query: what voice does hank azaria do on the simpsons?

title: Hank Azaria

text: Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and producer best known for his voice characterizations of a variety of characters in the animated television sitcom "The Simpsons" (1989–present), which include Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, the Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson and others. After attending Tufts University, he joined the series with little voice acting experience, but became a regular in its second season, with many of his performances on the show being based on famous actors and characters. In addition to his work on "The Simpsons", Azaria

title: Hank Azaria

text: "Determined to Succeed". Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and producer best known for his voice characterizations of a variety of characters in the animated television sitcom "The Simpsons" (1989–present), which include Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, the Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson and others. After attending Tufts University, he joined the series with little voice acting experience, but became a regular in its second season, with many of his performances on the show being based on famous actors and characters. In addition to his work on

title: The Simpsons

text: spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main "Simpsons" cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show. Azaria and Shearer do not voice members of the title family, but play a majority of the male townspeople. Azaria, who has been a part of the "Simpsons" regular voice cast since the second season, voices recurring characters such as Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and Professor Frink. Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Mr. Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy and Dr. Hibbert. Every main cast member has won a

title: The Simpsons (season 9)

text: for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) in 1998, Hank Azaria won "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" for the voice of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and Alf Clausen and Ken Keeler won the "Outstanding Music and Lyrics" award. Clausen was also nominated for "Outstanding Music Direction" and "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for "Treehouse of Horror VIII". Season nine was also nominated for a "Best Network Television Series" award by the Saturn Awards and "Best Sound Editing" for a Golden Reel Award. "The Simpsons" 9th Season DVD was released on December 19, 2006 in

title: Hank Azaria

text: I had done that well." Nevertheless, by the show's second season he was performing multiple recurring voices and so was given a contract and made a permanent member of the main cast. Since he joined later than the rest of the cast, Groening still considered Azaria the "new guy". In addition to Moe, Wiggum and Apu, Azaria provides the voices of Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, Snake Jailbird, Kirk Van Houten, the Sea Captain, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, Duffman, the Wiseguy and numerous one-time characters. His co-star in "The Simpsons", Nancy Cartwright,

title: Hank Azaria

text: for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening", dubbing Collins' voice. Azaria did not expect to hear from the show again, but they continued to call him back, first to perform the voice of Chief Wiggum and then Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. He felt that, initially, "[the producers] didn't seem too pleased with what I had done...[Simon] was very exacting...[and] was kind of impatiently directing me on the ABCs of comedy. But then, much to my surprise, he would still keep having me back every week. But each week, I thought it was going to be my last week because I really didn't think

title: The Simpsons (season 10)

text: main cast of the season consisted of Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, among others), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, among others) and Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, among others). Up until the production of season ten in 1998, these six main voice actors were paid $30,000 per episode. In 1998, a salary dispute between them and the Fox Broadcasting Company (which airs "The Simpsons") arose, with the actors threatening to go on a strike.

title: Hank Azaria

text: Hrundi V. Bakshi from the film "The Party". Originally, it was thought that Apu being Indian was too offensive and stereotyped, but after Azaria's reading of the line "Hello, Mr. Homer", which the show's producers thought was hilarious, the character stayed. Azaria, however, disputed this on "LateNet with Ray Ellin", claiming that Apu was always intended to be stereotypical. Chief Wiggum's voice was originally a parody of David Brinkley, but when Azaria was told it was too slow, he switched it to that of Edward G. Robinson. Officer Lou is based on Sylvester Stallone, and Dr. Nick is "a bad

title: The Simpsons (season 11)

text: The main cast consisted of Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown amongst others), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyslak, Apu, Chief Wiggum, amongst others) and Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, amongst others). Other cast members included Marcia Wallace (Edna Krabappel), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten, amongst others), Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner, amongst others), Russi Taylor (Martin Prince) and Karl Wiedergott (additional characters). Aside from winning several awards in 2000, The Simpsons family themselves were awarded on January 14, 2000, their

title: Worst Episode Ever

text: choice for him. It was not the first time Azaria won the award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance; in 1998, he won it for his portrayal of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the series. On August 18, 2009, the episode was released as part of a DVD set called "The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season". Mike Scully, Al Jean, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Matt Selman, Hank Azaria, Larry Doyle and Chris Kirkpatrick participated in the audio commentary for the episode. Following its broadcast, "Worst Episode Ever" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Casey Burchby of DVD Talk enjoyed the episode and wrote that

title: The Simpsons (season 14)

text: Moore, Matthew Nastuk, Michael Polcino, Jim Reardon and David Silverman. The main cast consisted of Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown among others), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyslak, Apu, Chief Wiggum, among others) and Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, among others). Other cast members included Marcia Wallace (Edna Krabappel), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten, among others), Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner, among others), Russi Taylor (Martin Prince) and Karl Wiedergott (Additional Voices). This season also saw the return of voice

title: Talk to the Animals

text: animals on "The Muppet Show", and Chief Wiggum of "The Simpsons", in the episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet". Chief Wiggum's voice was provided by Hank Azaria The children's television show, "Kidsongs", produced a music video of their rendition of the song. Larry Hooper included the song as a semi-regular part of his repertoire on "The Lawrence Welk Show". A cover recording of the song by Louis Armstrong is played during the end credits of the 1998 film, "Dr. Dolittle", starring Eddie Murphy. It was the theme song of the Australian "Talk to the Animals" television show. The 1970 De Patie-Freleng cartoon

title: Hank Azaria

text: he agreed to do primarily for the money, but that "I won't even do that unless I think it will at least be fun to do...I really try to throw myself into it, figure out the funniest, cleverest way to get the material over, and make it fun to do and fun to watch." Azaria reprised his role in the 2013 sequel "The Smurfs 2". Azaria is set to star in "" with Richard Gere. Azaria performed a number of voice roles in addition to "The Simpsons", although he noted in 2005: "I started doing other voiceovers for cartoons for

title: Hank Azaria

text: for the 2007 film "The Simpsons Movie". Azaria notes that he spends "an embarrassingly small amount of time working on "The Simpsons."" He works for "an hour on Thursdays when we read through the script, then four hours on Monday when we record it, and I'll pop in again once or twice." He concludes it is "the best job in the world, as far as I'm concerned." Up until 1998, Azaria was paid $30,000 per episode. Azaria and the five other main "The Simpsons" voice actors were then involved in a pay dispute in which Fox threatened to replace them

