‘The Simpsons’ will make history
‘The Simpsons’ is already the longest-running American sitcom and animated program in television history, and on Sunday will be the longest-running TV program – period – when the FOX hit hits the title ‘Gunsmoke’.
“The Simpsons” has officially recreated the voice actor behind one of his black characters originally voiced by the longtime cast Harry Shearer.
Springfield’s jovial doctor, Julius Hibbert, will no longer be voiced by Shearer, after the Fox series announced in June that the black characters would no longer be voiced by White actors. Shearer has played Hibbert and several other characters in the show for more than 30 years.
According to People, Hibbert will now be voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, who has appeared in more than 70 episodes of the show as other characters. Shearer’s latest installment of Hibbert will be titled ‘Dairy Queen’ on Sunday. Richardson will reportedly take the reins for the first time as Hibbert in the upcoming episode titled “Wad Goals.”
Representatives of ‘The Simpsons’ did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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Although Shearer will no longer play Hibbert, he will continue as the voice talent behind other beloved Simpsons characters such as Mr. Burns, principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers and Ned Flanders.
Shearer explained earlier in August that he did not necessarily agree with the decision to recreate the black characters of the program following widespread criticism and renewed attention to casting caused by last summer’s protests over racial inequality.
Dr. Julius Hibbert will no longer be voiced by Harry Shearer.
(Fox / Getty Images)
“I have a very simple belief about acting. The job of the actor is to portray someone who he is not,” Shearer, 77, told Times Radio at the time (via The Daily Mail).
He added: “This is the concert, this is the job description.”
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Shearer added that although he no longer plays the role of dr. Hibbert will not speak out, his career will not be badly affected by the news.
“We are not paid by the vote,” he said.
Kevin Michael Richardson will be the new voice behind dr. Julius Hibbert in ‘The Simpsons’.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Weekly Entertainment)
The decision to reconsider how Springfield’s Black characters vote comes months after The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria confirmed he would no longer speak to the character Apu after the setback over his rendition of Indians and South Asians. . The decision was largely unleashed by the critical documentary “The Problem with Apu”.
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Other animation programs have followed since then, with Mike Henry, who previously voiced Cleveland Brown for two decades in ‘Family Guy’ and the ensuing spin ‘The Cleveland Show’, voicing the character.
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Meanwhile, Kristen Bell steps away from her character in the AppleTV + animated series “Central Park” shortly before Jenny Slate made the same decision about her character, Missy, in Netflix’s “Big Mouth”.