Like Father, Like Clown
Encyclopedia
"Like Father, Like Clown" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, Krusty the Clown reveals to the Simpson family that he is of Jewish heritage, and that his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, disowned him for pursuing a career in comedy. Krusty is emotionally upset and Bart and Lisa decide to try to reunite Krusty with his long-estranged father.
"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay Kogen
and Wallace Wolodarsky
. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody the 1927 film The Jazz Singer
and establish that Krusty is Jewish. The episode was carefully researched and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis
, were credited as "special technical consultants". It was directed by Jeffrey Lynch
and Brad Bird
; as it was Lynch's first credit as a director, Bird was assigned to help him. Comedian Jackie Mason
, who had once been an ordained rabbi, provided the voice of Rabbi Krustofski. The rabbi later became an infrequently recurring character voiced by Dan Castellaneta
. Mason later returned to voice the character in "Today I Am a Clown" in the fifteenth season
and "Once Upon a Time in Springfield
in the twenty-first season
.
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings with a Nielsen rating
of 12.7. Jackie Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award
in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for his performance as Rabbi Krustofski.
's help in exonerating him in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted
", Krusty keeps putting it off, much to Bart's disappointment. An upset Bart writes a letter to Krusty saying he is no longer his fan. Krusty's secretary is so moved by the letter that she tells Krusty she will quit her job if he does not keep his promise to Bart. This persuades Krusty to have dinner at the Simpson house. Upon learning that Krusty is coming to the Simpson house for dinner, Milhouse comes along, to which Bart reluctantly allows. When asked to say grace, Krusty recites a Hebrew
blessing
. Realizing that Krusty is Jewish
, Lisa speaks of his heritage, making Krusty break down in tears. He tells the family his real name, Herschel Krustofski, and describes his upbringing in the Lower East Side of Springfield
.
His father, Hyman Krustofski, was a rabbi and strongly opposed young Herschel's wish to become a clown
; he wanted the boy to go to yeshiva
instead. Krusty did attend the school, where he said he made the other students laugh by doing funny impressions of his father. As a result, Krusty became a slapstick
comedian behind his father's back. One night, Krusty performed at a rabbi's convention and a rabbi squirted seltzer on him, washing off his clown makeup. Rabbi Krustofski, who was in the audience, was furious and disowned his son, and now it has been 25 years since they have seen or spoken to each other.
In the weeks following this admission, Krusty thinks about his father and becomes depressed, breaking down on live television. Bart and Lisa decide to help reunite father and son, but the rabbi still refuses to accept Krusty's career choice, explaining that Krusty "turned his back on his traditions, on his faith, and on me". They decide to try to out-smart the rabbi. Lisa does research and finds Judaic teachings that urge forgiveness, but Rabbi Krustofski has responses for each of them out of stubbornness. In a last-ditch effort, Bart convinces the rabbi to realize his stubborn ways with a quote from Sammy Davis, Jr.
, a Jewish entertainer just like Krusty. This quote finally convinces Rabbi Krustofski that entertainers have a place in Jewish heritage. A deeply depressed Krusty is glumly doing a live telecast of his show, when Rabbi Krustofski appears. The two joyously hug and reconcile in front of the audience of children, with Rabbi Krustofski accepting a cream pie from Bart and throwing it in his son's face.
and Wallace Wolodarsky
. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody The Jazz Singer
and establish that Krusty is Jewish. They pitched the idea to co-executive producer Sam Simon
, who rejected it, but it was approved by James L. Brooks
. Krusty's last name, Krustofski, was established in this episode as pitched by Al Jean
. The portion of the episode where characters quote the Bible
in support or opposition of clowning were carefully researched. Cited passages from the Bible include Exodus 20:12 and Joshua
1:8. The quotations from the Talmud
were also researched, and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis
, were credited as "special technical consultants". Schulweis was asked to take a look at a draft of the script. While not a fan of the show, he felt "it was profound" and added some corrections. He later commented, "I thought it had a Jewish resonance to it. I was impressed by the underlying moral seriousness."
The episode was co-directed by Jeffrey Lynch
and Brad Bird
. It was Lynch's first credit as a director, so Bird was assigned to help him out and "usher [Lynch] into the world of directing things quickly". Krusty is one of Bird's favorite characters, and he always tries to animate a scene in every Krusty episode.
Rabbi Krustofski was portrayed by Jackie Mason
, who had once been an ordained rabbi, but had resigned to become a comedian. Mason recorded his lines in New York City
, and Dan Castellaneta
, voice of Krusty, went there to record with him. In the script, Bart and Lisa try to trick Rabbi Krustofski into meeting with Krusty by arranging a lunch date between him and Saul Bellow
, the "Nobel Prize
-winning Jewish novelist". Originally, this was intended to be Isaac Bashevis Singer
, but the writers changed it when Singer died. Mason's lines had to be re-recorded in order to complete the change. Rabbi Krustofski became an infrequently recurring character, and his occasional speaking parts were voiced by Castellaneta. Mason later returned to voice the rabbi in "Today I Am a Clown" in the fifteenth season
and "Once Upon a Time in Springfield
" in the twenty-first season.