title: Hank Azaria

text: for a catering firm. Azaria became famous for his voice work in the ongoing animated television series "The Simpsons". He joined the show having previously performed only one voice-over—as the titular animated dog in the failed Fox pilot "Hollywood Dog", a show he described as "sort of Roger Rabbit-esque, where the dog was animated, but everybody else was real." The first voice he performed on "The Simpsons" was that of town bartender Moe Szyslak, replacing Christopher Collins who had initially recorded the character's voice. Having known him from "Hollywood Dog", casting director Bonita Pietila called Azaria and asked him to

title: Hank Azaria

text: I try to fill in," although he finds it "much easier to be someone much closer to myself", as it requires "less energy ... than playing characters that are so out there and high strung". "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has stated that Azaria possesses the ability to turn unfunny lines into some of the best in an episode, while former writer Jay Kogen stated: "Just when I think I know [Azaria's] bag of tricks, he's always got a new thing he does to surprise me." Throughout the run of "The Simpsons", Azaria has had to sing in character several

title: Hank Azaria

text: Frank Grimes, from the episode "Homer's Enemy", on actor William H. Macy. He counts Grimes as the hardest, most emotional performance he has ever had to give in the history of "The Simpsons". Azaria's work on the show has won him four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, in 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2015. He was also nominated for the award in 2009 and 2010, but lost to co-star Dan Castellaneta and guest star Anne Hathaway respectively. He was nominated again in 2012. Azaria, with the rest of the principal cast, reprised all of his voice roles from "The Simpsons"

title: Hank Azaria

text: otherwise ... they kind of remain in the memory banks, so I'm ready to trot them out." Azaria was glad to have found the "ultimate outlet" for this skill, in "The Simpsons". He "didn't realize it [when he joined the show], but it became like a lab for a character actor. I had to do so many voices." In the early 2000s, Azaria felt he had reached the maximum number of voices he was capable of: "For the first 10 years of "The Simpsons", I would develop a bunch of voices. And then ... I hit a point when I

title: Hank Azaria

text: audition for the voice of Moe. At the time he was performing the role of a drug dealer in a play, utilizing a voice based on actor Al Pacino's performance in the film "Dog Day Afternoon". He used the voice in his audition for "The Simpsons" and, at the request of the show's executive producers Matt Groening and Sam Simon, made the voice more "gravelly". Groening and Simon thought the resultant voice was ideal for Moe and took Azaria over to the Fox recording studio. Before he had even seen a script, he recorded several lines of dialogue as Moe

title: Hank Azaria

text: the documentary had changed his perspective on the issue: "The idea that anyone, young or old, past or present, was bullied or teased based on the character of Apu, it just really makes me sad." Azaria also offered to stop voicing the character: "I'm perfectly willing and happy to step aside, or help transition it into something new." In response, Kondabolu tweeted his appreciation for Azaria's statement: "Thank you, @HankAzaria. I appreciate what you said & how you said it." With the continuing success of "The Simpsons", Azaria began taking on other, principally live-action, roles. He was a main cast

title: Hank Azaria

text: family moved to New York, renting a home on 80th Street, with plans to make a final decision on where to live in two years. They previously lived in a four-bedroom house in Pacific Palisades, which Azaria bought from his "The Simpsons" co-star Dan Castellaneta and his wife Deb Lacusta in 2011. Several weeks earlier, Azaria sold his home in Bel Air. Azaria previously owned the fifth-floor co-op loft at 84 Mercer Street in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood, which he bought in 2005 from photographer Cindy Sherman, before selling it in 2013. Azaria is the godfather of Oliver Platt's son, George.

title: Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)

text: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Hank Azaria was at the time credited as a guest star for portraying Moe Szyslak. In this episode, Moe was originally voiced by Christopher Collins, but when Azaria came up with his version; they decided to dub over Collins' voice. Azaria became a regular cast member in the second season. Ms. Botz's pursuit of Bart into the cellar is reminiscent of Robert Mitchum's pursuit of a young boy in the film "The Night of the Hunter". Moe's Tavern plays "The Man That Got Away" from the 1954 remake of "A Star Is Born" directed

title: Hank Azaria

text: voices the lead character, Texan border agent Bud Buckwald, in "Bordertown", which started in 2016. Once "The Simpsons" was "going steadily" and Azaria had enough money to live on, he stopped working on commercials as he found them "demoralizing", feeling that he sounded sarcastic whenever he read for them. When recording the part of "Jell-O Man" for a Jell-O commercial, he was told to make the voice he offered "more likeable and friendly so that children like him." After pointing out that "Jell-O Man" was a fictional character, he left and pledged to never record for an advertisement again. However,

title: The Simpsons (franchise)

text: adapted "The Simpsons" into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990 because of animation problems. "The Simpsons" takes place in the fictional American town of Springfield, without any geographical coordinates or references to U.S. states that might identify which part of the country it represents. For "The Simpsons", Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria

title: Hank Azaria

text: emotionally challenging" material. In 2003, Azaria played journalist Michael Kelly, the former editor of "The New Republic", in the drama film "Shattered Glass". Kelly died a few months before the film was released and Azaria said the film "has become a weird kind of eulogy to him." Since "Huff"s conclusion in 2006, Azaria has continued to make multiple film appearances. He played the smooth-talking Whit in David Schwimmer's directorial debut "Run Fatboy Run" (2007). During production he became good friends with co-star Simon Pegg, performing "The Simpsons" voices on request, frequently distracting Pegg when he was supposed to be filming.

