Homer Simpson
Encyclopedia
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series
The Simpsons
and the patriarch of the eponymous family
. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta
and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show
short "Good Night
" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening
while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks
' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell
but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox
that debuted December 17, 1989.
Homer and his wife Marge
have three children: Bart
, Lisa
, and Maggie
. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer embodies several American working class
stereotype
s: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, lazy and ignorant; however, he is essentially a decent man and fiercely devoted to his family. Despite the suburb
an blue-collar
routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.
In the shorts and earlier episodes, Castellaneta voiced Homer with a loose impression of Walter Matthau
; however, during the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice evolved to become more robust, to allow the expression of a fuller range of emotions. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie
, The Simpsons Ride
, commercials and comic books – and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!
", has been included in The New Oxford Dictionary of English
since 1998 and the Oxford English Dictionary
since 2001.
Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television, having been described by the British
newspaper The Sunday Times
as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". He was named the greatest fictional character "of the last 20 years" in 2010 by Entertainment Weekly
, was ranked the second greatest cartoon character by TV Guide
, behind Bugs Bunny
, and was voted the greatest television character of all time by Channel 4
viewers. For voicing Homer, Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
and a special-achievement Annie Award
. In 2000, Homer and his family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
and Abraham Simpson
. Homer has held over 188 different jobs in the first 400 episodes of The Simpsons. In most episodes, he works as the Nuclear Safety
Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position he has held since "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series. At the plant, Homer is often ignored and completely forgotten by his boss Mr. Burns
, and constantly falls asleep and neglects his duties. Matt Groening has stated that he decided to have Homer work at the power plant because of the potential for Homer to create havoc. Each of his other jobs has lasted only one episode. In the first half of the series, the writers developed an explanation about how he got fired from the plant and was then rehired in every episode. In later episodes, he often began a new job on impulse, without any mention of his regular employment.
The Simpsons uses a floating timeline
in which the characters do not physically age, and, as such, the show is generally assumed to be set in the current year. Nevertheless, in several episodes, events in Homer's life have been linked to specific time periods. "Mother Simpson
" (season seven
, 1995) depicts Homer's mother, Mona, as a radical who went into hiding in the mid-1960s following a run-in with the law; "The Way We Was
" (season two
, 1991) shows Homer falling in love with Marge Bouvier
as a senior at Springfield High School in the 1970s; and "I Married Marge
" (season three
, 1991) implies that Marge became pregnant with Bart in 1980. However, the episode "That '90s Show" (season 19
, 2008) contradicted much of this backstory, portraying Homer and Marge as a childless couple in the early 1990s.
Homer's age has changed as the series developed; he was 36 in the early episodes, 38 and 39 in season eight
, and 40 in the eighteenth season
, although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent. During Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
's period as showrunners, they found that as they aged, Homer seemed to become older too, so they increased his age to 38.
Matt Groening
conceived Homer and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986 in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell
comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction, and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family
, naming the characters after members of his own family. Homer was named after Groening's father. Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer. According to Groening, "Homer originated with my goal to both amuse my real father, and just annoy him a little bit. My father was an athletic, creative, intelligent filmmaker and writer, and the only thing he had in common with Homer was a love of donuts" Although Groening has stated in several interviews that Homer's namesake
is his father, he also claimed in several 1990 interviews that a character in the 1939 Nathanael West
novel The Day of the Locust
was the inspiration for naming Homer. Homer's middle initial "J", which stands for "Jay", is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose
and Rocket J. Squirrel
from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
who got their middle initial from Jay Ward
.
Homer made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company
. Homer and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. The family was crudely drawn because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. Homer's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no characters other than Homer, Lenny, and Krusty the Clown have a similar beard line. When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting and redesigned the ear to look normal. However, he still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. The basic shape of Homer's head is described by director Mark Kirkland
as a tube-shaped coffee can with a salad bowl on top. Bart's head is also coffee-can shaped, while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie. During the shorts, the animators experimented with the way Homer would move his mouth when talking. At one point, his mouth would stretch out back "beyond his beardline"; but this was dropped when it got "out of control." In some early episodes, Homer's hair was rounded rather than sharply pointed because animation director Wes Archer
felt it should look disheveled. Homer's hair evolved to be consistently pointed. During the first three seasons, Homer's design for some close-up shots included small lines which were meant to be eyebrows. Matt Groening strongly disliked them and they were eventually dropped.
In the season seven
(1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI
", Homer was computer animated into a three dimensional
character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors at Pacific Data Images
worked hard not to "reinvent the character". In the final minute of the segment, the 3D Homer ends up in a real world, live-action Los Angeles
. The scene was directed by David Mirkin
and was the first time a Simpsons character had been in the real world in the series. Because "Lisa's Wedding
" (season six
, 1995) is set fifteen years in the future, Homer's design was altered to make him older in the episode. He is heavier; one of the hairs on top of his head was removed; and an extra line was placed under the eye. A similar design has been used in subsequent flashforward
s.
Homer's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta
, who voices numerous other characters, including Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble
, Groundskeeper Willie
, Mayor Quimby
and Hans Moleman
. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show
and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago
alongside his wife Deb Lacusta
. Voices were needed for the Simpsons shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner
to voice Homer and Marge rather than hire more actors. In the shorts and first few seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice is different from the majority of the series. The voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau
, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice", and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the nine- to ten-hour-long recording sessions and had to find something easier. During the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Castellaneta "dropped the voice down" and developed it as more versatile and humorous, allowing Homer a fuller range of emotions.
Castellaneta's normal speaking voice has no similarity to Homer's. To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest and is said to "let his I.Q. go". While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer's least intelligent comments, such as the line "I am so smart, s-m-r-t" from "Homer Goes to College
" (season five
, 1993) which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta during recording. Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions, and he tries to visualize a scene so that he can give the proper voice to it. Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan".
