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Springfield has seen its fair share of permanent departures over the years! Join us as we count down the most significant recurring Simpsons characters who have canonically passed away. Our list includes everyone from beloved teachers to forgotten barflies, from Homer's Vegas wife to Ned's beloved spouse. Which character's death hit you the hardest?
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00:00Love, we'll be late for the Heaven Buffet. There's a Shrimp Tower.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo. And today, we're looking at the most significant recurring Simpsons
00:09characters who have canonically died. We're excluding deaths from Treehouse of Horror
00:13and Flash Forward episodes, as well as Dr. Marvin Monroe, who we guess is still alive?
00:20Dr. Marvin Monroe? I haven't seen you in years.
00:25Oh, I've been very sick.
00:2810. Alice Glick
00:30I'll wager you've been looking forward to this.
00:33Oh, yes, ma'am.
00:34Here we are. Two quarters.
00:36Cloris Leachman originally voiced this elderly Springfield resident before
00:40Tress McNeil took over the role. Remembered for bringing Bart two quarters closer to a copy of
00:46Radioactive Man No. 1 and attempting to bake Lisa into a pie with Ralph, Mrs. Glick is a rare Simpsons
00:53character who has not officially died once, but twice. She was initially pronounced dead in season
00:5923 due to a robotic seal accident. It happens.
01:03We're live at the Springfield Retirement Castle where longtime resident Alice Glick died last night.
01:08At the pause of this cuddly little killer.
01:11Glick's first death was a throwaway gag that the writers apparently forgot about, as she continued to pop up.
01:17She was given a more permanent death in season 37, collapsing while playing a church organ.
01:23Producer Tim Long ensures that Alice will stay dead this time, although her music will live on.
01:29And the Lord sent forth a mighty tempest that thundered like...
01:33Come on now, Alice, that's a bit much. Alice?
01:39Number 9. Amber Pygau Simpson
01:43Marge is the only woman for Homer, although she's not the only one he's ever married.
01:49Oh, look at this place. We must have really painted the town last night. I have a pounding headache,
01:56my mouth tastes like vomit, and I don't remember a thing!
02:00Welcome to my world.
02:01During a drunken bender in Vegas, Ned and Homer get hitched to a couple of waitresses.
02:06Homer weds Amber, who ultimately dumps him. Just when it seems like everything has gone back to normal,
02:12Amber abruptly comes back into Homer's life, jeopardizing his marriage.
02:24A wedding to Grandpa sends Amber running for the hills. Just as Amber's return came out of nowhere,
02:30so does her subsequent death. A season 18 episode opens with the revelation that Amber died from an
02:36overdose. Despite the bad blood, Marge and the rest of the family attend Amber's funeral,
02:42where she's credited as Homer Simpson's Vegas wife. Strangely, Ginger Flanders doesn't show.
02:49I'll tell you how she died. You know that sign that says do not stand up on the roller coaster?
02:54Yeah.
02:54She overdosed right in front of it.
02:56Oh, class all the way.
02:58Number 8. Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky
03:02A child should be pushed aside with the left hand and drawn closer with the right.
03:07Yes?
03:07Then doesn't your religion command you to make up with Krusty?
03:11But in Exodus, the fifth commandment says,
03:14Honor thy father and thy mother. End of story.
03:18Leading up to the season 26 premiere, the marketing teased that a Simpsons character would die.
03:24Showrunner Al Jean hinted that it would be a character whose actor won an Emmy for their role.
03:29That didn't really narrow down the list, as most of the show's cast members have Emmys for their voiceover work.
03:36Even Jackie Mason won an Emmy for guest-voicing Krusty's father, Rabbi Krustofsky, in a season 3 episode.
03:43What's going on here? Hello, mister? Hello, hello?
03:48Some people got nothing to do but call people in anger. There's all kinds of mishigayim in the world.
03:52That said, the revelation that Hyman dies was something of an anti-climax to the advertising.
03:58Regardless, it was still sad to see the character go,
04:01especially since he leaves Krusty questioning whether his father found him funny.
04:05Krusty eventually finds closure, while Mason still voiced Hyman until his own passing.
04:12Dad?
04:15Show me nose fog.
04:18Oh, God, he's dead.
04:20And he never lived to see me be successful.
