"The Simpsons" and Phil Hartman's characters

Cafe Society
1

Have any of Phil Hartman’s characters even been referenced since he died?

I’ve been watching the season 20 DVDs (the first significant exposure I’ve had to the show since about 2007), and it seems that they’re making a concerted effort to work more minor characters from years past into the show (the music teacher accidentally being made short instead of a woman, for instance), and it occurred to me that I couldn’t remember any references to Troy McClure or Lionel Hutz.

Given that I’ve also been watching a lot of Doctor Who lately, it made me wonder if those characters had simply fallen into a crack in time.

2

All of his characters were officially retired after his death.

I do recall a joke not too long ago listing all of Selma’s last names (a gag about her many marriages). She had once been married to Troy McClure, so I’m guessing “McClure” was mentioned in there. Don’t have a cite for that, though.

Aside from that, are you asking if there was ever a line like “Say, whatever happened to that Lionel Hutz fellow?” As far as I know, no. But I haven’t seen every episode.

3

I don’t know about Troy McClure, but Lionel Hutz has been referenced - appearing in non-speaking roles in crowd scenes, and being referenced with a billboard in the Hit and Run video game in 2003. I THINK they both still appear in the comics, but I read them only sporadically.

4

If we’re thinking of the same joke, she also said “Hutz”, even though she’s never been married to Lionel Hutz on the show. Here’s the dialogue, from the episode where Apu is threatened with deportation:


Homer: [on phone] Hello, Selma?  Selma my dear, how are you? ...
       Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.  Listen, shut up for a second.  How
       would you like to marry Apu so he doesn't get deported?
Selma: I'd rather eat poison.  My name's already Selma Bouvier
       Terwilliger Hutz McClure.  God knows it's long enough without
       Nahassapeema-whatever.  From now on, I'm only marrying for
       love. ... Mmm, possibly once more for money.

But, SNPP says that episode aired in 1996, and Hartman died in 1998; I don’t remember a more recent recitation of Selma’s last names.

5

Well, they have brought back Lunch Lady Doris, who was reduced to silent roles after Doris Grau died (she’s voiced by Tress MacNeille now), and there was even an episode a few years ago when they “brought Dr. Marvin Monroe back from the dead” (in one of the Who Shot Mr. Burns? episodes, they mention “Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital,” and in the episode where Maude Flanders dies, he has a tombstone in the cemetery, but in the episode where Marge writes a romance novel, he appears and explains that he had been “very sick”), but as the other two posters pointed out, nobody will ever voice either McClure or Hutz again, although Hutz has appeared in crowd scenes. It’s also possible that one or both were in the “angry mob” scene in the movie.

There has been a reference to Selma’s weddings after Hartman died; in the 2007 episode where Selma marries Grampa Simpson, there’s a banner reading, “CONGRATULATIONS SELMA AND BOB - LIONEL - TROY - STU - BOB - ABE” (with all but “ABE” crossed out)

6

He did play Nelson’s dad once when Nelson and Bart were playing soccer. Since then, the senior Muntz has been depicted way diferently (and not as well, imo).