title: The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield

text: Springfield at Fox Interactive for the game, they conceived of the project to construct a real-life replica of the Simpsons' house and gave it away in a contest. Cast members of "The Simpsons", including Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Tress MacNeille, Maggie Roswell, and Phil Hartman, provided their voices for the dialog in the game. Bonita Pietila, who has worked on the show, directed the voice actors. The game also includes the theme song from "The Simpsons" by Danny Elfman. "Virtual Springfield" was rated Teen (T) in North America

title: Hank Azaria

text: Ricky Ricardo impression." The "Wise Guy" voice is "basically Charles Bronson," while Carl is "a silly voice [Azaria] always did." Two of the voices come from his time at college: Snake's is based on Azaria's old college roommate, while Comic Book Guy's voice is based on a student who lived in the room next door to Azaria and went by the name "F". Professor Frink is based on Jerry Lewis' performance in the original "The Nutty Professor", and the Sea Captain is based on English actor Robert Newton's portrayal of many pirates. Azaria based his performance for the one-time character

title: Hank Azaria

text: "Deep Throat" director Gerard Damiano in "Lovelace" (2013). Azaria played Gargamel in the computer-animated/live-action adaptation of "The Smurfs" (2011). Azaria wore a prosthetic nose, ears, buck teeth, eyebrows and a wig, as well as shaving his head. He spent approximately 130 hours in the make-up chair over the course of the production. Azaria considered Gargamel's voice to be the most important part of his performance. The producers wanted an "old, failed, Shakespearean actor" voice, but Azaria felt this would lack energy and wanted something more Eastern European. He eventually selected a voice similar to that of Paul Winchell's from the

title: Hank Azaria

text: a couple of years, but I didn't really love it. I was spoiled by "The Simpsons"." He voiced Venom/Eddie Brock in "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" between 1994 and 1996. In the animated feature "Anastasia" (1997), he voiced Bartok the bat and reprised the role in the direct-to-video prequel "Bartok the Magnificent" (1999). For his performance in "Anastasia", Azaria won the Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production. He also voiced Eric in the American dub of the series "Stressed Eric", Harold Zoid in the 2001 "Futurama" episode "That's Lobstertainment!",

title: Hank Azaria

text: Helen Hunt began in 1994; they married in a traditional Jewish ceremony at the couple's home in Southern California on July 17, 1999. The two had appeared together in "Mad About You" and "Dumbbell Indemnity", an episode of "The Simpsons". After a year of marriage, Azaria moved out of the couple's home, and after a six-month separation, Hunt filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on December 18, 2000. Azaria began dating former actress Katie Wright in 2007, and the two later married. They have a son together, Hal, who was born in 2009. In 2013, the

title: Hank Azaria

text: in Azaria's favour in 2014. Both actors had been using a baseball announcer voice before and since meeting at a party in 1990, but US district judge Gary Allen Feess ruled that only Azaria's voice was, as Brockmire, a defined, "tangible" character and thus subject to copyright. Azaria's friends refer to him as "the freakish mimic" due to his ability to copy almost anyone's voice, instantly after he has heard it. As a child he believed that everyone could do this, but later realized that it was not a common talent. Azaria can "remember every voice I hear, famous or

title: Hank Azaria

text: member on the show "Herman's Head" (1991–1994) playing Jay Nichols, alongside "The Simpsons" co-star Yeardley Smith. He regularly recorded for "The Simpsons" and filmed "Herman's Head" during the same day. Following the series' cancellation Azaria unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Joey Tribbiani, one of the lead characters in the sitcom "Friends". He was instead cast in the role of the scientist David, one of Phoebe Buffay's boyfriends in the series. He appeared in the show's tenth episode "The One with the Monkey", before the character left for a research trip in Minsk. He reprised the role in the show's

title: Hank Azaria

text: in and co-wrote the third episode of the Funny or Die web-series "Gamechangers", entitled "A Legend in the Booth". He played Jim Brockmire, a legendary baseball announcer, fired for a profanity-filled breakdown live on air after discovering his wife was having an affair. Azaria based the voice and style of Brockmire on several veteran sportscasters, including Bob Murphy and Phil Rizzuto. He has since appeared as Brockmire on the NFL Network's "The Rich Eisen Podcast" to discuss the National Football League. In November 2012, Azaria sued actor Craig Bierko over the ownership of the Brockmire voice. The case was ruled

title: The Simpsons

text: do on the show", and "it's a time in our culture where people love to pretend they're offended". In response to the controversy, Apu's voice actor, Hank Azaria, said he was willing to step aside from his role as Apu: "The most important thing is to listen to South Asian people, Indian people in this country when they talk about what they feel and how they think about this character." The criticisms were referenced in the Season 29 episode "No Good Read Goes Unpunished", when Lisa breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience by saying, "Something that started decades

title: The Simpsons Movie

text: animation for around a quarter of the film under Silverman's supervision, with numerous other animators working on scenes. For inspiration for the crowd scenes in the film, the production staff referenced a poster featuring more than 320 "Simpsons" characters. Groening said they tried to include every single character in the film, with 98 having speaking parts, and most members of the crowds being previously established characters instead of generic people. The series' regular voice actors: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer, as well as semi-regular performers Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Marcia Wallace, Maggie

title: The Simpsons (season 21)

text: Awards on CBS and the 2010 Pro Bowl on ESPN. Anne Hathaway won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Princess Penelope in "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", while Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria were also nominated for "Thursdays with Abie" and "Moe Letter Blues" respectively. "Treehouse of Horror XX" won for Writing in a Television Production at the Annie Awards. "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, while "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3-D! On Ice!" was nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Special. The show was also

title: The Simpsons Guy

text: Appel then asked for permission from "Simpsons" executive producers Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Al Jean to use their characters. This was approved; Appel was previously a writer-producer on "The Simpsons" for four seasons, and retained his former colleagues' trust. Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria guest star as their "Simpsons" characters, but Harry Shearer, the final main cast member of "The Simpsons", was unavailable. Asked how he felt about the crossover, Shearer replied, "Matter and anti-matter." "Family Guy" writers pitched several storylines for the crossover, including one in which the Griffins stay with

title: The Simpsons (franchise)

text: the Simpson family, only for their friendship to turn sour when Pawtucket Patriot Ale is revealed to be a rip-off of Duff. Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Hank Azaria guest star as their "Simpsons" characters. The episode also includes cameo appearances by Bob Belcher from "Bob's Burgers" Fred Flintstone from "The Flintstones" and Roger from "American Dad!". 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman produced an animated "The Simpsons" film, entitled "The Simpsons Movie", that was released on July 27, 2007. The film was directed by long-time "Simpsons" producer David Silverman and written by a

title: The Simpsons (season 20)

text: Emmy Award nominations. "Gone Maggie Gone" was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Dan Castellaneta won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy for voicing Homer in the episode "Father Knows Worst"; Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer were also nominated for the episodes "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe" and "The Burns and the Bees", respectively. The winners were announced on September 12, 2009. "The Simpsons" was the only series to be nominated in the Animation category at the Writers Guild of America Awards in 2010. The nominees were: Stephanie Gillis for