, about a son with a strict religious upbringing who defies his father to become an entertainer. The film is mentioned when Rabbi Krustofski states, "Oh, if you were a musician or a jazz singer, this I could forgive!" Lisa tells Homer that there are many Jewish entertainers, including Lauren Bacall
, Dinah Shore
, William Shatner
and Mel Brooks
, the latter of which shocks Homer. In Krusty's flashback, he and his father walk down the street in a parody of a scene from The Godfather Part II
. In the Simpsons house, Krusty plays The Concert for Bangladesh. In Krusty's studio, there are pictures of him with Alfred Hitchcock
and The Beatles
. At the end of the episode, Krusty and his father sing "O Mein Papa", a 1952 song originally by Eddie Fisher
. Bart quotes a passage from Sammy Davis, Jr.
's 1965 autobiography Yes, I Can.
of 12.7. It was the highest rated program on Fox that week. Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award
in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for his performance as Rabbi Krustofski. He was one of six voice actors from The Simpsons to win the award in its inaugural year. He is one of three The Simpsons guest stars to win the award; Marcia Wallace
won in 1992 for voicing Edna Krabappel
, and Kelsey Grammer
won for voicing Sideshow Bob
in 2006.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode, "a magnificent show, with Jackie Mason wonderfully over the top as Krusty's long-lost pa, and Lois Penny-candy giving Krusty a good talking to about Bart." Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz of The Star-Ledger
listed "Like Father, Like Clown" as one of the ten episodes of The Simpsons that shows the "comic and emotional scope of the show." They wrote, "Most Krusty the Klown episodes go heavy on celebrity cameos, while playing up the character's misanthropic greed. This one gave him a heart, as Bart and Lisa try to reunite him with his estranged rabbi father (voice of Jackie Mason), who has never forgiven his son for going into show biz." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode "lacks a surfeit of guffaws, but it manages to be sweet and heartfelt without becoming sappy. It's more of a charming show than a laughfest, but it does the job."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, Krusty the Clown reveals to the Simpson family that he is of Jewish heritage, and that his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, disowned him for pursuing a career in comedy. Krusty is emotionally upset and Bart and Lisa decide to try to reunite Krusty with his long-estranged father.
"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
and Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky is an American television writer and director. He wrote for The Simpsons during the first four seasons; all of his episodes were co-written with former writing partner Jay Kogen...
. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody the 1927 film The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
and establish that Krusty is Jewish. The episode was carefully researched and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis
Harold M. Schulweis
Harold M. Schulweis is an American rabbi and author. He is the longtime spiritual Leader at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California.-Biography:...
, were credited as "special technical consultants". It was directed by Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
and Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
; as it was Lynch's first credit as a director, Bird was assigned to help him. Comedian Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, who had once been an ordained rabbi, provided the voice of Rabbi Krustofski. The rabbi later became an infrequently recurring character voiced by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
. Mason later returned to voice the character in "Today I Am a Clown" in the fifteenth season
The Simpsons (season 15)
The Simpsons 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with "Treehouse of Horror XIV".The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 production line...
and "Once Upon a Time in Springfield
Once Upon a Time in Springfield
"Once Upon a Time in Springfield" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 10, 2010. It was promoted as the 450th episode of the series, but is actually the 451st, and aired alongside The Simpsons 20th...
in the twenty-first season
The Simpsons (season 21)
The Simpsons twenty-first season aired on Fox from September 27, 2009 to May 23, 2010. It was the first of two seasons that the show was renewed for by Fox, and also the first season of the show to air entirely in high definition....
.
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings with a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.7. Jackie Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for his performance as Rabbi Krustofski.
Plot
Although Krusty the Clown agrees to have dinner with the Simpson family as part of his repayment for BartBart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's help in exonerating him in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted
Krusty Gets Busted
"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown, a famous TV comedian, is convicted of the armed robbery of the...
", Krusty keeps putting it off, much to Bart's disappointment. An upset Bart writes a letter to Krusty saying he is no longer his fan. Krusty's secretary is so moved by the letter that she tells Krusty she will quit her job if he does not keep his promise to Bart. This persuades Krusty to have dinner at the Simpson house. Upon learning that Krusty is coming to the Simpson house for dinner, Milhouse comes along, to which Bart reluctantly allows. When asked to say grace, Krusty recites a Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
blessing
Berakhah
In Judaism, a berakhah, bracha, brokhe is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity. The function of a berakhah is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessing...
. Realizing that Krusty is Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Lisa speaks of his heritage, making Krusty break down in tears. He tells the family his real name, Herschel Krustofski, and describes his upbringing in the Lower East Side of Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
.
His father, Hyman Krustofski, was a rabbi and strongly opposed young Herschel's wish to become a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
; he wanted the boy to go to yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
instead. Krusty did attend the school, where he said he made the other students laugh by doing funny impressions of his father. As a result, Krusty became a slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedian behind his father's back. One night, Krusty performed at a rabbi's convention and a rabbi squirted seltzer on him, washing off his clown makeup. Rabbi Krustofski, who was in the audience, was furious and disowned his son, and now it has been 25 years since they have seen or spoken to each other.
