The following is a list of recurring characters in The Simpsons. The Simpsons includes a large array of characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, and local celebrities. The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokesters or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy Second City Television.

A

Agnes Skinner

Agnes Skinner (Tress MacNeille) is an elderly widow and the adoptive mother of Principal Seymour Skinner. She first appears in "The Crepes of Wrath" as a kindly old woman who embarrassingly calls her son "Spanky". However, as episodes progressed, the character turned bitter. Her personality change is explained by a prank Bart played on her when he caused the toilet to explode. She is very harshly controlling of Seymour, and treats him like a mother would a small child. She loathes Edna Krabappel. Agnes has married a total of four times, once with Skinner's father, and three tow truck drivers. Several Springfield residents (including the Simpsons) are afraid of her. In "Worst Episode Ever" she has a brief romantic relation with the Comic Book Guy and even sleeps with him, despite his size and her age. When Agnes' real son, "the real Seymour Skinner" (Martin Sheen) arrives in Springfield, Agnes turns him away, unhappy with her new living situation. Although she appears to not care for Skinner, it turns out she really loves him, although she denies it in "Large Marge." In the beginning of the series, Agnes's relationship with her son was similar to Norman Bate's and his mother's in the film Psycho. Mrs. Skinner was first called Agnes in "Bart the Fink".

Akira

Akira is a waiter at The Happy Sumo, the teacher of Springfield Martial Arts Academy, and one of the few Japanese characters in the series. In "In Marge We Trust" he helped Homer, Bart, and Lisa Simpson discover the origin of the mysterious "Mr. Sparkle" box, Mr. Sparkle bearing a striking resemblance to Homer. Akira, Luigi, the Sea Captain, and other Springfield restaurant proprietors planned to assassinate Homer for giving their restaurants bad reviews, but were foiled. George Takei originally voiced Akira in the episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish". Then Hank Azaria took over the role, doing an imitation of Takei for the voice.

Artie Ziff

Artie Ziff (Jon Lovitz, Dan Castellaneta), was first seen as Marge Simpson's high school prom date with "busy hands" in the first Homer-Marge flashback episode. He returns in a later episode where he is revealed to have become a nerdy, self-centered and pretentious software billionaire. He offers a million dollars to the Simpsons for one weekend with his childhood love, Marge. Ziff returns for the last time in "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner", where after he gives his bankrupt company to Homer, Homer is taken away by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as they believed he was the real owner. Ziff later turns himself in (after a romantic encounter with Selma Bouvier), where he is extinguishing other prisoners' cigarettes with a spray bottle. Marge told the children to say goodbye to Artie, as they may never see Ziff alive again. He is Jewish; and apparently believes this is why he is so unpopular (when Marge angrily asks if he knows why everyone hates him, he innocently says "Anti-Semitism?".) Ziff is based on a man named Mark Eisenberg, who went to high school with David Silverman.

B

Baby Gerald

Baby Gerald, is Maggie Simpson's archenemy, known for his large unibrow. He makes his first appearance in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", where Lisa refers to Baby Gerald as Maggie's rival. On a few occasions, Gerald has been shown being pushed in a stroller by his mother outside the Simpson house, as the two babies glare at one another. On one occasion, Homer mistakes Maggie for Baby Gerald. Gerald has a history of causing large scale public incidents and was once rescued by Bart's mail-order dog, Laddie. Mayor Quimby once remarks, "Baby Gerald, we can't help but wonder what mischief you'll get into next". Gerald once spilled a shovel full of sand over Snake Jailbird's face.

Benjamin, Doug, and Gary

Benjamin, Doug, and Gary are voiced by Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, and Dan Castellaneta, respectively. Benjamin, Doug, and Gary are partially based on three guys Conan O'Brien, the writer of "Homer Goes to College," was acquainted with in college who were, he said, "incredible nerds." Because time was short, director Jim Reardon used a caricature of animator Rich Moore and colored it black for Benjamin. Benjamin, Doug, and Gary are nerds and dorm roommates at Springfield University. Benjamin wears horn-rimmed glasses, Doug wears a pocket protector, and Gary carries a calculator in his pocket.

Bernice Hibbert

Bernice Hibbert (Tress MacNeille) is Dr. Hibbert's recovering alcoholic wife. She enjoys watching violent car crash movies. She has two boys and a girl with Julius, and laughs like her husband. Her marriage with Julius is on the rocks. Bernice refuses to kiss Julius, even when an entire audience is looking at them; Julius remarks how unaffectionate she can be. Her drinking has been joked about on several occasions; she faints when she reads that prohibition had been introduced to Springfield and attends Springfield Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Bleeding Gums Murphy

"Bleeding Gums" Murphy (Ron Taylor, Daryl L. Coley), was the jazz musician, idol, and mentor of Lisa Simpson. His significant roles were in the episodes "Moaning Lisa" and "'Round Springfield", though he appeared in other episodes, such as "Bart the Daredevil" (where he is yellow), "Dancin' Homer", "Old Money", "Flaming Moe's, "Bart Gets an F", "Radio Bart", and "Lisa's Pony". In "Dancin' Homer", he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley. At one point he had come into money but he bought and consumed several Fabergé eggs. He appeared on Steve Allen's Tonight Show. He had taught Lisa to display her emotions through music, prompting Lisa to hold him as an important figure in her life. His last appearance was in "'Round Springfield after Bart ends up in the hospital, Lisa wanders off to find him dying in a nearby ward. He explains about his life, family, and work to her as well as giving her advice for her upcoming school performance, giving her his saxophone. When Lisa returns she finds out that Bleeding Gums has died from circumstances that are never revealed. No one, except for Lisa, attends Murphy's funeral. Lisa soon learns that though he may be gone, he still is alive in her. It was strongly hinted that Murphy and Doctor Hibbert are long lost brothers, most notably by the quote, "I don't really have a family, all I had was a little brother who grew up to become a doctor. He used to laugh at the most inappropriate times." Hibbert then laughs inappropriately and says "Hey I've got an older brother that I'll never see. He's a jazz musician or some such. Oh well, bye, bye." Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on Blind Lemon Jefferson. The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor, while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins. As a sign of respect for the character, Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons opening sequence since the second season, even after his death, when Bart skateboards past him on the street.

Blue-Haired Lawyer

The Blue-Haired Lawyer (Dan Castellaneta) is Springfield's most prominent and powerful lawyer, known for his blue hair and nasal New York accent. He is one of the few Simpsons characters to have a pasty-colored face. He also occasionally appears to serve as a prosecutor. Unlike Lionel Hutz or Gil Gunderson, he is a competent (though not necessarily ethical) lawyer. He has served as Burns' head lawyer, helping him out with threats of the Power Plant closing down and of Burns losing his money. He is a member of the Springfield Republican Party. His clients often tend to be antagonists of the Simpsons. He represented The Walt Disney Company and tried to shut down the school funfair, citing infringement. His largest role was when he assisted in Bart's emancipation. He also represents the estates of Charlie Chaplin and Jimmy Durante. He is based on Roy Cohn, and a homage to veteran Charles Lane. In "Papa Don't Leech", he helps Lurleen Lumpkin (Beverly D'Angelo) win her trial.

