Harry Shearer’s ‘The Simpsons’ Fate: Speculation, A Possible Replacement, Greatest Moments


Harry Shearer may be leaving The Simpsons – or maybe he isn’t.

When Harry Shearer rejected the same contract renewal offer that was accepted by the rest of the Simpsons’ voice cast, show runner Al Jean said that he can’t understand what Harry Shearer’s problem is, AV Club reported.

“If he wants a deal different than the cast, he can’t get it. I don’t know what else you could want with this job… We have made it a terrific job that’s really well paying. He’s won an Emmy for it. He has gotten acclaim worldwide. He can live in another country. He can phone it in and do whatever else he wants. So I don’t know what else. I kind of defy you to find a problem.”

BBC News has even reported on a possible replacement for Harry Shearer, 23-year-old Sean Burke, who can reportedly imitate 20 Simpsons voices.

Watch Sean Burke in action here and judge for yourself.

But most recently, Harry Shearer told CNN Money that there was a possibility that he could return to the show, saying simply “stay tuned.”

What is clear right now is that nobody seems to know the future of Harry Shearer and The Simpsons. What we do know, though, is that Harry Shearer voiced some of the best and most classic moments on The Simpsons. So instead of speculating about whether Harry Shearer will return to the show and the fate of the dozens of characters that he performs, let’s instead look at the best Harry Shearer characters and moments on the Simpsons to date.

Charles Montgomery Burns

Mr. Burns is Homer Simpson’s boss and an eccentric multimillionaire who runs the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is one of the most loved (and feared) Simpsons’ characters of all time.

Ned Flanders

Ned Flanders lived next door to the Simpson family and is best known for his ultraconservative religious views and his desire to shield his two sons from the rest of the world.

Principal Skinner

Principal Seymour Skinner, the principle of the school that Bart and Lisa attend, Springfield Elementary, has provided some of their most classic Simpsons quotes to date. Most of his catchphrases revolve around his unusual relationship with his mother, despite him being a fully grown man and now the principal of the elementary school.

“Hello, Simpson. I’m riding the bus today because Mother hid my car keys to punish me for talking to a woman on the phone. She was right to do it.”

Otto

Otto drives the school bus and has rarely been seen outside of this context. Most of Otto’s best quotes revolve around his love of rock music and the unanswered questions as to his after-hours activities.

Dr. Julius Hibbert

Dr Hibbert seems to be one of only two physicians in Springfield (the other being the widely discredited Dr. Nick Riviera). Dr Hibbert has the unfortunate habit of punctuating his sentences with laughter, usually at the most inappropriate times.

A YouTuber known as “MyAbridged” made a decidedly unabridged montage of more than 10 hours of Dr Hibbert’s laughter across many different episodes of The Simpsons.

Fans of The Simpsons worldwide are beginning to become concerned about the fate of their favorite Simpsons characters if Harry Shearer decides not to return to the show. Whatever happens, though, it is doubtful that The Simpsons creators will retire or kill off so many of their characters.

We’ll leave you here with footage of Harry Shearer voicing some of his most popular characters. Somehow it seems amazing hearing the voices of so many well-known animated characters coming from the mouth of one man.

[Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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