Julius Hibbert

Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D., better known as Dr. Hibbert, is Springfield's most prominent and competent doctor, though he sometimes makes no effort to hide or make light of his high prices. Hibbert is very good-natured and is known for finding a reason to laugh at nearly every situation. He is often assisted by Dr. Nick Riviera. He is a minor character in The Simpsons Movie.
==Biography==
Dr. Hibbert is the Simpson's kind-hearted family doctor, a genius, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Mensa member. As an undergraduate, it is inferred that he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Hibbert is noticeably less dysfunctional than just about everyone else, though he does have a bizarre tendency to chuckle at inappropriate moments. He also gives questionable solutions to certain medical problems. For example, when Maggie saved Homer from drowning, he replied to Marge's question about how a baby can save the life of a full-grown man, saying "It's very simple. When an adult's life is in danger, a child can summon superhuman strength!"Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder When Homer challenged Red Barclay to eat the "Sir Loins-A-Lot" steak in a contest, Marge feared that Homer might choke on a part of the steak, while Dr. Hibbert claimed that since being 12% owner of The Slaughterhouse (the restaurant they were eating at), his dietary advice suggests "the occasional eating contest". However, when Red dies from "beef poisoning", he attributes the cause to another restaurant.Maximum Homerdrive He also runs Dr. Julius Hibbert, M.D. Family Practice to which he showed Lisa a video about DNA.Lisa the Simpson 
There are hints that Dr. Hibbert is not above dubious medical practices either. After Marge talks him out of buying an unsuitable house, he tells her if she ever needs a prescription, "no questions asked..." On another occasion, he buys one of Bart's T-Shirts with the legend "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" remarking that it could get him out of some sticky situations. When he realized that Marge was initially unenthusiastic about having a third child, he implied that a healthy baby could bring in as much as $60,000 on the black market. Hibbert covered for himself against Marge's horrified reaction by saying that if she had replied any other way, she would be sent to prison, claiming that it was "just a test".And Maggie Makes Three In addition, Dr. Hibbert often has problems of what he should say to the patients, sometimes making the situation seem far worse than it actually was. A notable instance is when, after Bart was injured from a pool-dive gone awry, he told Bart "I'm sorry, but that leg's gonna have to come off", implying that Bart's broken leg will need to be amputated, only for him to correct himself and state that his wet bathing suit has to come off.Bart of Darkness 
Despite his seemingly honest and good-hearted personality, there is evidence that he is, at heart, a committed mercenary. Hibbert announces to Homer that his heart operation will cost $30,000. When Homer has a heart attack in front of him in response to this news, he says, unmoved, "I'm afraid it's now $40,000" (hinting that instead of a triple bypass, it became a quadruple bypass)."Homer's Triple Bypass" After Homer's baby-proofing business eliminates child injuries in Springfield, Hibbert is seen holding a cooing infant and complaining that there are not any scratches on him, and he has got boat payments."Bye Bye Nerdie" Hibbert is once shown as running an "" ("Hibbert's Money-Making Organization")."The Last Temptation of Homer" He has also been interviewed on television sporting a baseball cap and chain blatantly advertising the wares of pharmaceutical companies. The "interview" ends with him joining in a choreographed raunchy dance routine with several attractive female dancers promoting Pfizer products."Midnight Rx" He is a committed Republican and attends Springfield's Republican meetings alongside Mr. Burns and Rainier Wolfcastle."Sideshow Bob Roberts" Hibbert also freely wears fur coats, believing that while fur itself may not be murder, "paying for it sure is!""A Milhouse Divided"
While Hibbert is usually competent and responsible, it was once suggested that he did not have a legal license in medicine, since when Lisa was going to say who has been practicing medicine without a license (who is actually Homer), Hibbert tugs his collar nervously."Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" In addition, he once tricked Homer into signing a malpractice waiver, after his medication caused Bart to lose his hearing, by making him "test out his signature" on the waiver."Bart-Mangled Banner" It has also been strongly hinted that his habit of inappropriate laughter at times is the result of a current morphine addiction."Yolo"
There is some evidence of serious incompetence on the part of Doctor Hibbert. It is once revealed that the reason the crayon in Homer's brain was never discovered was because he covered up the crayon with his thumb, thereby suggesting he was not even looking at Homer's x-rays before picking them up."HOMЯ" Also, Doctor Hibbert once checks Sideshow Bob's pulse before pronouncing him dead, then he throws Bob's hand away because he is touching a dead person."Funeral for a Fiend" There were also instances where he came up with creative solutions to get his patients to undergo medical treatment, only for it to backfire horribly. A notable instance is where he had various townspeople disguise themselves as him to tail Bart so he could give him a Flu Shot, but ended up as a consequence banned from the library for a very lewd action that Moe Szyslak did while acting as one of his doubles.