Brandine Spuckler

Brandine Spuckler (Tress MacNeille) is the partner of Cletus Spuckler. Brandine and Cletus are depicted as stereotypical hillbillies. Throughout the series, the two are shown to be brother and sister, boyfriend and girlfriend, mother and son, and father and daughter. She is apparently the daughter of Cletus and an alien, making Cletus a polygamist.She has suffered from rabies, and admitted to being illiterate. She once interviewed for a job as a stripper. More recently, it's shown Brandine is fighting in the Iraq War. She comes back revealing Cletus is the father of only two of the kids, casting doubt over the paternity of her other children.Assuming that all of the children believed to be Cletus' are also hers, Brandine has 45 specifically named children. Brandine and Cletus were married by Homer during his brief stint as a priest, even though Cletus treats the family pig better than her. On April 27, 2008, more is revealed about Cletus and Brandine in an episode entitled "Apocalypse Cow"; Brandine had married Cletus at the age of 13, and had married four times before that. She was briefly under consideration as a foster mother to Bart and Lisa.

C

Cecil Terwilliger

Cecil Terwilliger is the younger brother of Sideshow Bob. He appears in the eighth season episode "Brother from Another Series" and season nineteen's "Funeral for a Fiend." "Brother from Another Series" was written by Ken Keeler, who had "been watching a lot of Frasier at the time," and came up with the idea to do an episode involving Bob's brother. Cecil was voiced by David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles Crane, the brother of Frasier Crane, who was played by Kelsey Grammer, the voice of Sideshow Bob. During the episode Cecil is revealed to have murderous tendencies much the same as his brother, when he attempts to blow up a dam with his brother and Bart inside, to hide the evidence of his embezzlement from the construction company building the dam. In "Funeral for a Fiend," Cecil, Bob, their parents, and Bob's wife and son partake in Bob's scheme to murder Bart Simpson. Cecil and Bob's father was voiced by John Mahoney, who played Pierce and Grammer's father on Frasier.

In a 2008 article, Entertainment Weekly named Pierce's role as Cecil as one of the sixteen best guest appearances on The Simpsons.

Charlie

Charlie (Dan Castellaneta) works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant but his exact job is not stated. He was briefly replaced by Mindy Simmons, but she got fired afterwards. His first appearance was in "Life on the Fast Lane". He was briefly disabled. He has a wife and two kids as well as a sister with a wooden leg. Due to Homer's negligence, he is set on fire. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who said that he was "doing an imitation of Lenny".

Coach Lugash

Lugash (Dan Castellaneta), is a gymnastics instructor, and has only appeared in Children of a Lesser Clod and Little Girl in the Big Ten (although he can briefly be seen in The Simpsons Movie). He has a thick Romanian accent, and a large, brown curled moustache. He says he came into the United States in 1983 by cartwheeling over the Berlin Wall (though in a later episode, it was revealed that Lugash defected into East Germany). He is very harsh, and regularly attends anger management classes. His harsh but effective training techniques helped Lisa achieve a high standard of gymnastic ability. He also has a habit of confiscating his students' cats and dogs, only giving them back when the student has accomplished a physical task, although he once refused to give a girl her dog back and instead gave her a cat. Lugash's character may be based on Olympic gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi, known for his harsh temper and strict instruction methods.

Cookie Kwan

Cookie Kwan (Tress MacNeille), is an Asian American Realtor. She is the stereotypical competitive Asian. She touts herself as being "number one on the West Side", although she also works on the East Side. She is very aggressive toward anyone whom she deems a threat to her business, evidenced by when she threatens Gil Gunderson. She had once attempted to seduce Ned Flanders, had an illegitimate baby with Mayor Quimby, and flirted with Homer. She is friends with Lindsey Naegle. She is a Republican. In her younger years, she had gone to Camp Land-A-Man with Patty and Selma Bouvier, Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten, and Marge Simpson.

Crazy Cat Lady

Eleanor Abernathy (Tress MacNeille), better known as the Crazy Cat Lady, is a woman with the appearance and behavior of a stereotypical mentally ill person. She first appears in the episode Girly Edition; Lisa questions how someone who loves animals so much can be considered crazy and is then bombarded by cats. She is always surrounded by a large number of cats, and in every appearance she screams gibberish and/or throws cats at passers by. Kent Brockman later reveals her true name to be Eleanor Abernathy. She gives Lisa her cat, Snowball V, who looks exactly like her original Snowball II. She briefly becomes sane in "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" thanks to some pills that she shows the Simpsons but returns to her bizarre behavior after Marge mentions the pills are Reese's Pieces. With medication, she is very intelligent. When participating in a mayoral election, unlike the other candidates, she discusses situations such as health care, economy, and public education in between her screams and gibberish.

In the 18th season episode Springfield Up, which flashes back to the childhood of various adult Springfielders, it is revealed that she actually has a somewhat tragic life story. When she was eight, she was a smart and ambitious young girl, similar to Lisa Simpson, who wanted to be both a lawyer and a doctor "because a woman can do anything". She was studying for law school at sixteen, and by twenty-four she had earned a MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Yale Law School,.However, at 32, she suffered exhaustion, turned to alcohol, and became obsessed with her pet cat. By the time she is forty, she assumes her present appearance and behavior.

D

Dave Shutton

Dave Shutton (Harry Shearer), was a newspaper reporter who worked for the Springfield Shopper. His first (and most relevant) appearance was in the season two episode Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish. Since then, his roles have become less relevant and have been reduced to cameos and appearances in crowd scenes. His latest speaking appearance was in "Old Yeller Belly", when he hooks Santa's Little Helper to the world of Duff Beer. According to "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", Part 2, Kent Brockman doesn't like Dave Shutton and thinks he's unprofessional. He last appeared in "The Bart of War".

Disco Stu

Disco Stu (Hank Azaria), is a man whose mind is mentally stuck in the disco era. He is normally featured wearing a rhinestone-encrusted leisure suit. Stu was introduced as the punchline to a joke in "Two Bad Neighbors". In a garage sale, Homer attempts to sell a jacket on which he had once tried to write "Disco Stud" in rhinestones, but having made the letters too big he had left out the final '"d". Another customer recommends it to Stu, but Stu replies "Disco Stu doesn't advertise". Stu's speech pattern is similar to that of Duffman, also voiced by Hank Azaria; he speaks in the third person, often referring to himself as "Disco Stu" (emphasizing "Stu" and then pausing before saying anything else). According to "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", Stu actually is aware disco is dead, does not like disco music at all, and worries that his personality may make him a "one-note guy". He is a Roman Catholic, having gotten an annulment from Pope John Paul II after a brief marriage to Selma Bouvier. In his younger years, he had a budding career as a sea captain, going by the name of "Nautical Stu". He is seen flirting with Marge in "Little Big Mom", but retreats immediately after discovering she has kids. Out of 25, IGN named him the 24th Top Peripheral Character in The Simpsons.

E

Eddie and Lou

Eddie and Lou (Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria) are police officers with the Springfield Police Department. They made their debuts in "There's No Disgrace Like Home". The two do not have surnames, "kinda like Cher"; in his younger years, Lou referred to himself as "Lou the cop". The two say they like being cops because "you get to run red lights, park wherever you please, hot and cold running chicks and when you go home at night, you know you've made a difference".

