‘The Simpsons’ To Air Marcia Wallace Tribute

The Simpsons will air a tribute to voice actress Marcia Wallace Sunday, November 3.

Wallace, who provided the voice of Edna Krabappel, died October 25 due to complications from pneumonia. She was 70.

Wallace, along with five other Simpsons voice actors, earned the first ever Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over performance in 1992. Wallace won the award for the episode “Bart the Lover,” in which Bart (Nancy Cartwright) responds to a personal ad Mrs. Krabappel placed in the newspaper. Bart creates an alter ego named Woodrow as revenge for being given a month’s detention for breaking the class fish tank with his yo-yo. When Bart sees Mrs. Krabappel sitting in an empty restaurant, he feels guilty and writes her a romantic letter explaining why Woodrow had to leave, which makes her feel better.

Fox will re-air the episode, the 16th episode of its third season, Sunday. An all-new episode will follow at 8 pm, concluding with a tribute card from producers.

Producer Al Jean said of Marcia Wallace, “She was beloved by all at The Simpsons and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character.”

Nancy Cartwright remembered her co-star as a “ray of light” and said that she was a big part of the show.

“Marcia would come in, and she was always a ray of light. She’s in 178 episodes – a lot more than people might think. That’s more episodes than most standard shows,” Cartwright told The Hollywood Reporter. “Marcia was always a very big part of the group. Always a treat. The room was always a little bit better with her in it.”

Cartwright added, “She had recorded some upcoming episodes, I don’t know how they will use it. I don’t know what they’re going to do with the character. I’m curious to see what they do.”

Cartwright also said that “Bart the Love” showed that “deep down inside there was caring there in [Edna’s] voice.”

She explained, “That’s the brilliance of the writing of the show…. Of all the kids in the school, it was Mrs. Krabappel and Bart that had this loving relationship. I think Bart gave her a little more joy than grading papers. He provided her with a real relationship.”

Edna Krabappel first appeared in “Bart the Genius,” the second episode of the first season in 1990.

Marcia Wallace is survived by her son, Michael Hawley.

[Photo credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com]