Waylon Smithers
Encyclopedia
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series
The Simpsons
, who is voiced by Harry Shearer
. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
". He is the consummate executive and personal assistant of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's owner Montgomery Burns
.
Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox
executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller
. The idea for Smithers' orientation came from Sam Simon
, who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. The name Waylon was first used in "I Married Marge
" and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
. In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American
by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist.
Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running gag
on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophant assistant to Mr. Burns. In many ways, Smithers represents the stereotype
of the closeted
gay
man, and numerous overt allusions and double entendre
s concerning his homosexuality
are made, though some of the show's producers instead refer to him as a "Burns-sexual".
after saving Springfield
from a potential nuclear meltdown
when Waylon was a baby. Although he is not openly gay, Smithers frequents Springfield's gay village
and goes on a vacation to a male-only resort. It was revealed in a flashback that he was involved with a woman, but the two split up when Mr. Burns came between them. Smithers is shown to have a passionate and deep love for Mr. Burns and his sexual orientation has been characterized by the writers of the show as "Burns-sexual". Smithers has occasional fantasies about Burns: when we see his computer turning on, it shows a nude Burns with an audio montage saying: "Hello Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on." Smithers has openly declared his love for Burns on at least two occasions, such as in "Lisa the Skeptic
", when, believing the world is ending, Smithers says "Oh, what the hell!" and kisses Burns on the lips, later explaining it to him as "merely a sign of my respect."
Burns has remained largely ignorant of Smithers' devoted adoration, much to Smithers' frustration. In later episodes, however, Burns appears to be somewhat wary of these gestures. Burns himself has been involved with several women and in "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love
", Smithers is noticeably disgusted when Burns starts looking for a female companion. Burns, for his part, views Smithers as somewhat of a lackey, albeit a highly valued one for his competence. He has "rewarded" Smithers' devotion with the future "honor" of being buried alive with him after he dies. Smithers has been shown to be somewhat dependent on his relationship with Burns. In "Homer the Smithers
", Burns orders Smithers to take a vacation and Homer Simpson
is hired as a temporary replacement. When Homer loses his temper and punches Burns in the face, Mr. Burns learns to become self-reliant and this results in Smithers being fired. Smithers decides that he needs to be Burns' assistant and eventually gets his job back. For all his sycophantic devotion to Mr. Burns, Smithers has been willing to challenge him on at least two occasions, most significantly in the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episodes, where he opposed his employer's various evil schemes and was fired. As a result of his firing, Smithers became a "hideous drunken wreck" and when Mr. Burns was shot later in the episode, Smithers thought he might have done it while he was intoxicated. When it was proven that he had not, Smithers seemingly forgave Burns and demanded that the culprit be brought to justice, offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator.
Smithers' official job at the power plant appears to be that of executive assistant, which he says is "actually about 2,800 smaller jobs" responsible for monitoring employee attendance, and is often a disciplinarian and has won dozens of employee of the month awards. He has often hinted at wanting to be promoted to the position of executive vice president
, but Burns has repeatedly squashed this dream, while whimsically bestowing the vice presidency on a dog. Smithers has the largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls in Springfield and is the president of the Malibu Stacy fan club.
Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox
executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller
. The idea for Smithers' orientation came from Sam Simon
, who proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. The script for "Blood Feud" originally featured Smithers saying "Just leave me enough to get home to my wife and kids," but the line had to be cut for time. Smithers is voiced by Harry Shearer
, who is also the voice of Mr. Burns. Shearer is often able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. Dan Castellaneta
occasionally fills in for Shearer at table reads and voices Smithers. The name Waylon was first used in "I Married Marge
" and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
.
Smithers made his first appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", which was the third episode of the first season
, although he can be heard over a speaker in The Simpsons series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
". In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American
by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist. David Silverman
has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant," and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black subservient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode. The first appearance of a yellow Smithers was "There's No Disgrace Like Home
", the fourth episode of the first season.
Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running gag
on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophantic assistant to Mr. Burns. There have often been strong hints about Smithers' true feelings for his boss, with one of the earliest references being in the season one episode "The Telltale Head
". Smithers' sexual orientation has often come into question, with some fans claiming he is a "Burns-sexual" and only attracted to his boss, while others maintain that he is, without a doubt, gay. During the Bill Oakley
/Josh Weinstein
era, they still tried to keep his sexuality mysterious and there was debate among the writers about his orientation. Al Jean
, who thinks of Smithers as being a "Burns-sexual", felt that had Mr. Burns been a woman, then Smithers would not be gay. David Silverman
, a former supervising director has said, "[Smithers] seems to be focused on one particular human, as opposed to anything beyond that. [Rather than being gay], he's sort of 'Burns-sexual.'" In a 2006 study conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, it was determined that nine of the 679 lead and supporting characters on scripted broadcast television were gay or lesbian, but Smithers was not included. A list published in 2008 by the same organization included Smithers; Patty Bouvier, Marge Simpson
's lesbian sister, was included on both lists.
