The Simpsons Monty Burns Is Based on Fred Olsen

The Simpsons’ roster of characters is larger than that of any other TV series (except maybe Game of Thrones, which is insanely well-populated). Did you realize, though, that many of the show’s most memorable characters are based on actual people?

There are several characters in The Simpsons that have real-life counterparts, including creator Matt Groening’s parents, Homer and Marge (her maiden name was Wiggum), and his sisters, Lisa and Maggie. (Interestingly, his other sister, Patty, is the inspiration for Marge’s sister, Patty, on the show, whereas his brother, Mark, uh, didn’t.)

The hilarious stand-up routines of Moe Szyslak. Richard Hall, or Rich,

The alternative comedian Rich Hall of the United States rose to prominence in the 1980s because of his foul-mouthed, yet amusing, rants.

Comedian Arsenio Hall has long said that Simpsons creator Matt Groening told him he was the inspiration for the character of Moe the Bartender, and in November 2018, Hall even dressed up as Moe for a photograph.

Hall, on learning that he had inspired Moe, commented, “It’s an honor.” You’ll be OK “after you get over the shock of seeing oneself as an ugly, yellow caricature.”

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Walter Matthau, son of Matt Groening, voices Homer Simpson in the Simpsons cartoon.

Groening took inspiration for the names of America’s most famous family from his own: Homer, Margaret, Lisa, Maggie, and Patty. The show’s creator has been at pains to emphasize that Homer Simpson in the cartoon was not like his real-life namesake.

To both amuse and irritate his own father, Homer, Groening told EW in 2010 that the show was inspired by his own childhood. My dad was a filmmaker and writer who was also a very good athlete, and the only thing they had in common was a mutual appreciation for doughnuts.

He never really strangled me, but he did get so angry that I feared it at any moment. The voice of Homer was based on Dan Castellaneta’s impression of the late actor Walter Matthau, as he disclosed in the early ’90s.

Senator Ted Kennedy – Mayor Joe Quimby

Senator Ted Kennedy - Mayor Joe Quimby

The philandering, shady mayor of Springfield is often compared to the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy.

In 2000, when a competition was held in the United States to determine which town of Springfield should serve as the real-life equivalent of the Simpsons’ hometown, Kennedy welcomed his cartoon doppelgänger by inviting “ol’ Diamond Joe Quimby” to come and try some “chow-dah” in Springfield, Massachusetts.