Lou is the police sergeant and a competent officer of the Springfield Police. He is a foil to Chief Wiggum, and often takes the time to point out Wiggum's mistakes. Lou has been shown to resent Wiggum, and is aware of his chief's ineptitude. In the episode "Pranksta Rap", Lou mentions that he has been writing negative letters to the editor under the pen name "Worried in West Springfield", calling for Wiggum's resignation. Lou was married to a woman named Amy. In "The Bart of War", it is shown that Lou is divorced from his wife, and Eddie has been seeing her occasionally. Lou was named after Lou Whitaker - a former Major League Baseball player. Hank Azaria based Lou's voice on Sylvester Stallone. Lou is a Democrat. Lou finally starred in "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot", where he is featured prominently as the new owner of Santa's Little Helper. The episode reveals Lou has a girlfriend named Charquelle, and is very independent. Instead of going to University, he joined a grunge band with Homer, Lenny, and Carl.

Lou is much more developed as a character than Eddie, and almost nothing is known about Eddie but it is believed that Wiggum considers him the graceful one and can't understand why he is single.

In early episodes Lou was yellow like most Simpsons characters, but was later changed to African-American. Eddie and Lou's voices were originally switched in their first appearance, when they were questioning Homer and Marge about Bart running away on Thanksgiving.

G

Gil

Gil Gunderson, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, first appears in the ninth season episode "Realty Bites", as a luckless real estate agent for Lionel Hutz's Red Blazer Realty. He is a spoof of the Jack Lemmon character Shelley Levene in the 1992 film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross. (Lemmon himself voiced a hapless character in the episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"). Former executive producer Mike Scully said that they thought Gil would be "a one-shot thing. "Dan Castellaneta was so funny at the table read doing the character," Scully elaborated, "we kept making up excuses in subsequent episodes to put him in." Since the death of Phil Hartman, Gil has been the Simpsons' lawyer. In 2008, "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II" won a Writers Guild of America Award in the animation category.

Gloria

Gloria (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is Snake's girlfriend. She first appears in "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love," dating Mr. Burns. She ends up leaving him to return to her ex-boyfriend Snake. Gloria visits Snake in prison in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." She made a silent appearance in "The Old Man and the Key" beside her boyfriend at a drag race. She appears once again in "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes", where she is now pregnant.

God

God, voiced by Harry Shearer, has had many appearances in the series, including "Homer the Heretic", "Thank God It's Doomsday", and a quick scene with him, Buddha, and Colonel Sanders in "Pray Anything". He is portrayed in the traditional depiction of the Abrahamic God in the Western world: a gray-haired Caucasian man in a white robe with a booming voice (though it is revealed in "A Star Is Burns" that he speaks in "Flanderese", responding to Ned Flanders' "Thanks, God!" with "Okely-dokely!"). His face is only seen in a picture owned by Homer in "Pray Anything" (though this was likely an artist's depiction), a picture owned by Ned Flanders in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", and the opening sequence for "Treehouse of Horror XVI". In all other episodes, only his beard is seen as the camera only films him up to the shoulders (God is a head taller than everyone else in the Simpsons universe). His body is usually surrounded by a glowing light, though not always. He does not seem to be all-knowing; for instance, when referring to his son, he states that he does not know "what you people did to him" but "He hasn't been the same since". Also, in the Treehouse of Horror XIV segment "Reaper Madness" Homer tricks God by dressing Selma up as Marge. In the episode "Simpsons Bible Stories," where stories in the Bible are played by Simpsons characters, Ned Flanders plays the character of God in the story of Adam and Eve while Homer and Marge play Adam and Eve. In this episode, God sounds like Ned Flanders; and while he is not actually seen we do see God's arm pop out of a cloud wearing Ned's trademark green sweater. One of God's distinctive features is that he is the only Simpsons character to be drawn with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, though not always (there have been scenes where God has only four fingers like everyone else in the show).

God is the final boss on The Simpsons Game, challenging the player to DDR.

H

Helen Lovejoy

Helen Lovejoy, voiced by Maggie Roswell and Marcia Mitzman Gaven, is Rev. Lovejoy’s judgmental and gossipy wife and the mother of Jessica Lovejoy.

She introduced herself in the episode "Life on the Fast Lane" as "the gossipy wife of the minister." In the episode "Marge in Chains", she promises to "use [her] gossip for good instead of evil." When she was younger, she went to Camp Land-A-Man with Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier, Luann Van Houten, and Cookie Kwan. A younger Helen Lovejoy is seen getting low marks as she did not put her forks in order.

Helen has a strong dislike and/or hate of Mayor Quimby. Whenever they are both seen together (and this is usually when Helen and her group of pious women charge into his office), both glare furiously at each other. This was more notably seen in "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment", where she demands that there should be a new Chief of Police, while smashing her fist on the table.

In the episode "E Pluribus Wiggum" it is seen that she is a Republican.

Her catchphrase is "Won't somebody please think of the children!?" which she always says among a crowd when something bad is happening in the city.

Herman

Herman is the owner of Herman’s Military Antiques and is voiced by Harry Shearer. He has only one arm; he tells Bart that the other arm was lost when he stuck it out the window of a moving bus. In Homer's Odyssey, while on a field trip, Mrs. Krabappel warned her class about sticking his arm out of a window, stating that another boy had lost his arm that way. In Bart the General, it is revealed that the boy could have been Herman. In DVD commentary for Season 1's "Bart the General", Matt Groening says, "The original idea with Herman was that every single time we saw him on the show (the original plan was that he would be a regular character) he would explain how he lost his arm and it would be different every time. 'When you see a sign that says don't stick your hand in the ball return at the bowling alley, you believe it!" His voice is similar to that of George H. W. Bush, and he is based on Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder. A brilliant military tactician, Herman was instrumental in Bart’s victory in water balloon combat against Nelson and in the negotiation of the peace treaty between the two combatants in "Bart the General", which is probably his most significant appearance.

Herman possesses a small nuclear bomb, designed by the US Government during the 1950s to be dropped from a B-52 onto Beatniks. He keeps it in a plot of land behind his store, and usually only brings potential buyers to see it on special occasions. When Homer and his friends visited Herman's store to buy dozens of guns, explaining that they were forming a vigilante movement, Herman brought him to see the Bomb. The Bomb has a sign next to it which reads "Do Not Ride The Bomb", a rule which Homer promptly broke (spoofing ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb").

He is friends with Abraham Simpson, to whom he sold a fez, claiming it was previously owned by Napoleon; Herman then advertised Abe's old hat as "the hat McKinley was shot in". He also tried to sell counterfeit jeans out of the Simpsons' garage, but was foiled by Marge Simpson, though he was not put in jail because the evidence was stolen by the Springfield PD. He once captured Chief Wiggum and Snake and held them hostage (in an homage to a scene from Pulp Fiction), but was thwarted (accidentally) by Milhouse Van Houten wielding a flail.

