Harry Shearer has voiced dozens of characters on Fox’s “The Simpsons,” from Mr. Burns to Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner, but he was replaced as the voice of Springfield physician Dr. Hibbert when producers of the show vowed in 2020 to no longer have white actors voice characters of color. Shearer recently reflected on the change during an interview with The Times of London.
“Folk say the show has become woke in recent years and one of my characters has been affected,” Shearer said. “I voiced the Black physician, Dr. Hibbert, who I based on Bill Cosby. Back then he was known as the ‘whitest Black man on television.’ Then, a couple of years ago, I received an email saying they’d employed a Black actor, who then copied my voice. The result is a Black man imitating a white man imitating the whitest Black man on TV.”
Shearer appeared to question his re-casting,...
“Folk say the show has become woke in recent years and one of my characters has been affected,” Shearer said. “I voiced the Black physician, Dr. Hibbert, who I based on Bill Cosby. Back then he was known as the ‘whitest Black man on television.’ Then, a couple of years ago, I received an email saying they’d employed a Black actor, who then copied my voice. The result is a Black man imitating a white man imitating the whitest Black man on TV.”
Shearer appeared to question his re-casting,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Shooting is underway in New York City right now for director Raja Gosnell's adaptation of the classic cartoon series, "The Smurfs." A pretty wacky cast has assembled for it, including Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, George Lopez... and legendary "Simpsons" voice actor Hank Azaria, who will play Smurf arch-nemesis and evil wizard Gargamel. MTV's Josh Horowitz spoke to Azaria last night on the red carpet for "Date Night," which hits theaters this Friday, and, noting the actor's freshly shaved head, asked if we're looking at Gargamel.
"This is partially Gargamel," he said, indicating his newly hairless scalp. "This is for Gargamel; it saves me about an hour in the [makeup] chair." Okay then. Partial Gargamel. So what more do we add to the costume to complete the package? What does Azaria's evil sorcerer look like?
"It looks like the cartoon: he's got hair around the sides [of his head], crazy eyebrows,...
"This is partially Gargamel," he said, indicating his newly hairless scalp. "This is for Gargamel; it saves me about an hour in the [makeup] chair." Okay then. Partial Gargamel. So what more do we add to the costume to complete the package? What does Azaria's evil sorcerer look like?
"It looks like the cartoon: he's got hair around the sides [of his head], crazy eyebrows,...
- 4/7/2010
- by Adam Rosenberg
- MTV Movies Blog
Hit U.S. TV show The Simpsons has come under fire in Argentina - after the country aired an episode featuring "offensive" comments about former president Juan Peron.
The show sees main character Homer Simpson discussing Peron - who ruled for over ten years before his death in 1974 - with best friend Carl Carlson.
The pair call him a "military dictator" and insist "when he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared".
They go on, adding, "Plus his wife was Madonna" - referring to the 1996 film Evita, the story of Peron's second wife Eva, in which the singer played the title role.
But the comments have infuriated people in the Latin American country - with many calling for the cartoon to be censored.
Lorenzo Pepe, head of the Juan Domingo Peron Institute, called the episode "highly offensive, that part about Madonna was too much".
The Simpsons also attracted controversy in Venezuela earlier this month, with president Hugo Chavez banning the programme, branding it full of "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents".
The show was later reinstated.
The show sees main character Homer Simpson discussing Peron - who ruled for over ten years before his death in 1974 - with best friend Carl Carlson.
The pair call him a "military dictator" and insist "when he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared".
They go on, adding, "Plus his wife was Madonna" - referring to the 1996 film Evita, the story of Peron's second wife Eva, in which the singer played the title role.
But the comments have infuriated people in the Latin American country - with many calling for the cartoon to be censored.
Lorenzo Pepe, head of the Juan Domingo Peron Institute, called the episode "highly offensive, that part about Madonna was too much".
The Simpsons also attracted controversy in Venezuela earlier this month, with president Hugo Chavez banning the programme, branding it full of "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents".
The show was later reinstated.
- 4/28/2008
- WENN
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