The debate is referenced in "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
", when the episode host, Troy McClure
is answering viewer questions, and one that is asked is "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." A montage of various clips that shows Smithers' lust for Mr. Burns follows, and in the end, McClure says "as you can see, the real deal with Waylon Smithers is that he's Mr. Burns' assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Springfield. Thanks for writing!"
Several of the allusions to Smithers' sexuality have turned into battles with the censors. For example, in Smithers' fantasy of a naked Mr. Burns popping out of a birthday cake in "Rosebud
", the censors had not wanted Mr. Burns to be naked. Another example is "Marge Gets a Job
", which has a dream sequence where Smithers is sleeping and Burns flies through a window. The sequence shows Burns flying towards him and Smithers looking happy, but originally it went on for a few seconds longer. It had to be trimmed down due to scenes that showed "Mr. Burns land[ing] in a particular position on Smithers anatomy". There were also issues with "the lump in his bed", which the animators said had drawn as his knee, but the censors had misinterpreted.
Mostly in the early seasons, Smithers had a catchphrase, which comes from a recurring joke that Mr. Burns never remembers who Homer Simpson
is. Smithers and Burns would watch Homer (usually over a security camera feed) and Burns would ask, "Who is that man?", to which Smithers would reply, "That's Homer Simpson, sir, one of your [drones, organ banks, carbon blobs, etc.] from sector 7G." Burns would invariably respond, "Simpson, eh?"
In the second season, the writers started to enjoy writing about Smithers and Burns' relationship, and the writers often pitched episodes with them as the focus, but many never came to fruition.
In 2004, Simpsons producers announced that one of the characters was going to come out
of the closet
. Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers' "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield,") as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, (the Irish Independent
called Smithers "too obvious" a choice), and the United Kingdom. Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, the Boston Herald
calculated the odds of several characters being gay, with Smithers at a million to one. PlanetOut Inc.
hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon gaydar
" who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons." After the guessing, it was Patty Bouvier who came out.
In a 2007 article, Entertainment Weekly
named Smithers the sixteenth greatest sidekick of all time. They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple". Star News Online named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons. In a 2003 article, Entertainment Weekly named the Who Shot Mr. Burns? duo of episodes, in which Smithers was prominently featured, 25th best episode. Gay.com
ranked Smithers as the sixth gayest cartoon character.
toy line. The first shows Smithers in his normal attire with a picture of Mr. Burns at his feet and was released in 2000 as part of "wave two". The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave ten", is called "resort Smithers" and shows him dressed as he was at the resort in the episode "Homer the Smithers". In 2003, a series of figures exclusive to Electronics Boutique was released, and a set of one Mr. Burns figure and two different Smithers toys based on the episode "Rosebud
" were included. One, called "Bobo Smithers" shows Smithers dressed as Mr. Burns' teddy bear Bobo; and the other, known as "future Smithers", shows him as a robotic dog. A "future Burns" was included in the set as a companion to "future Smithers" and depicts Burns as how he appeared as a robot at the end of the episode.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
The Simpsons
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...
, who is voiced by Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989...
". He is the consummate executive and personal assistant of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's owner Montgomery Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
.
Waylon Smithers was partly based on how numerous Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
. The idea for Smithers' orientation came from 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 proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. The name Waylon was first used in "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
" and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
Wayland Flowers
Wayland P. Flowers, Jr. was an American puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame...
. In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist.
Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns has long been a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophant assistant to Mr. Burns. In many ways, Smithers represents the stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of the closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man, and numerous overt allusions and double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
s concerning his homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
are made, though some of the show's producers instead refer to him as a "Burns-sexual".