J

Jack Larson

Jack Larson was a slick spokesman and now president for Laramie Cigarettes and once owned the Springfield Isotopes. He also was the spokesperson in a commercial for the Little Miss Springfield pageant, with Laramie cigarettes as the main sponsor. This advertisement was seen by Homer while watching TV at Moe's Tavern, as seen in the season four episode, "Lisa the Beauty Queen". Lisa did not win but was given the position after the first winner was struck by lightning (conducted by the beauty queen's crown and scepter). He was also seen in "Bart the Murderer", calming the crowd after a truckload of Laramie Cigarettes were stolen by Fat Tony and the Springfield Mafia (much to his distaste).

Jasper Beardly

Jasper (voiced by Harry Shearer) is one of the elder residents of Springfield. His most distinguishing features are his ultra-low, gravelly voice and very long beard. Jasper made his first appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", but did not speak until the episode "Bart the General" when he argued with Abe over the newspaper. He is a veteran of World War II. Jasper also tried to avoid the draft by disguising himself as a woman and staying in Springfield to play in the local women's baseball league, along with his friend Abe, who was also avoiding the war (according to the episode "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play"). However, Grampa's attempts to dodge the war were unsuccessful, and he was eventually assigned to the Flying Hellfish. In the parade scene of "Lisa the Iconoclast", Jasper is seen in uniform, wearing a shoulder patch resembling that of the 2nd Infantry Division.

In the subplot of the season nine episode, "Lisa the Simpson," Jasper was put in crude "suspended animation" in the Kwik-E-Mart's freezer, and under advice from Dr. Nick Riviera, Apu kept him frozen. When Jasper's frozen form became popular with customers, Apu started exploiting the spectacle, and transformed the Kwik-E-Mart into a special interest store dealing with weird items, or perfectly ordinary ones which had been made out to be abnormal, called the Freak-E-Mart. Jasper (or "Frostillicus," as Apu renamed him) was accidentally unfrozen, and stepped out into what he thought was a future world, just as Apu was considering selling him to the Rich Texan. According to a deleted scene from the Season Eight episode "In Marge We Trust", it was revealed that Reverend Lovejoy succeeded Jasper as Minister of the First Church of Springfield. In the episode "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Jasper mentions he is a diabetic. His left leg is prosthetic, as revealed in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)". Jasper is also blind, revealed in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show".

Jebediah Springfield

Jebediah Obediah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield is the founder of the town of Springfield. Springfield, along with his partner Shelbyville Manhattan, led a band that left Maryland in search of "New Sodom" (a misinterpretation of the Bible), but they parted ways over political differences: Manhattan wanted to found a town where people were free to marry their cousins, but Springfield wanted a town devoted to chastity, abstinence, and a flavorless mush called "rootmarm," so Manhattan went on to found the rival town of Shelbyville.

In the winter of 1807, Jebediah reportedly built Springfield’s first hospital singlehandedly, using wood and mud. Springfield is said to have killed a bear with his bare hands, though revisionist historians have determined that the bear in fact probably killed him. A bronze statue depicting this stands in the center of the Springfield town square in front of the town hall. He also is said to have once tamed a buffalo, although he later secretly admitted that it had already been tamed—he merely shot it.

Springfield had many famous quotations, such as "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man", and was well known for his silver tongue (literally; a metal prosthetic tongue, his original tongue having been bitten off by a Turkish pirate in a grog house fight). He also wears a coonskin cap. The Springfield Marathon commemorates an occasion on which he ran across six states in order to avoid his creditors. In "The Telltale Head" Bart beheaded the statue, thinking that this would make him more popular. In reality, the town became depressed and angry, leaving Bart to endure "The Tell-Tale Heart"-style guilt before replacing it. The video game The Simpsons Road Rage references this episode: if one rams the statue while playing, the head will fall off. This can also be done in The Simpsons Hit & Run where Bart or Apu can kick or ram Jebediah's head off. In the video game Bart's Nightmare, Bart imagines himself being attacked by Jebediah heads. In The Simpsons Game in the second level stationed at a museum, a commentary played throughout the museum mentions when Lisa revealed his true name and nature then says "forget I said that."

On an expedition to Springfield's historic "Fort Springfield", Bart Simpson uncovered inconsistencies in the Jebediah legend, such as that he invaded a Native American village the same day as the first Whacking Day. In "Lisa the Iconoclast", Lisa Simpson proved that "Jebediah Springfield" was a bloodthirsty pirate and enemy of George Washington, whom he fought with and lost after Washington crushed Springfield's genitals in a set of iron false teeth. He was named Hans Sprungfeld, and had changed his name in 1795 to hide his identity. Before he died, he wrote his confession on a scrap of canvas that he hid in a fife. The canvas scrap formed the "missing piece" of the famously incomplete 1796 portrait of George Washington; Springfield picked it up during a fight against Washington which occurred while the latter was having his portrait painted.

Judge Constance Harm

Judge Constance Harm (Jane Kaczmarek) is a harsh, unforgiving disciplinarian. She enjoys creating cruel punishments for criminals in her court. She appears to be a transsexual from her statement in "The Parent Rap": "you remind me of me, when I was a little boy". Her name is a play on "constant harm". The character is a parody of Judge Judy. Judge Harm first appears in "The Parent Rap", and a season later in "Barting Over", assisting in Bart's emancipation. In "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister", she revealed she has a husband. Her most recent appearance was in "Rome-old and Juli-eh", telling Homer that he could not file for the "cool kind" of bankruptcy that he was expecting to solve all his problems. Although Judge Snyder resolves court cases, Judge Harm has mainly been used for handing down negative verdicts, such as sentencing a family member to prison. She also appears in "The Wandering Juvie" and "Brake My Wife, Please".

Judge Roy Snyder

Judge Roy Snyder is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is a Springfield judge who goes fishing in his spare time. The character's original name was "Judge Moulton," but former show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein didn't know that, and called him "Snyder." His appearance is based on Robert Bork. According to the episode "Marge in Chains", Snyder has a son that Lawyer Lionel Hutz ran over repeatedly. The name Roy Snyder is a pun on Roy Scheider.

L

Lindsey Naegle

Lindsey Naegle is voiced by Tress MacNeille and first appeared in the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show." In this episode she was named "Network executive." She appeared in "Girly Edition" as "Channel 6 Executive." In the episode "They Saved Lisa's Brain" she was introduced as Lindsey Naegle, a member of the Springfield Chapter of Mensa, and since has become a recurring character. Besides a network executive, Naegle has also been shown working as a marketing researcher, a financial consultant, a telephone company representative, an advertising executive, and an executive with the Child Development Group. On the season 13 episode, Blame It on Lisa, when Marge questions Naegle's many occupations, Naegle, unabashed, admits she is a sexual predator.

Naegle usually serves as the representation of the public relations arm of large corporations, particularly when they are committing morally or legally questionable activities. Protoype-Lindsey Naegles appear throughout the series, including the OminTouch Rep from "Make Room for Lisa" and Laramie Executive Mindy from "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt).

In G.I. (Annoyed Grunt), Krusty calls Ralph Wiggum for his part in Marge's 'Phone Tree'. After alerting Ralph, Krusty tells him "Whatever. Just be sure and call Lindsey Naegle."

Chris Turner, the author of Planet Simpson, called Naegle "an excellent allegory for the modern corporate age: you don't see through her because there's nothing else to see.

