# Please no! Simpsons question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785 "2003-04-06T01:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/1 "2003-04-06T01:55:43Z")
Ok caught a promo for a new episode,and it sounded for all the world like marge was not being voiced by the same actress. Please tell me I wasn’t hearing right or it was a gag. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/2 "2003-04-06T02:03:12Z")
Haven’t seen it, but dear Lord let it not be true! ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/3 "2003-04-06T02:20:15Z")
:eek: Well some characters have been voiced by more than one person over time, but one of the family?! Can’t be… Just can’t be… ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/4 "2003-04-06T02:22:20Z")
I heard that commercial too and I thought, “What the heck?” Maybe it is a dream sequence or something. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/5 "2003-04-06T03:40:03Z")
Surely we’d have heard about it if she left the show! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/6 "2003-04-06T04:16:42Z")
Julie Kavner has a separate contract from the other major cast members (Castalenetta, Azaria, Smith, and Cartwright). Or at least she did. That could be because she started out with a lot more non-voiceover work than the others, although Hank Azaria is certainly busy now. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/7 "2003-04-06T06:36:17Z")
That episode’s a repeat, though, and I don’t recall the voice sounding different for the entire episode. Maybe it was just a funny line reading. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/8 "2003-04-06T07:51:06Z")
For that matter, why is it that earlier episodes of the Simpsons have Homer sounding really different? A change in recording techinique, or what? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/9 "2003-04-06T07:58:06Z")
Dan Castalenetta changed Homer’s voice over time. He started out basically doing a Walter Matthau impersonation while the “Homer” voice evolved over time. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/10 "2003-04-06T08:01:14Z")
**Tristan** , it just took Dan Castellaneta a while to develop what became the standard Homer Simpson voice. You can hear it evolve as you watch the first season. Nothing to do with technology. Mel Blanc had a similar development going with Barney Rubble’s voice on _The Flintstones_. Barney’s early voice at the start was almost nothing like what became his standard voice. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/11 "2003-04-06T09:58:04Z")
Ok one thing i have thought of is perhaps the line was edited,or changed? Since it was a repeat and maybe Kavner wasn’t avaliable? As much as i hate the level the Simpsons have sunk,going on without a main voice actor would just be a new low. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/12 "2003-04-06T10:00:11Z")
He actually changed Homer’s voice to be less gruff as it was a strain on his vocal chords. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/13 "2003-04-06T11:20:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > \*\*He actually changed Homer’s voice to be less gruff as it was a strain on his vocal chords. \*\* Actually, I believe you’re referring to Barney Gumble’s voice. The drunk voice was too much of a strain for the actor, so he asked the writers to make Barney overcome his drinking problem. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/14 "2003-04-06T11:27:27Z")
Wow. Much information. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/15 "2003-04-06T17:05:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychonaut \* > \*\*Actually, I believe you’re referring to Barney Gumble’s voice. The drunk voice was too much of a strain for the actor, so he asked the writers to make Barney overcome his drinking problem. \*\* **BZZT!** Thank you for playing! The reason that Barney sobered up was because Dan’s a recovering alcoholic and had a moral conflict over portraying a character such as Barney. There’s been threads on this, but Hammie’s being uncooperative on this, so I can’t find them at the moment. You can read Dan Castellaneta’s bio at[IMDB](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Castellaneta,%20Dan) and see that it mentions he doesn’t drink. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/16 "2003-04-06T17:38:14Z")
Interesting to hear that, **Tuckerfan**. My information came from some Simpsons-related FAQ which, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to rediscover with ten minutes of Googling. Where is your story from? Castellaneta’s also a vegetarian, but unlike Yeardley Smith, he didn’t ask that his characters abstain from meat. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/17 "2003-04-06T17:53:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychonaut \* > \*\*Interesting to hear that, **Tuckerfan**. My information came from some Simpsons-related FAQ which, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to rediscover with ten minutes of Googling. Where is your story from? Castellaneta’s also a vegetarian, but unlike Yeardley Smith, he didn’t ask that his characters abstain from meat. \*\* IIRC, it was an interview with him on an NPR program, however, I’m unable to find the interview on their site. That doesn’t mean anything, of course, as I’ve been up for something like 20 hours now and am lucky to be able to manipulate my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/18 "2003-04-06T19:18:04Z")
But didn’t Barney go back to his old boozing self last year? ---
**Author:** ![Swede\_Hollow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Swede\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swede_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/19 "2003-04-07T02:00:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*IIRC, it was an interview with him on an NPR program, however, I’m unable to find the interview on their site. That doesn’t mean anything, of course, as I’ve been up for something like 20 hours now and am lucky to be able to manipulate my fingers. \*\* It was from a “Not My Job” guest shot on **Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me** on NPR last year. He said that he changed Homer’s voice because it would strain him too much. It was fine for the 1 - 2 minute episodes on the **Tracy Ulman Show** but it just wasn’t working for him in regular series work. Dan C. was one of the best “Not My Job” contestants. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785/20 "2003-04-07T02:15:47Z")
I heard somewhere that Dr. Marvin Monroe was killed because his voice was rough on the vocal cords. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-no-simpsons-question/166785.md?page=2)