13 Simpsons characters' real-life inspirations (2024)

FAQs

Who is Mr. Burns based off of? ›

Drawing further inspiration from oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller and his grandson David Rockefeller, Groening made Mr. Burns the "embodiment of corporate greed".

Creation and design. Ralph was named after comedian Jackie Gleason's character on The Honeymooners Ralph Kramden.

Creation. McClure was based on the typical "washed up" Hollywood actor. B movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure served as inspiration for his name and certain character aspects. Doug McClure found the homage funny and his children called him "Troy McClure" when his back was turned.

He was inspired by growing up in Portland, but it's really an every town". Groening liked Second City Television's setting of Melonville, a town with a large cast of recurring characters, and used it as inspiration for The Simpsons.

The creator of The Simpsons Matt Groening based Moe on Louis "Red" Deutsch, who was made famous when he was repeatedly prank-called by two Jersey City residents. These prank calls were the inspiration for Bart Simpson's repeated prank calls to Moe, and Deutsch's often profane responses inspired Moe's violent temper.

Dr.

Nick is one of the most beloved doctors on TV and how bad he is at his job is hidden by how endearing and excitable he is. However, the inspiration behind the character is pretty dark, as he's based on the controversial doctor George Nichopoulos, who was Elvis Presley's doctor.

Barry Huffman, better known as Duffman and voiced by Hank Azaria, is a recurring character who, according to Chris Turner, "embodies all the self-importance and over-statement of contemporary marketing." He is the mascot for the fictional Duff Corporation that sells Duff Beer, and is based on Budweiser's former mascot ...

Joe Quimby is a parody of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family. Like the Kennedys, Quimby is of Irish descent, "speaks with a Boston accent, throws money at political problems, and vacations in a coastal resort called the 'Quimby Compound'".

Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed her while waiting to meet James L. Brooks. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the older Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening Bartlett.

Bart also has a 100-issue comic series entitled the Simpson Comics Presents Bart Simpson. Bart is loosely based on Matt Groening and his older brother, Mark Groening.

Who is Homer Simpson inspired by? ›

Homer Simpson was directly inspired by Simpsons creator Matt Groenig 's own father, who had been named after the Ancient Greek poet. In 1987, Groenig was hired to animate shorts for 'The Tracey Ullman Show'.

Marge was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He based the character on his mother Margaret Groening.

Groening's representative says the best source is a TV Guide story from October 2000. In it, Groening states that the twin models for Burns' personality are real-life oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Potter, the miserly banker played by Lionel Barrymore in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.

Disney-owned The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers were all renewed for two seasons back in January 2023, which guarantees their continued presence on Fox through the upcoming 2024-25 TV season.

However the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, has finally decided to set the record straight by denying that Monty was modelled on Fred Olsen. So why did people think that Mr Burns was based on him? Well, for starters, he looks like him!

Naming the characters after members of his own family, Groening named Homer after his father, who himself had been named after the ancient Greek poet. Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer.

Concept and creation. Joe Quimby is a parody of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family. Like the Kennedys, Quimby is of Irish descent, "speaks with a Boston accent, throws money at political problems, and vacations in a coastal resort called the 'Quimby Compound'".