Lois Pennycandy

Lois Pennycandy is the executive assistant to Krusty the Clown. She swayed Krusty into visiting Bart Simpson, the child who saved Krusty from jail time, and later reunited him with his estranged father the Rabbi Hyman Krustofski. She was at Krusty's side during the sideshow auditions where Robert Terwilliger became Krusty's new sideshow, and was at Krusty's "funeral" when Krusty was presumed dead after crashing his private jet into a cliff. In a phone conversation with Marge Simpson, Marge asked her, "How can [Krusty] hurt someone who loves him so?" Pennycandy replied, "Oh, Mrs. Simpson, I've wasted my womanhood asking that same question", while looking at a framed photo of Krusty the Clown. At a bachelor charity auction for the Springfield Fire Department, she combined her bid with four other women to share the same bachelor. Her only speaking roles are "Like Father, Like Clown" and " Krusty Gets Kancelled." She was voiced by Pamela Hayden. Pennycandy made her most recent appearance in "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" dressing Krusty in an anti-PETA fur coat.

Luigi Risotto

Luigi Risotto, voiced by Hank Azaria, is the proprietor of Luigi's, the local Italian restaurant. He is a parody of the “Italian pasta/pizza chef” stereotype (and in fact is on a bowling team called “The Stereotypes” along with Cletus Spuckler, Captain Horatio McCallister, and Groundskeeper Willie), but seems to be aware of his status as a stock character. He often treats his customers rudely, insulting and belittling them. In the DVD commentary, it is mentioned that Luigi was copied exactly from a pizza box, which is why he looks somewhat different from the other Simpsons characters. In the episode "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas", he reveals he does not speak Italian ("I speak-a, how you say, fractured English. It's what my parents spoke at the home.").

It is hinted that Luigi is an illegal immigrant, even though he tried to run for mayor, telling Springfielders, "I make you the good government, just how you like it!"

M

Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon

Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon (voiced by Jan Hooks, Tress MacNeille in “The Sweetest Apu”) is Apu’s wife and mother of their octuplets. She was arranged to be married to Apu when she was eight (as depicted in "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons") and Apu was to set out to America for college (as depicted in “Much Apu About Nothing”, her first appearance). She claims that Fried Green Tomatoes is her favorite book, movie, and food. She has excellent culinary abilities, demonstrated by her ability to make a wide variety of dishes using only chickpeas, lentils, and rice. She is also one of Marge's best friends.

In "The Sweetest Apu", Apu has an affair with a Squishee lady. After Homer discovers this, he and Marge confront Apu, who caves into the guilt and vows to apologize to Manjula, who sets him a number of grueling tasks in penance. Manjula is named after a friend of many of the staff writers.

Martha Quimby

Martha Quimby is the wife of Mayor Joe Quimby and the First Lady of Springfield. Quimby wears a pink outfit and a pillbox hat similar to the outfit worn by Jacqueline Kennedy on the day of the Kennedy Assassination. According to Mayor Quimby, the couple met while Martha was working at the "Maison Derrière", a local burlesque house. She first appeared in "Bart Gets Famous" when she walks in on Mayor Quimby in bed with another woman, but apparently forgives him, laughing when he defends himself by saying he "didn't do it". She is humiliated when Marge accidentally uncovers her husband's lothario ways in Last of the Red Hat Mamas and kicks Marge and her friends out before they can have tea. Martha Quimby is voiced by Maggie Roswell.

Marvin Monroe

Dr. Marvin Monroe is a psychotherapist, who first appears in the first season episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home." Homer pawns the family television in order to afford a session with Monroe for him and his dysfunctional family. The failed attempt at therapy culminates with the Simpsons electroshock each other endlessly, to the point of causing a blackout. Unable to help the Simpsons, Monroe refunds double what the Simpsons paid, and the Simpsons buy a new TV.

Voicing Monroe strained Harry Shearer's throat, so the character was discontinued. Monroe was never explicitly killed off, but allusions to his "death" appear throughout the series, such as the Dr. Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital mentioned in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)," the 138th episode retrospective, a glimpse of his gravestone in "Alone Again, Natura-diddily," and a school gym named after him.

Despite this, he reappears in "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" to purchase a copy of Marge's novel "The Harpooned Heart", stating simply that he's "...been very ill" when asked about his absence by Marge.

Dr. Monroe is partially based on the late psychiatrist David Viscott. Matt Groening says that an idea for Monroe which was never used was that it was going to be revealed that he was born "Marilyn Monroe" which is what caused him to become a psychiatrist.

Mary Bailey

Mary Bailey is Springfield's state Democratic governor, voiced by Maggie Roswell. She ran against Mr. Burns in "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", winning in a landslide after Marge served Mr. Burns a Three eyed Fish. She was Mayor of Springfield before Joe Quimby.

Mary Bailey would later appear briefly in the episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" when Bart and Lisa's class visit Capital City. They show Bailey their class projects (designing a new State flag). Mary Bailey yells in disgust after unfurling Lisa's flag. Bart had redesigned it to look like a butt with "Learn to Fart" underneath. She also appears in "The Seven-Beer Snitch" where a prison is built out of a defunct concert hall. She decides to release all the abused prisoners to a garbage barge where they will fight for order amongst themselves.

Mr. Costington

Mr. Costington (voiced by Hank Azaria) is the chairman of Costington’s department store, a local Macy's style department store and owner of the Springfield Mall. He is an insensitive, rude, and obese multi-millionaire. He first appeared in season nine's episode "Trash of the Titans", where he came up with a bogus "Love Day" sale, and later in "Homer vs. Dignity". He is one of very few characters on the show to actually have eyebrows.

Costington's catchphrase is "You're fiiired!". In "The Boys of Bummer", when he hires Homer, he says "You're hiiired!". Homer has worked for him on three occasions: as the Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus, as a mattress salesman, and a model for top-brand Jeans. He also seems to have employed the Yes Guy for he works at the shop most of his appearances. In Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2, he fires Gil for giving Lisa the Malibu Stacy set he had put aside for his (Costington's) daughter. In "Crook and Ladder" Mr. Costington thanks the volunteer fire department for putting out the fire in his store.

Mrs. Glick

Mrs. Glick, originally voiced by Cloris Leachman and later by Tress MacNeille, is an elderly shut-in for whom Bart did chores in "Three Men and a Comic Book"; he didn't get paid very well, so he started to hate her. She had a brother named Asa, mentioned in the same episode, who died during World War I; he was killed by his own grenade, which he held for too long. She is occasionally seen in the background of various episodes, often with a toothless laugh. She is a stereotypical lonely old woman, who spends her days "watching her stories".

Mrs. Muntz

Mrs. Muntz (voice of Tress MacNeille) is Nelson Muntz's mother. Nelson receives his trademark laugh from her. Early on in the series, Nelson would often mention his parents, and it was often implied that Nelson's mother does not care for him. In "A Milhouse Divided", Nelson tells Milhouse that his mom is addicted to cough drops, which is why his father left the family. In "Bart Star", it is stated that Mrs. Muntz used to work at Hooters as one of the waitresses until in a later episode, he explains that she was fired for getting too fat . She owns a dilapidated house and is depicted as a jailbird, a whore, a stripper, or something similar. She was first heard (but not seen) on the Season 10 episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" when Nelson goes to break curfew and she yells, "We're out of Skoal!"

