35 seasons and counting! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a look at the talented voices behind “The Simpsons” and what they’ve been up to since joining the show.
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00:00 "Give us a little Homer maybe?" "Yeah, a little Homer."
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're taking a look at the talented voices behind The Simpsons,
00:10 and what they've been up to since joining the show. "You know, when I was cast as Bart,
00:15 it was like, it was such a dream come true for me."
00:17 John Lovitz The SNL veteran made his first
00:21 appearance on The Simpsons in the second season episode 'The Way We Was', where he played Artie
00:27 Ziff, a romantic rival of Homer. "Why do birds suddenly appear?"
00:33 "Every time you're near." "Gotta get out of here."
00:40 Lovitz was such a hit with the producers that they invited him back to play more eccentric
00:44 characters, including theater director Llewellyn St. Clair and nuclear power plant owner Aristotle
00:50 Amidopoulos. "Well, Smithers, how kind of you to pay us a visit." "Couldn't help it, sir. The
00:57 parking here is terrible." "This man has no love for his power plant." "Be gone from my sight."
01:03 Lovitz also worked with Simpsons showrunners Al Jean and Mike Reiss on the classic animated series
01:08 'The Critic', where he played disgruntled movie critic Jay Sherman. "Why the hell do you have to
01:13 be so critical?" "I'm a critic." "No, your job is to write movies on a scale from good to excellent."
01:20 "What if I don't like them?" "That's what good's for." The titular critic would appear in a
01:24 crossover episode with 'The Simpsons'. As of this video, Lovitz has appeared in 20 episodes.
01:30 Tress McNeil If you don't recognize the name,
01:35 you will no doubt recognize her voice if you watched 90s cartoons like Tiny Toon Adventures
01:40 and Animaniacs. "Did you miss us?" "I hardly even know you." "We're the Warner Brothers."
01:47 "And the Warner sister." McNeil has been with the Simpsons since the first season,
01:51 with her first appearance being 'The Telltale Head'. She has done the voice of such shameless
01:56 characters as Agnes Skinner and Lindsay Nagle. "Lindsay Nagle, Advanced Capital Ventures."
02:01 "Oh, what do you produce?" "Synergy, and books on how to cheat at bridge." McNeil has also lent
02:06 her voice to other Matt Groening cartoons, such as Futurama and Disenchantments. "Oh, I understand,
02:12 darling. On my wedding day, I also had butterflies in stomach. I shouldn't have eaten so many."
02:18 In addition to a ton of voice acting gigs from decades of work, she has also appeared on weird
02:23 outtracks such as Ricky and Pretty Fly for a Rabbi. Pamela Hayden This actress has been with
02:30 the Simpsons since the very first episode, where she has played a slew of characters.
02:35 However, she's probably best known for playing Bart's nerdy friend, Milhouse. "I hate these
02:41 flood pants. Hey, they're working. My feet are soaked, but my cups are bone dry. Everything's
02:51 coming up Milhouse." She also has voiced characters such as Lisa's friend, Janie,
02:56 Ned Flanders' son, Rod, and one of Bart's most formidable rivals, Jimbo. "You let me down, man.
03:03 Now I don't believe in nothing no more. I'm going to law school. No!" Hayden has also done voice work
03:12 for other TV shows, such as Hey Arnold and Recess. And she was the voice of Bianca the Bunny in Spyro,
03:19 Year of the Dragon, and Spyro, Enter the Dragonfly. "Spyro, Hunter, don't worry. I think I know where
03:25 to start. Follow me." Maggie Roswell After appearing on an episode of The Tracy
03:30 Ullman Show, Roswell joined the spin-off show in its first season. Among Roswell's characters were
03:36 Ned Flanders' sweet wife, Maud, Lisa's cynical teacher, Miss Hoover, and a Mary Poppins-inspired
03:42 nanny named Sherry Bobbins. "Lisa, don't sit in front of that telly like a fly stuck on a toffee.
03:48 It's a great big world out there." "Been there, done it." "I know. We could have a tea party on
03:54 the ceiling." "Shh, TV." In season 10, Roswell left the show because producers refused to give
04:00 her a requested pay increase, which was supposed to compensate for flying from Denver to LA to
04:04 record. Unfortunately, because of Roswell's exit, poor Maud Flanders was killed off due
04:09 to a T-shirt cannon mishap. "Ooh, a bobby pin." "Ow!" A couple of years later, Roswell came back
04:17 to voice Maud's ghost in Treehouse of Horror 13. And in season 14, she came back to join the cast
04:23 full-time. "Are you ready for tales that will shatter your spine and boil your blood?" "Well,
04:31 duh." Harry Shearer Even before joining the Simpsons cast, Shearer had already built up
04:37 an impressive resume for comedy, having been an SNL alum and playing a member of Spinal Tap.
04:43 "Do you have any metal objects in your pockets?" "Yeah." "Take them out and put them in the bucket."
04:48 "Coins, keys, tuning fork. Musicians like to stay in tune, you know?"
04:57 The roles that Shearer has played on The Simpsons are too big to list,
05:01 but they include Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, and of course,
05:05 Homer's ruthless boss C. Montgomery Burns. "Smithers, who is this nincompoop?" "Hmm,
05:10 I've worked here for 10 years and my boss doesn't even know my name."
05:15 "Well, that's gonna change right now. My name is Homer J. Simps-" "Ow!"
05:19 "Sounded large when I ordered it." However, as of 2020, Shearer no longer does the voice of Dr.
05:27 Hibbert, who is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson because of sensitivity around
05:31 casting white voice actors as people of color. "Fine round today, sir. You know,
05:37 I hope to be a doctor myself. It's always been my dream to work around blood."
