It’s rare that Springfield is synonymous with sorrow, but that was certainly the case during the 26th season premiere of “The Simpsons.”
After more than a year of producers teasing that a big character death was on its way, “The Simpsons” finally dropped that shoe, sending an important character to the great beyond — but not exactly a principal player, as many thought.
The person who did not make it out of the “Simpsons” premiere alive was…
…not Homer. It was…
…not Krusty the Clown. It was…
Krusty’s father. Send in the sad clowns.
The episode, titled “Clown in the Dumps,” centers on the death of Krusty’s father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, voiced by Jackie Mason, who won an Emmy award for voicing the character back in 1992. In his final moments, the rabbi tells his estranged son Krusty what he really thinks of him: “Eh.”
“I thought, ‘It would be a good father-son story if the rabbi passed away and the last thing he said to his son was, ‘I think you’re eh,’” executive producer Al Jean tells Entertainment Weekly. “That the last word that Krusty heard from his dad was ‘eh,’ and that he had to try to reconcile himself with that, and try to find an answer for this lifetime relationship.”
Rabbi Krustofski’s passing might come as a bit of an “eh” to people anticipating a major “Simpsons” character death for more than a year now, but Jean insists that he did his best to manage expectations leading up to the big episode.
“For about six months, I’ve been saying this is overhyped,” he said. “People said it’s an iconic character [who dies], but I never said it’s an iconic character. I never used those words.”
Besides, says Jean, “The Simpsons” isn’t about to go on a killing spree, certainly not against any major characters.
“We’re never going to kill off Homer, or even Krusty,” he tells TV Line. “This show is always running in syndication, and we don’t want you to feel bad every time you see an old character that you loved.”
What did you think of the big “Simpsons” death?
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