title: Old Money (The Simpsons)

text: Frink was originally written as a mad scientist, but when cast member Hank Azaria ad-libbed a voice for Frink, he did an impression of Jerry Lewis's "The Nutty Professor" character, and the writing staff started making Frink more of a parody of Lewis. Frink was named after "The Simpsons" writer John Frink; however, that was before he became a writer for the show. The episode features a guest appearance from American actress Audrey Meadows as Bea. Al Jean, a writer on the show, said Meadows was perfect for the role because she was very sweet, and the staff had a

title: The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History

text: upset [that] the myth of "The Simpsons" would be challenged." Shortly after the article was published, an agent suggested that Ortved write a full book. The producers again decided not to participate, and, according to Ortved, Brooks asked current and former "Simpsons" employees not to talk to Ortved. However, the book does include portions of interviews that several figures did with other sources. Ortved did interview a number of sources for the book, including Hank Azaria, a cast member of the show since the second season, Fox Broadcasting Company owner Rupert Murdoch and former writer Conan O'Brien. Reviews of the

title: The Simpsons Movie

text: The Simpsons Movie The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the Fox television series "The Simpsons". The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell and Russi Taylor, as well as Albert Brooks. The film follows Homer Simpson, whose irresponsibility gets the best of him when he pollutes the lake in Springfield after the town has cleaned it up following receipt of a warning from the Environmental Protection Agency. As the townspeople

title: The Simpsons

text: to both write and guest star in an episode. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, writers of the film "Superbad", wrote the episode "Homer the Whopper", with Rogen voicing a character in it. At the end of 2007, the writers of "The Simpsons" went on strike together with the other members of the Writers Guild of America, East. The show's writers had joined the guild in 1998. "The Simpsons" has six main cast members: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. Castellaneta voices Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Barney

title: Hank Azaria

text: times, a task which he describes as easier than singing normally. "The Smurfs" writer David N. Weiss says Azaria "has a beautiful treasure trove of talent", and "became what you wished you were writing". Playwright Jenelle Riley wrote in 2005 that Azaria was "by far" her favorite actor, praising his "versatility" and "tendency to take small roles that would normally fade into the background and to consistently create characters people care about", noting his roles in "Shattered Glass", "Mystery, Alaska" and especially "". In the early 1990s, Azaria was in a relationship with actress Julie Warner. His relationship with actress

title: Hank Azaria

text: was certainly happy to get those, so I never felt the lack of being considered a dramatic actor because I was so happy to get what I got. And then I became surprised later on when I got dramatic roles. But I never went, 'OK, now it's time to get a dramatic role.'" His next dramatic part was in the television film "Uprising" in 2001. The film was based on the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Azaria played Mordechaj Anielewicz, one of the revolt's leaders. Azaria was confused by his casting in "Uprising" and frequently asked the film's producer and

title: Hank Azaria

text: Azaria produced and starred in the sitcom "Imagine That" in 2002, replacing "Emeril" mid-season in the NBC lineup. He played Josh Miller, a comedy writer, who "transformed" each episode into a character Miller has imagined, "provid[ing] a humorous outlet for his frustrations at home and work". Production closed after five episodes and it was canceled after just two aired, due to poor critical reaction and ratings. Azaria later commented on the show: "I wanted to do something really truthful and interesting and impactful. We had a bunch of executives sitting in the room, all agreeing that "The Larry Sanders Show"

title: Hank Azaria

text: He is also a regular poker player, appearing twice on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and competing at other events, finishing a few places short of the bubble in the main event of the 2010 World Series of Poker. Politically, Azaria has made contributions that support the Democratic Party. He enjoys the music of Elvis Costello, and has stated that he would have been a therapist if he were not an actor. He considers "The Godfather Trilogy" to be what inspired him to become an actor, and counts Peter Sellers and Walt Frazier as his heroes. Azaria co-founded the educational support charity,

title: What Does the Bee Do?

text: What Does the Bee Do? "What Does the Bee Do?" is the fourth episode of the second season of the HBO television series "Boardwalk Empire", and 16th episode overall. First aired on October 16, 2011, it was written by executive story editor Steve Kornacki and directed by Ed Bianchi. Nucky looks to Rothstein for a port to receive alcohol, since the Coast Guard is blockading Atlantic City. Rothstein instructs Lansky and Luciano to oversee the Philadelphia delivery. Nucky also sends Owen Sleater to bomb Doyle's still. Margaret asks for 'money for the children' from Nucky, which she proceeds to hide

title: Hank Azaria

text: Azaria and the rest of the cast received their requested pay raise, approximately $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Azaria and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode. In an April 24, 2018 appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", Azaria discussed his reaction to "The Problem with Apu", a 2017 documentary by Hari Kondabolu that examined Azaria and other white actors who had played South Asian roles as stereotypes. During the interview, Azaria described how watching

title: Hank Azaria

text: wrote that: "The thing about Hank that I most remember is that he started out so unassuming and then, little by little, his abilities were revealed and his contributions to the show escalated. I realized Hank was going to be our breakaway star." As Moe's voice is based on Al Pacino's, likewise many of Azaria's other recurring characters are based on existing sources. He took Apu's voice from the many Indian and Pakistani convenience store workers in Los Angeles that he had interacted with when he first moved to the area, and also loosely based it on Peter Sellers' character

title: Moe Szyslak

text: that he did not discover this fact for several years, and it was explained that Collins' acting was fine, but other staff and actors found Collins unpleasant to work with. Collins recorded several lines as Moe which never aired. In 2001 and 2003, Hank Azaria won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Moe and various other characters. Moe Szyslak Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series "The Simpsons". He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor

title: Hank Azaria

text: as the tortured (is there any other kind) artist Blitzstein." The same year he appeared as author and journalist Mitch Albom alongside Jack Lemmon in the television film "Tuesdays with Morrie", winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the role. Azaria described the latter as the "best work [he has] done." These were two of the first dramatic roles Azaria had taken; throughout his career Azaria has primarily worked in comedy, but tries to balance the two. Azaria commented: "all the roles I got were in comedy at first, and I

