# In the simpsons, which characters are based on actors outside the simpsons **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102 "2014-12-02T04:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/21 "2014-12-02T15:24:20Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > Doug McClure and Troy Donahue. You might remember them from such films as The Land That Time Forgot, Humanoids from the Deep, Nudity Required, American Rampage, and Dial N for Nurder (not really). You win the thread! \ Heh, heh…Nurder. \ ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/22 "2014-12-02T15:45:57Z")
I believe that the Van Houten family was initially based on the Pfeiffer family from _The Wonder Years._ ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/23 "2014-12-02T15:51:04Z")
Some great and enjoyable responses in this thread, only a few character/celebrity similarities I had picked up on - Gill, Mayor Quimby and I kinda suspected Hank Scorpio as Branson. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/24 "2014-12-02T16:07:07Z")
Edna Krabappel’s name is a reference to [Miss Crabtree](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Marlowe#Miss_Crabtree) from the Our Gang comedies, but the two characters have little in common aside from being grammar school teachers. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/25 "2014-12-02T16:18:13Z")
Howell Huser = Huell Howser ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/26 "2014-12-02T16:23:39Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I always saw Fat Tony as a stereotypical generic “Italian Mob” character. He’s specifically based on actor [Paul Sorvino,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Tony#mediaviewer/File:Paul_Sorvino.jpg)who played mobster Paul Cicero in _Goodfellas_. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/27 "2014-12-02T16:30:15Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Louie. The actor, Frank Sivero, sued The Simpsons for $250 million earlier this year. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/28 "2014-12-02T16:43:49Z")
Lurleen Lumpkin = Loretta Lynn ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/29 "2014-12-02T16:58:44Z")
Lance Murdock obviously = Evel Knievel. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/30 "2014-12-02T17:10:17Z")
Was the self help guru Brad Goodman based on anyone in particular? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/31 "2014-12-02T17:13:37Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Lance Murdock obviously = Evel Knievel. In a similar vein, Ernst and Gunther are obviously Siegfriend and Roy. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/32 "2014-12-02T17:36:24Z")
[Kent Brockman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Brockman) (Kenny Brockelstein) - Los Angeles anchormen Hal Fishman and Jerry Dunphy. [Larry H. Lawyer, Jr.](http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Larry_H._Lawyer,_Jr.) - Loosely based on Larry H. Parker, a personal injury lawyer who frequently advertises on television. [Blue-Haired Lawyer](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Blue-Haired_Lawyer) - McCarthy-era lawyer Roy Cohn, and character actor Charles Lane. [Robert Chaporo](http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Robert_Chaporo) - Lawyer Robert Shapiro. [Albert Dershman](http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Albert_Dershman) - Lawyer Alan Dershowitz. Sorry about the excess of lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/33 "2014-12-02T17:56:43Z")
Comic Book Guy was based on the owner of a comic book store five miles down the road from the Simpsons studio. (As well as a comic book store ten miles down the road, a comic book store twenty miles down the road, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/34 "2014-12-02T18:06:24Z")
I think only the name and general kiddie show/“clown-ness” (red nose, etc.) was based on Rusty Nails. Note the picture [here](http://home.comcast.net/~kptv/Shows/rusty.htm). He doesn’t even look like the “Rusty the Clown” parade [balloon](http://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Rusty_the_Clown). Rusty was seriously religious and would hardly be the role model for the morally challenged Krusty. Paul Sorvino’s Paulie character is clearly the model for Fat Tony. _Goodfellas_ came out in 1990 and the first appearance of Fat Tony in _Bart the Murderer_ was in 1991. The whole episode reeked of _Goodfellas_. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_the_Murderer#Production), they had the general idea for the episode before the movie came out and added homages to the movie later. But Fat Tony is Paulie Cicero. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/35 "2014-12-02T18:43:55Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Mayor Quimby = JFK > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Kind of combination of Ted and John Kennedy, isn’t he? And his nickname comes from [Diamond Jim Brady](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Jim_Brady). His nephew Freddy Quimby is named after an [animation producer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Quimby). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/36 "2014-12-02T18:56:00Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Sorry about the excess of lawyers. Join the club. Shary Bobbins may be an original creation like Rickey Rouse and Monald Muck, but she’s clearly inspired by the 1964 performance of Julie Andrews. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/37 "2014-12-02T19:15:27Z")
The [photographer](http://babysimpson.co.uk/gallery/frames/10/aabf18/208.jpg) in the episode “They Saved Lisa’s Brain” looks suspiciously like [Annie Leibovitz](http://images.realtytoday.com/data/images/full/5564/photographer-annie-leibovitz.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/38 "2014-12-02T19:15:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It was in the new recently that actor Frank Sivero, who played gangsters in Godfather II and Goodfellas, is suing the Simpsons for $250 million because their gangster character “Louie” (One of Fat Tony’s henchmen) is based on the characters he played, mostly Frankie Carbone from Goodfellas. If you see Carbone side by side with Louie, it looks pretty close Isn’t that exactly what fair use laws are for though? I mean, the character of “Louie” doesn’t cause any lost revenue for “Goodfellas” or Sivero, and Fat Tony and co. are clearly a parody of gangster movie gangsters, including Sivero’s portrayal of Frankie Carbone. I’d think he’d be honored that his character was iconic enough to be parodied in such a way, not trying to sue the Simpsons some 23 years after the character was introduced. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/39 "2014-12-02T19:47:43Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Comic Book Guy was based on the owner of a comic book store five miles down the road from the Simpsons studio. (As well as a comic book store ten miles down the road, a comic book store twenty miles down the road, etc.) I’ve been in a few comic stores run by comic book fans but I don’t ever recall running into anybody like CBG. I think he’s simply all the comic book nerd stereotypes all rolled up into one person. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102/40 "2014-12-02T20:21:56Z")
Number 6, even voiced by Patrick McGoohan, from The Prisoner [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-simpsons-which-characters-are-based-on-actors-outside-the-simpsons/706102.md?page=3)