In "'Tis the Fifteenth Season", she appears, telling Nelson that his father simply did not like him, and he left with her golden tooth. Nelson's mother was more introduced in "Sleeping with the Enemy", after years of being mentioned. A loud, high-pitched contemptuous woman, she neglects Nelson. She implies she misses Nelson's father. At the end of the episode, the three Muntzes reunite, and she receives a new job as Lady Macbeth, with "the third director she slept with" ("I don't have to take my top off, but I do anyway!"). Since then, she is often seen around in Springfield. Curiously, in Season 18's "The Haw-Hawed Couple", she appears with brunette hair. As revealed in "Dial 'N' for Nerder", Nelson even refers to her as Mrs. Muntz. In "Any Given Sundance", Nelson creates a film about his strained relationship with his mother and how her life has gone downhill and shows no signs of improving.

Ms. Albright

Ms. Albright (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is Springfield's residential Sunday school teacher at the local church. She speaks with a soft Southern accent and appears to be somewhat intolerant; when referring to Bart when he was tempted to convert to Roman Catholicism, she said "I heard he’s Catholic now. And her (Marge) husband too." She appears to be good friends with Helen Lovejoy. She is occasionally seen in the background of various episodes as well as in Church scenes (such as in “The Father, The Son & The Holy Guest Star”). She appeared in The Simpsons Movie.

O

Old Barber

The Old Barber originated on one of The Simpsons shorts, "Bart’s Haircut, which aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. In the short, he cuts Bart's hair too low, and then Bart tries several ways to hide it. Dan Castellaneta voiced the Old Barber in this short, and based the voice on Bob Elliott's.

The Old Barber later appears in The Simpsons in "Simpson and Delilah" cutting a young Homer's hair in a flashback. In "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk", Homer imagined spending the $25 he earned from selling his stock on a hair cut by the Old Barber. In "Radio Bart" the Old Barber shaves Bart's hair for his birthday, and in "22 Short Films About Springfield", he cuts gum out of Lisa's hair.

The Old Barber made his most recent appearance in the twelfth season episode "Lisa the Treehugger", paying Bart for his work in hair. He was voiced by Harry Shearer in that episode.

Old Jewish Man

The Old Jewish Man, (sometimes called the Crazy Guy or Crazy Old Man) is Grampa Simpson and Jasper Beardley's friend. Mayor Quimby once referred to him as "Old Jewish Man"; as well, a list of heart recipients listed him as "Old Jewish Man" ("Homer's Paternity Coot").

He speaks with a stereotypical Jewish accent, and curses in Yiddish in one episode. He is apparently friendly with Krusty the Clown and Krusty's father, as the three of them have been seen walking along a street singing the ditty "Even though we're not gentile / We'll get together for a while" at Christmas. He often yells at people and is sometimes seen owning a Pep Boys-esque store (in the Halloween story "Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores"). He once had a brief period of stardom after his act of dancing on a street corner singing "The Old Gray Mare" with his pants down became a hit on television. In "Natural Born Kissers", he was revealed as having worked as a studio executive during the making of Casablanca, having hacked on a later suppressed happy ending, with a question mark that left the door open for a sequel, and the It's a Wonderful Life "killing spree ending". He observes that the quality of studio management has changed over the years. At the time of the Casablanca blunder, they "was just dopes in suits. Not like today!" He had a brother named Irving who died and who he misses a great deal.

P

Patches and Poor Violet

Patches and Poor Violet are two of Springfield's orphans. Patches is voiced by Pamela Hayden and Poor Violet is voiced by Tress MacNeille. Introduced in “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace,” Patches had given their only $1 vitamin money to Bart, where he had carelessly used it. They have since had cameos in “I'm Goin' to Praiseland” and “Simple Simpson”, but are seen in many other episodes. Poor Violet often has a cough, while Patches seems to vaguely resemble Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Their skin color is not the “healthy” yellow of the Simpson family. In the Simpsons Comics, the family accidentally adopted Poor Violet and she spent one month with the family. Meanwhile, Patches showed Bart around the orphanage (à la Oliver Twist).

Princess Kashmir

Shauna Tifton, also known as April Flowers and Princess Kashmir, is an exotic dancer introduced in "Homer's Night Out". Bart, using a toy spycam at a restaurant, captures an image of a drunk Homer cavorting with the belly-dancer at a stag party. The incriminating photo is distributed all over town, making Homer famous, but also getting him in trouble with his boss at work (who really wants his advice on how to attract women) and threatening his marriage to Marge. He apologizes to Marge after she kicks him out, but, fearing that Bart will see Homer's picture as a sign that it is okay to treat women like sex objects, Marge makes Homer find Princess Kashmir so he can apologize to her in front of Bart for his sexist behavior.

In "Lisa's Pony", Shauna once dated Apu before his marriage to Manjula, and was also seen with his brother Sanjay. She was in two couch gags: the one from "Marge vs. the Monorail" where everyone in town sits in front of The Simpsons after they make it to the couch (in the couch gag, Shauna is depicted with black hair instead of brown) and the ones from "Bart After Dark" and the first airing of "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" where the living room is a detailed replica of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album. She is on the Homewreckers bowling team in "Team Homer". As an in-joke, she dances in the burlesque house in "Bart After Dark", and in so doing lures Homer from picking up Bart at the house. She also appeared in "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment", dancing with Chief Wiggum at Moe's Tavern. She is also a regular on the game show Springfield Squares. She also danced on a tabletop with Otto in the episode "Flaming Moe's".

R

Rabbi Hyman Krustofski

Rabbi Hyman Krustofski is the rabbi of Temple Beth Springfield, and is also the father of Krusty the Clown. He first appeared in the episode "Like Father, Like Clown." In this episode and in "Today I Am a Clown," he was voiced by Jackie Mason, for which Mason won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

In "Like Father, Like Clown," Rabbi Krustofski had been estranged from his son for several years. He disowned Krusty when the young man chose to become a clown when Krustofski had wanted him to follow the family tradition of becoming a rabbi. Years later, after much exchanging of Talmud passages between Bart Simpson and Rabbi Krustofski, Bart read the Rabbi a quote from Sammy Davis, Jr. admiring the Jews, which finally convinced Rabbi Krustofski to accept his son for his career in entertainment. He and Krusty reunited on the air of Krusty's show. The episode is a parody of the film The Jazz Singer. The parody was writer Jay Kogen's idea. He thought it would be a funny parallel—and a chance to do a lot of easy jokes—if it were a clown instead of a singer who gets rejected by his father.

Rich Texan

Rich Texan voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is a stereotypical rich, callous but gregarious business owner. He is an active member of the Springfield Republican Party and speaks with a heavy Texas drawl. In the fifth season episode “$pringfield” (the Rich Texan's debut), Homer addresses the Rich Texan as Senator, although this was never again referenced. Rich Texan sports a bolo tie and a white cowboy hat. He is also obsessive-compulsive, as revealed in “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story.” He has stated in "Marge's Son Poisoning" that he enjoys moonlight walks on the beach; in the same episode he held Homer and Moe at gunpoint while forcing them to walk along with him after being tricked by the two. He is well known for pulling out a pair of revolvers and firing them into the air while yelling "Yee Haw!" whenever he is happy or excited, and once in "Pray Anything" he went over the top and lost his mind after doing something generous for Ned Flanders. He has a gay grandson, as revealed in "Million Dollar Abie" and a daughter named Paris Texan. In "Midnight Towboy", he revealed he suffers from pogonophobia (the fear of beards and moustaches); he then promptly shoots at least one man dressed as Santa Claus. In the episode "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times", it is revealed that he is improbably from Connecticut. This is likely a reference to George W. Bush, who was born in Connecticut but raised in Texas.