In the weeks following this admission, Krusty thinks about his father and becomes depressed, breaking down on live television. Bart and Lisa decide to help reunite father and son, but the rabbi still refuses to accept Krusty's career choice, explaining that Krusty "turned his back on his traditions, on his faith, and on me". They decide to try to out-smart the rabbi. Lisa does research and finds Judaic teachings that urge forgiveness, but Rabbi Krustofski has responses for each of them out of stubbornness. In a last-ditch effort, Bart convinces the rabbi to realize his stubborn ways with a quote from Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, a Jewish entertainer just like Krusty. This quote finally convinces Rabbi Krustofski that entertainers have a place in Jewish heritage. A deeply depressed Krusty is glumly doing a live telecast of his show, when Rabbi Krustofski appears. The two joyously hug and reconcile in front of the audience of children, with Rabbi Krustofski accepting a cream pie from Bart and throwing it in his son's face.
Production
"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay KogenJay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
and Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky is an American television writer and director. He wrote for The Simpsons during the first four seasons; all of his episodes were co-written with former writing partner Jay Kogen...
. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
and establish that Krusty is Jewish. They pitched the idea to co-executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
, who rejected it, but it was approved by James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
. Krusty's last name, Krustofski, was established in this episode as pitched by Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
. The portion of the episode where characters quote the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in support or opposition of clowning were carefully researched. Cited passages from the Bible include Exodus 20:12 and Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
1:8. The quotations from the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
were also researched, and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis
Harold M. Schulweis
Harold M. Schulweis is an American rabbi and author. He is the longtime spiritual Leader at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California.-Biography:...
, were credited as "special technical consultants". Schulweis was asked to take a look at a draft of the script. While not a fan of the show, he felt "it was profound" and added some corrections. He later commented, "I thought it had a Jewish resonance to it. I was impressed by the underlying moral seriousness."
The episode was co-directed by Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
and Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
. It was Lynch's first credit as a director, so Bird was assigned to help him out and "usher [Lynch] into the world of directing things quickly". Krusty is one of Bird's favorite characters, and he always tries to animate a scene in every Krusty episode.
Rabbi Krustofski was portrayed by Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, who had once been an ordained rabbi, but had resigned to become a comedian. Mason recorded his lines in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, voice of Krusty, went there to record with him. In the script, Bart and Lisa try to trick Rabbi Krustofski into meeting with Krusty by arranging a lunch date between him and Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, the "Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning Jewish novelist". Originally, this was intended to be Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
, but the writers changed it when Singer died. Mason's lines had to be re-recorded in order to complete the change. Rabbi Krustofski became an infrequently recurring character, and his occasional speaking parts were voiced by Castellaneta. Mason later returned to voice the rabbi in "Today I Am a Clown" in the fifteenth season
The Simpsons (season 15)
The Simpsons 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with "Treehouse of Horror XIV".The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 production line...
and "Once Upon a Time in Springfield
Once Upon a Time in Springfield
"Once Upon a Time in Springfield" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 10, 2010. It was promoted as the 450th episode of the series, but is actually the 451st, and aired alongside The Simpsons 20th...
" in the twenty-first season.
Cultural references
The episode is an homage to the film The Jazz SingerThe Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
, about a son with a strict religious upbringing who defies his father to become an entertainer. The film is mentioned when Rabbi Krustofski states, "Oh, if you were a musician or a jazz singer, this I could forgive!" Lisa tells Homer that there are many Jewish entertainers, including Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
, the latter of which shocks Homer. In Krusty's flashback, he and his father walk down the street in a parody of a scene from The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
. In the Simpsons house, Krusty plays The Concert for Bangladesh. In Krusty's studio, there are pictures of him with Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. At the end of the episode, Krusty and his father sing "O Mein Papa", a 1952 song originally by Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (singer)
Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
. Bart quotes a passage from Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
's 1965 autobiography Yes, I Can.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings for the week of October 21–27, 1991, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.7. It was the highest rated program on Fox that week. Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for his performance as Rabbi Krustofski. He was one of six voice actors from The Simpsons to win the award in its inaugural year. He is one of three The Simpsons guest stars to win the award; Marcia Wallace
Marcia Wallace
Marcia Karen Wallace is an American character actress, comedienne and game show panelist, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies...
won in 1992 for voicing Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
, and Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
won for voicing Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
in 2006.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode, "a magnificent show, with Jackie Mason wonderfully over the top as Krusty's long-lost pa, and Lois Penny-candy giving Krusty a good talking to about Bart." Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
listed "Like Father, Like Clown" as one of the ten episodes of The Simpsons that shows the "comic and emotional scope of the show." They wrote, "Most Krusty the Klown episodes go heavy on celebrity cameos, while playing up the character's misanthropic greed. This one gave him a heart, as Bart and Lisa try to reunite him with his estranged rabbi father (voice of Jackie Mason), who has never forgiven his son for going into show biz." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode "lacks a surfeit of guffaws, but it manages to be sweet and heartfelt without becoming sappy. It's more of a charming show than a laughfest, but it does the job."
External links
- "Like Father, Like Clown" at The Simpsons.com