04:25Number 7. Larry Dalrymple.
04:28Get the hell out of here!
04:29All of you!
04:30We're leaving!
04:31You too, slumpo!
04:34Slumpo.
04:39I don't like the sound of that squish.
04:41We're familiar with the regulars at Moe's Tavern.
04:43Homer, Barney, Lenny, Carl.
04:46Yet, you'd have to be a die-hard Simpsons fan to know that the barfly in the red jacket was
04:51named Larry.
04:52Even Mike Rice, a former Simpsons showrunner and long-time writer, claimed that he wasn't aware the character had a
04:59name when Larry died in season 35.
05:02I can't wait till I die so I can slide in next to Larry and eat buffalo angel wings for
05:08all eternity without a celery stick in sight.
05:11It's tragic, yet also funny, that the most Larry-centric episode is the one where he sat down at the
05:18bar for the last time.
05:20Larry may have seemed like a glorified extra, although, given how many fans reacted on social media to his passing,
05:26it's clear that he left an impact.
05:29You might not have known his name, but he was there pretty much from the beginning.
05:47Number 6.
05:50Clarence Bouvier
06:01Clarence Bouvier is a unique case, as he didn't die well into the series like the other characters on this
06:08list.
06:08From early in the show, it's implied that Marge's father is deceased, which is eventually confirmed.
06:14We learn that Clarence held down several jobs during his life, most notably as a flight attendant, which caused Marge
06:21long-term psychological trauma.
06:23Daddy, where are you then?
06:25So, who wants a pre-flight cookie?
06:27Fig-dutons?
06:28Hydrox?
06:29Daddy?
06:32Don't look at me!
06:34Don't look at me!
06:37Beyond flashbacks and fleeting mentions of the character,
06:40it's also suggested that Clarence went to hell when he died due to a forged check.
06:46Whether that was real or just a hallucination is somewhat ambiguous.
06:50As for how Clarence died, lung cancer was the official cause.
06:55Of course, when he first saw Homer, it presumably took years off his life.
06:59Oh, honey, this Simpson fella will never provide for you.
07:02He has jackass written all over him.
07:05Marge, do you have any turpentine?
07:07It's not coming on.
07:08Number 5.
07:09Frank Grimes.
07:11But first, let me introduce you to my family.
07:14My perfect family.
07:16From the moment he arrives at the power plant,
07:19the long-suffering Frank Grimes feels like he's living in a parallel universe.
07:23One where somebody like Homer Simpson is constantly celebrated for being lazy and incompetent,
07:30while Grimey works hard with zero rewards.
07:33After Frank's attempts to expose Homer's ignorance fall flat, he finally cracks.
07:38Being Homer Simpson isn't as easy as it seems, however.
07:42For example, if Homer grabbed high-voltage wires, he'd comedically bounce back.
07:47When Grimes does it, he dies.
07:57He can't even rest in peace with Homer's stupidity overshadowing his funeral.
08:02Frank Grimes may be gone, but not forgotten.
08:05Well, except by Homer, who struggles to remember his old enemy's name when Frank Grimes Jr. tries to kill him.
08:12I know you. You're my mechanic, Jr.
08:16Frank Grimes Jr.
08:18Frank Grimes.
08:21Don't you remember? Your ape-like incompetence drove my father insane.
08:27Number 4. Bleeding Gums Murphy.
08:30That was beautiful.
08:32What's it called?
08:33Oh, it's a little tune that I call the I Never Had an Italian Suit Blues.
08:38First appearing in the first season, Bleeding Gums Murphy reunites with Lisa several years later when he's in the hospital.
08:45He never checks out as Lisa learns he passed away shortly after giving her his sacks.
08:50Hey, Bleeding Gums! I was great! And I owe it all to...
08:54What happened to Mr. Murphy?
08:57I'm sorry. He passed away.
08:59Huh? Oh...
09:06While death wasn't unheard of in The Simpsons, this was arguably the first time we truly felt the loss of
09:12a character.
09:13We also share in Lisa's grief as she mourns the one person who understood and nurtured her love for jazz.
09:20Bleeding Gums Murphy re-emerges for one last performance in The Clouds.
09:25But we've been singing the blues ever since he departed.
09:28It was a reminder that although most of these animated characters will outlive us all, some must go out on
09:35a swan song.