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet
" (season five
, 1993) is the only episode where Homer's voice was provided by someone other than Castellaneta. The episode features Homer forming a barbershop quartet
called The Be Sharps; and, at some points, his singing voice is provided by a member of The Dapper Dans
. The Dapper Dans had recorded the singing parts for all four members of The Be Sharps. Their singing was intermixed with the normal voice actor's voices, often with a regular voice actor singing the melody and the Dapper Dans providing backup.
Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. However, the dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
notes that in The Simpsons' writing room, "everyone loves writing for Homer", and many of his adventures are based on experiences of the writers. In the early seasons of the show, Bart was the main focus. But, around the fourth season
, Homer became more of the focus. According to Matt Groening, this was because "With Homer, there’s just a wider range of jokes you can do. And there are far more drastic consequences to Homer’s stupidity. There’s only so far you can go with a juvenile delinquent. We wanted Bart to do anything up to the point of him being tried in court as an adult. But Homer is an adult, and his boneheaded-ness is funnier. [...] Homer is launching himself headfirst into every single impulsive thought that occurs to him."
Homer's behavior has changed a number of times through the run of the series. He was originally "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as his persona was further explored. In early seasons, Homer appeared concerned that his family was going to make him look bad; however, in later episodes he was less anxious about how he was perceived by others. In the first several years, Homer was often portrayed as sweet and sincere, but during Mike Scully
's tenure as executive producer (seasons nine
, 1997 to twelve
, 2001), he became more of "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf". Chris Suellentrop of Slate
wrote, "under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon. Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset
now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck
." Fans have dubbed this incarnation of the character "Jerkass Homer". At voice recording sessions, Dan Castellaneta has rejected material written in the script that portrayed Homer as being too mean. He believes that Homer is "boorish and unthinking, but he'd never be mean on purpose." When editing The Simpsons Movie
, several scenes were changed or otherwise toned down to make Homer more sympathetic.
The writers have made Homer's intelligence appear to decline over the years; they explain this was not done intentionally, but it was necessary to top previous jokes. For example, in "When You Dish Upon a Star
", (season 10
, 1998) the writers included a scene where Homer admits that he cannot read. The writers debated including this plot twist because it would contradict previous scenes in which Homer does read, but eventually they decided to keep the joke because they found it humorous. The writers often debate how far to go in portraying Homer's stupidity; one suggested rule is that "he can never forget his own name".
as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity". Homer also shows immense apathy towards work, is overweight, and "is devoted to his stomach". His short attention span is evidenced by his impulsive decisions to engage in various hobbies and enterprises, only to "change ... his mind when things go badly". Homer often spends his evenings drinking Duff Beer
at Moe's Tavern and, as shown in the episode "Duffless
" (season four
, 1993), is a borderline alcoholic. He is very envious of his neighbors, Ned Flanders
and his family, and is easily enraged by Bart
. Homer will often strangle Bart on impulse in a cartoonish manner. The first instance of Homer strangling Bart was in the short "Family Portrait". According to Matt Groening, the rule was that Homer could only strangle Bart impulsively, never with pre-meditation, because doing so "seems sadistic. If we keep it that he’s ruled by his impulses, then he can easily switch impulses. So, even though he impulsively wants to strangle Bart, he also gives up fairly easily." Another of the original ideas entertained by Groening was that Homer would "always get his comeuppance or Bart had to strangle him back", but this was dropped. Homer shows no compunction about expressing his rage, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family. While Homer has repeatedly upset people and caused all sorts of mayhem in Springfield
, these events usually result from a lack of foresight or his intense temper, matched with his impulsivity, rather than any malice. Except for expressing annoyance at Ned Flanders
, Homer's destructive actions are usually unintentional.
Homer has complex relationships with all three of his children. He often berates Bart, but the two commonly share adventures and are sometimes allies; some episodes, particularly in later seasons, show that the pair have a strange respect for each other's cunning. Homer and Lisa have opposite personalities and he usually overlooks Lisa's talents, but when made aware of his neglect, does everything he can to help her. While Homer's thoughtless antics often upset his family, he has also revealed himself to be a caring father and husband: in "Lisa the Beauty Queen
", (season four
, 1992) he sold his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and used the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself; in "Rosebud
", (season five
, 1993) he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in "Radio Bart
", (season three
, 1992) he spearheaded an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well; and in "A Milhouse Divided
", (season eight
, 1996) he arranged a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their unsatisfactory first ceremony. Homer, however, has a poor relationship with his father Abraham "Grampa" Simpson
, whom he placed in a nursing home
as soon as he could. The Simpson family will often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa, but Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.
Homer is "a (happy) slave to his various appetites", and would gladly sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a single doughnut. He has a vacuous mind but is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about very specific subjects. Homer's brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed however by much longer and consistent periods of ignorance, forgetfulness, and stupidity. Homer has a low IQ
of 55 which has variously been attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene" (which eventually causes every male member of the family to become incredibly stupid), his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma, and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe
of his brain. In the episode "HOMR
" (season 12
, 2001) Homer gets surgery to remove the (newly discovered) crayon from his brain, boosting his IQ to 105, but although he bonds very well with Lisa, his newfound capacity for understanding and reason makes him less happy and he gets Moe
to reinsert a crayon, causing his intelligence to return to its previous level. Homer often debates with his own mind, which is expressed in voiceover. His brain has a record of giving him dubious advice, sometimes helping him make the right decisions, but often failing spectacularly. It has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on him, Homer's conversations with his brain were used several times during the fourth season, but were later phased out after the producers "used every possible permutation". These exchanges were often introduced because they filled time and were easy for the animators to work on.