05:44 "Well, maybe this will help with medical school." This is something that Shearer has taken issue
05:48 with, believing the point of the acting is for an actor quote "to play someone who they are not."
05:54 Hank Azaria Azaria is the voice behind a good chunk of the residents of Springfield,
06:00 including Moe, Chief Wiggum, and the industrious store owner of the Quickie Marts,
06:04 Apu Nahasapimapetilon. "Anybody up for some clog dancing?" "Why don't you try and stop me?"
06:11 However, controversy struck around 2018 because of a documentary that took issue with Azaria,
06:16 a white man voicing a character who is of Indian descent. "They just liked his accent. I never
06:22 heard anyone say they liked Apu because he exposed the idiocy and bigotry of Americans and the
06:28 struggles of the average immigrant." Eventually, the show decided that all characters who weren't
06:32 white would be voiced by people of color. "I'm perfectly willing and happy to step aside or
06:38 help transition it into something new. I really hope that's what The Simpsons does and it just
06:43 it not only makes sense but it just feels like the right thing to do to me." Besides working on
06:48 The Simpsons, Azaria has enjoyed success starring in live-action TV shows such as Huff and Brockmire,
06:54 and he was in the original cast of the Monty Python Broadway musical Spamalot.
06:58 Yardley Smith Now we're getting to the members of the Simpson family. "When I get married,
07:04 I'm keeping my own name. Oh, you know, that should probably be if I choose to get married."
07:11 The voice of Lisa, Yardley Smith has been with The Simpsons since the days of The Tracy Ullman Show,
07:16 where they started out as animated shorts. "Do I understand you correctly, Bartron? Do you wish me
07:22 to release you from the helmet of evil thoughts with my enchanted space wand?" Since joining The
07:28 Simpsons, Smith has been making occasional appearances on sitcoms such as The Mindy
07:33 Project and The Big Bang Theory. "How about doing deliveries for a florist? That seems acceptable.
07:39 Do you have your own car? I don't drive. Of course you don't." She has also been busy with
07:45 side projects such as a one-woman show where she opened up on personal issues such as her
07:50 struggle with bulimia and a true crime podcast called Small Town Dicks. Nancy Cartwright
07:56 Many people are surprised to find out that the voice of Bart Simpson comes from this
08:00 unassuming lady. "Have a favorite favorite lines? I mean Bart's had so many great lines. Are there
08:05 any that stick in your head like? Oh totally. Well my favorite one is 'Hi, I'm Bart Simpson. Who the
08:09 hell are you?'" Before joining The Simpsons, Cartwright lent her voice to several animated
08:13 shows in the 80s, including Richie Rich and Snorks. In addition to Bart, she has voiced other
08:19 characters such as Nelson Muntz and Lisa's dimwitted classmate Ralph Wiggum, who could
08:24 possibly be the funniest character on the show. "My cat's breath smells like cat food." She has
08:29 also continued to do voice work on several shows including Rufus, The Naked Mole Rat on Kim
08:34 Possible and taking over the role of Chucky Finster on Rugrats from Christine Cavanagh. "Did
08:39 you hear that guys? Kimmy and me are getting library cards. What's a library card? I don't
08:46 know." Julie Kavner Before playing Marge, Kavner played Rhoda's sister on the Mary Tyler Moore
08:52 spinoff, Rhoda, and later was a performer on The Tracy Ullman Show. "I have a fear of spiders."
08:58 "All right, well that's a fairly common fear." "That's not all, doctor." Kavner also plays
09:04 Marge's bitter sardonic sisters Patty and Selma, who have Kavner's normal voice done a little
09:10 gruffer. In real life, Julie Kavner is as quiet and reserved as Marge. "Well it was pretty exciting,
09:17 but celery soup's pretty exciting too." Somewhat reclusive, she refuses to be photographed at work
09:29 and rarely gives interviews. "Part of the reason that I really wanted to do the movie besides
09:34 working with Nora Ephron, of whom I'm a big fan, was getting a chance to do something that I will
09:41 never ever do in my own life." Speaking with the New York Times in 1992, she claims that she
09:48 doesn't let close friends see her house. "Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
09:54 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for
09:58 occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
10:03 and switch on notifications." Dan Castellaneta If there is a beating heart of the Simpsons,
10:11 then it's gotta be Dan Castellaneta. Like Julie Kavner, Castellaneta was on the Tracy Oldman show,
10:17 where he first played Homer Simpson. "Do I smell cookies? Where's the cookies? They're all gone,
10:24 the whole batch. Somebody ate those cookies. Did you eat the cookies, Maggie?" Castellaneta
10:31 originally based Homer's voice on Walter Matthau, but after a few seasons, he changed it to the
10:36 voice we hear today. "All the time wondering, how does he do it? Well, I'm going to tell you."
10:42 Among the hilarious characters Castellaneta plays include Abe Simpson, Krusty the Clown,
10:48 and groundskeeper Willie. Castellaneta has done tons of voice acting work on other cartoons,
10:54 including Hey Arnold, where he was Arnold's grandpa, and he's also made several appearances
10:58 on live-action TV shows over the years. "The operation went pretty smoothly, but once I got
11:04 in there, the appendix wasn't so inflamed. D'oh. I knew it." Who's your favorite Simpsons voice
11:10 actor? Let us know in the comments. "Is this episode going on to air live?" "No, Homer. Very
11:16 few cartoons are broadcast live. It's a terrible strain on the animator's wrist." Did you enjoy
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11:30 [Music]