title: Hank Azaria

text: the script with some of his ideas about the character, "particularly with the 'married' relationship between Gargamel and [his cat] Azreal " which Azaria conceived. Reviewers from "The San Francisco Chronicle" and "The Boston Globe" commented on Azaria's "overacting" in the role of Gargamel. More positive reaction came from Scott Bowles of "USA Today" called Azaria the "human standout"; Betsy Sharkey of the "Los Angeles Times" felt he suffered the "greatest disservice" of the film's cast due to a poor script. Azaria noted in an interview with "The A.V. Club" that "The Smurfs" and "Night at the Museum" were films

title: Hank Azaria

text: was apprehensive about the project, disliking the lengthy schedule required of a lead actor in a single-camera series, and favoring the "sensibility" of cable shows. However, he liked the script and executive producer John Enbom's previous series "Party Down" and decided to accept the part. Despite Azaria mounting a campaign on Twitter to save it, the series was canceled after four episodes due to low ratings. In 2014, Azaria had a recurring role in the second season of Showtime's "Ray Donovan", playing FBI agent Ed Cochran. Azaria made his film debut in the direct-to-video release "Cool Blue" (1990), as Buzz.

title: Hank Azaria

text: nominations in 2005, including a nomination for Azaria for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Despite the awards, the show continually received low ratings, and Showtime chose not to commission it for a third season. Returning to live-action television in 2011, Azaria starred in the NBC sitcom "Free Agents", a remake of the British series of the same name. He played Alex Taylor, a recently divorced public relations executive "who is missing his kids and trying to keep himself together", and ends up sleeping with a co-worker (Kathryn Hahn). Azaria also served as a producer on the show. He

title: Hank Azaria

text: "Tuesdays With Morrie" (1999) and "Uprising" (2001). He has won six Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was married to actress Helen Hunt from 1999 to 2000 and has been married to actress Katie Wright since 2007. Azaria was born in Queens, New York City, the son of Eastern Sephardic Jewish parents, Ruth (Altcheck) and Albert Azaria. His grandparents on both sides hailed from Thessaloniki, Greece's Spanish Jewish community established there after the 1492 exile from Spain. His family's spoken language at home was the Ladino language, which Azaria has described as "a strange, antiquated Spanish dialect written

title: Gábor Csupó

text: The character design of "The Simpsons" character Dr. Nick Riviera is based somewhat on Csupó. The show's animators mistakenly believed the character's voice actor, Hank Azaria, was impersonating Csupó, but Azaria said the voice was actually a "bad" imitation of Ricky Ricardo from "I Love Lucy". In 1992, Gracie Films switched domestic production of "The Simpsons" to Film Roman. Csupó was "asked [by Gracie Films] if they could bring in their own producer [to oversee the animation production]," but declined, stating "they wanted to tell me how to run my business." Sharon Bernstein of "The Los Angeles Times" wrote that

title: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance

text: would be multiple or no recipients in one year. In 2009, the rules were changed to a category award, with five nominees. Usually, the winner is a voice actor from an animated show, but some narrators of live action shows have won such as Keith David in 2005 and 2008. No winner was named in 1996 or 2007. Nine voice actors from "The Simpsons" have won a combined 14 Emmys. Of those, Dan Castellaneta has won four and Hank Azaria has won three. Ja'net Dubois has won two for "The PJs", Keith David has won two for his narration of

title: What Does the Bee Do?

text: the bomb that Slater set explodes, badly burning one of them. "What Does The Bee Do?" is a children's poem from the late 1800s by Christina Rossetti. Margaret Schroeder's daughter recites it in the episode. "IGN" gave the episode a score of 8.5 out of 10, saying that it "effortlessly hits that sweet spot between advancing the plot while developing characters, much in the same way that the Season 2 premiere did." "The A.V. Club" rated the episode an "A-". The episode was watched by 2.546 million viewers. It fell two tenths, to 1.0 million adults 18-49 rating. What Does

title: Hank Azaria

text: and Abbie Hoffman and Allen Ginsberg in "Chicago 10" (2007). For the 2011 film "Hop", Azaria voiced Carlos and Phil. The response to the film was mostly negative, but many reviewers praised Azaria's performance. For example, Sandie Chen of "The Washington Post" said "Azaria has been honing his over-the-top Spanish accent since "The Birdcage", so anything he says grabs some laughs", while Emma Simmonds of "Time Out" called him an "unflappable presence, voicing two characters with style". Later in the year he voiced The Mighty Sven in "Happy Feet Two". Azaria voices Shelfish Sheldon in "Mack & Moxy." He also

title: Hank Azaria

text: as Charles Danner, and the comedy superhero film "Mystery Men", as the faux-British silverware throwing expert The Blue Raja. Other film roles included Hector Gorgonzolas in "America's Sweethearts" (2001), Claude in "Along Came Polly" (2004), and the young Patches O'Houlihan in "" (2004), the latter two with Ben Stiller. For his role of Claude, a French scuba instructor, in "Along Came Polly", Azaria donned a wig and worked out extensively to get into the physical shape the part required. Azaria played composer Marc Blitzstein in Tim Robbins' film "Cradle Will Rock" in 1999. Paul Clinton wrote that Azaria was "brilliant

title: Hank Azaria

text: seventh season (2001), before making several appearances in the ninth (2003). This return culminates in David proposing to Phoebe; she rejects him, and David leaves the show for good. From 1995 to 1999, Azaria had a recurring role in the sitcom "Mad About You" as Nat Ostertag, the dog walker. Azaria was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his roles in both "Mad About You" (in 1998) and "Friends" (in 2003). Azaria had the lead role in the short-lived sitcom "If Not For You" in 1995, playing record producer Craig Schaeffer.