Homer's influence on comedy and culture has been significant. In 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years." He was placed second on TV Guide
' s 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny
; fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list; and first in a Channel 4
poll of the greatest television characters of all time. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly
placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons" and first on their 2010 list of the "Top 100 Characters of the Past Twenty Years". Homer was also the runaway winner in British polls that determined who viewers thought was the "greatest American" and which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States
.
Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
" in 1992 for "Lisa's Pony
", 1993 for "Mr. Plow
", in 2004 for "Today I Am a Clown", and in 2009 for "Father Knows Worst
". Although in the case of "Today I Am a Clown", it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer. In 2010
, Castellaneta received a fifth Emmy nomination for voicing Homer and Grampa in the episode "Thursdays with Abie
". In 1993, Castellaneta was given a special Annie Award
, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Homer on The Simpsons. In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner
(the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award
for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units". Various episodes in which Homer is strongly featured have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding
" in 1995, "Homer's Phobia
" in 1997, "Trash of the Titans
" in 1998, "HOMR
" in 2001, "Three Gays of the Condo
" in 2003 and "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind
" in 2008. In 2000, Homer and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
" and embodies several American stereotypes of working class blue-collar
men: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy and a borderline alcoholic. Matt Groening describes him as "completely ruled by his impulses". Dan Castellaneta calls him "a dog trapped in a man's body", adding, "He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him." In his book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner
describes Homer as "the most American of the Simpsons" and believes that while the other Simpson family members could be changed to other nationalities, Homer is "pure American". In the book God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, the authors comment that "Homer's progress (or lack thereof) reveals a character who can do the right thing, if accidentally or begrudgingly." The book The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
includes a chapter analyzing Homer's character from the perspective of Aristotelian
virtue ethics
. Raja Halwani writes that Homer's "love of life" is an admirable character trait, "for many people are tempted to see in Homer nothing but buffoonery and immorality. He is not politically correct, he is more than happy to judge others, and he certainly does not seem to be obsessed with his health. These qualities might not make Homer an admirable person, but they do make him admirable in some ways, and, more importantly, makes us crave him and the Homer Simpsons of this world." In 2008, Entertainment Weekly justified designating The Simpsons as a television classic by stating, "we all hail Simpson patriarch Homer because his joy is as palpable as his stupidity is stunning".
In the season eight
episode "Homer's Enemy
" the writers decided to examine "what it would be like to actually work alongside Homer Simpson". The episode explores the possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic
named Frank Grimes placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted. By the end of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero", is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.
In Gilligan Unbound, author Paul Arthur Cantor
states that he believes Homer's devotion to his family has added to the popularity of the character. He writes, "Homer is the distillation of pure fatherhood. This is why, for all his stupidity, bigotry and self-centered quality, we cannot hate Homer. He continually fails at being a good father, but he never gives up trying, and in some basic and important sense that makes him a good father." The Sunday Times
remarked "Homer is good because, above all, he is capable of great love. When the chips are down, he always does the right thing by his children—he is never unfaithful in spite of several opportunities."
Homer Simpson is one of the most popular and influential television characters in a variety of standards. USA Today
cited the character as being one of the "top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years" in 2007, adding that Homer "epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor." Robert Thompson
, director of Syracuse University
's Center for the Study of Popular Television believes that "three centuries from now, English professors are going to be regarding Homer Simpson as one of the greatest creations in human storytelling." Animation historian Jerry Beck
described Homer as one of the best animated characters, saying, "you know someone like it, or you identify with (it). That's really the key to a classic character." Homer has been described by The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". The article remarked, "every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson."
Homer has been cited as a bad influence on children; for example, in 2005 a survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that 59% of parents felt that Homer promoted an unhealthy lifestyle. A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, the findings of which were dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome". Results from a word memory test showed that people with a Body mass index
(BMI) of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words.
Despite Homer's embodiment of American culture, his influence has spread to other parts of the world. In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, after whom Homer was named, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian. The character was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg
, Canada, in real life because Homer Groening was believed to be from the Manitoba
capital, although sources say the senior Groening was actually born in Saskatchewan
. In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant
in Dorset
, England as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie
. This caused outrage among local neopagans
who performed "rain magic" to try to get it washed away. In 2008, a fake Spanish euro
coin was found in Avilés
, Spain, with the face of Homer replacing the figure of King Juan Carlos I. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Homer and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
Homer has appeared, voiced by Castellaneta, in several other television shows, including the sixth season
of American Idol
where he opened the show; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he performed a special animated opening monologue for the July 24, 2007, edition; and the 2008 fundraising
television special
Stand Up to Cancer
where he was shown having a colonoscopy
.
short, Homer was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". Dan Castellaneta rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh". This was inspired by Jimmy Finlayson
, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy
films. Finlayson had used the term as a minced oath
to stand in for the word "Damn
!" Matt Groening
felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!" The first intentional use of D'oh! occurred in the Ullman short "The Krusty the Clown Show", (1989) and its first usage in the series was in the series premiere, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
".
"D'oh!" was first added to The New Oxford Dictionary of English
in 1998. It is defined as an interjection
"used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid". In 2001, "D'oh!" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary
, without the apostrophe. The definition of the word is "expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish". In 2006, "D'oh!" was placed in sixth position on TV Land
's list of the 100 greatest television catchphrases. "D'oh!" is also included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
. The book includes several other quotations from Homer, including "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try", from "Burns' Heir
" (season five
, 1994) as well as "Kids are the best, Apu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all", from "Eight Misbehavin'
" (season 11
, 1999). Both quotes entered the dictionary in August 2007.