His hairstyle has varied over the years (Afro, dreadlocks, Mr. T-style Mohawk, etc.), appropriate for the time period. At least one of Hibbert's cars is a green Mercedes-Benz G500,"I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" he also had a silver Volvo 850 sedan,"My Sister, My Sitter" and he once mentioned his Porsche keys."Bart's Girlfriend" He was seen muttering angrily over a "rusty tailgate" on a generic-looking station wagon."Homer Loves Flanders" His hobbies include Judo."My Sister, My Sitter"
He and his family live next to the Wiggum family."Grift of the Magi"
Dr. Hibbert supposedly attended Johns Hopkins University, and evidence indicates he was probably born in Alabama. To pay for medical college, he performed as a male stripper under the pseudonym "Malcolm Sex", claiming he would "satisfy the ladies by any means necessary". He has since been seen running an adult education class in "How to Strip for Your Wife", which Homer briefly attended.Secrets of a Successful Marriage
===Personality===
Hibbert is recognized by his deep, bombastic voice and signature jovial chuckle, usually at inappropriate times such as delivering bad news to a patient. Whilst most doctors are supposed to empathetic and serious, Hibbert finds mostly everything to be funny. However, there have been a few instances where even Hibbert himself didn't find something to be funny. For example when he was given a T-Shirt at a speedway racetrack and was unamused after reading the fine print, amazing his wife who noticed he usually laughed at everything. Also, when he expelled Homer from his male stripping class, Homer asked if he was going to chuckle but Hibbert replied in a serious tone "there's nothing to chuckle about". He also takes people's health seriously, such as the time when Bart became overweight and had a heart attack, he told Marge and Homer that it was Bart's fault for having this condition and once he gets home will have to go on a strict diet and exercise. Also he strictly refused to give Moe a height-reduction surgery, stating he was asking for something completely unethical, unlike Dr. NickEeny Teeny Maya Moe.
Hibbert's practices are usually sought out by the rest of Springfield's citizens as he is one of the few licensed and experienced doctors in the town but until recently some have found his medical advice and Hibbert himself to be dubious. His suggestion to cut off Homer's other thumb when his right one was severed to gain symmetry on nth hands led Marge to believe that Hibbert was "losing it".
His ambiguity in medical practices is also displayed by how he constantly assures that his patients are well-funded before he helps them, rather in backhand or sneaky ways such as telling an unenthusiastic Marge about her third baby that it will cost 60,000 dollars to raise a healthy child and judges her next action to treat with her based on her reaction to this news, claiming she would be in jail if it went differently. He was also prepared to suck Marge through a tube from his ceiling if she didn't have insurance and when Homer had a heart attack following the news that his quadruple bypass will cost 30,000 dollars, raised it to 40,000 after the heart attack. Hibbert is willing to use backhand tactics to make sure he is not sued when his medical duplicity catches up with him such as tricking Homer into signing a form that absolves him of consequence for Bart going deaf, after Hibbert had ruthlessly hunted him down to inoculate him in the first place and when he sneakily validated Marge's parking so he could not be sued for submitting the sane Homer to electro-shock therapy.