title: Hank Azaria

text: was our favorite thing on television, but we couldn't do it on NBC, and nor would we want to from a business standpoint; it simply wouldn't make enough money. By the time it aired, the writing was sort of on the wall, and I don't blame them at all. It was apparent it wasn't working." He starred as psychiatrist Craig "Huff" Huffstodt in the Showtime drama series "Huff", which ran for two seasons between 2004 and 2006, airing 24 episodes. Azaria served as an executive producer on the show and directed an episode of its second season. After reading the

title: Hank Azaria

text: Azaria got along with Gold, who was lukewarm about working with him, but after a woman Azaria had "worked with in New York got really furious with him because he said he'd work with me and then didn't", Gold sent him out for auditions. He made his television debut with a role in the pilot episode of the 1986 ABC comedy-drama series "Joe Bash", with Peter Boyle. His part—a one-line role as the police officer Maldonado—was edited out before the show was broadcast, although the role secured him admission to the Screen Actors Guild. Azaria appeared in the TV film

title: Hank Azaria

text: was tapped out. Every noise I can make, I have made. Even characters like Gargamel, I've done. Even if it was only two or three lines, at some point I've done something similar on "The Simpsons", at least somewhere along the line." For many of Azaria's characters, much of their humor is derived from a "funny voice", such as "The Birdcage" and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". He stated that "being funny with a funny voice is more my comfort zone, a broader character that I try to humanize, a kind of silly or wacky persona that

title: Simpsons Tall Tales

text: respectively. "Simpsons Tall Tales" was directed by Bob Anderson and written by John Frink, Don Payne, Bob Bendetson and Matt Selman. The idea for the episode was pitched while the series' staff were coming up with story ideas for the twelfth season. The staff had noticed that viewers responded well to "Simpsons Bible Stories", and decided to write another trilogy episode because of the warm response. The singing hobo in the episode was voiced by Hank Azaria. He would originally be voiced by Jim Carrey, but he dropped out when he found out that he was too busy to record

title: Hank Azaria

text: London's West End. Azaria made his first appearance as Sir Lancelot, the French Taunter, and four other characters in "Spamalot", the musical version of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", which opened in Chicago in December 2004, before moving to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The show met with critical acclaim, receiving fourteen Tony Award nominations in 2005, with Azaria being nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Reuniting with "The Birdcage" director Mike Nichols, and being a huge "Monty Python" fan, he saw it as an opportunity he could not pass up, describing it as

title: Hank Azaria

text: pilot script, he sent it to Platt, who took the role of Huff's friend Russell Tupper. Azaria enjoyed working on the show, but struggled with the bleak subject matter and was often in dispute with its creator Bob Lowry, noting that it "was tough to marry our visions all the time, [because] we both cared so much about it that neither of us were willing to let go." Gillian Flynn of "Entertainment Weekly" called Azaria "impressively subtle" in the role, while John Leonard of "New York magazine" said he was a "shrewd bit of casting." The show garnered seven Emmy

title: Hank Azaria

text: in 2012 he voiced several insects in a commercial for the Chevrolet Sonic. Azaria wrote and directed the 2004 short film "Nobody's Perfect", which won the Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Short at the US Comedy Arts Festival. In January 2007, he was confirmed to be directing "Outsourced", a film about two American workers who journey to get their jobs back, after their factory is moved to Mexico. In 2009, Azaria told "Empire" he was instead focusing on making a documentary about fatherhood. Two years later he told the "Los Angeles Times" that this project was "half-complete" and was

title: Hank Azaria

text: He worked with Stiller again on 2009's "" in which Azaria played the villainous pharaoh Kah Mun Rah, utilizing a Boris Karloff accent. Although the film received mixed reviews, critics praised Azaria's performance. Perry Seibert of "TV Guide" wrote that "thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing. His grandiose, yet slightly fey bad guy is equally funny when he's chewing out minions as he is when deliberating if Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader are evil enough to join his team." He appeared as Abraham in "Year One" (2009), Dr. Knight in 2010's "Love & Other Drugs", and played

title: Hank Azaria

text: director Jon Avnet why he was selected. "I know [Avnet] liked the fact I was Jewish, and he knew I could do accents well. He cast me and David Schwimmer in ["Uprising"], and we were both sort of mystified. He had some instinct that he wanted people who were more known for being funny. He never explained it satisfactorily to me; I don't understand why." His parts in "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "Uprising" affected him, causing a depressive state which he countered with DVDs of the comedy series "Monty Python". Azaria found "Uprising" to be "very difficult very depressing very

title: The Simpsons (season 20)

text: nine holdover episodes from the season 19 (KABF) production line. Production on the season was delayed because of contract negotiations with the six main voice actors. The dispute was resolved, and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 (US) per episode. The delay in production caused the planned 22 episodes to be shortened to 20. In addition, voice actor Dan Castellaneta was credited as a consulting producer for the first time. The main cast consisted of Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer. The recurring cast consisted of Marcia Wallace, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Russi

title: Hank Azaria

text: His first theatrically released feature film appearance came the same year in "Pretty Woman", as a police detective. His next major film role was as television producer Albert Freedman in the 1994 film "Quiz Show", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1996, Azaria played gay Guatemalan housekeeper Agador Spartacus in the film "The Birdcage". For the role, which Azaria considers to be his "big break", he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, and critically branded "the most hilarious performance in the film,"

title: Hank Azaria

text: "Nitti: The Enforcer", about the gangster Frank Nitti, and appeared in the failed pilot "Morning Maggie" alongside Matthew Perry, with whom he became good friends. He played Joe in an episode of the sitcom "Family Ties" in 1988 in which he had one line, and the following year he played Steve Stevenson in an episode of "Growing Pains". Azaria has described his career progression as being gradual; he did not achieve overnight recognition or fame. In Los Angeles, Azaria was trained by acting coach Roy London. Between acting jobs he performed as a stand-up comedian, and worked as a bartender

title: Hank Azaria

text: in Hebrew characters." Azaria's father ran several dress-manufacturing businesses, while his mother raised him and his two older sisters, Stephanie and Elise. Before marrying his father, Azaria's mother had been a publicist for Columbia Pictures, promoting films in Latin American countries, as she was fluent in both English and Spanish. During his childhood, Azaria would often "memorize and mimic" the scripts of the films, shows and stand-up comedy routines that he enjoyed. Azaria attended The Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills. He decided to become an actor after performing in a school play at the age of 16, becoming, at the

title: Hank Azaria

text: cartoon. Azaria disliked the cartoon when it first aired, and considered Gargamel too one-dimensional a character and "just this straight villain"; he opted to make Gargamel "more sarcastic" than in the cartoon, but "discovered that there's no way to play Gargamel without screaming your head off at certain points – ramping him up and getting him very upset over Smurfs". He interpreted him as "very lonely", adding that "he hates the Smurfs because they're such a happy family. He wants in really badly. I think he wants to be embraced as a Smurf". Azaria worked with the writers to "infuse"

title: Hank Azaria

text: expense of his academic studies, "obsessed with acting." Both of his parents loved all forms of show business, which further spurred him to become an actor. He studied drama at Tufts University from 1981 to 1985, where he met and befriended actor Oliver Platt and noted that "Oliver was a better actor than I was in college, and he really inspired me." Together they both starred in various college stage productions, including "The Merchant of Venice", before Azaria trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Although he did not expect the endeavor to be successful, Azaria decided to become

title: Hank Azaria

text: a professional actor, so that later in his life, he would not regret not having tried. Azaria's first acting job was an advertisement for Italian television when he was seventeen years old. He also worked as a busboy. Azaria originally intended to work predominantly as a theatrical actor, and he and Platt set up their own company, named Big Theatre, although Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter" was the only thing they ever performed. He decided that television was a better arena and offered more opportunity so, after being offered work with talent agent Harry Gold, Azaria moved to Los Angeles.