. Other merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mug
s, alarm clock
s, jigsaw puzzle
s, Chia Pet
s, and clothing such as slipper
s, T-shirt
s, baseball cap
s, and boxer shorts
. Homer has appeared in commercials for 1-800-COLLECT
, Burger King
, Butterfinger
, C.C. Lemon
, Church's Chicken
, Domino's Pizza
, Intel
, Kentucky Fried Chicken
, Ramada Inn
, Subway
and T.G.I. Friday's
. In 2004, Homer starred in a MasterCard
Priceless commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVIII
. In 2001, Kelloggs
launched a brand of cereal called "Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal", which was available for a limited time. In June 2009, Dutch automotive navigation system
s manufacturer TomTom
announced that Homer would be added to its downloadable GPS
voice lineup. Homer's voice, recorded by Dan Castellaneta, features several in-character comments such as "Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm... ice cream."
Homer has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. He has appeared in every one of The Simpsons video games, including the most recent, The Simpsons Game
. Alongside the television series, Homer regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, which were first published on November 29, 1993, and are still issued monthly. Homer also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
and Hollywood
.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and the patriarch of the eponymous family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
that debuted December 17, 1989.
Homer and his wife Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
have three children: Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
, and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer embodies several American working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, lazy and ignorant; however, he is essentially a decent man and fiercely devoted to his family. Despite the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.
In the shorts and earlier episodes, Castellaneta voiced Homer with a loose impression of Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
; however, during the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice evolved to become more robust, to allow the expression of a fuller range of emotions. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
, The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, commercials and comic books – and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!
D'oh!
"D'oh!" is a catchphrase used by the fictional character Homer Simpson, from the long-running American animated sitcom The Simpsons . It is typically used when Homer injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him...
", has been included in The New Oxford Dictionary of English
Oxford Dictionary of English
The Oxford Dictionary of English is a single-volume English language dictionary first published in 1998 by Oxford University Press. This dictionary is not based on the Oxford English Dictionary and should not be mistaken for a new or updated version of the OED...
since 1998 and the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
since 2001.
Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television, having been described by the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
newspaper The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". He was named the greatest fictional character "of the last 20 years" in 2010 by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, was ranked the second greatest cartoon character by TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, behind Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, and was voted the greatest television character of all time by Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
viewers. For voicing Homer, Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
and a special-achievement Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
. In 2000, Homer and his family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Role in The Simpsons
Homer Simpson is the bumbling husband of Marge and father of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. He is the son of MonaMona Simpson (The Simpsons)
Mona J. Simpson is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She has been voiced by several actresses, including Maggie Roswell, Tress MacNeille and most prominently, Glenn Close. Mona is the estranged wife of Abe Simpson and the mother of Homer Simpson...
and Abraham Simpson
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
. Homer has held over 188 different jobs in the first 400 episodes of The Simpsons. In most episodes, he works as the Nuclear Safety
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position he has held since "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series. At the plant, Homer is often ignored and completely forgotten by his boss Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
, and constantly falls asleep and neglects his duties. Matt Groening has stated that he decided to have Homer work at the power plant because of the potential for Homer to create havoc. Each of his other jobs has lasted only one episode. In the first half of the series, the writers developed an explanation about how he got fired from the plant and was then rehired in every episode. In later episodes, he often began a new job on impulse, without any mention of his regular employment.
The Simpsons uses a floating timeline
Floating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
in which the characters do not physically age, and, as such, the show is generally assumed to be set in the current year. Nevertheless, in several episodes, events in Homer's life have been linked to specific time periods. "Mother Simpson
Mother Simpson
"Mother Simpson" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and first aired on November 19, 1995. After faking his own death to get a day off of work, Homer reunites with his mother Mona, who he thought had died 27 years ago. It was directed by David Silverman and was the first episode to...
" (season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
, 1995) depicts Homer's mother, Mona, as a radical who went into hiding in the mid-1960s following a run-in with the law; "The Way We Was
The Way We Was
"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, we see how Homer falls in love with...
" (season two
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
, 1991) shows Homer falling in love with Marge Bouvier
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
as a senior at Springfield High School in the 1970s; and "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1991) implies that Marge became pregnant with Bart in 1980. However, the episode "That '90s Show" (season 19
The Simpsons (season 19)
The Simpsons nineteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 23, 2007 and May 18, 2008.-Production:The nineteenth season of The Simpsons is the first one produced after the movie and contained seven hold-over episodes from season 18's JABF production line...
, 2008) contradicted much of this backstory, portraying Homer and Marge as a childless couple in the early 1990s.
Homer's age has changed as the series developed; he was 36 in the early episodes, 38 and 39 in season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, and 40 in the eighteenth season
The Simpsons (season 18)
The Simpsons 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season....
, although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent. During Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
's period as showrunners, they found that as they aged, Homer seemed to become older too, so they increased his age to 38.
Creation
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
conceived Homer and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986 in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction, and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, naming the characters after members of his own family. Homer was named after Groening's father. Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer. According to Groening, "Homer originated with my goal to both amuse my real father, and just annoy him a little bit. My father was an athletic, creative, intelligent filmmaker and writer, and the only thing he had in common with Homer was a love of donuts" Although Groening has stated in several interviews that Homer's namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
is his father, he also claimed in several 1990 interviews that a character in the 1939 Nathanael West
Nathanael West
Nathanael West was a US author, screenwriter and satirist.- Early life :...
novel The Day of the Locust
The Day of the Locust
The Day of the Locust is a 1939 novel by American author Nathanael West, set in Hollywood, California during the Great Depression, its overarching themes deal with the alienation and desperation of a broad group of odd individuals who exist at the fringes of the Hollywood movie industry.In 1998,...
was the inspiration for naming Homer. Homer's middle initial "J", which stands for "Jay", is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose
Bullwinkle J. Moose
Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
and Rocket J. Squirrel
Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Rocket J. Squirrel, usually called by the nickname "Rocky", is the name of the flying squirrel protagonist of the 1959-1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show , produced by Jay Ward. Rocky's sidekick is the cartoon moose, Bullwinkle...
from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
who got their middle initial from Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
.