Roger Meyers Jr.

Roger Meyers Junior, voiced by Alex Rocco and Hank Azaria, is the CEO of Itchy and Scratchy International, and is the son of Roger Meyers, Sr. He distributes the cartoon, which is frequently criticized by parents because of its violent nature. Marge wrote a letter to Roger Meyers Jr. in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" denouncing the violence in the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon. Roger responds with a letter calling her a screwball. He is a jaded and selfish businessman who has nothing but contempt for the children who comprise his audience. In "The Day the Violence Died" Itchy and Scratchy International is bankrupted following their trial against Chester J. Lampwick, when Bart and Lisa are too late in providing information that could save the company. He also possesses an extremely obnoxious personality, where he only cares about people who can help him. This is displayed in his contempt for the writers of Itchy and Scratchy when Abraham Simpson becomes the flavor of the month. This is shown again when holding auditions for the voice of Poochie. In "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", he creates Poochie in an attempt to bring the show's ratings back up. Homer is asked to voice Poochie, and does so. The show's ratings plummet, and Poochie is despised.

Ruth Powers

Ruth Powers is the Simpsons' next-door neighbor, introduced when she moves to their neighborhood in the episode "New Kid on the Block". She is divorced and has a daughter, Laura Powers. She is usually seen as a background character, sometimes in events that occurred even before she moved next door (such as the baby shower for Maggie in "And Maggie Makes Three"). She even continues to be a background character despite her later imprisonment. She nearly always wears a red headscarf. In the episode "The Cartridge Family" she was part of the NRA. She was voiced by Pamela Reed in her first two speaking appearances.

The episode "Marge on the Lam" features Ruth and Marge going on the run from the law in a stolen convertible, a parody of Thelma & Louise. Ruth makes a special appearance in the episode "Strong Arms of the Ma", advising Marge (who is taking up weightlifting) to use steroids. She reveals during her time in prison, she was "Miss Mexican Mafia". In The Simpsons Movie, she is seen in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting along with Barney Gumble.

S

Sam and Larry

Sam and Larry are the two barflies usually seen at Moe's Tavern. Their first appearance is in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Virtually nothing is known about them. Sam always wears a cap and glasses and Larry has an orange jacket and a balding head and either looks extremely drunk or very depressed. In the Season 12 episode "Worst Episode Ever", Sam was shot by Moe for paying in Sacagawea dollars, but he has appeared since.

Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon

Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon, voiced by Harry Shearer, is Apu’s younger brother. He has a daughter named Pahusacheta and a son named Jamshed, who both share the Nahasapeemapetilon surname. Sanjay has a wife, as he asked Apu to promise not to sleep with her (Apu's response to this request was a cheery "I promise nothing!"). He occasionally runs the store with Apu, but he is not there all the time. He is also hinted to be a Hindu like Apu.

Sarah Wiggum

Sarah Wiggum (née Kanickee) (voiced by Pamela Hayden) is the wife of Clancy, mother of Ralph and sister of Fred Kanickee (deceased). Like Bernice Hibbert and Martha Quimby, she is one of the less notable characters who hardly ever speaks. According to the episode, "A Star Is Born-Again", at the Jellyfish Dance, Clancy mentions she was more beautiful at that moment than the day he arrested her, to which she giggles in reply. He then mentions he only planted the crystal meth on her so she would "notice" him. Sarah (according to Clancy) is his "home force" and he affectionately calls her "Poppin' Fresh". In the episode, "Grade School Confidential", she immediately dials the authorities to Clancy's command. Ralph apparently gets his appearance from her, as the two look very similar. In the Season 19 episode, "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind", Marge tells Homer that she does not like Sarah Wiggum, though there is no further information as to why Marge feels this way.

The Sea Captain

Horatio McCallister, also known as The Sea Captain, is a sea captain (voiced by Hank Azaria). His character is based on the stereotype of sailors and pirates, including the stereotypical pirate catchphrase, "Yarr!". The writers' "love of sea talk" is what led to the Sea Captain. Hank Azaria modeled the voice after actor Robert Newton. He is a member of the Springfield Alcoholics Anonymous and has a literal "wooden leg" in which he keeps liquor. In "Bart of War" he uses his wooden leg to have a vicious sword fight with Sideshow Mel's bone.

As an entrepreneur, McCallister is equally incompetent. On several occasions, he acknowledges his incompetence with a depressed: "Yarr, I don't know what I'm doin'." His restaurant, The Frying Dutchman, is a failing business venture that does not generate enough income to support its owner. In the episode "Lisa Gets an "A"", the captain appears as a penniless bum. When seeing Homer and Marge walking Homer's pet lobster at the beach, he approaches them and claims that he runs a "small academy for lobsters". However, when Marge refuses to send the lobster away to "some snobby boarding school", McCallister asks her for spare change instead. He attacked a giant squid in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", looking for gold he believed was in its belly.

His only main roles were in episodes "New Kid on the Block" and in "The Wettest Stories Ever Told". In the first one Homer sues his restaurant The Frying Dutchman because they kicked him out at the restaurant's closing time before Homer had eaten all he could eat. In the latter, he can not bring the Simpsons their food for numerous reasons like the "chef having problems with tonight's special", which was a squid and later offers to bring them food from another restaurant, Marge asks if he could bring food from Red Lobster but he says "yar, not that good a restaurant". He then ignores the family while playing pickup basketball games with the restaurant's staff.

In "I'm with Cupid" it's hinted Captain McCallister has homosexual tendencies, although in "Bart's Inner Child" he takes pictures of Selma and Patty naked and "A Star is Born-Again" he says he does not do that sort of thing... on land. In "Faith Off", it is said that he actually suffers from cronic depression, and seeks the help of Bart.