He has two brothers, both of them long-lost from birth, Hermano Hibbert who was the head of Shelbyville orphanage and Bleeding Gums Murphy who ironically met with each other in hospital and described themselves but failed to realize the connection.
thumb|A young Bleeding Gums Murphy
===Family===
Dr. Hibbert is married; he and his wife Bernice have five children, three sons and two daughters. They have never been named in the series, with the exception of his first son JJ. When his entire family is seen together, they appear to be similar to . His marriage seems to have some problems according to some moments together, such as being filmed by the "Kiss cam" at the stadium and Hibbert saying they don't like public relations. Also, there are hints that, at the very least, he was unfaithful to his wife, as Dr. Hibbert once hosted, or at the very least participated in, a Key party, where it is implied that he was paired up with Luann Van Houten, and attempted to get a departing Homer and Marge to stay by saying "Come on, you're missing all the sex!"500 Keys
It is implied that he and Bleeding Gums Murphy are long-lost half-brothers; Hibbert says he has a long-lost brother who is a jazz musician, and Murphy says he has a brother who is a doctor that chuckles at inappropriate times, but somehow the two don't put these clues together."'Round Springfield" Hibbert also bears a striking resemblance to the director of the Shelbyville orphanage, who mentions a personal quest to find his long-lost twin to an indifferent Homer."Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
He owns a poodle named Rosa Barks who was impregnated by Santa's Little Helper. Unhappy with a litter of greyhound/poodle puppies, Dr. Hibbert left the puppies in the care of the Simpson family. Lisa and Bart distributed the puppies around Springfield. The known recipients of the puppies were Krusty, Snake and Groundskeeper Willie."Today, I Am a Clown"
==Non Canon Appearances==
===Treehouse of Horror===
In the first segment of "Treehouse of Horror VIII", he survives the nuclear France had launched on Springfield but horribly mutated.
In the first segment of "Treehouse of Horror XI", he comes to the Simpson house to observe the cause of Homer's death.
In "Treehouse of Horror XIII", segment "The Island of Dr. Hibbert", he inhabits a skull-shaped island, where he transforms all of his visitors into animals. The final citizen of Springfield to undergo this fate was Homer Simpson.
In "Treehouse of Horror XV", segment "Ned Zone", he falls to his death after Homer asks him to collect a Frisbee from the window-sill.
In the final segment of "Treehouse of Horror XVI", he is turned a vampire by a witch and later into a Pacifier by Maggie Simpson.
In the final segment of "Treehouse of Horror XVIII", he is seen confronting Homer along with several other Springfield residents about his children's pranks (along with Milhouse and Nelson).
In "Treehouse of Horror XXVIII", segment "The Exor-Sis", he was killed by Maggie Simpson possessed by Pazuzu demon, she also reveals he cheated on his wife.
===Future===
In "Lisa's Wedding", he appears at the wedding of Lisa Simpson and Hugh Parkfield, where he states that Maggie is quite the hellion but she does have an incredible voice to Krusty.
At the end "Three Gays of the Condo", which takes place many years in the future Doctor Hibbert is viewing his old video tapes all of which he left and finds out the nurse did steal sponges, thus proving he was right.
In "Future-Drama", he is seen sitting in attending a Springfield High School ceremony for one of his children along with his wife.
In "Beware My Cheating Bart", he is mentioned to have died from a fall by an Elderly Homer and Marge.
In "Holidays of Future Passed", a nurse asks Dr. Hibbert if they should start an epidural on Maggie Simpson, but Dr. Hibbert gives her a pacifier which helps her while she is in labor.
In "Days of Future Future", he treats Milhouse Van Houten's zombism.
==="The Serfsons"===
Julius Hibbert runs a surgery center and barber shop, where he tells that Krusty the Clown went here, where he found out that he had genital snerfs hidden near his genitals, much to his annoyance. Not long later, Homer and Marge brought Jacqueline Bouvier here because Marge discovered that her hand was blue and cold earlier. Dr. Hibbert notices this, and reveals that Jacqueline's blue and cold hand was caused by a bite from an Ice Walker.
