Waylon Smithers, Jr. | Simpsons Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia “Mr. Burns isn't just my heartless boss, he's also my best friend.” ―Waylon Smithers on Mr. Burns Waylon Joseph Smithers, Jr. (better known as "Mr. Smithers" or simply "Smithers") is Mr. Burns ' personal assistant, executive, and self-proclaimed best friend. He has lived with Burns since he was an infant, and though partly raised by him, Burns has never seen Smithers as a stepson or an heir; nonetheless, his loyalty to his evil boss is sincere. Smithers is a gay man; he officially came out in The Burns Cage . Although most people in Springfield were aware he was gay before this. He is allergic to bee stings and has hypothyroidism, both of which can kill him. He is also lactose-intolerant. Contents Waylon kisses Mr. Burns. Sexuality Smithers frequents Springfield's gay section. He is arrested for trying to obtain opium for Mr. Burns .

Burns says to Homer "I've never seen someone take to a Turkish prison so quickly." [14] Smithers once went on vacation to a male-only resort. [9] He is passionate about Mr. Burns and has at least occasional fantasies about the older man. In one, Burns appears flying through Smithers' bedroom window as a large predatory bird, or jumping out of a birthday cake and singing "Happy birthday, Mr. Smithers". [15] When Smithers powers up his computer, the screensaver is clearly a de facto nude Mr. Burns saying "Hello Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on". On one occasion, Smithers is forced to go to Dr. Nick's "no questions asked clinic", having apparently put something in his butt which was now stuck there. [16] Smithers has declared his love for Burns on some occasions, such as kissing Mr. Burns on the lips after saying "Oh, what the hell!", believing the world was ending, later explaining it to him as "merely a sign of my respect". [17] Smithers once said; "I think women and seamen (semen) don't mix".

[18] Burns himself has been involved with several women, much to Smithers's frustration, such as Marge Simpson's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier , Marge herself, and Gloria . He was disgusted by strippers who danced in front of him in a strip club. Smithers was noticeably disgusted when Burns started looking for a female companion. [19] Burns, for his part, views (and refers to) Smithers as a lackey, albeit a highly valued one for his competence and toadying. He has "rewarded" Smithers's devotion with the future "honor" of being buried alive with him after he dies. [20] Smithers has been shown to be somewhat dependent on his relationship with Burns, like the occasion when Burns orders Smithers to take a vacation and Homer is hired as a temporary replacement. When Homer loses his temper and punches Burns in the face, Mr. Burns learns to become self-reliant and this results in Smithers being fired. Smithers decides that he needs to be Burns' assistant and eventually gets his job back. [9] For all his sycophantic devotion to Mr. Burns, Smithers has been willing to challenge him on some occasions.

When he opposed his employer's various evil schemes, Burns fired him. As a result of his firing, Smithers became a "hideous drunken wreck" [21] and when Mr. Burns was shot later, Smithers thought he might have done it while he was drunk. When it was proven that he had not, Smithers seemingly forgave Burns and demanded that the culprit be brought to justice, offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator. [8] A lesser demonstration of this challenging him was when he aided the Simpson children in giving a vital clue towards how Sideshow Bob won the mayoral race, with his reasonings behind this being implied to be disagreement with Sideshow Bob about restricting those of his "sexual lifestyle." The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened/existed. In Squeam, Smithers plans to ditch his own "gay ways", and is the main guy who dresses up like ghostface along with Lovejoy every 15 seconds. It reveals he loves Fox shows and hates that they got canceled and kills Lovejoy by accident. He is later killed by the real killer and falls on Lovejoy as if kissing.

As seen on Professor Frink 's future machine, at age 58, Smithers has to inject himself with some concoction every 10 minutes with a syringe to be heterosexual (upon taking the injection he waves his arms in the air and shouts "I loves boobies!"). [22] At age 65, he thawed out Mr. Burns and had his seventeen stab wounds to the back cured. He attended Lisa Simpson's wedding with him. [23] At age 1050, Smithers' head is on a robotic dog body and follows Mr. Burns' head everywhere. [24] Smithers appears in The Simpsons Arcade Game as the first boss of the final level, as well as one of the main antagonists. Smithers, presumably under Mr. Burns' command, broke into a jewelry store to steal a diamond. As he and his fellow henchmen were making their escape, he (quite literally) bumped into the Simpson's family, causing him to lose the diamond, and for Maggie to catch it.

Due to this setback, Smithers ends up kidnapping Maggie, and, after a few misadventures, he makes it back to the Nuclear Power Plant, although not without the Simpsons family following him. He then fights the family, remarking "Welcome to my world!" He lobbed several explosives at the family. When sensing that he would soon lose, he opened his cape, revealed to be filled with explosives, cackling maniacally only to react in shock as he discovers that the explosives had activated, causing him to be caught in the explosions. For unknown reasons, Smithers in this game actually sounds much higher pitched than in the regular series (most of the other characters usually have more or less the same voices in the game). In The Simpsons Game , level " Lisa the Tree Hugger ", Smithers was involved in Mr. Burns' plan of trying to cut down the entirety of Springfield Forest, and is comforting him about doing better next time when the plan fails due to Lisa and Bart's interference, as well as phoning some goons to beat up Al Gore. In Mob Rules , he appears as one of the people Marge can use to protest the sales of the Grand Theft Scratchy videogame to minors.

In Medal of Homer , a squad of sailors resembling Smithers protects Private Burns on board his personal naval carrier where he protects the stolen paintings from the village of St. Capitulons. According to Abe Simpson during the briefing for the level, the sailors in question fight neither for country nor for God, solely for love. Smithers with black skin and blue hair, as seen in " Homer's Odyssey " Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller. [25] The idea for Smithers's orientation came from Sam Simon , who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. [26] The script for " Blood Feud " originally featured Smithers saying "Just leave me enough to get home to my wife and kids," but the line had to be cut for time. [25] Smithers is voiced by Harry Shearer , who is also the voice of Mr. Burns. [27] Shearer is often able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take.

[28] Dan Castellaneta occasionally fills in for Shearer at table reads and voices Smithers. [28] Smithers made his first appearance in " Homer's Odyssey ," which was the third episode of the first season , although he can be heard over a speaker in The Simpsons series premiere " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ". [29] In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made African American by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist. David Silverman has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant," [30] and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black sub-servient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode. [25] The first appearance of yellow Smithers was " There's No Disgrace Like Home ", the fourth episode of the first season. Smithers dreams about Mr. Burns in " Marge Gets a Job ." The censors had issues with the "lump in his bed." [31] Smithers's relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running joke on The Simpsons.

Smithers is an obedient and sycophant assistant to Mr. Burns. There have often been strong hints about Smithers's true feelings for his boss, with one of the earliest references being in the season one episode " The Telltale Head ". [26] Smithers's sexual orientation has often come into question, with some fans claiming he is a "Burns-sexual" and only attracted to his boss, while others maintain that he is obviously gay. During the Bill Oakley / Josh Weinstein era, they still tried to keep his sexuality difficult to pigeon-hole. There was debate among the writers about his orientation. Al Jean , who thinks of Smithers as being a "Burns-sexual", [28] felt that had Mr. Burns been a woman, then Smithers would not be gay. [32] David Silverman , a former supervising director has said, "[Smithers] seems to be focused on one particular human, as opposed to anything beyond that. [Rather than being gay], he's sort of 'Burns-sexual'". "Waylon Smithers" is actually an anagram of "Wants him sorely".

In a 2006 study conducted by the "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation", it was determined that nine of the 679 lead and supporting characters on scripted broadcast television were gay or lesbian. Smithers was not included among these nine characters, and it caused a mild online controversy. Patty Bouvier , Marge Simpson 's lesbian sister, was included on the list. [33] The debate is referenced in " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular ", when the episode host, Troy McClure is answering viewer questions, and one that is asked is "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." A montage of various clips that shows Smithers' lust for Mr. Burns follows, and in the end, McClure says "as you can see, the real deal with Waylon Smithers is that he's Mr. Burns' assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Springfield. Thanks for asking!" [34] Several of the allusions to Smithers's sexuality have turned into battles with the censors. For example, in Smithers' fantasy of a naked Mr.

Burns popping out of a birthday cake in " Rosebud ", the censors had not wanted Mr. Burns to be naked. Another example is " Marge Gets a Job ", which has a dream sequence where Smithers is sleeping and Burns flies through a window. The sequence shows Burns flying towards him and Smithers looking happy, but originally it went on for a few seconds longer. It had to be trimmed down due to scenes that showed "Mr. Burns land[ing] on a particular position on Smithers's anatomy". [32] There were also issues with "the lump in his bed", which the animators had been drawn as his knee, but the censors had misinterpreted. [31] In the early seasons, Smithers has an occasional catchphrase, which comes from a recurring joke that Mr. Burns never remembers who Homer is.

In some scenes, Smithers and Burns would watch Homer over a security camera Burns will ask, "Who is that man?", to which Smithers would reply, "That's Homer Simpson, sir, one of your [insert drones, organ banks, carbon blobs, etc.] from sector 7G." In the second season, the writers started to enjoy writing about Smithers and Burns's relationship, and the writers often pitched episodes with them as the focus, but many never came to fruition. [35] In 2004, Simpsons producers announced that one of the characters was going to come out of the closet. [36] Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers's "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield,") [37] as well as in Australia , [38] New Zealand, [39] Ireland , (the Irish Independent called Smithers "too obvious" a choice) [40] and the United Kingdom. [41] Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, The Boston Herald calculated the odds of several characters being gay with Smithers at a million to one.

[42] PlanetOut hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon gaydar" who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons." [43] After the guessing, it was Patty Bouvier who came out. [44] Reception In a 2007 article, Entertainment Weekly named Smithers the sixteenth greatest sidekick of all time. [45] They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple". [46] Star News Online named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons. [47] In a 2003 article, Entertainment Weekly named the Who Shot Mr. Burns? duo of episodes , in which Smithers was prominently featured, 25th best episode.

[46] Smithers was made into an action figure, and four different versions were included as part of the World of Springfield toy line. The first shows Smithers in his normal attire with a picture of Mr. Burns at his feet and was released in 2000 as part of "wave two". [48] The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave ten", is called "resort Smithers" and shows him dressed as he was at the resort in the episode "Homer the Smithers". [49] In 2003, a series of figures exclusive to Electronics Boutique was released, and a set of one Mr. Burns figure and two different Smithers toys based on the episode " Rosebud " were included. One, called "Bobo Smithers" shows Smithers dressed as Mr. Burns' teddy bear Bobo; [50] and the other, known as "future Smithers", shows him as a robotic dog. [51] A "future Burns" was included in the set as a companion to "future Smithers" and depicts Burns as how he appeared as a robot at the end of the episode.

[52] Trivia Marge once disguised herself as Smithers in the episode " At Long Last Leave "; later in the same episode, Mr. Teeny did the same. Slithers is a parody and a pun on Smithers; he appears in " Treehouse of Horror XII ". He co-owned Moe's Tavern in its gay version 'Mo's in " Flaming Moe ". He has a superhero alter ego Kid Sourpuss . Gallery Waylon Smithers, Jr. - Wikisimpsons, the Simpsons Wiki Waylon Smithers, Jr. Waylon Smithers redirects here. For his father, see Waylon Smithers, Sr. . "That's Homer Simpson, one of your (nickname) from sector 7G." ―Smithers' catchphrase Artwork of Waylon Smithers, Jr. by Matt Groening Character Information Assistant to Charles Montgomery Burns , Supervisor of the sector 7-G Relatives: v • d • e • h Waylon J. Smithers, Jr. (better known as "Mr. Smithers" or simply as "Smithers") is Mr. Burns personal assistant, executive, and self-proclaimed best friend.

He is openly gay as he came out, but due to how poorly he hid his sexuality most people knew that beforehand. [1] Contents Biography[ edit ] Smithers' father, Waylon Smithers, Sr. , worked for Burns until he died of radiation poisoning after saving Springfield from a potential nuclear meltdown, [2] making Mr. Burns the closest thing to a father figure he knew. In high school, he was beaten up by bullies (including Homer Simpson ), while he was the announcer for the high school gymnastics competition. Eventually he became Mr. Burns' personal assistant. As a (not very well) closeted gay man, he has had a crush on Mr. Burns for as long as he as worked for him, but Burns has never caught on. He was previously married to a woman (a southern belle, given her accent and personality), but it fell apart when, shortly after an injury with his leg, and his then-wife wanted to have sex with him, his then-wife referred to his true love, Mr. Burns, as "awful". At one point it was implied that he was linked romantically to John , the owner of Cockamamie's thrift shop.

[3] He collects Malibu Stacy dolls, writes a newsletter about the doll, [4] and was the author of a Malibu Stacy stage musical that played in Arizona; he played Stacy's boyfriend. [5] He once owned a Yorkshire Terrier named Hercules . When Mr. Burns convinced Sideshow Bob to run for mayor, it was Smithers who revealed to Bart and Lisa a clue that would lead them to the truth about Bob's not-so-honest victory in the mayoral election, hinting that his reasons were due to Sideshow Bob planning on enacting policies that were oppressive to his orientation. [6] In 1995, when Mr. Burns attempted to block the sun from Springfield after stealing oil from the elementary school , Smithers objected and was fired. This drove him into a nightmare of alcohol abuse and Comedy Central viewing. He was the main suspect in the subsequent shooting of Mr. Burns, but he was cleared. However, he did, in a drunken stupor, shoot Jasper in his wooden leg while trying to rush home to watch his favorite TV show. No charges were pressed in this case.

It is unknown as to what religion he practices, although it is heavily implied that he is Protestant, as he goes to a confessional stand (which is primarily a Catholic practice), and before making the confession, he admits to God that he is not a Catholic, although he did try to march in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. [7] Mr. Smithers' character folder seen in the Hall of Records. Smithers' official job at the power plant appears to be that of executive assistant, which he says is "actually about 2,800 smaller jobs", [8] responsible for monitoring employee attendance and is often a disciplinarian and has won dozens of "Employee of the Month" awards. [9] He has often hinted at wanting to be promoted to the position of executive vice president, but Burns has repeatedly squashed this dream, while whimsically bestowing the vice presidency on Homer [10] and a dog. [11] He was once, however, made the CEO of the Nuclear Power Plant in Burns' stead when Mr. Burns was arrested for stealing paintings from a museum, a position that is arguably better than vice president, although he hints that he didn't want the job.

He initially tried to be an employee-friendly boss, but after overhearing a conversation between Lenny , Carl and Homer while meeting at Moe's Tavern that revealed that they were abusing his employee-friendly nature to in essence goof off, he became a worse CEO than Mr. Burns (even going as far as to release wolverines in the house instead of hounds). He eventually gave up on the position willingly after Mr. Burns was released by Lenny, Carl and Homer. [12] Smithers has the largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls in the World and is the president of the Malibu Stacy fan club. [4] Personality[ edit ] Smithers has been implied to be gay several times despite not declaring it himself. He has several gay friends and frequents Springfield's gay village. When he was arrested for trying to get opium for Mr. Burns , he is implied to be gay when Mr. Burns says to Homer "I've never seen someone taken to a Turkish prison so quickly." [13] and goes on a vacation to a male-only resort. [8] Smithers is shown to be quite passionate for Mr. Burns.

Smithers has occasional fantasies about Burns, like dreaming he is on his bed and suddenly Mr. Burns appears flying through the window. [14] When he turns his computer on, it shows a nude Burns saying "Hello Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on" [4] Smithers has declared his love for Burns on some occasions, such as kissing Mr. Burns on the lips after saying "Oh, what the hell!", believing the world was ending, later explaining it to him as "merely a sign of my respect". [15] Another hint of Smithers sexuality is when he seems to have been dating John, a gay man. Burns has remained largely ignorant of Smithers' devoted adoration. Burns himself has been involved with several women, much to Smithers' frustration, like when Mr. Burns fell in love with Marge and with a woman called Gloria . Smithers was noticeably disgusted when Burns started looking for a female companion. [16] Burns, for his part, views (and refers to) Smithers as a lackey, albeit a highly valued one for his competence and toadying.

He has "rewarded" Smithers' devotion with the future "honor" of being buried alive with him after he dies. [17] Smithers has been shown to be somewhat dependant on his relationship with Burns, like the occasion when Burns orders Smithers to take a vacation and Homer is hired as a temporary replacement. When Homer loses his temper and punches Burns in the face, Mr. Burns learns to become self-reliant and this results in Smithers being fired. Smithers decides that he needs to be Burns' assistant and eventually gets his job back. [8] For all his sycophantic devotion to Mr. Burns, Smithers has been willing to challenge him on some occasions. He opposed his employer's various evil schemes Burns fired him. As a result of his firing, Smithers became a "hideous drunken wreck" [18] and when Mr. Burns was shot later, Smithers thought he might have done it while he was drunk. When it was proven that he had not, Smithers seemingly forgave Burns and demanded that the culprit be brought to justice, offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator.

[7] Relationships[ edit ] Smithers' romantic interest has largely been aimed at Mr. Burns who appears oblivious to Smithers' affections. Smithers entered a relationship with Julio after quitting from his job, however it was apparent that Smithers was not over Burns so Julio ended it. [19] It's been implied that Smithers had a thing with Mr. Largo . [20] [21] Non-canon[ edit ] The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed. Future[ edit ] Smithers as a robotic dog As seen on Professor Frink 's future machine, at age 58, Smithers injects himself with medicine every 10 minutes to become straight (upon taking the injection he waves his arms in the air and shouts "I loves boobies!"). [22] At age 65, he thawed out Mr. Burns and had his 17 stab wounds to the back cured. He attended Lisa Simpson's wedding with him. [23] At age 1,000,050, his head is on a robotic dog body and follows Mr. Burns' head everywhere.

[24] The Simpsons: The Arcade Game[ edit ] Smithers appears in this game as the first boss of the final level, as well as one of the main antagonists. Smithers, presumably under Mr. Burns' command, broke into a jewelry store to steal a diamond. As he and his fellow henchmen were making their escape, he (quite literally) bumped into the Simpson's family, causing him to lose the diamond, and for Maggie to catch it. Because of this setback, Smithers ends up kidnapping Maggie and, after a few misadventures, Smithers makes it back to the Nuclear Power Plant, although not without the Simpsons family following him. He then fights the Simpsons family, remarking "Welcome to my world!" He lobbed several explosives at the family. When sensing that he would soon lose, he opened his cape, revealed to be filled with explosives, cackling maniacally only to react in shock as he discovers that the explosives had activated, causing him to be caught in the explosions. For unknown reasons, Smithers in this game actually sounds much higher pitched than in the regular series (most of the other characters usually have more or less the same voices in the game).

The Simpsons Game[ edit ] In The Simpsons Game , level " Lisa the Tree Hugger ", Smithers was involved in Mr. Burns' plan of trying to cut down the entirety of Springfield Forest, and is comforting him about doing better next time when the plan fails due to Lisa and Bart's interference, as well as phoning some goons to beat up Al Gore. In Mob Rules , he appears as one of the people Marge can use to protest the sales of the Grand Theft Scratchy videogame to minors. In Medal of Homer , a squad of sailors resembling Smithers protects Private Burns on board his personal naval carrier where he protects the stolen paintings from the village of St. Capitulons. According to Abraham Simpson during the briefing for the level, the sailors in question fight neither for country nor for God, solely for love. Ironically the sailor Smitherses are among the enemies sent by God in " Game Over ". Coca Cola Advert[ edit ] He is briefly seen being bought by Patty and Selma , then in the park butlering them.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out[ edit ] Creation[ edit ] Smithers with black skin and blue hair, as seen in " Homer's Odyssey " Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller. [25] The idea for Smithers's orientation came from Sam Simon , who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. [26] The script for " Blood Feud " originally featured Smithers saying "Just leave me enough to get home to my wife and kids," but the line had to be cut for time. [25] Smithers is voiced by Harry Shearer , who is also the voice of Mr. Burns. [27] Shearer is often able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. [28] Dan Castellaneta occasionally fills in for Shearer at table reads and voices Smithers. [28] Smithers made his first appearance in " Homer's Odyssey ", which was the third episode of the first season , although he can be heard over a speaker in The Simpsons series premiere " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ".

[29] In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made African American by Gyorgi Peluce, the color stylist. David Silverman has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant," [30] and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black sub-servient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode. [25] The first appearance of yellow Smithers was " There's No Disgrace Like Home ", the fourth episode of the first season. Development[ edit ] Smithers dreams about Mr. Burns in " Marge Gets a Job ." The censors had issues with the "lump in his bed." [31] Smithers's relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running joke on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophant assistant to Mr. Burns. There have often been strong hints about Smithers's true feelings for his boss, with one of the earliest references being in the season one episode " The Telltale Head ".

[26] Smithers's sexual orientation has often come into question, with some fans claiming he is a "Burns-sexual" and only attracted to his boss, while others maintain that he is, without a doubt, gay. During the Bill Oakley / Josh Weinstein era, they still tried to keep his sexuality mysterious and there was debate among the writers about his orientation. Al Jean , who thinks of Smithers as being a "Burns-sexual", [28] felt that had Mr. Burns been a woman, then Smithers would not be gay. [32] David Silverman , a former supervising director has said, "[Smithers] seems to be focused on one particular human, as opposed to anything beyond that. [Rather than being gay], he's sort of 'Burns-sexual.'" "Waylon Smithers" is actually an anagram of "Wants him sorely". In a 2006 study conducted by the "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation", it was determined that nine of the 679 lead and supporting characters on scripted broadcast television were gay or lesbian. Smithers was not included among these nine characters, and it caused a mild online controversy.

Patty Bouvier , Marge Simpson 's lesbian sister, was included on the list. [33] The debate is referenced in " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular ", when the episode host, Troy McClure is answering viewer questions, and one that is asked is "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." A montage of various clips that shows Smithers' lust for Mr. Burns follows, and in the end, McClure says "as you can see, the real deal with Waylon Smithers is that he's Mr. Burns' assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Springfield. Thanks for asking!" [34] Several of the allusions to Smithers's sexuality have turned into battles with the censors. For example, in Smithers' fantasy of a naked Mr. Burns popping out of a birthday cake in " Rosebud ", the censors had not wanted Mr. Burns to be naked. Another example is " Marge Gets a Job ", which has a dream sequence where Smithers is sleeping and Burns flies through a window.

The sequence shows Burns flying towards him and Smithers looking happy, but originally it went on for a few seconds longer. It had to be trimmed down due to scenes that showed "Mr. Burns land[ing] on a particular position on Smithers's anatomy". [32] There were also issues with "the lump in his bed", which the animators had been drawn as his knee, but the censors had misinterpreted. [31] In the early seasons, Smithers has an occasional catchphrase, which comes from a recurring joke that Mr. Burns never remembers who Homer is. In some scenes, Smithers and Burns would watch Homer over a security camera Burns will ask, "Who is that man?", to which Smithers would reply, "That's Homer Simpson sir, one of your [insert drones, organ banks, carbon blobs, etc.] from sector 7G." Reception[ edit ] In the second season, the writers started to enjoy writing about Smithers and Burns's relationship, and the writers often pitched episodes with them as the focus, but many never came to fruition. [35] In 2004, Simpsons producers announced that one of the characters was going to come out of the closet.

[36] Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers's "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield,") [37] as well as in Australia , [38] New Zealand, [39] Ireland , (the Irish Independent called Smithers "too obvious" a choice) [40] and the United Kingdom. [41] Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, The Boston Herald calculated the odds of several characters being gay with Smithers at a million to one. [42] PlanetOut hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon gaydar" who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons." [43] After the guessing, it was Patty Bouvier who came out. [44] In a 2007 article, Entertainment Weekly named Smithers the sixteenth greatest sidekick of all time.

[45] They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple". [46] Star News Online named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons. [47] In a 2003 article, Entertainment Weekly named the Who Shot Mr. Burns? duo of episodes , in which Smithers was prominently featured, 25th best episode. [46] Cultural influence[ edit ] Smithers was made into an action figure, and four different versions were included as part of the World of Springfield toy line. The first shows Smithers in his normal attire with a picture of Mr. Burns at his feet and was released in 2000 as part of "wave two". [48] The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave ten", is called "resort Smithers" and shows him dressed as he was at the resort in the episode "Homer the Smithers". [49] In 2003, a series of figures exclusive to Electronics Boutique was released, and a set of one Mr.

Burns figure and two different Smithers toys based on the episode " Rosebud " were included. One, called "Bobo Smithers" shows Smithers dressed as Mr. Burns' teddy bear Bobo; [50] and the other, known as "future Smithers", shows him as a robotic dog. [51] A "future Burns" was included in the set as a companion to "future Smithers" and depicts Burns as how he appeared as a robot at the end of the episode. [52] The Simpsons Our main article on The Simpsons is here . Born around 1954, Smithers is divorced and lives alone in an apartment with a Yorkshire terrier named Hercules. He is an alumnus of the Alpha Tau fraternity. His father, Waylon Smithers Sr., worked for Burns until he died saving Springfield from a potential nuclear meltdown (The Blunder Years). In his first appearance in the series, the episode "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was unintentionally made African American by the production team in Korea due to a misunderstanding. The studios have stated that Smithers was intended to be yellow, and that his first appearance should be considered extreme sun tan.

Personal life Initially there was much speculation about Smithers' sexual orientation, but eventually he was revealed to be gay, but officially he is currently "in the closet". In many ways Smithers represents the stereotype of the closeted gay man. In his private life he has many gay friends and hangs out at Springfield's gay village. In public, however he remains insecure and uncomfortable with his sexuality, denying it when questioned. The brevity of his marriage is portrayed as being a result of this, in a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof parody. Because of this past relationship, Smithers might be regarded as bisexual, though he has shown little interest in women since. While he has had other boyfriends ï¿½ in "Homer's Phobia", he confronts John (guest-voiced by John Waters) after realizing he lied to get out of a date (claiming he was caring for his sick mother) ï¿½ Smithers's great love is Burns. His sexual orientation has been characterized by the writers of the show as "burnsasexual". He periodically has fantasies about his boss (in "Rosebud", Burns pops nude out of a birthday cake and sings "Happy Birthday, Mr.

Smithers," and has a computer screensaver that features a nude Mr. Burns that say to him: "Hello Smithers, you're quite good at turning me on."). In "Secrets of a Successful Marriage", Smithers's then-wife blames Burns for ruining their marriage. He has openly declared his love for Burns at least twice, most dramatically in "Lisa the Skeptic", when, believing the world is coming to an end, Smithers kisses him on the lips; the oblivious Burns dismisses the whole episode. Perhaps because of the large generation gap between the two men (Burns still regards "gay" as meaning happy), Burns has remained largely indifferent or ignorant of Smithers' subtle advances, much to his frustration, even when Smithers says "I love you" (although in more recent episodes Burns appears to have some concerns). His catch-phrase can be heard whenever Burns almost dies in various accidents; he sobs "Oh Mr. Burns! You were too beautiful for this world!". However, Burns never hears him say that because he's always unconscious at the time. Smithers is also lethally allergic to bee-stings.

Smithers has the world's largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls, is president of the Malibu Stacy Fan Club, and staged Malibu Stacy, The Musical. In the 2005 episode Future-Drama (Which takes place 8 years into the future), Smithers is shown as being on a date with a woman, explaining that he injects anti-gay drugs into his arm every 10 minutes. Work life Smithers' official job at the powerplant appears to be that of a high-level executive, as well as being Burns' private assistant. He is responsible for monitoring attendance among employees, and is often a disciplinarian. He has often hinted at wanting to be promoted to the position of executive vice president, but Burns has repeatedly squashed this dream, while whimsically bestowing the vice presidency on Homer, a dog, and a monkey. Burns has also refused to make Smithers his heir, insisting that it would be a far greater honor for him to be buried alive in the same casket when he dies. His role in the series is often that as Burns' comic foil or straight man. Patient and calm, he often tries to talk Burns out of his more outrageous schemes while still being polite and respectful of his boss.

Burns routinely takes his anger out on Smithers and rarely praises him, a fact which Smithers just views as a sign he is not working hard enough. He was fired by Burns only twice, the first being after a heated argument in the Who Shot Mr. Burns? episode. His job with Burns being the only thing that gave his life meaning, Smithers quickly became a drunk and spent all his free time watching Comedy Central. He was ultimately re-hired. The second time was when Homer became his temporary replacement while Smithers went on vacation. After punching Burns, Homer wasn't allowed to go near him. With no one to help him, Burns learned how to do everything himself. When Smithers returned, he was no longer needed. He was later re-hired when Burns became seriously injured after a fight between Homer and Smithers. Smithers' job is actually 2,800 small odd jobs that he does for Burns. Though he often does Burns' dirty work, such as kidnapping Tom Jones or lying to Congress, Smithers cannot be regarded as a truly evil character, but instead as a victim of his own loyalty to an unpleasant individual.

His other duties for Burns include moistening his eye balls, preparing his breakfast, driving his car, assisting with his chewing and swallowing, tucking him in at night, and some light typing. All this indicates that Burns has a seemingly childlike dependence on Smithers. Trivia The town of Smithers, West Virginia, lies directly across the Kanawha River from the town of Montgomery, West Virginia (as in Montgomery Burns). Also, the town of Smithers, British Columbia is just down the road from the community of Burns Lake, British Columbia. Weyland was the Anglo-Saxon god of blacksmithing (also see Wayland's Smithy). Waylon Smithers Rankings & Opinions 10 lists Waylon Smithers Waylon J. Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as simply Mr. Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the consummate executive and personal assistant of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's owner Mr. Burns. Smithers...

The Simpsons' Smithers to finally come out as gay, producer reveals | Television & radio | The Guardian The Simpsons The Simpsons' Smithers to finally come out as gay, producer reveals Simpsons executive producer says Mr Burns’s assistant, long rumored to be gay, will finally come out of the closet during two episodes of current season Smithers and Mr Burns on The Simpsons. public domain Photograph: public domain Monday 28 September 2015 09.05 EDT Last modified on Friday 11 November 2016 15.44 EST Close This article is 1 year old One of the greatest stories of unrequited love in modern popular culture is about to move to a new phase, it has been revealed, as The Simpsons prepares to see Waylon Smithers come out to his tyrannical employer, Mr Burns. After decades of lusting after the skeletal billionaire, the besotted personal assistant will reveal his sexuality to the object of his affections in two new episodes, the long-running Fox cartoon’s showrunner Al Jean has hinted.

Harry Shearer on his Simpsons U-turn: 'All I can say is, it wasn’t a stunt' Read more Jean told TVLine that Smithers’ sexuality would be discussed in two episodes during season 27, which premiered in the US on Sunday night. “In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t,” Jean said. “We deal with that in two episodes,” Jean said. “We actually do a lot with Smithers this year. He gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.” Smithers’s affections for his boss have provided a deep vein of comedy for the show, with dozens of episodes hinting that he is gay and in love with Mr Burns. In one episode set at a “do what you feel festival”, Smithers tells him: “Sir, in the spirit of the festival and everything, I’d just like to say that I … love you,” adding quickly: “In those colors!” He then whispers to himself: “Oh, who am I kidding?

The boathouse was the time!” Simpsons director David Silverman said in July 2007 that the “cat’s almost out of the bag” regarding Smithers’s sexuality, defining him as a “Burns-sexual.” Edward Schiappa, head of comparative media studies at MIT, said that while Smithers’s sexuality had been obvious for years, it was still noteworthy for a character on one of the most popular and long-lasting shows on American TV to come out. “Springfield is about as middle American as one can get, and Smithers coming out within that fictional world mirrors – and reinforces – the mainstreaming of gays and lesbians in the real world,” Schiappa said. His research has shown that including gay characters in television programs decreases prejudice in American viewers. “I am sure there will be fireworks among certain conservative politicians, or maybe they will surprise me and just let the show have its fun,” he said.

According to the Simpsons Wiki website , an online encyclopedia about the show, Springfield is home to several gay characters, such as those who work at the Ajax Steel Mill , which turns into a gay nightclub at night, although there are only a few lesbian characters, the most prominent being Patricia “Patty” Bouvier, one of Marge Simpson’s twin sisters. Patty came out and expressed her desire to get married to a woman in a February 2005 episode that was criticized by conservative media monitoring groups such as the American Family Association and heralded by LGBT rights groups such as GLAAD. “Even though The Simpsons is generally kind of a wacky animated program, it was still very one-sided in its presentation on the issue of same-sex marriage,” said Ed Vitagliano, a researcher for American Family Association , at the time. Earlier this year, when Harry Shearer, the voice actor who plays Smithers, as well as Mr Burns, Ned Flanders and several other characters, announced he was leaving The Simpsons, there was speculation among fans that Smithers might be written out of the show. But Shearer’s contract dispute was resolved – ensuring Smithers lived to murmur “yes, sir” another day.

Waylon Smithers : definition of Waylon Smithers and synonyms of Waylon Smithers (English) " Homer's Odyssey " Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to by simply his surname , is a recurring fictional character in the long-running animated series The Simpsons , who is voiced by Harry Shearer . Smithers first appeared in the episode " Homer's Odyssey ", although he could be heard in the series premiere " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ". He is the consummate executive and personal assistant of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant 's owner Montgomery Burns . Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller . The idea for Smithers' orientation came from Sam Simon , who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. The name Waylon was first used in " I Married Marge " and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers . In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist. Smithers' relationship with Mr.

Burns has long been a running gag on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophantic assistant to Mr. Burns. In many ways, Smithers represents the stereotype of the closeted gay man, and numerous overt allusions and double entendres concerning his homosexuality are made, though some of the show's producers instead refer to him as a "Burns-sexual". Contents 6 External links Role in The Simpsons Waylon Smithers is Burns' devoted executive assistant. His father, Waylon Smithers, Sr., worked for Burns until he died of radiation poisoning after saving Springfield from a potential nuclear meltdown when Waylon was a baby. [1] Although he is not openly gay, Smithers frequents Springfield's gay village [2] and goes on a vacation to a male-only resort. [3] It was revealed in a flashback that he was involved with a woman, but the two split up when Mr. Burns came between them. [4] Smithers is shown to have a passionate and deep love for Mr. Burns and his sexual orientation has been characterized by the writers of the show as "Burns-sexual".

[5] Smithers has occasional fantasies about Burns: when we see his computer turning on, it shows a nude Burns with an audio montage saying: "Hello Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on." [6] Smithers has openly declared his love for Burns on at least two occasions, such as in " Lisa the Skeptic ", when, believing the world is ending, Smithers says "Oh, what the hell!" and kisses Burns on the lips, later explaining it to him as "merely a sign of my respect." [7] Burns has remained largely ignorant of Smithers' devoted adoration, much to Smithers' frustration. In later episodes, however, Burns appears to be somewhat wary of these gestures. [8] Burns himself has been involved with several women and in " A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love ", Smithers is noticeably disgusted when Burns starts looking for a female companion. [9] Burns, for his part, views Smithers as somewhat of a lackey , albeit a highly valued one for his competence. He has "rewarded" Smithers' devotion with the future "honor" of being buried alive with him after he dies.

[10] Smithers has been shown to be somewhat dependent on his relationship with Burns. In " Homer the Smithers ", Burns orders Smithers to take a vacation and Homer Simpson is hired as a temporary replacement. When Homer loses his temper and punches Burns in the face, Mr. Burns learns to become self-reliant and this results in Smithers being fired. Smithers decides that he needs to be Burns' assistant and eventually gets his job back. [3] For all his sycophantic devotion to Mr. Burns, Smithers has been willing to challenge him on at least two occasions, most significantly in the " Who Shot Mr. Burns? " episodes, where he opposed his employer's various evil schemes and was fired. As a result of his firing, Smithers became a "hideous drunken wreck" [11] and when Mr. Burns was shot later in the episode, Smithers thought he might have done it while he was intoxicated. When it was proven that he had not, Smithers seemingly forgave Burns and demanded that the culprit be brought to justice, offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator.

[12] Smithers' official job at the power plant appears to be that of executive assistant, which he says is "actually about 2,800 smaller jobs" [3] responsible for monitoring employee attendance, and is often a disciplinarian and has won dozens of employee of the month awards. [13] He has often hinted at wanting to be promoted to the position of executive vice president , but Burns has repeatedly squashed this dream, while whimsically bestowing the vice presidency on a dog. [14] Smithers has the largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls in Springfield and is the president of the Malibu Stacy fan club. [6] Character Creation Waylon Smithers' initial (and only) appearance as an African American , as seen in " Homer's Odyssey ". Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller . [15] The idea for Smithers' orientation came from Sam Simon , who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads.

[16] The script for " Blood Feud " originally featured Smithers saying "Just leave me enough to get home to my wife and kids," but the line had to be cut for time. [15] Smithers is voiced by Harry Shearer , who is also the voice of Mr. Burns. [17] Shearer is often able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. [18] Dan Castellaneta occasionally fills in for Shearer at table reads and voices Smithers. [18] The name Waylon was first used in " I Married Marge " and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers . [19] Smithers made his first appearance in " Homer's Odyssey ", which was the third episode of the first season , although he can be heard over a speaker in The Simpsons series premiere " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ". [20] In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist.

David Silverman has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant," [21] and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black subservient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode. [15] The first appearance of a yellow Smithers was " There's No Disgrace Like Home ", the fourth episode of the first season. Development Smithers dreams about Mr. Burns in " Marge Gets a Job ". The censors had issues with the "lump in his bed," which was his knee. [22] Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running gag on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophantic assistant to Mr. Burns. There have often been strong hints about Smithers' true feelings for his boss, with one of the earliest references being in the season one episode " The Telltale Head ". [16] Smithers' sexual orientation has often come into question, with some fans claiming he is a "Burns-sexual" and only attracted to his boss, while others maintain that he is, without a doubt, gay.

[23] During the Bill Oakley / Josh Weinstein era, they still tried to keep his sexuality mysterious and there was debate among the writers about his orientation. Al Jean , who thinks of Smithers as being a "Burns-sexual", [18] felt that had Mr. Burns been a woman, then Smithers would not be gay. [24] David Silverman , a former supervising director has said, "[Smithers] seems to be focused on one particular human, as opposed to anything beyond that. [Rather than being gay], he's sort of 'Burns-sexual.'" [5] .In a 2006 study conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation , it was determined that nine of the 679 lead and supporting characters on scripted broadcast television were gay or lesbian, but Smithers was not included. A list published in 2008 by the same organization included Smithers; [25] Patty Bouvier , Marge Simpson 's lesbian sister, was included on both lists.

[26] The debate is referenced in " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular ", when the episode host, Troy McClure is answering viewer questions, and one that is asked is "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." A montage of various clips that shows Smithers' lust for Mr. Burns follows, and in the end, McClure says "as you can see, the real deal with Waylon Smithers is that he's Mr. Burns' assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Springfield. Thanks for writing!" [27] Several of the allusions to Smithers' sexuality have turned into battles with the censors. For example, in Smithers' fantasy of a naked Mr. Burns popping out of a birthday cake in " Rosebud ", the censors had not wanted Mr. Burns to be naked. Another example is " Marge Gets a Job ", which has a dream sequence where Smithers is sleeping and Burns flies through a window. The sequence shows Burns flying towards him and Smithers looking happy, but originally it went on for a few seconds longer.

It had to be trimmed down due to scenes that showed "Mr. Burns land[ing] in a particular position on Smithers anatomy". [24] There were also issues with "the lump in his bed", which the animators said had drawn as his knee, but the censors had misinterpreted. [22] Mostly in the early seasons, Smithers had a catchphrase, which comes from a recurring joke that Mr. Burns never remembers who Homer Simpson is. Smithers and Burns would watch Homer (usually over a security camera feed) and Burns would ask, "Who is that man?", to which Smithers would reply, "That's Homer Simpson, sir, one of your [drones, organ banks, carbon blobs, etc.] from sector 7G." Burns would invariably respond, "Simpson, eh?" [28] Reception Smithers' voice actor Harry Shearer . In the second season, the writers started to enjoy writing about Smithers and Burns' relationship, and the writers often pitched episodes with them as the focus, but many never came to fruition. [29] In 2004, Simpsons producers announced that one of the characters was going to come out of the closet .

[30] Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers' "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield,") [31] as well as in Australia, [32] New Zealand, [33] Ireland, (the Irish Independent called Smithers "too obvious" a choice), [34] and the United Kingdom. [35] Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, the Boston Herald calculated the odds of several characters being gay, with Smithers at a million to one. [36] PlanetOut Inc. hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon gaydar " who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons." [37] It was Patty Bouvier who came out. [38] In a 2007 article, Entertainment Weekly named Smithers the sixteenth greatest sidekick of all time.

[39] They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple". [40] Star News Online named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons. [41] In a 2003 article, Entertainment Weekly named the Who Shot Mr. Burns? duo of episodes, in which Smithers was prominently featured, 25th best episode. [40] Gay.com ranked Smithers as the sixth gayest cartoon character. [42] Merchandise Smithers was made into an action figure, and four different versions were included as part of the World of Springfield toy line. The first shows Smithers in his normal attire with a picture of Mr. Burns at his feet and was released in 2000 as part of "wave two". [43] The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave ten", is called "resort Smithers" and shows him dressed as he was at the resort in the episode "Homer the Smithers".

[44] In 2003, a series of figures exclusive to Electronics Boutique was released, and a set of one Mr. Burns figure and two different Smithers toys based on the episode " Rosebud " were included. One, called "Bobo Smithers" shows Smithers dressed as Mr. Burns' teddy bear Bobo; [45] and the other, known as "future Smithers", shows him as a robotic dog. [46] A "future Burns" was included in the set as a companion to "future Smithers" and depicts Burns as how he appeared as a robot at the end of the episode. [47] References ^ Maxtone-Graham, Ian; Moore, Steven Dean (2001-12-09). " The Blunder Years ". The Simpsons . episode 05. season 13. Fox. Smithers comes out on 'The Simpsons' - CNN.com Smithers comes out on 'The Simpsons' By Melonyce McAfee, CNN Updated 5:51 PM ET, Mon September 28, 2015 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Harry Shearer is just one of the many "Simpsons" voices -- who creates many more "Simpsons" voices. He does Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner. Click through for more of the other members of the show's cast. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Dan Castellaneta supplies the voices of Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Grampa Simpson and Mayor Quimby, not to mention Krusty the Klown and Groundskeeper Willie. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Julie Kavner is Marge Simpson and Marge's sisters, the scourges of the Springfield DMV, Patty and Selma Bouvier. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Nancy Cartwright gives voice to Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum, as well as others. Hide Caption Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Yeardley Smith supplies the voice of Lisa Simpson.

Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Where would "The Simpsons" be without Hank Azaria? The versatile voice actor does Apu, Comic Book Guy, Chief Wiggum and Moe -- as well as Dr. Nick, Snake Jailbird and the always entertaining Bumblebee Man. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Pamela Hayden gives voice to two boys on opposite ends of the charm spectrum: Milhouse Van Houten and Jimbo Jones. She's also the person behind Rod Flanders, Janey Powell and Malibu Stacy. Hide Caption Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Tress MacNeille's characters include Crazy Cat Lady and Dolph Starbeam. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Maggie Roswell is the voice of Milhouse's mother, Luann, as well as such figures as Helen Lovejoy and the late Maude Flanders.

Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters The urbane tones of Kelsey Grammer provide the wit and glory of Sideshow Bob, who's been known to sing a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta or two. Hide Caption Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters Joe Montegna drops by "The Simpsons" to do the voice of occasional character Fat Tony. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: 'Simpsons' voice actors and their characters The late Marcia Wallace supplied the voice of Mrs. Edna Krabappel for many years. Her character, like those of the late Phil Hartman (Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz), was essentially retired upon her death.

Hide Caption Smithers to finally come out as gay on 'The Simpsons' Smithers to finally come out as gay on 'The Simpsons' Pin it Share Simpsons characters welcome guests at the Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California, on May 7, 2009 (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys) More Los Angeles (AFP) - It has been an open secret for a while but Waylon Smithers Jr., of the long-running cartoon comedy "The Simpsons," is finally coming out as gay. According to the show's producer, Smithers, who has unsuccessfully hidden his sexuality for years, will come out to his tyrannical boss 'Mr. Burns' during two episodes of this year's season which began Sunday. "In Springfield now, most people know he's gay, but obviously Burns doesn't," producer Al Jean told TVLine. "We deal with that in two episodes," he added. "We actually do a lot with Smithers this year. He gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options." Smithers's infatuation with his billionaire boss has been hinted at in many episodes of the iconic show which began airing in 1989 and is the longest running prime-time sitcom in the US.

The show follows the trials and tribulations of the Simpsons, a dysfunctional family that lives in the fictional town of Springfield. "Mr. Burns", the owner of a nuclear plant, is the town's richest citizen and Smithers is his personal assistant and self-proclaimed best friend. Smithers's coming out is in line with changes in recent years in the US television and movie industries, which have reflected more tolerance in society toward gays, lesbians and transgender people. "The idea of a show that has an openly gay character has ceased to be remarkable," said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. Nonetheless, he added, Smithers's coming out reinforces acceptance of the LGBT community. "Before the 1970s, we had virtually no gays or lesbians or transgender people on television at all," he said. "They were virtually invisible. "And I guess the Smithers story is one more character that demonstrates that is not the case anymore." Reblog

Question: Waylon Smithers is the personal assistant to what well known fictional character?
Answer: C. Montgomery Burns