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Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust.
| The Simpsons character | |
| |
| Homer J. Simpson | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hair color | Bald, formerly brown |
| Job | Safety Inspector of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant (See also List of Homer Simpson\'s jobs ) |
| Relatives | Wife: Marge Children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie Parents: Abraham and Mona Half sibling: Herb Powell (See also Simpson family) |
| Voice actor | Dan Castellaneta |
| First appearance | |
| Ullman shorts | "Good Night" |
| The Simpsons | "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |
Homer Jay Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night". He is one of five members of the titular family and has become the most popular and influential character in the series. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences. He has occasionally displayed flashes of great intellect and fitness whenever the situation calls for it, and an integrity reflecting his own values, including a fierce devotion to and protectiveness of his family. Castellaneta describes him as "a dog trapped in a man\'s body. He\'s incredibly loyal—not entirely clean—but you gotta love him."
Homer was created by cartoonist Matt Groening and named after Groening\'s father. He made his television debut on April 19, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night". In the shorts and earlier episodes, his voice was an loose impression of Walter Matthau but eventually evolved into a more robust voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions. Homer has since become one of the most influential fictional characters and has been described by the UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time."There\'s nobody like him... except you, me, everyone", The Sunday Times, 2007-07-08. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. He has inspired an entire line of merchandise and his catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D\'oh!", has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary.
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Although The Simpsons has a floating timeline in which the characters do not age, and the show is set in the current year, certain dates have been given although sometimes these dates are contradicted. Homer was raised on a farm by his parents, Mona and Abraham Simpson. In the mid-1960s, while Homer was between nine and twelve years of age, Mona went into hiding following a run-in with the law. The Simpsons. "Mother Simpson". 19 November 1995. Homer attended Springfield High School and in his final year in 1974, he fell in love with Marge Bouvier. The Simpsons. "The Way We Was". 31 January 1991. The Simpsons. "Homer Goes to College". 14 October 1993. Marge became pregnant with Bart, while Homer was working at a miniature golf course and the two were wed in a small wedding chapel across the state line. The Simpsons. "I Married Marge". 26 December, 1991. After that, Homer secured a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Marge became pregnant with Lisa and, soon after, the new couple bought their first house. Homer took a job as a pin monkey in a bowling alley but, unfortunately for Homer, Marge became pregnant with Maggie shortly after he started his new job and, not being able to support his family, he went back to the nuclear plant. The Simpsons. "And Maggie Makes Three." 22 January 1995. Despite past episodes stating that Bart and Lisa were born in the 1980\'s, the season nineteen episode "That 90\'s Show" contradicted all this and revealed that Homer and Marge lived in the 90\'s before Bart was born.The Simpsons. "That 90\'s Show." January 27 2007.
Homer\'s age has changed as the series moved on, he was 36 in the early episodes,The Simpsons. "Lisa the Beauty Queen." October 15 1992. 38 in season eightThe Simpsons. "Lisa the Beauty Queen." November 10 1996. and 40 in the eighteenth season,The Simpsons. "Springfield Up." February 18 2007. although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent.Turner, p. 78
Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. His personality is one of frequent stupidity, laziness, and explosive anger. He has a low intelligence level, being described by director David Silverman as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity." Homer shows immense laziness towards work, is overweight and "is devoted to his stomach." Dan Castellaneta describes him as "a dog trapped in a man\'s body. He\'s incredibly loyal—not entirely clean—but you gotta love him." He suffers from a short attention span, following only his dominant impulse, which complements his short-lived passion for various hobbies and enterprises, but then "changes his mind when things go badly."Groening, Matt; Scully, Mike; Jean, Al; Brooks, James L.; Silverman, David. (2007). The Simpsons Movie: A Look Behind the Scenes [DVD]. The Sun. Homer is prone to emotional outbursts; he is very envious of his neighbors, the Flanders family, and is easily enraged by Bart and strangles him frequently. He shows no compunction about this, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family, even showing disregard for his son\'s well being in other ways, such as leaving Bart alone at a port. The Simpsons. "The Great Money Caper". 11 December, 2000. These actions can be attributed to Homer not realizing he has responsibilities.
While Homer\'s thoughtless antics often upset his family, he has also revealed himself to be a surprisingly caring father and husband: in "Lisa the Beauty Queen", 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", he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in "Radio Bart", he spearheaded an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well, even though Homer generally hates doing physical labor; and in "A Milhouse Divided", he arranged a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their lousy first ceremony, even going so far as hiring one of The Doobie Brothers as part of the wedding band, and getting a divorce from Marge, which essentially made their second wedding a "real" one.
Homer has a low IQ of 55 due to his hereditary "Simpson Gene," The Simpsons."Lisa the Simpson". 8 March 1998. his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma, The Simpsons. "So It\'s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show". 1 April, 1993. and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain. The Simpsons. "HOMR". 7 January, 2001. Homer\'s intelligence was said to jump fifty points when he had the crayon removed, bringing him to an IQ of 105, slightly above that of an average person, however he had the crayon reinserted, lowering his IQ back to its original 55. The amount of Homer\'s brain which still functions is also questionable. At one point in the series, Homer apparently lost 5% of his brain after a coma and lost 20% when a pipe fell on his head at the nuclear power plant. Homer often debates his own mind; moments like these are expressed in voiceover. Homer\'s brain has a dubious record of advice, either helping Homer make the right decisions or failing completely. It has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on him in the episode "Brother from the Same Planet".