09:36Which popular Simpsons characters have died in the past year?
09:40If you said Bleeding Gums Murphy and Dr. Marvin Monroe, you are wrong.
09:45They were never popular.
09:47Number 3. Mona Simpson.
09:49Wait a minute.
09:51Mom?
09:52Homer?
09:57I thought you were dead!
09:58I thought you were dead!
10:01Oh, dang blessed.
10:02Isn't anybody in this dadgum cemetery dead?
10:05I didn't want to cause a fuss, but now that you mention it...
10:09Similar to Marge's father, the audience assumed Homer's mother was dead for years.
10:14So did Homer, until Mona Simpson resurfaces at the cemetery, alive and well.
10:18Being on the run, Mona must flee as fast as she came back into Homer's life, marking one of the
10:24most bittersweet moments in the series.
10:27This isn't goodbye forever, but each time Mona returns to Homer, it's short-lived.
10:32When it appears that Mona is back for good, Homer struggles to accept it, given how many times she's disappeared.
10:38By the time he lets his defenses down, Mona leaves him again, but not by choice.
10:44Mona passes away.
10:46Are you asleep?
10:48Asleep with your eyes open?
10:50Mom?
10:53Mom?
10:54Homer never gets to reconcile with his mother, although he gets closure in his dreams and canonically confusing flashbacks.
11:05I'm the pediatrician.
11:07Just want to take a look at your boy.
11:09So beautiful.
11:11Really?
11:11Don't you see a lot of these?
11:13Not one.
11:14That's my grandson.
11:17Mom?
11:18Number two.
11:19Maude Flanders.
11:21Nettie, I've had about all I can take of Homer Simpson's torso.
11:25I'll get some hot dogs.
11:26No footlongs.
11:27I know.
11:28They make you uncomfortable.
11:29We still remember the original promo for this episode, teasing that a beloved Simpson character would die.
11:36It was hard to believe when Ned's wife Maude fell to her death in a freak t-shirt canon accident.
11:42Being in an era before everyone was online, most viewers weren't aware of the pay and travel costs that led
11:49to the voice actress Maggie Roswell's exit.
11:51While Marsha Mitzman Gavin had been filling in for Roswell, the writers decided to explore uncharted territory by killing off
11:58Maude.
12:00Maude?
12:05Oh my lord, she's dead.
12:09Simpsons characters had died before, but this one changed the status quo in a show that usually resets every week.
12:16Even after Roswell returned to the show, she'd only voice Maude in flashbacks or as a ghost.
12:22You've got to talk to me, Bart.
12:25Leave me alone.
12:26Leave me alone!
12:28The power of Homer sucks compels you!
12:30Ah!
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12:491. Poochie
12:50In our head canon, Poochie made it back to his home planet where he's bigger than Curly Fries.
12:56Then again, we guess Poochie can't die since he wasn't real.
13:00You look like you've got something to say.
13:03Do you?
13:04Yes, I certainly do.
13:07I have to go now.
13:08My planet needs me.
13:14Wow.
13:15Here's our alternative pick.
13:16Number one.
13:18Edna Krabappel
13:19The only dancing I like is square.
13:21Hey, I let you pay for those boys' skipping lessons.
13:25Okay.
13:31There was less laughter in Springfield and the rest of the world when Marsha Wallace died in 2013.
13:38While there were discussions about having Julie Kavner fill in, the crew decided against recasting Wallace's role.
13:44Edna Krabappel wasn't the first Simpsons character to be retired due to an actor's passing.
13:50Phil Hartman is one example.
13:52Unlike Troy McClure or Lionel Hutz, though, Edna's absence needed to be directly addressed.
13:57Not only was she Bart's teacher, but she had recently become Ned's wife,
14:02continuing a sad trend with the Flanders household.
14:07Sorry, wife's old phone number.
14:10Texting to make sure she got to have an okay.
14:20Edna?
14:23Uh, it's Nelson.
14:26Ha ha!
14:27Your wife left you for dirt!
14:29It's never explicitly revealed how Edna died.
14:33All we need to know is that she's gone and deeply missed.
14:36Since then, Bart has had other teachers.
14:39But there's only one Mrs. K.
14:55Which Simpsons death hit you the hardest?
14:58Let us know in the comments.
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