title: Snake Jailbird

text: named Snake and it had been the directors who had assigned that existing character design to the name. Snake's voice is based on Hank Azaria's old college roommate. In the episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", Lisa tells a story in which Snake refers to himself as Professor Jailbird. In "Luca$", his name is said to be Albert Knickerbocker Aloysius Snake. Snake Jailbird Snake Jailbird (usually referred to as simply Snake) is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series "The Simpsons", who is voiced by Hank Azaria. Snake's first appearance was in the episode "The War of the Simpsons".

title: Simpsons Bible Stories

text: to former staff writer Tom Martin, Long wanted the pig in the garden of Eden to have a "Tony British" accent. The pig was voiced by regular cast member Hank Azaria, who portrays Moe Szyslak among other characters in the series. The unicorn that digs a hole from the garden of Eden was portrayed by Tress MacNeille. The second segment was written by Doyle. The episode's third segment was written by Selman. When writing segments for trilogy episodes, the writing staff usually follow the stories they are based on, while putting "The Simpsons" characters in the original characters' place. With

title: Comic Book Guy

text: name is also mentioned in "The Simpsons Game". Hank Azaria has won several Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his work on "The Simpsons", winning one in 2001 for voicing Comic Book Guy and various other characters in the episode "Worst Episode Ever". Comic Book Guy is featured on the cover of the twelfth season DVD. He appears on other media as well, including T-shirts and drinking glasses. In "The Simpsons Game", he explains all the clichés that the player comes across during the game. Comic Book Guy has appeared in his own five-part comic book, in which

title: The Simpsons (season 14)

text: and "Brake My Wife, Please" while citing "Three Gays of the Condo", "Large Marge", and "Helter Shelter" as the worst. Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk gave it a 4/5 calling it "a good spot to start brushing up on things". Episodes of the fourteenth season won several awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. "Three Gays of the Condo" became the eighth episode of the series to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour). Hank Azaria won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing various characters in the episode "Moe Baby

title: Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood

text: offer because his grandchildren were fans of the show. In the final scene of the episode, Borgnine plays a guitar and sings campfire songs with the children. Borgnine was a guitar player in real life, so he brought his own guitar with him to the recording studio. Borgnine apologized because he felt that he was not being able to sing very well, but Nancy Cartwright, who provides the voice of Bart, thought his voice "added to the authenticity of his character". "The Simpsons"s creator Matt Groening thought the recording sessions with Borgnine were "so much fun". Hank Azaria, who provides

title: The Burns Cage

text: Johnny's 22nd birthday, and he said he would have a viewing party because the episode would be "particularly meaningful" to him. The elder LaZebnik stated his opinion that LGBT-related television can have a "real impact on people's thinking". The episode's title comes from the 1996 LGBT-related comedy film "The Birdcage", in which "Simpsons" voice actor Hank Azaria plays a Guatemalan housekeeper; his portrayal of Cuban bartender Julio in this episode is similar. In the chalkboard gag in the episode's opening sequence, Bart backs the Villanova Wildcats, who won the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game the day after

title: The Sweetest Apu

text: it received a censor note and the "Simpsons" staff were allowed to show "less and less" of it as time progressed. The episode features American writer and actor James Lipton, host of the television program "Inside the Actors Studio", as himself. The divorce lawyer was portrayed by series regular voice actor Hank Azaria, and was based on "many lawyers that the writing staff had faced," according to current show runner Al Jean. Professor Frink's steam-powered "Super-spider" seen during the reenactment is a reference to the 1999 steampunk film "Wild Wild West". One of Apu's promises to Manjula is to get

title: Two Bad Neighbors

text: However, when the animators remodeled the character, Hartman was not available to dub the voice and so Hank Azaria took over the role. "Two Bad Neighbors" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1996. The episode was selected for release in a 2000 video collection of selected political episodes of the show, titled: "The Simpsons Political Party". The episode appeared on the second volume of the collection, together with the episode "Duffless" from season four. The episode was included in "The Simpsons" season seven DVD set, which was released on December 13, 2005. Keeler,

title: How Does She Do It?

text: How Does She Do It? "How Does She Do It?" is the fourth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on November 23, 2015. It was written by Yahlin Chang and Ted Sullivan, and directed by Thor Freudenthal. The episode centers on Kara dealing with babysitting Cat Grant's son while on vacation while tackling a series of attempted bombings that threatens National City. As Supergirl flies around National City, she destroys a drone that was following her. She suspects Hank is watching her, but he denies it and Alex, believing him, tells Kara to

title: Hank Azaria

text: became more widely known for his live-action appearances in feature films such as "The Birdcage" (1996), "Godzilla" (1998), "Mystery Men" (1999), "America's Sweethearts" (2001), "Shattered Glass" (2003), "Along Came Polly" (2004), "Run Fatboy Run" (2007), "" (2009) and "The Smurfs" (2011). Since 2017, he has starred as the title character in "Brockmire". Azaria had recurring roles on the television series "Mad About You" and "Friends", played the title character in the drama "Huff" (2004–2006) and appeared in the popular stage musical "Spamalot". Originally known as a comedic actor, he has also taken on more dramatic roles, including the TV films

title: Matt Selman

text: episode as good as everything that's come before it. We have a legacy of greatness, and you don't want to be the person that ruins "The Simpsons"." Selman formerly wrote for Time.com's Techland "Nerd World" blog alongside Lev Grossman, and is also the creator and writer of the Icebox.com webtoon "Superhero Roommate." Selman also contributed several jokes to Adam Sandler's "Eight Crazy Nights", and appeared alongside Groening and voice actor Hank Azaria to judge on a "The Simpsons"-themed challenge on an episode of "" in 2010. Selman is married to Renee Ridgeley and has two daughters. Matt Selman Matthew Selman

