“The Simpsons” 25th Anniversary Trivia
When “The Simpson’s” debuted in 1989, nobody predicted this very “Not Disney” animated cartoon would become a cultural phenomenon. In celebration of the 25th anniversary, here are some facts about “The Simpsons! D’oh!
- Matt Groening fashioned the characters after his own family, changing his own name to “Bart”.
- The characters’ “yellow” complexions were used partly to make the characters more obvious when viewers are channel surfing.
- There are 30 towns named Springfield in USA. Bart’s “Springfield” seems to be a cross section; having farmland, rivers, mountains, and a desert.
- Bart voice is created by a woman. During the show‘s second season, Bart wrote on the chalkboard, “I am not a 32-year-old woman”.
- Dustin Hoffman played Lisa’s teacher Mr. Bergstrom in the show’s second season. Hoffman didn’t want to be identified with a cartoon, so he chose the name “Sam Etic” for his screen credit — a play on the word “Semitic”.
- Some school principals banned Bart Simpson T-shirts as being a bad role model.
- President George H. W. Bush said, “We are going to keep on trying to … make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons”. In response, Bart said, “Hey, we’re just like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the Depression, too.”
- Harry Shearer modeled the voice of wicked tycoon Mr. Burns to resemble Ronald Reagan’s.
- Groundskeeper Willie’s description of the French as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” was used by conservative columnists to ridicule France’s opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
- Michael Jackson guest-starred as a mental patient during a third-season episode. He was listed in the credits as John Jay Smith.
- Homer’s signature “D’oh!” has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary,