Harry Shearer won't continue to voice Dr. Hibbert on The Simpsons after all
TV Features Harry Shearer
Back in August, voice acting veteran Harry Shearer—who has the supplied the jolly giggles for Dr. Julius Hibbert as well as the quips of many other characters since 1990—had some things to say about white voice actors playing Black characters. To summarize: He didn’t quite think the burden of representation was on the actor because their job “is to play someone who they’re not.” Not only did his opinion vastly differ from those like Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell, who both stepped down from their respective roles after the industry went through a reckoning last summer; it also gave the impression that he would be sticking around as Springfield’s most prominent medical expert for a while.
However, things changed on Monday when Variety confirmed that Shearer will not continue to voice Dr. Hibbert after all, following in the footsteps of Simpsons colleague Hank Azaria, who stepped down from his roles as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in January 2020 and Carl Carlson in the fall. Kevin Michael Richardson will be taking over the role from Shearer, who could be heard voicing Dr. Hibbert for the last time in last Sunday’s episode, “DairyQueen.” Richardson will debut in this week’s forthcoming episode.
This development isn’t wholly unexpected: In June 2020, the show’s producers released a statement confirming that they would no longer have white actors play characters of color. But Shearer’s dissent and seniority did manage to leave things up in the air. Though he’s ultimately hanging up his animated stethoscope, Shearer still has quite a few staple characters under his belt, including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Mr. Smithers, Principal Skinner. Basically, he’ll still be quite busy even with one less character.
82 Comments
Good choice.
True, but Leslie David Baker would have also been a great choice.
Yeah, gotta say, Richardson’s a solid pick. I’m sure he’ll do fine.
As opposed to Family Guy, who just picked some dude off YouTube to voice Cleveland.
As opposed to Family Guy, who just picked some dude off YouTube to voice Cleveland. The spinoff show was peak caucacity. It was so disingenuous to have a show about a black family and have a white guy playing as the titular black character.
Oh, absolutely. And also have a white executive producer and white head writer to boot.
They picked him because he can imitate the Cleveland voice very well, which is about the best thing they could do in a stupid situation where there shouldn’t be a recast to begin with. Simpsons instead opts for people who sound nothing like the original making the whole thing even more of a farce.
I dig the Tom Petty cosplay.
I’m pretty sure it’s actually Tracey Walter’s Bob from 1989’s Batman.
I met Harry Shearer a couple years ago. Told him he was my number one guy.
I’m showing my girlfriend’s 18-year son on classic cinema; ‘The Godfather’, ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (made him cry), etc. When ‘Spinal Tap’ came ‘round, I wasn’t sure how much of it would land (he’s not much into rock). He sat there with a huge smile through all of it. It actually gets better with age …
Good kid. And good guidance. 🙂
Modusoperandi … you’re … *heavy breathing* … my number one … ahh, guy!
Bob. Gun.
(hands dirtside his gun)
*shoots self in foot*
Gonna need a couple of minutes alone, boys.Wait, first get dirtside some towels!
Wooahh![His official character name, apparently, was “Bob the Goon”]
It’s alright if you recast me
It’s alright if you don’t
I’m not afraid of you firing me Al Jean
I get the feeling you won’t
Slow…clap…
Would you dig a Billy Bob Thornton cosplay?
As long as it’s him dressed as his Armageddon character.
It’s a bit of a Harry Shearer Dean Stanton look.
Amusing coincidence, we just now watched the episode of Chuck where Harry Dean Stanton shows up as a repo man.
He even slipped on pee-pee at the Costco and got a $53,000 settlement.
*Dr. Hibbert laugh*
*obligatory comment saying this wouldn’t be a thing if the Simpsons had ended ages ago*
Well, it does need to die.
Valar Marge-gulis. Or something more clever along those lines.
Not if you ignore, like you do South Park or various Soap Operas. You don’t HAVE TO engage in anything. No one is forcing you. Unless you are, then… should I send help?