Homer made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. Homer and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
Design
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
as a tube-shaped coffee can with a salad bowl on top. Bart's head is also coffee-can shaped, while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie. During the shorts, the animators experimented with the way Homer would move his mouth when talking. At one point, his mouth would stretch out back "beyond his beardline"; but this was dropped when it got "out of control." In some early episodes, Homer's hair was rounded rather than sharply pointed because animation director Wes Archer
Wes Archer
Wesley Meyer Archer is a television animation director. He was one of the original three animators on The Simpsons' Tracey Ullman shorts and subsequently directed a number of The Simpsons episodes before becoming supervising director at King of the Hill. A...
felt it should look disheveled. Homer's hair evolved to be consistently pointed. During the first three seasons, Homer's design for some close-up shots included small lines which were meant to be eyebrows. Matt Groening strongly disliked them and they were eventually dropped.
In the season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
(1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI
Treehouse of Horror VI
"Treehouse of Horror VI" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and the sixth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1995, and contains three self-contained segments...
", Homer was computer animated into a three dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors at Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
worked hard not to "reinvent the character". In the final minute of the segment, the 3D Homer ends up in a real world, live-action Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The scene was directed by David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
and was the first time a Simpsons character had been in the real world in the series. Because "Lisa's Wedding
Lisa's Wedding
"Lisa's Wedding" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons sixth season, which originally aired March 19, 1995. The plot focuses around Lisa visiting a carnival fortune teller and learning about her future love. It was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jim Reardon. Mandy Patinkin guest stars as...
" (season six
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
, 1995) is set fifteen years in the future, Homer's design was altered to make him older in the episode. He is heavier; one of the hairs on top of his head was removed; and an extra line was placed under the eye. A similar design has been used in subsequent flashforward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
s.
Voice
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, who voices numerous other characters, including Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
, Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
, Mayor Quimby
Joe Quimby
Mayor Joseph "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed "Diamond Joe," is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Bart Gets an F". A member of the Democratic Party, Quimby is the mayor of Springfield, and is a...
and Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Principal Charming". He normally appears in a running gag, where he usually suffers unfortunate, nearly fatal, events...
. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
alongside his wife Deb Lacusta
Deb Lacusta
-Personal life:Lacusta is the wife of The Simpsons star Dan Castellaneta...
. Voices were needed for the Simpsons shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
to voice Homer and Marge rather than hire more actors. In the shorts and first few seasons of the half-hour show, Homer's voice is different from the majority of the series. The voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice", and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the nine- to ten-hour-long recording sessions and had to find something easier. During the second and third seasons of the half-hour show, Castellaneta "dropped the voice down" and developed it as more versatile and humorous, allowing Homer a fuller range of emotions.
Castellaneta's normal speaking voice has no similarity to Homer's. To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest and is said to "let his I.Q. go". While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer's least intelligent comments, such as the line "I am so smart, s-m-r-t" from "Homer Goes to College
Homer Goes to College
"Homer Goes to College" is the third episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 14, 1993. In the episode, Homer's lack of a college degree is revealed and he is sent to Springfield University to pass a nuclear physics class...
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1993) which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta during recording. Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions, and he tries to visualize a scene so that he can give the proper voice to it. Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan".
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1993) is the only episode where Homer's voice was provided by someone other than Castellaneta. The episode features Homer forming a barbershop quartet
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
called The Be Sharps; and, at some points, his singing voice is provided by a member of The Dapper Dans
The Dapper Dans
The Dapper Dans are a barbershop quartet that performs at Disneyland in Anaheim, California , at the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort , and at Hong Kong Disneyland in Lantau Island, Hong Kong...
. The Dapper Dans had recorded the singing parts for all four members of The Be Sharps. Their singing was intermixed with the normal voice actor's voices, often with a regular voice actor singing the melody and the Dapper Dans providing backup.
Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. However, the dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
Character development
Executive producer Al JeanAl Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
notes that in The Simpsons
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, Homer became more of the focus. According to Matt Groening, this was because "With Homer, there’s just a wider range of jokes you can do. And there are far more drastic consequences to Homer’s stupidity. There’s only so far you can go with a juvenile delinquent. We wanted Bart to do anything up to the point of him being tried in court as an adult. But Homer is an adult, and his boneheaded-ness is funnier. [...] Homer is launching himself headfirst into every single impulsive thought that occurs to him."
Homer's behavior has changed a number of times through the run of the series. He was originally "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as his persona was further explored. In early seasons, Homer appeared concerned that his family was going to make him look bad; however, in later episodes he was less anxious about how he was perceived by others. In the first several years, Homer was often portrayed as sweet and sincere, but during Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
's tenure as executive producer (seasons nine
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
, 1997 to twelve
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
, 2001), he became more of "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf". Chris Suellentrop of Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
wrote, "under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon. Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset
Duffless
"Duffless" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season and originally aired on the Fox network on February 18, 1993. After getting arrested for drunk driving, Homer tries to remain sober, at Marge's request. Meanwhile, Lisa attempts to prove that Bart is dumber than a hamster after he...
now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 14, 2000. After a failed marriage attempt with Otto, Becky stays with the Simpson family...
." Fans have dubbed this incarnation of the character "Jerkass Homer". At voice recording sessions, Dan Castellaneta has rejected material written in the script that portrayed Homer as being too mean. He believes that Homer is "boorish and unthinking, but he'd never be mean on purpose." When editing The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
, several scenes were changed or otherwise toned down to make Homer more sympathetic.