Snake Jailbird

Snake Jailbird (voiced by Hank Azaria) is Springfield's resident recidivist felon, always getting arrested but rarely appearing to stay in jail. He speaks with a "Valley Boy" accent, mixed with a hint of upper-class English that belies his criminal status. He is partial to fast cars and fast women, and has a knack for reckless abandon. Snake first appeared in the season two episode "The War of the Simpsons" as one of the partygoers during Bart and Lisa's wild house party. His name was first mentioned by Sideshow Bob in "Black Widower" when Sideshow Bob was saying goodbye to his prison friends after being granted parole. In the script, the writers had simply mentioned a character named Snake and it had been the directors who had assigned that existing character design to the name. Snake's voice is based on Hank Azaria's old college roommate. Snake is also referred to as Jailbird (his original name) by the crew of the Simpsons. In the episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story," Lisa tells a story in which Snake refers to himself as Professor Jailbird, an archeologist who turned to robbing convenience stores as revenge for the theft of valuable coins he had excavated. Snake attended Princeton University, and turned to a life of crime during his year off. Snake also apparently attended Middlebury College, as he complains about student loan payments and is shown wearing a Middlebury shirt in 22 Short Films About Springfield. He has a casually hostile relationship with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, whose convenience store he robs so frequently that Apu considers the continual robberies perfectly normal. He is often used as a cutaway foil for Apu; often, when Apu mentions his absence from the Kwik-E-Mart, Snake is shown robbing it, with various snide remarks. In the episode Marge in Chains, he literally "shoplifts", stealing the entire Kwik-E-Mart shop via a flat-bed truck, declaring "I'm taking this thing to Mexico!". In Yokel Chords, he and Apu are seen in psychiatrist's office, bickering about Snake's robberies and shootings in the manner of an unhappily married couple. Snake has been shown to have a son, whose name is Jeremy. He appears to be raising his son to be much like himself: in the episode "Pygmoelian", he helps his son steal Lisa's bicycle, and beams with pride when his son exclaims, "Daddy, I'm stealing!" His ex-girlfriend Gloria (who is a traffic officer) briefly dated Montgomery Burns, but then came back to him. Gloria has been voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus on three occasions. It is unknown whether she is Jeremy's mother. In "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Snake is back in jail, but he is out again by Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes, where he is seen with Gloria, who is now pregnant.

Squeaky Voiced Teen

Squeaky Voiced Teen, also known as Jeremy Freedman (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), is one of few teenagers on the show and is perpetually trapped in a series of dead-end jobs that do not lead him anywhere, usually working at Krusty Burger (as a cashier) or at a movie theater (as either the ticket master or an usher). He is seen working in many establishments before being fired or quitting. The Squeaky Voiced Teen has acne vulgaris, and his voice is in the process of breaking. The Squeaky Voiced Teen's personality is shy, pathetic, miserable, and awkward. He is often concerned about others and usually reports them to his boss; however, when he very rarely is the boss himself, he seizes opportunity and becomes stubborn and demanding.

The Squeaky Voiced Teen has appeared in two couch gags: one for the season 12 episode "Worst Episode Ever" where, as a valet, he pushes a couch in for The Simpsons to sit on, but walks off angrily when he doesn't get a tip, and again in "The Lastest Gun in the West" where he makes out with a blond teenage girl on the couch before The Simpsons come in and scare the two of them. In "Fraudcast News" he attempted to commit suicide because Fox canceled Futurama. In "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays", he lost his squeaky voice to "become a man," after Lindsey Naegle suggested that the adults "kill every child...-friendly thing in town." Seymour Skinner refers to the character as "Jeremy" in a deleted scene on The Complete Fifth Season DVD. In "Bart of War", he was seen fighting the Wiseguy character (another character with a series of dead-end jobs). He appears on the 10th season DVD box on both the front and side, as well as the plastic cover for the limited edition Bart Simpson head box.

In the season 7 episode "Team Homer", it is implied that Lunchlady Doris is actually his mother, when he tells Homer that he can not give a bowling lane to his own mother and she replies "I have no son." There are two hints as to his surname: in the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", Abraham Simpson refers to him as "Mr. Peterson"; and in "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)", he is referred to as "Mr. Friedman" by Dolph. International versions of him have appeared twice: In the season six episode "Bart vs. Australia", an "Australian" version of him appears in a souvenir shop, and his voice is that of the drive-through window clerk at Dame Judy's Fish and Chips (who fears the shop's eponymous owner) when the Simpsons visit England in The Regina Monologues. He also appears in The Simpsons Ride as a Ride Operative where he tells the riders he has a math test to study for, hinting he is still in high school.

V

The Vanderbilts

The Vanderbilts are a seemingly wealthy or upper class couple who live in Springfield. They first appeared during the Season 11 episode "Saddlesore Galactica" in which they were horrified at Bart Simpson for using the phrase "Get Bent" which results in Mr. Vanderbilt dropping his monocle into his drink and it then breaking. The couple also appeared in the episode "A Tale of Two Springfields" in which the couple was shocked again and once more Mr. Vanderbilt's monocle was broken. Mrs. Vanderbilt also appeared in the Season 12 episodes "Lisa the Tree Hugger" and "Homer vs. Dignity". In the latter of these episodes she was shocked twice by Homer's behavior. Mrs. Vanderbilt also appeared in the Season 13 episode "The Frying Game", and it is revealed that she is one of Mrs. Bellamy's friends along with Mrs. Glick and Agnes Skinner. Mrs. Vanderbilt made her most recent appearance in Season 19's episode "Homer of Seville" where she leads the mob of dowagers chasing Homer. Mrs. Vanderbilt also appears on the front cover of one of the Simpsons Comics issue 89 in the UK version, in which she is shocked at seeing Grampa in his underwear.

W

The Winfields

The Winfields were an elderly couple who lived next door to the Simpson family. They first appeared in the Season One episode "Homer's Odyssey". The couple eventually moved away from the Simpsons in the Season Four episode "New Kid On The Block", which was also their last speaking appearance. The couple appeared in the Season Two episodes "Simpson and Delilah" and "Bart's Dog Gets An F", in which the wife is named Sylvia. She also had a small speaking role in the Season 3 episode Separate Vocations. The couple also appear in the opening credits of The Simpsons during the segment where Marge and Maggie pass many characters while driving home. A woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mrs. Winfield appears in Simpsons Hit & Run.

Wiseguy

Wiseguy is voiced by Hank Azaria. Simpsons sound editor Bob Beecher commented on alt.tv.simpsons that, "He doesn't have one name. His character's name always fits the scene so he's gone by many names, 'Clerk', 'Shopkeeper', etc. But in the script the direction given to the voice is 'Wiseguy Voice'. So call him 'Wiseguy' if you want. Azaria does a Charles Bronson-impression for the voice. Wiseguy has been dubbed "The Sarcastic Middle-Aged Man" by the show's Internet fans.

In "Day of the Jackanapes," Sideshow Bob calls Wiseguy "Raphael.

Y

Yes Guy

The "Yes Guy" (also known as "The Frank Nelson Type", voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is a character known for bellowing "Yeeeees?!" in a falling, then rising intonation, and appears to be highly eccentric in both his speech and appearance. In his first appearance, Homer asks why his voice is always stretched, and the Yes Guy replies by saying "I had a stroooooke". He also appears in "Homer vs. Dignity". He works at Costington's department store, works as juror number twelve of the Springfield Panel of Jury, and as an executioner at the Springfield Penitentiary. Homer refers to him as "that jerk who always goes Yeeeees!" A Brazilian version of him was seen in "Blame It on Lisa", uttering "Siiiii?!". He is a tribute to the recurring Frank Nelson character from The Jack Benny Program, I Love Lucy, and Sanford and Son, whose trademark greeting in all his characters was a loud, drawn-out "Yeeeees?!" Inexplicably, the original character could always be found working behind the service counter of whatever shop Benny or Fred Sanford might be patronizing, and his Simpsonian counterpart is similar.

See also

• List of characters in The Simpsons
• List of one-time characters in The Simpsons
• List of guest stars on The Simpsons
• List of animals in The Simpsons
• Springfield Mafia
• Springfield Elementary School
• List of Springfield Elementary School students
• List of celebrities in The Simpsons

References