title: The Dad Who Knew Too Little

text: Ted and Alice, a reference to the film of the same name that Gould starred in. "The Simpsons" cast member Hank Azaria provided the voice of Dexter Colt, basing it on actor Robert Stack who has played several detectives and agents. Kirkland was enthusiastic about directing the episode as he enjoys film noir detective films and is a big fan of actor Humphrey Bogart, who has appeared in many films of the genre. Kirkland based the design of Colt on Robert Mitchum, who, in addition to being a film noir actor, played a detective in the 1991 film "Cape Fear",

title: Do the Bartman

text: Do the Bartman "Do the Bartman" is a song from the 1990 "Simpsons" album "The Simpsons Sing the Blues". It was performed by "The Simpsons" cast member Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), with backing vocals from Michael Jackson, alongside additional vocals from Dan Castellaneta (voice of Homer Simpson). It was produced and written by American recording artist Bryan Loren, and released as a single on November 20, 1990. Despite receiving much radio airplay in the United States, "Do the Bartman" was never officially released as a single there. It topped the charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway,

title: Hank Azaria

text: "so much fun that I haven't realized how tiring it is", and "the most fun that I've ever had in my entire life". He took a break from the show in June 2005, with Alan Tudyk filling in for him, to work on "Huff", but returned in December 2005. In late 2007 he starred in Aaron Sorkin's "The Farnsworth Invention", playing RCA head David Sarnoff. In 2016, he starred in the world premiere of "Dry Powder" opposite Claire Danes, John Krasinski, and Sanjit De Silva, directed by Thomas Kail, at the off-Broadway Public Theater in New York City. Azaria starred

title: Thirty Minutes over Tokyo

text: version of "The Simpsons" theme song that plays at the end of the episode was conceived by composer Alf Clausen. Chuck Garabedian, the speaker at the seminar, was portrayed by series regular voice actor Hank Azaria, who plays Moe Szyslak among other characters. The Japanese waiter in Americatown was played by American actor Gedde Watanabe. Wink, the host for "The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show", was portrayed by George Takei. Takei has appeared on "The Simpsons" several times before, and he is, according to Scully, one of the staff's favorite guest-stars. The episode also features the voices of

title: Professor Frink

text: "Springfield's mad scientist is a triumph of style over substance, with Hank Azaria giving him a ripoff Jerry Lewis voice that reminds you why we once thought Lewis was funny." On their list of the top twenty-five peripheral "Simpsons" characters, IGN's Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson, and Brian Zoromski listed Frink at number fourteen, commenting that he fits nicely into the "Simpsons" universe "as the town's brilliant mad scientist." They highlighted a scene from the episode "The PTA Disbands", in which Frink becomes a kindergarten substitute teacher and keeps one of the children's toys to himself because the children "wouldn't enjoy

title: Do the Bartman

text: Fox network on June 28, 2009—ahead of a rerun of the episode "Wedding for Disaster"—and featured a title card paying tribute to Jackson. Do the Bartman "Do the Bartman" is a song from the 1990 "Simpsons" album "The Simpsons Sing the Blues". It was performed by "The Simpsons" cast member Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), with backing vocals from Michael Jackson, alongside additional vocals from Dan Castellaneta (voice of Homer Simpson). It was produced and written by American recording artist Bryan Loren, and released as a single on November 20, 1990. Despite receiving much radio airplay in the

title: The Problem with Apu

text: bit, Kondabolu criticizes voice actor Hank Azaria (who is of Sephardic Jewish descent), calling him "a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father." Kondabolu went on to cite other portrayals of South Asians in mainstream television and film—such as a man eating monkey brains in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and an actor petting a stuffed mongoose in a metroPCS commercial—as racist. Kondabolu eventually decided to expand the one-minute segment about Apu into an hour-long documentary. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening named Apu after the protagonist of Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray's acclaimed

title: Christopher Collins

text: Telltale Head", and "Homer's Odyssey", and recorded lines (but was dubbed over in the latter) as Moe the bartender for "The Telltale Head" and "Some Enchanted Evening". Along with several other early "Simpsons" voice actors, he left during the first season. Hank Azaria took over the voice of Moe, while Harry Shearer assumed the role of Mr. Burns. Later in the 1980s, Collins began working as Christopher Collins and acted in many live-action television series and motion pictures. He played Klingon Captain Kargan and Pakled Captain Grebnedlog in "". Collins went on to portray two different Markalians on "Deep Space

title: Hank Azaria

text: character I play. Even people in the business think the guy who did "Birdcage", "Quiz Show" and "Great Expectations" are three different actors—which in a way makes me proud, but in another way is very frustrating. It's the curse and blessing of the character actor". The shoot's physical challenges, and the film's critical failure, led Azaria to later describe it as "tough to make, and very disappointing when it came out. It was one you definitely chalk up and say, 'That was part of paying your dues, better luck next time'." In 1999, he starred in the drama "Mystery, Alaska"

title: Hank Azaria

text: connotations of a black actor in such a part, Azaria inherited the full role. He appeared in numerous other films in the late 1990s, including "Heat" (1995), "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997), "Celebrity" (1998) and worked opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, as Walter Plane, in the 1998 adaptation of "Great Expectations". He played photographer Victor "Animal" Palotti in "Godzilla" (1998). "Godzilla" was one of Azaria's first starring roles in a blockbuster film. Its five-month shoot was the longest of his career to date, but he considered it a good chance to boost his profile. He noted, "I'm so used to melding into every

title: Anthony Perkins

text: productions between 1990 and 1992, including "Daughter of Darkness" (1990) and "The Naked Target" (1992). He made his final appearance in "In the Deep Woods" (1992) with Rosanna Arquette. He had agreed to provide the voice for the role of the dentist, Dr. Wolfe, in "The Simpsons" episode "Last Exit to Springfield" but died before the part could be recorded. In the end, the character was voiced by "Simpsons" regular Hank Azaria. Perkins was portrayed by British actor James D'Arcy in the 2012 biographical drama "Hitchcock", which starred Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock and Helen Mirren as Alma Reville. Perkins