The writers have made Homer's intelligence appear to decline over the years; they explain this was not done intentionally, but it was necessary to top previous jokes. For example, in "When You Dish Upon a Star
When You Dish upon a Star
"When You Dish Upon a Star" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons tenth season, which was originally broadcast on November 8, 1998. When the family spend the day at Lake Springfield, Homer meets Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, who are hiding from the media in their secluded summer home...
", (season 10
The Simpsons (season 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
, 1998) the writers included a scene where Homer admits that he cannot read. The writers debated including this plot twist because it would contradict previous scenes in which Homer does read, but eventually they decided to keep the joke because they found it humorous. The writers often debate how far to go in portraying Homer's stupidity; one suggested rule is that "he can never forget his own name".
Personality
The comic efficacy of Homer's personality lies in his frequent bouts of stupidity and laziness, and his explosive anger. He has a low intelligence level and is described by director David SilvermanDavid Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity". Homer also shows immense apathy towards work, is overweight, and "is devoted to his stomach". His short attention span is evidenced by his impulsive decisions to engage in various hobbies and enterprises, only to "change ... his mind when things go badly". Homer often spends his evenings drinking Duff Beer
Duff Beer
Daleside is an independent brewery founded in 1988 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.-Products:Daleside produce a wide range of beers, including Morocco Ale, a traditional spiced beer based on an Elizabethan recipe; Old Legover, a low abv Old Ale ; Monkey Wrench, a stronger Old Ale; Ripon...
at Moe's Tavern and, as shown in the episode "Duffless
Duffless
"Duffless" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season and originally aired on the Fox network on February 18, 1993. After getting arrested for drunk driving, Homer tries to remain sober, at Marge's request. Meanwhile, Lisa attempts to prove that Bart is dumber than a hamster after he...
" (season four
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1993), is a borderline alcoholic. He is very envious of his neighbors, Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
and his family, and is easily enraged by Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
. Homer will often strangle Bart on impulse in a cartoonish manner. The first instance of Homer strangling Bart was in the short "Family Portrait". According to Matt Groening, the rule was that Homer could only strangle Bart impulsively, never with pre-meditation, because doing so "seems sadistic. If we keep it that he’s ruled by his impulses, then he can easily switch impulses. So, even though he impulsively wants to strangle Bart, he also gives up fairly easily." Another of the original ideas entertained by Groening was that Homer would "always get his comeuppance or Bart had to strangle him back", but this was dropped. Homer shows no compunction about expressing his rage, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family. While Homer has repeatedly upset people and caused all sorts of mayhem in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
, these events usually result from a lack of foresight or his intense temper, matched with his impulsivity, rather than any malice. Except for expressing annoyance at Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
, Homer's destructive actions are usually unintentional.
Lisa the Beauty Queen
"Lisa the Beauty Queen" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1992. In the episode, Homer enters Lisa into a beauty pageant to boost her confidence. Lisa is runner-up, but gains the title of Little Miss...
", (season four
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1992) he sold his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and used the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself; in "Rosebud
Rosebud (The Simpsons)
"Rosebud" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 21, 1993. The episode begins by showing how on the eve of his birthday, Mr. Burns starts to miss his childhood teddy bear Bobo...
", (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1993) he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in "Radio Bart
Radio Bart
"Radio Bart" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In the episode, Bart receives a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios...
", (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1992) he spearheaded an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well; and in "A Milhouse Divided
A Milhouse Divided
"A Milhouse Divided" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on December 1, 1996. Milhouse's parents Kirk and Luann get a divorce, causing Homer to examine his own marriage...
", (season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1996) he arranged a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their unsatisfactory first ceremony. Homer, however, has a poor relationship with his father Abraham "Grampa" Simpson
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
, whom he placed in a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
as soon as he could. The Simpson family will often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa, but Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.
Homer is "a (happy) slave to his various appetites", and would gladly sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a single doughnut. He has a vacuous mind but is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about very specific subjects. Homer's brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed however by much longer and consistent periods of ignorance, forgetfulness, and stupidity. Homer has a low IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
of 55 which has variously been attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene" (which eventually causes every male member of the family to become incredibly stupid), his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma, and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe
Frontal lobe
The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of humans and other mammals, located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and positioned anterior to the parietal lobe and superior and anterior to the temporal lobes...
of his brain. In the episode "HOMR
HOMR
"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
" (season 12
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
, 2001) Homer gets surgery to remove the (newly discovered) crayon from his brain, boosting his IQ to 105, but although he bonds very well with Lisa, his newfound capacity for understanding and reason makes him less happy and he gets Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
to reinsert a crayon, causing his intelligence to return to its previous level. Homer often debates with his own mind, which is expressed in voiceover. His brain has a record of giving him dubious advice, sometimes helping him make the right decisions, but often failing spectacularly. It has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on him, Homer's conversations with his brain were used several times during the fourth season, but were later phased out after the producers "used every possible permutation". These exchanges were often introduced because they filled time and were easy for the animators to work on.
Commendations
Homer's influence on comedy and culture has been significant. In 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years." He was placed second on TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
; fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list; and first in a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
poll of the greatest television characters of all time. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons" and first on their 2010 list of the "Top 100 Characters of the Past Twenty Years". Homer was also the runaway winner in British polls that determined who viewers thought was the "greatest American" and which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
" in 1992 for "Lisa's Pony
Lisa's Pony
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, resulting in her flopping at the school...
", 1993 for "Mr. Plow
Mr. Plow
"Mr. Plow" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 1992. In the episode, Homer buys a snow plow and starts a business plowing driveways. It is a huge success, and inspired by this, Barney Gumble starts a...