Why? Who cares at this point? It’s gone on way too long now to be considered a good show overall.
Why? I haven’t been a regular viewer of the show since GWB’s first term, but it doesn’t bother me that new episodes are still being produced. If there are people out there who still watch every episode, good for them. I occasionally catch a newer episode and I’m generally pleasantly surprised to enjoy it. In my limited experience the episodes from the past several years are better than those from 2000-2010.
But before you quit, let me hear Dr. Hibbert say “Ea..a..oe’s”.
Wehh-elllll…
Meanwhile, Dr. Nick Riviera has been booked to guest host a week of “Jeopardy!”
The question is the answer? What a country!
To me it feels like there’s a fairly substantial difference between Shearer who does the voices for like 20 different minor characters and Jenny Slate/Kristen Bell who were each voicing a single character but I guess if this makes people happy then sure.
None of the people who care about this will ever be happy.
Slate has voiced 15 characters on Big Mouth.
They’ve toned it down over the years so it isn’t so obvious now, but Dr. Hibbert started out as a parody of Bill Cosby’s persona, so rather than get a new voice actor maybe they should just retire the character?
Exhibit A.
I hope not. I was really bummed when they did that with Apu rather than just recasting the voice.
Wasn’t Apu retired because it’s kind of a racist character anyway?
He was originally a stereotype, but they’ve put a lot of work into making him a more rounded, filled-out character. Apu’s had multiple episodes where he was the main character.
Not only that, but in the classic ‘90s years, too. I don’t mean that as a Simpsons purist, just that they had so many fewer episodes, and hadn’t run out of ideas by then. Lunchlady Doris probably has her own episode by now. Apu probably had at least three before 2000.
Of course, the issue of Apu being offensive to Indian people is valid, and as a white person, I take a backseat to that, and it’s just a cartoon. I just always found Apu to be a respected/respectable character.
I think he’s far enough removed from his Cosby origins that he shouldn’t be retired altogether, but I do think the Kevin Michael Richardson recast is the right move. Plus it means more Kevin Michael Richardson. I’d listen to him read the phone book.
That Kevin Michael Richardson really boils my potatoes.
Really? I find that his voice is too easily identifiable and every character sounds the same. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
He’s not really known for his dynamic range, true, but I just like the way his voice sounds in general and think he emotes well.
Also, the problem is with the serial rapist who played the Cosby character, rather the character itself. The character is wholesome pop culture, I don’t see what would be achieved by distancing yourself (even further) from a parody of it.
Surely the obvious solution is to get Cosby in to voice Dr. Hibbert
Please just let Simpsons end.
Well I couldn’t possibly voice this character…can YOU?
Nah, I’d give it a shot, but, I mean, it’s not my job since last year, right?
Harry Shearer should do Mr. Burns as a One Man Show, I mean, he looks just like him now. Excellent.
I kind of think it would have been a better move if the producers had just said that they will be keeping Shearer on as Dr. Hibbert, but to increase the diversity in the recording studio, Kevin Michael Richardson will now be playing Homer.
Whatever. This remains an idiotic decision but whatever.
Looking forward to the (far far?) future where there’ll be enough “black” people voicing “white” people for “white” people voicing “black” people not to be an issue anymore. Just having people voicing people. Regardless of size, hair or skin color. This is so much still the middle-ages.And frankly, I would have much, much preferred if this imbalance was dealt with through quotas rather than “matching” characters.
This is so much still the middle-ages.
Our technology has advanced. Our cultures not so much.
Cree Summer is the Jackie Robinson of this, having been Penny Gadget and Lucy Van Pelt way before her more celebrated (rightfully so) Susie Carmichael.
Quotas invariably end in gulags.
I heard that Clint Eastwood wasn’t actually a gun slinging cowboy. Why are we not up in arms about this?