==Behind the Laughter==
Although he wasn't originally based on Bill Cosby's character Dr. Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show, when the Fox network moved The Simpsons to Thursdays opposite NBC's top-rated The Cosby Show, the staff made Hibbert more of a parody of Huxtable. Hibbert even owns a collection of rather horrid sweaters, just like Dr. Huxtable. Hibbert is always given a new hairdo in flashback appearances, such as an Afro, dreads or a Mr. T-like Mohawk.
===Comparing Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick===
A tongue-in-cheek analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal compares the services of Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick Riviera, a quack physician often used by the Simpsons as a cheaper alternative source of medical advice. While Dr. Hibbert is praised for his sense of humor and quality of care.
==Trivia==
*Dr. Hibbert has an IQ of 155.
*Dr. Hibbert has Facebook and appears to be friends with Mark Zuckerberg.
*In "They Saved Lisa's Brain", Dr. Hibbert said "maybe I should go back to Alabama", indicating he used to reside there.
*Dr. Hibbert's name in Czech dubbing, Dr. Dlaha, translates as Dr. Splint.
*Dr. Hibbert was originally going to be a woman named "Julia Hibbert."
**In Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky's original script for "Bart the Daredevil", Hibbert was a woman named after comedic actress Julia Sweeney ("Hibbert" was her married name at the time).
***When Fox moved The Simpsons to prime time on Thursdays against NBC's top-rated sitcom , the writing staff chose to remake Hibbert as a parody of 's character on the show, Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
*Dr. Hibbert has stinky feet, possibly from wearing no socks as seen in the episode, "Jaws Wired Shut".
*His original voice is similar to that of Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, and Reverend Lovejoy.
*In the scene of Maude's Death in the episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily". He is seen reacting to Maude's dead body in the ground despite the fact that he was on the stadium, it's unknown how he did get down so fast.
*Harry Shearer, the original voice-actor of Dr. Hibbert replaced in 2021 by Kevin Michael Richardson, criticized the decision of the producers of The Simpsons to select voice-actors basing merely on their skin-color and of the characters they have to portray, describing it as a form of racial segregation and in total contrast to what an actor or voice-actor is supposed to do and be (actor Ian McKellen, LGBT icon, stated in 2022 the same regarding LGBT characters portrayed only by LGBT people). This decision was criticized even in Japan by mangaka and politician Ken Akamatsu known for his anti-censorship and pro-freedom of artistic and creative expression stances and campaign, describing it as a giant step backward for humanity. Harry Shearer originally didn't want to stop voicing Dr. Hibbert, but was told by his employer that he had to hand over the role.https://www.vulture.com/2021/02/the-simpsons-dr-hibbert-harry-shearer-kevin-michael-richardson.html
==Appearances==
==Gallery==
==External links==
==Citations==
de:Julius Hibbert
es:Julius Hibbert
fr:Julius Hibbert
it:Julius Hibbert
pl:Julius Hibbert
pt:Dr. Julius Hibbert
ru:Джулиус Хибберт
sv:Julius Hibbert
Category:Male characters
Category:Alive characters
Category:Season 2 first appearances
Category:Characters voiced by Harry Shearer
Category:Recurring characters
Category:American Characters
Category:Doctors
Category:Hibbert family
Category:Fathers
Category:Married
Category:Republicans
Category:Right-wingers and conservatives
Category:Major Characters
Category:Citizens of Springfield
Category:Black-Haired Characters
Category:Tapped Out Characters
Category:Stonecutters
Category:Homer Simpson's friends
Category:African-American Characters
Category:Marge Simpson's friends
Category:Dr. Hibbert
Category:Main Characters
Category:Adults
Category:Christians
Category:Siblings
Category:Bart Simpson's Friends
Category:Lisa Simpson's Friends
Category:Rich Characters
Category:NRA members
Category:Long-lost relatives
Category:Fat characters
Category:Mensa
Category:People that have black eyes
Category:Simpsons' Neighbours
Category:Bart's Enemies
Category:Characters voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
Category:Characters who swap voices
Category:Recasted characters
Category:Twins
Category:Black Characters