Retired 'Simpsons' Characters, Ranked By How Much We Miss Them (2024)

Who He Was: Operator of the Springfield Kwik-E Mart, husband of Manjula, former member of the Be Sharps.

Last Seen: Apu’s last voiced appearance came in the Season 29 premiere, “The Serfsons,” which aired in 2017. He’s appeared as a background character since then.

Why He (Likely) Was Retired: This is one instance where we know exactly why the character was discontinued. Apu has always been a stereotypical Southeast Asian character who made many audience members uncomfortable, but it wasn’t until comedian Hari Kondabalu’s 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu that The Simpsons did something about it. Hank Azaria, who is not Southeast Asian, expressed regret for playing the character in a 2020 interview in which he also confirmed he would not be voicing Apu again. While creator Matt Groening did indicate plans to revive Apu since then, possibly voiced by a different actor, it hasn’t happened and likely won’t.

Why We Miss Him: Many fans loved Apu, who was a fixture in the Springfield community and the centerpiece of some classic episodes. But as Kondabalu argues in his documentary, the problem wasn’t that Apu was voiced by someone with the wrong ethnicity; it’s that the entire character, though written with some affection and depth, is a stereotype. (Simpsons producers had long been well aware of this and occasionally lampshaded it.) Bringing Apu back would likely mean reimagining the character entirely, and at that point, he would be a new character.

Who He Was: Washed-up B-list actor with a long list of ridiculous credits he’s known for plugging, as well as the former husband of Selma Bouvier (yes, like Lionel Hutz). McClure often narrates educational videos, introducing himself with the classic tagline, “You may remember me from…”

Last Seen: His last speaking role was in the Season 10 episode “Bart the Mother,” airing in 1998. That’s the episode when Bart inadvertently kills a mother bird and vows to hatch her eggs, which turn out to be lizards. McClure hosts a nature video that Bart watches at the library to learn more about birds.

Why He (Likely) Was Retired: Troy McClure was one of two recurring characters retired after Phil Hartman’s death, the other being Lionel Hutz.

Why We Miss Him: McClure was always reliable for a laugh or three, whether he was playing an active role in that episode’s storyline or just popping in for a cameo like he does in “Bart the Mother.” How many other obscure and ridiculous credits are on his resume that we never got to hear about?

Who He Was: Shady lawyer frequently hired by the Simpson family, former brother-in-law to Marge.

Last Seen: His last speaking role was in the Season 9 episode “Reality Bites,” which aired in 1997. Marge bumps into him when she takes a job at Red Blazer Realty, which he owns.

Why He (Likely) Was Retired: After Phil Hartman’s 1998 murder by his third wife Brynn, The Simpsons officially retired the character. Hapless salesman Gil Gunderson, voiced by Dan Castelanetta, replaced him on the show.

Why We Miss Him: Whenever Lionel Hutz showed up, it was always a good time for the audience – if not for the Simpson family themselves, as he usually lost their cases. Nobody could play “smarmy desperation” like Phil Hartman could, and Hutz has long been the poster-boy for shameless, criminally incompetent “law-talkin'-guys.”

Who She Was: Wife of Apu, occasional Kwik-E Mart employee, and mother of octuplets. Her first voiced appearance came in the Season 9 episode, “The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons,” which aired in 1997.

Last Seen: The character was retired in 2014, when her original voice actress Jan Hooks passed away - although Hooks hadn’t voiced the character since 2002, with Tress MacNellie voicing her since then. However, she’s still appeared in episodes as late as 2024.

Why They (Likely) Were Retired: This one is a bit messy. Manjula was already semi-officially retired in 2014, but in 2020 The Simpsons confirmed that white performers would no longer be voicing characters of color. That left Manjula somewhat in limbo, as she’s still clearly alive but hasn’t been recast. Like Apu, her fate is uncertain.

Why We Miss Her: While The Simpsons writers did attempt to make Manjula and Apu into characters with depth, it’s difficult to disentangle Manjula, and Apu, from stereotypical origins. Still, Manjula feels very much a part of Springfield, and her relationship with Marge, in particular, was well-developed.

Who He Was: Psychiatrist and health guru who once treated the Simpson family in the Season 1 episode “There’s No Disgrace Like Home.” Since then, he has shown up in various situations that require a doctor, like the Season 1 episode when Homer is mistaken for Bigfoot.

Last Seen: Dr. Monroe made several appearances until Season 7 when he was thought to be dead on the show - to the point that the “Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital” was named for him. However, he was brought back in 2004 for the Season 15 episode “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife,” and has appeared in non-speaking roles since then.

Why He (Likely) Was Retired: In the DVD commentary for Season 7, Al Jean indicated that the character strained Harry Shearer’s voice too much.

Why We Miss Him: Although it’s difficult to picture a scenario that needs a Dr. Monroe in the current Simpsons era (Dr. Hibbert pretty much handles all normal medical matters, and Dr. Nick comes in whenever the show wants to make a joke about quackery), it could be fun to see Dr. Monroe host a Dr. Phil-type talk show.

Who He Was: A bricklayer from Paterson, NJ, who discovered that impersonating Michael Jackson made him a less angry and more benevolent person. Homer meets him in a mental hospital in the Season 3 episode “Stark Raving Dad.” The real Michael Jackson (credited as John Jay Smith) actually voiced the character in the lines where he is pretending to be the pop singer, although the songs were voiced by impersonator Kipp Lennon. Hank Azaria performed Kompowsky's “normal” voice, revealed at the end of the episode.

Last Seen: During “Treehouse of Horror XXXII,” which aired during the show’s 33rd season in 2021.

Why He (Likely) Was Retired: Given the contractual difficulties of getting Jackson to do even one appearance, bringing the character back as-is was probably a no-go. However, in 2016 producer Al Jean confirmed that the show planned to bring Kompowsky back for a follow-up episode, this time with Prince voicing his alter ego. (Prince initially agreed to voice the role but backed out for unknown reasons, and then passed away in 2016).

Why We Miss Him: A Prince-themed Leon episode would have been fun, but the character as a whole seems to have a lot more depth that could be explored.