend to mumble and lisp to a greater or lesser extent. However, Cletus has a beautiful, squiggly signature despite his obvious obtuseness.

First appearance Cletus: Bart wins elephant! (Bart gets an Elephant) First appearance Brandine: Something is wrong at Simpsons (Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily)

Mary Spuckler

Mary Wrestlemania Spuckler is the daughter of Cletus and Brandine Del Roy/Spuckler. The relationship between Bart and Mary is a recurring theme twice in season 24. She is much more intelligent than the other Spucklers (the reason given in the episode "Moonshine River" is that she was given real milk as a child instead of white paint), has a heart for animals, and is a very talented musician and songwriter. She lives temporarily in New York.

First appearance: Mad Cow (Apocalypse Cow)

Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon

Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, dubbed by Natascha Geisler, is Apu's wife. Together they have octuplets.

First appearance: Indian Wedding (The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Bleeding gums Murphy †

Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Bleeding Gums Murphy, dubbed by Fred Klaus in the first episodes, later by Donald Arthur, (In the original he is called "Bleeding Gums" Murphy) is a black jazz musician and Lisa's saxophone teacher, the only one who probably really understood her. He died in the episode In Honour of Murphie. At the time of his death, it is implied that he is the missing brother of Dr Julius Hibbert. Long ago, he began a promising musical career when he released the record Sax on the Beach and appeared on Steve Allen's Tonight Show. However, he lost a lot of money through his hobby of buying and smashing Fabergé eggs. In the aforementioned episode, Bart bought a preserved copy of the record for Lisa for the price of $500. Lisa then arranges for a song from it, Jazzman (a reference to Jazzman by Carole King), to be played by the local radio station in honour of gum bleeder Murphy.

Murphy says his nickname is because he has never been to a dentist.

First appearance: Lisa is moping (Moaning Lisa)

Original speakers: Ron Taylor, Daryl L. Coley

Rich Texan

The nameless rich Texan, alternately voiced by Willi Roebke and Hartmut Neugebauer, is known for initiating environmentally destructive projects. He likes to insult other people and prefers to show his pleasure by his two revolvers, which he shoots into the air while hopping from one leg to the other and shouting "jihaa". He often wears a huge cowboy hat and drives a luxurious car with the horns of a longhorn on the radiator. He is obviously a member of the Republican Party and can often be seen when their Springfield members meet.

First Appearance: Devil Possessed $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta

Hyman Krustofski †

Hyman Krustofski, dubbed by Donald Arthur, Ivar Combrinck and Michael Rüth, is the rabbi of Springfield's Jewish community and the father of Krusty the Clown. He disowned his son years ago because he did not accept his son's choice of profession, which he felt was not honourable and beneath his offspring's dignity. In the episode The Father of a Clown, however, Bart and Lisa achieve a reconciliation between father and son by showing Rabbi Krustofski, with the help of a Sammy Davis Jr. quote, that entertainers can (must) do more than pull pranks.

Hyman Krustofski speaks with a Yiddish accent and also likes to dub his son Krusty with Yiddish pet names (Bubele, Schmock).

First appearance: The father of a clown (Like Father, like Clown)

Original speakers: Jackie Mason and Dan Castellaneta

Laura Powers

Laura, voiced by Ute Bronder, lives with her mother next door to the Simpsons, in the house where the Winfields used to live. She worked as a babysitter for the Simpsons and Bart fell in love with her, but Jimbo was already her boyfriend. Bart managed to break them up, but she still didn't become his girlfriend.

First appearance: Laura, the new neighbour (The New Kid on the Block)

Original speaker: Sara Gilbert

Ruth Powers

Ruth Powers, voiced by Inge Solbrig and Manuela Renard, is Laura's mother and a neighbour of The Simpsons in one episode. She is also a good friend of Marge's in one episode, with whom she occasionally goes out. She has a certain penchant for crime; in one episode she is fresh out of prison. Her marriage to Laura's father ended in divorce, which she still resents.

First appearance: Laura, the new neighbour (The New Kid on the Block)

Original speakers: Pamela Reed, Maggie Roswell

Drederick Tatum

Drederick Tatum, dubbed by Dirk Galuba, Willi Roebke and Axel Malzacher, is the black heavyweight boxing champion and apparently the Springfield equivalent of Mike Tyson. He has often been in trouble with the law and has also served time in prison. It is noticeable that he usually has a lisp.

He is managed by Lucius Sweet, who resembles the legendary boxing promoter Don King.

First appearance: The Eighth Commandment (Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria

Bernice Hibbert

Bernice, dubbed in German by Ulrike Hötzel, Manuela Renard and Inge Solbrig, is the wife of Dr. Hibbert, with whom she has 3-5 children, depending on the episode. Her circle of friends includes Marge Simpson, Helen Lovejoy, Luann van Houten, Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, but also Cookie Kwan and Lindsay Naegle. Apparently Bernice Hibbert is an alcoholic.

First appearance: Behaviour Deficient (Bart's Dog gets an F)

Original speaker: Tress MacNeille

Gerald Samson

Like Maggie, Gerald Samson is a very intelligent baby. But the two are enemies. His fused eyebrows are striking. This feature is also present in his parents.

Gerald was born on the same day as Maggie in Springfield Hospital. However, there they only had one nappy left, which Maggie got. Baby Gerald was wrapped in a newspaper instead, which gave him a terrible rash. He blames Maggie for this unpleasant incident and now plans revenge on her.

In the newer intro, in the scene where Marge is shopping, you see Gerald and Maggie showing each other their fists.

First Performance: Friend or Foe (Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song)

Original speaker: Hank Azaria (German dubbing not available)

Alien

Kang

Kang is an alien from the planet Rigel 4 (or 7). A kind of glass dome, shaped like a pimple cap, encases his head, presumably to protect him from the oxygen he cannot tolerate. Characteristic of him and his sister Kodos is their demonic, often overlong laughter and their mouths from which drool constantly drips. He practically only appears in the Treehouse of Horror episodes. The name Kang is a reference to a Klingon of the same name in Star Trek. He was dubbed by Alexander Allerson, Ivar Combrinck and Willi Roebke.

First appearance: Horror Free House (Treehouse of Horror)

Original speaker: Harry Shearer

Kodos

Kodos is Kang's sister, who not only looks like him but also acts like him. In the earlier episodes, her voice and Kang's still differed, but today they are indistinguishable. The name Kodos also comes from Star Trek from the character Kodos the Executioner. She was dubbed by Willi Roebke, Ivar Combrinck and Thomas Albus.

First appearance: Horror Free House (Treehouse of Horror)

Original speaker: Dan Castellaneta