", in 2004 for "Today I Am a Clown", and in 2009 for "Father Knows Worst
Father Knows Worst
"Father Knows Worst" is the eighteenth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 2009. In the episode, Bart and Lisa start struggling in their academic and social lives at school and Homer starts monitoring them and...
". Although in the case of "Today I Am a Clown", it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer. In 2010
62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, took place on August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT...
, Castellaneta received a fifth Emmy nomination for voicing Homer and Grampa in the episode "Thursdays with Abie
Thursdays with Abie
"Thursdays with Abie" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States on January 3, 2010. In the episode, Grampa meets a human interest journalist who writes and publishes Grampa's life stories making Homer jealous and while...
". In 1993, Castellaneta was given a special Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Homer on The Simpsons. In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
(the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units". Various episodes in which Homer is strongly featured have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons second season and the 26th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets an illegal cable hook-up. Despite the family's enjoyment of the...
" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding
Lisa's Wedding
"Lisa's Wedding" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons sixth season, which originally aired March 19, 1995. The plot focuses around Lisa visiting a carnival fortune teller and learning about her future love. It was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jim Reardon. Mandy Patinkin guest stars as...
" in 1995, "Homer's Phobia
Homer's Phobia
"Homer's Phobia" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 1997. In the episode, Homer dissociates himself from new family friend John after discovering that John is gay...
" in 1997, "Trash of the Titans
Trash of the Titans
"Trash of the Titans" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998...
" in 1998, "HOMR
HOMR
"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
" in 2001, "Three Gays of the Condo
Three Gays of the Condo
"Three Gays of the Condo" is the seventeenth episode in the fourteenth season of The Simpsons and aired April 13, 2003.-Plot:Marge brings an "Oprah's Puzzle Club" jigsaw puzzle to the Simpson Family Wednesdays, for everyone to work on except for Grampa and Maggie, as the box clearly reads for ages...
" in 2003 and "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind
Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind
"Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season, and was first broadcast on December 16, 2007 on Fox. The episode averaged 10.15 million viewers, winning in its time slot and receiving a 12 percent audience share. The episode follows Homer's attempts...
" in 2008. In 2000, Homer and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Analysis
Homer Simpson is an "everymanEveryman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
" and embodies several American stereotypes of working class blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
men: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy and a borderline alcoholic. Matt Groening describes him as "completely ruled by his impulses". Dan Castellaneta calls him "a dog trapped in a man's body", adding, "He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him." In his book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
describes Homer as "the most American of the Simpsons" and believes that while the other Simpson family members could be changed to other nationalities, Homer is "pure American". In the book God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, the authors comment that "Homer's progress (or lack thereof) reveals a character who can do the right thing, if accidentally or begrudgingly." The book The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
includes a chapter analyzing Homer's character from the perspective of Aristotelian
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
virtue ethics
Virtue ethics
Virtue ethics describes the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior, rather than rules , consequentialism , or social context .The difference between these four approaches to morality tends to lie more in the way moral dilemmas are...
. Raja Halwani writes that Homer's "love of life" is an admirable character trait, "for many people are tempted to see in Homer nothing but buffoonery and immorality. He is not politically correct, he is more than happy to judge others, and he certainly does not seem to be obsessed with his health. These qualities might not make Homer an admirable person, but they do make him admirable in some ways, and, more importantly, makes us crave him and the Homer Simpsons of this world." In 2008, Entertainment Weekly justified designating The Simpsons as a television classic by stating, "we all hail Simpson patriarch Homer because his joy is as palpable as his stupidity is stunning".
In the season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
episode "Homer's Enemy
Homer's Enemy
"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 4, 1997. The episode's plot centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hiring a new employee named...
" the writers decided to examine "what it would be like to actually work alongside Homer Simpson". The episode explores the possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic
Work ethic
Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic...
named Frank Grimes placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted. By the end of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero", is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.
In Gilligan Unbound, author Paul Arthur Cantor
Paul Cantor
Paul A. Cantor is a wide-ranging American literary critic inspired by the Austrian School of economic thought.As a young man Cantor attended Ludwig von Mises' seminars. He went on to study English literature at Harvard...
states that he believes Homer's devotion to his family has added to the popularity of the character. He writes, "Homer is the distillation of pure fatherhood. This is why, for all his stupidity, bigotry and self-centered quality, we cannot hate Homer. He continually fails at being a good father, but he never gives up trying, and in some basic and important sense that makes him a good father." The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
remarked "Homer is good because, above all, he is capable of great love. When the chips are down, he always does the right thing by his children—he is never unfaithful in spite of several opportunities."
Cultural influence
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
cited the character as being one of the "top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years" in 2007, adding that Homer "epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor." Robert Thompson
Robert Thompson (professor)
Robert J. Thompson is an American educator and media scholar.Thompson is the Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I...
, director of Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
's Center for the Study of Popular Television believes that "three centuries from now, English professors are going to be regarding Homer Simpson as one of the greatest creations in human storytelling." Animation historian Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
described Homer as one of the best animated characters, saying, "you know someone like it, or you identify with (it). That's really the key to a classic character." Homer has been described by The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic creation of [modern] time". The article remarked, "every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson."
Homer has been cited as a bad influence on children; for example, in 2005 a survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that 59% of parents felt that Homer promoted an unhealthy lifestyle. A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, the findings of which were dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome". Results from a word memory test showed that people with a Body mass index
Body mass index
The body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...
(BMI) of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words.