Not only did his opinion vastly differ from those like Jenny Slate and Kristen BellThis is the sort of ageism I don’t mind engaging in- fucking old dinosaurs gotta just step aside without opining their idiocy. Harry Shearer, John Cleese, whomever.
Can’t wait to hear Shearer’s terrible, irrelevant take on this news.
Or Al Jean, that guy loves the taste of his own foot.
Shearer’s right in the abstraction, but given the practical reality that non-white actors just get fewer roles overall, I think it’s a good thing if non-white human animated characters are voiced by actors of the same ethnic background when possible.
Plus they can add their own spin on the character, like Joe Mantegna (Italian-American actor) does with Fat Tony.
So does that mean recasting Willie with a Scotsman?“Cos of theres one thing willie hates more than non Scotsmen , its damn Scotsmen!!
It’s such a shame that The Simpsons got cancelled somewhere in the middle of season 9, but them’s the breaks!
Imagine thinking The Simpsons had nine good seasons.
That sounds like a good meditation – I will give it a shot and report back!
Man, after all this dustup over Apu I never even wondered who was voicing Hibbert or like, Carl.
Justice for Krusty! Hire a Jew for that role immediately!
What nationality will be voicing all of the yellow characters?
Asking that actors not play roles based on them not being the same as fictional characters is daffy and is the complete opposite of what acting is. Then demanding it on voicework where no one even can see the actor is bizarre. Bart Simpson is voiced by a woman. Then demanding it on a voice over comedy where the characters are usually silly and act nothing like real people is truly insane. Then finally telling someone who did great work for twenty years that they can no longer do a silly voice on a cartoon for all the above reasons when the guy never did anything to anyone is so beyond insane it boggles the mind.
I think the good part of the narrative is what’s happening with the rebranding of pro sports teams named after racist mascots. It’s a step in the right direction, and an action of real consequence considering the voluminousness of sports on the whole.
The bad part of the narrative is that anyone who ever rooted for these teams is now supposedly oblivious to white privilege at best, and a nasty racist at worst. This isn’t a too-common sentiment, but it’s important to realize that it’s okay for society to progress without the incessant need to create villains where they don’t exist. If it’s the right thing to do to retire Apu, then they should do it (recasting is a better idea, imo). The suggestion that Harry Shearer should hang his head in shame over ever having voiced the character is missing the point of positive change entirely.
*Edit: Hank Azaria, of course. Oops.
Except they are not racist, they are complimentary. And every poll of native americans I have ever seen say they are not offended by wide margins, because they are complimentary.The only people “offended” are white people who are whitesplaining to native americans that they should be offended.
It’s not like Shearer is gonna lose money. How much money do all these people in the main cast have anyway? Must be dozens if not hundred plus millions each.
END OF DAYS, BITCHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!
Seems to me there are a few things going on with these voice acting recasts that are all a little more nuanced that it would be healthy to discuss:1) We have to address the long history of white actors not just playing minority roles, but using caricaturish voices to play stereotyped minority roles. This is, I think, first and foremost2) We have to address the current reality that there aren’t that many minority voice actors getting jobs.Apu fell into camps 1 and 2, so that was a no-brainer. Dr. Hibbert and Carl fall much more into camp 2, with no malice, caricaturing, or stereotyping behind them – even though Hibbert began as a Cosby parody, Shearer’s voice work really wasn’t much of one. I don’t mind the Simpsons recasting, and think it’s silly for people to get angry about, but it does bother me in one respect – rather than getting a seasoned voice actor to voice a character who, what, maybe gets a few lines every couple episodes, shouldn’t the demand be that minority voice actors just be added generally to the Simpsons cast? People in the spirit of Dan, Harry, and Hank, who can tackle multiple voices, minority or not? That feels like it fits with the idea of equity a lot more than throwing a bone for frickin’ Carl or Hibbert, who barely appear, and feels like paying lip service to the idea rather than diving in.
How can anyone dredge up enough interest to actually care about yet another tempest in this particular teapot?
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