Matt Groening first conceived Homer and the rest of the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks\' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life\'s work, Groening decided to go in another directionBBC. (2000). \'The Simpsons\': America\'s First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox., hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family. Homer was named after Groening\'s father Homer GroeningSadownick, Doug. "Matt Groening", Advocate, Issue 571, 1991-02-26. but very little else, such as Homer\'s behavior and appearance, was based on him.Joseph Rose (2007-08-03). The real people behind Homer Simpson and family. The Oregonian. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Homer then made his debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on April 19, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 14. ISBN 0-00-638898-1 Homer\'s middle initial "J," which was revealed to stand for "Jay",The Simpsons "D\'oh-in in the Wind" November 15, 1998 was a "tribute" to Bullwinkle J. Moose from Rocky and Bullwinkle, a show Matt Groening loved as a child.J is for Jay. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
The whole family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Mike Reiss. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There\'s No Disgrace Like Home" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. The features of Homer\'s character design are generally not used in other characters, for example, in the later seasons, no characters besides Homer and Lenny have a similar beard line.Groening, Matt; Reiss, Mike; Kirkland, Mark. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Principal Charming" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. When Groening drew Homer, he put his initials into the character\'s hairline and ear: the hairline resembles an \'M\', and the right ear resembled a \'G\'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. He still draws the ear as a \'G\' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans.Matt Groening (2001). Simpsons Comics Royale. HarperCollins, 90. ISBN 0-00-711854-6. In some early episodes, Homer\'s hair was rounded rather than pointy because Wes Archer felt it should be mixed up. Homer\'s hair is now consistantly pointy.Groening, Matt; Isaacs, David; Levine, Ken; Reiss, Mike; Kirkland, Mark. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Dancin\' Homer" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. 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.
Homer\'s behavior has changed a number of times through the run of the series. In early seasons, Homer is concerned that his family is going to make him look bad. This was later changed so that he would not care how he was perceived by other people.Reiss, Mike. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There\'s No Disgrace Like Home" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. In the early seasons, he was portrayed as sweet and sincere, but later he became ruder and meaner. Fans have dubbed some later incarnations of the character "Jerkass Homer".Alicia Ritchey (2006-03-28). Matt Groening, did you brain your damage?. The Lantern. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. When editing The Simpsons Movie, several scenes were changed or otherwise toned down to make Homer more sympathetic.Brooks, James L.; Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Scully, Mike; Silverman, David; Castellaneta, Dan; Smith, Yeardley. (2007). Audio commentary [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Homer has also become dumber over the years. Writers explain this was not done intentionally, but something that simply happened over the year because of a need to top previous jokes.Groening,Matt; Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Jon Vitti, George Meyer. (2006). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
In 2005, The Simpsons was adapted for Arabic television. Homer was renamed Omar Shamshoon and several staples of his character were changed: he drank "juice" instead of beer, didn\'t eat bacon, didn\'t visit Moe\'s Tavern and ate kahk instead of doughnuts."D\'oh! Arabized Simpsons not getting many laughs", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2005-10-14. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. The series did not fare very well and only 34 of the 52 adapted episodes aired.Richard Poplak. "Homer’s odyssey - Why The Simpsons flopped in the Middle East", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-07-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Homer\'s voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who also voices several other characters, including Homer\'s father Abe. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show and had done some voice over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge and rather than hire more actors. Homer\'s voice sounds different in the shorts and earlier episodes of the half-hour show. His voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice"Luaine Lee. "D\'oh, you\'re the voices", The Age, 2003-02-27. Retrieved on 2007-08-18. and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the 9-10 hour long recording sessions and had to find something easier.Larry Carroll. "\'Simpsons\' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To \'Burns-Sexual\' Smithers", MTV, 2007-07-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. Castellaneta "dropped the voice down"Lynn Elber. "D\'oh!: The Voice of Homer Is Deceivingly Deadpan", Associated Press, 2007-08-18. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. and developed it into a more robust and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.Brownfield, Paul. "He\'s Homer, but This Odyssey Is His Own", Los Angeles Times, 1999-07-06. To perform Homer\'s voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest and he is said to "let his IQ go". While in this state, he has ad-libbed several of Homer\'s stupid remarksGroening, Matt. (2005). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart\'s Inner Child" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. such as the line "I am so smart, s-m-r-t" from the episode "Homer Goes to College" which was a genuine mistake made by Castellaneta.Castellaneta, Dan. (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart\'s Inner Child" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
Up until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode and, following a pay dispute, he was paid $125,000 per episode until 2004. In 2004, there was another pay dispute and the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.Dan Glaister. "Simpsons actors demand bigger share", The Age, 2004-04-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-18. The issue was resolved a month later"\'Simpsons\' Cast Goes Back To Work", CBS News, 2004-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-08-18. and Castellaneta now earns $250,000 per episode.Peter Sheridan. "Meet the Simpsons", Daily Express, 2004-05-06. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
Homer was placed second on TV Guide\'s 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny;"TV Guide\'s 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time", CNN, 2002-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. fifth on Bravo\'s 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list,The 100 Greatest TV Characters. Bravo. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. and British TV viewers voted him as the greatest TV character of all time.100 Greatest TV characters In 2007, Entertainment Weekly placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons"."The 50 Greatest TV Icons", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-11-15. Homer has been described by the UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time who wrote "Every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson" and "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.""There\'s nobody like him... except you, me, everyone", The Sunday Times, 2007-07-08. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. Homer was also the runaway winner in a British poll that determined which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States."Presidential poll win for Homer", BBC News, 2004-10-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including three Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" in 1992 for "Lisa\'s Pony"; 1993 for "Mr. Plow" and 2004 for "Today, I am a Clown" although in this case it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer.Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search. Emmys.org. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series"."25th Annual Winners and Nominees", Youngartistawards.org. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units"."Teen Choice Awards: 2005", Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. Various episodes that heavily featured Homer 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, "HOMЯ" in 2001 and "Three Gays of the Condo" in 2003.