Despite Homer's embodiment of American culture, his influence has spread to other parts of the world. In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, after whom Homer was named, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian. The character was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada, in real life because Homer Groening was believed to be from the Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
capital, although sources say the senior Groening was actually born in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant
Cerne Abbas giant
The Cerne Abbas Giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant, is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The high, wide figure is carved into the side of a steep hill, and is best viewed from...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
. This caused outrage among local neopagans
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
who performed "rain magic" to try to get it washed away. In 2008, a fake Spanish euro
Spanish euro coins
Spanish euro coins feature three different designs for each of the three series of coins. The minor series of 1, 2 and 5 cent coins were designed by Garcilaso Rollán, the middle series of 10, 20, and 50 cent coins by Begoña Castellanos and the two major coins feature the portrait or effigy of King...
coin was found in Avilés
Avilés
Avilés is a city in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main towns in the Principality of Asturias.The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, in a land that belonged to the sea, surrounded by small promontories, all of them having an altitude of less than...
, Spain, with the face of Homer replacing the figure of King Juan Carlos I. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Homer and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
Homer has appeared, voiced by Castellaneta, in several other television shows, including the sixth season
American Idol (Season 6)
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...
of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
where he opened the show; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he performed a special animated opening monologue for the July 24, 2007, edition; and the 2008 fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation established by media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders who have been affected by cancer. SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts...
where he was shown having a colonoscopy
Colonoscopy
Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It may provide a visual diagnosis and grants the opportunity for biopsy or removal of suspected...
.
D'oh!
Homer's catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", is typically uttered when he injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him. During the voice recording session for a Tracey Ullman ShowThe Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
short, Homer was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". Dan Castellaneta rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh". This was inspired by Jimmy Finlayson
Jimmy Finlayson
James Henderson "Jimmy" Finlayson was a Scottish actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is famous for his squinting, outraged, "double take and fade away" head reaction, and characteristic expression...
, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
films. Finlayson had used the term as a minced oath
Minced oath
A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...
to stand in for the word "Damn
Damnation
Damnation is the concept of everlasting divine punishment and/or disgrace, especially the punishment for sin as threatened by God . A damned being "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's favor...
!" Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!" The first intentional use of D'oh! occurred in the Ullman short "The Krusty the Clown Show", (1989) and its first usage in the series was in the series premiere, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989...
".
"D'oh!" was first added to The New Oxford Dictionary of English
Oxford Dictionary of English
The Oxford Dictionary of English is a single-volume English language dictionary first published in 1998 by Oxford University Press. This dictionary is not based on the Oxford English Dictionary and should not be mistaken for a new or updated version of the OED...
in 1998. It is defined as an interjection
Interjection
In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
"used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid". In 2001, "D'oh!" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, without the apostrophe. The definition of the word is "expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish". In 2006, "D'oh!" was placed in sixth position on TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
's list of the 100 greatest television catchphrases. "D'oh!" is also included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture....
. The book includes several other quotations from Homer, including "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try", from "Burns' Heir
Burns' Heir
"Burns' Heir" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1994. In the episode, Mr. Burns has a near-death experience which prompts him to find an heir to inherit his wealth after he dies...
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1994) as well as "Kids are the best, Apu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all", from "Eight Misbehavin'
Eight Misbehavin'
"Eight Misbehavin" is the seventh episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 1999...
" (season 11
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
, 1999). Both quotes entered the dictionary in August 2007.
Merchandising
Homer's inclusion in many Simpsons publications, toys, and other merchandise is evidence of his enduring popularity. The Homer Book, about Homer's personality and attributes, was released in 2004 and is commercially available. It has been described as "an entertaining little book for occasional reading" and was listed as one of "the most interesting books of 2004" by The ChattanooganThe Chattanoogan
The Chattanoogan and its website "Chattanoogan.com" is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is published by John Wilson, previously a staff writer for the Chattanooga Free Press. The website was launched on September 1, 1999, and calls itself "one of the...
. Other merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mug
Mug
A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 12 fluid ounces of liquid; double a tea cup...
s, alarm clock
Alarm clock
An alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...
s, jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
s, Chia Pet
Chia Pet
Chia Pets are American styled animal-shaped terracotta figurines used to sprout chia, where the chia sprouts grow within a couple of weeks to resemble the animal's fur or hair...
s, and clothing such as slipper
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
s, T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
s, and boxer shorts
Boxer shorts
Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
. Homer has appeared in commercials for 1-800-COLLECT
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
, Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, Butterfinger
Butterfinger
Butterfinger is a candy bar made by Nestlé.The bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center—somewhat similar texture to crisp caramel, with a taste similar to peanut butter—that is coated in compound chocolate.- History :...
, C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft drink created by Suntory. It is known for its lemon flavor and for its advertisements featuring characters from the popular American cartoon The Simpsons.-Sizes:...
, Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken is a US-based chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, also trading outside North America as Texas Chicken. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To Go by George W. Church, Sr., on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, across the street from The Alamo...
, Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
, Intel
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
, Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, Ramada Inn
Ramada
Ramada is a hotel chain owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide.- History :The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by longtime Chicago restaurateur Marion W...
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
and T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's is an American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining. The company is a unit of the Carlson Companies. Its name is taken from the expression TGIF...
. In 2004, Homer starred in a MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
Priceless commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
. In 2001, Kelloggs
Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
launched a brand of cereal called "Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal", which was available for a limited time. In June 2009, Dutch automotive navigation system
Automotive navigation system
An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations...
s manufacturer TomTom
TomTom
TomTom NV is a Dutch manufacturer of automotive navigation systems, including both stand-alone units and software for personal digital assistants and mobile telephones. It is the leading manufacturer of navigation systems in Europe. TomTom's customer service is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
announced that Homer would be added to its downloadable GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
voice lineup. Homer's voice, recorded by Dan Castellaneta, features several in-character comments such as "Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm... ice cream."
Homer has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. He has appeared in every one of The Simpsons video games, including the most recent, The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North...
. Alongside the television series, Homer regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, which were first published on November 29, 1993, and are still issued monthly. Homer also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
and Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
.