An image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England.
The Simpsons has been recommended for use in the teaching of sociology to modern-day college students. (April 2000) "The Cartoon Society: Using "The Simpsons" to Teach and Learn Sociology". Teaching Sociology 28 (2): 127-139. doi:10.2307/1319260. Retrieved on 2007-08-16. "The Simpsons, can be particularly effective for illustrating sociological themes and encouraging critical thinking among today\'s undergraduates" 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.Halwani, Raja [2001]. "Homer and Aristotle", in Irwin, William; Conrad, Mark T.; Skoble, Aeon: The "Simpsons" and Philosophy: The D\'oh! of Homer. Open Court Publishing Co. ISBN 0812694333. “Homer Simpson does not fare well when evaluated morally...” In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, who Homer was named after, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian."Simpson, eh? Homer voted greatest American" (Interview), WorldNetDaily, 2003-06-15. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. He was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg, Canada, because Homer Groening was believed to be from the Manitoba capital, although some say he was actually born in Saskatchewan.Homer Simpson to become an honourary Winnipegger. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2003-05-30). Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the hill figure, the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie. This caused outrage amongst local neopagans who performed "rain magic" to try and get it washed away."Wish for rain to wash away Homer", BBC News, 2007-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome"."Obese people lose IQ through \'Homer Simpson effect\'", Thisislondon, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. Results from a word memory test showed that people with a 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.
Homer\'s ubiquitous catch phrase "D\'oh!" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002,It\'s in the dictionary, d\'oh!. BBC News, Entertainment. BBC (2001-06-14). Archived from the original on 2002-12-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-16. without the apostrophe. The spoken word D\'oh is a trademark of 20th Century Fox.Latest Status Info. TARR. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. It is typically represented in the show\'s script as "(annoyed grunt)", and is so spelled out in the official titles of several episodes.Episode titles with the original spelling include "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot", and "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)". Episodes with d\'oh in their titles include: "D\'oh-in\' in the Wind", "Days of Wine and D\'oh\'ses", "C.E. D\'oh", "We\'re on the Road to D\'ohwhere", and "He Loves to Fly and He D\'oh\'s". Some episodes feature variations of the word such as "Bart of Darkness", when Homer says "D\'oheth" or The Simpsons Movie when Homer shouts "d\'oooome!" The Simpsons Movie [Film]. 20th Century Fox.
When Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, was first asked to voice the exclamation, he rendered it as a drawn out "d\'ooooooh", inspired by Jimmy Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films. Finlayson coined the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!""What’s the story with . . . Homer’s D’oh!", The Herald, Glasgow: 15, July 21, 2007, <http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.1562687.0.whats_the_story_with_homers_doh.php>. Retrieved on 22 July 2007 The show\'s creator Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster so Castellaneta shortened it to a quick "D\'oh!" The word was first used in the Ullman short "Punching Bag", and its first usage in the series was in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".Simon, Jeremy. "Wisdom from The Simpsons\' \'D\'ohh\' boy" (Interview), The Daily Northwestern, 1994-02-11.
Homer\'s inclusion in many Simpsons publications, toys, and other merchandise is evidence of his enduring popularity. He has played central roles in the Simpsons Comics series.Simpson crazy. A book written about Homer\'s personality and attributes has been published and is commercially available.Groening, Matt (2004), The Homer Book, HarperCollins Entertainment, ISBN 0007191685 Other merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mugs, alarm clocks and clothing such as slippers, T-shirts, Baseball caps and Boxer shorts.Homer Simpson stuff. The Simpsons Shop. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. In 2004, Homer starred in a Mastercard Priceless commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVIII.Kathleen Sampey. "Homer Simpson Is \'Priceless\' for MasterCard", Adweek, 2004-01-30. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
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