Role in The Simpsons
Waylon Smithers is Burns' devoted executive assistant. His father, Waylon Smithers, Sr., worked for Burns until he died of radiation poisoningRadiation poisoning
Acute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
after saving 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...
from a potential nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
when Waylon was a baby. Although he is not openly gay, Smithers frequents Springfield's gay village
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
and goes on a vacation to a male-only resort. It was revealed in a flashback that he was involved with a woman, but the two split up when Mr. Burns came between them. Smithers is shown to have a passionate and deep love for Mr. Burns and his sexual orientation has been characterized by the writers of the show as "Burns-sexual". Smithers has occasional fantasies about Burns: when we see his computer turning on, it shows a nude Burns with an audio montage saying: "Hello Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on." Smithers has openly declared his love for Burns on at least two occasions, such as in "Lisa the Skeptic
Lisa the Skeptic
"Lisa the Skeptic" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons ninth season, first aired on November 23, 1997. On an archaeological dig with her class, Lisa discovers a skeleton that resembles an angel...
", when, believing the world is ending, Smithers says "Oh, what the hell!" and kisses Burns on the lips, later explaining it to him as "merely a sign of my respect."
Burns has remained largely ignorant of Smithers' devoted adoration, much to Smithers' frustration. In later episodes, however, Burns appears to be somewhat wary of these gestures. Burns himself has been involved with several women and in "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love
A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love
"A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons’ thirteenth season. The episode first aired on the Fox network on December 2, 2001. In the episode, Mr Burns falls in love with Gloria, a woman who is much younger than he is and who turns out to be Snake Jailbird's...
", Smithers is noticeably disgusted when Burns starts looking for a female companion. Burns, for his part, views Smithers as somewhat of a lackey, albeit a highly valued one for his competence. He has "rewarded" Smithers' devotion with the future "honor" of being buried alive with him after he dies. Smithers has been shown to be somewhat dependent on his relationship with Burns. In "Homer the Smithers
Homer the Smithers
"Homer the Smithers" is the 17th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1996. In this episode, Smithers takes a vacation and hires Homer to take over as Mr. Burns' assistant...
", Burns orders Smithers to take a vacation and Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is hired as a temporary replacement. When Homer loses his temper and punches Burns in the face, Mr. Burns learns to become self-reliant and this results in Smithers being fired. Smithers decides that he needs to be Burns' assistant and eventually gets his job back. For all his sycophantic devotion to Mr. Burns, Smithers has been willing to challenge him on at least two occasions, most significantly in the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episodes, where he opposed his employer's various evil schemes and was fired. As a result of his firing, Smithers became a "hideous drunken wreck" and when Mr. Burns was shot later in the episode, Smithers thought he might have done it while he was intoxicated. When it was proven that he had not, Smithers seemingly forgave Burns and demanded that the culprit be brought to justice, offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator.
Smithers' official job at the power plant appears to be that of executive assistant, which he says is "actually about 2,800 smaller jobs" responsible for monitoring employee attendance, and is often a disciplinarian and has won dozens of employee of the month awards. He has often hinted at wanting to be promoted to the position of executive vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
, but Burns has repeatedly squashed this dream, while whimsically bestowing the vice presidency on a dog. Smithers has the largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls in Springfield and is the president of the Malibu Stacy fan club.
Creation
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
executives and staff members acted towards Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
. The idea for Smithers' orientation came from 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 proposed that Smithers should be gay, but the writers should never draw too much attention to it and should try to keep it in the back of their heads. The script for "Blood Feud" originally featured Smithers saying "Just leave me enough to get home to my wife and kids," but the line had to be cut for time. Smithers is voiced by Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, who is also the voice of Mr. Burns. Shearer is often able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. 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,...
occasionally fills in for Shearer at table reads and voices Smithers. The name Waylon was first used in "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
" and comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
Wayland Flowers
Wayland P. Flowers, Jr. was an American puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame...
.
Smithers made his first appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", which was the third episode of the first season
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, although he can be heard over a speaker in The Simpsons series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989...
". In his first visual appearance in "Homer's Odyssey", Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist. David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant," and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black subservient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode. The first appearance of a yellow Smithers was "There's No Disgrace Like Home
There's No Disgrace Like Home
"There's No Disgrace Like Home" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons first season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 28, 1990. In the episode, Homer becomes ashamed of his family after a catastrophic company picnic and decides to enroll them in therapy. The...
", the fourth episode of the first season.
Development
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
on The Simpsons. Smithers is an obedient and sycophantic assistant to Mr. Burns. There have often been strong hints about Smithers' true feelings for his boss, with one of the earliest references being in the season one episode "The Telltale Head
The Telltale Head
"The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons first season, and it originally aired February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart cuts the head off the statue of Jebediah Springfield in the center of...
". Smithers' sexual orientation has often come into question, with some fans claiming he is a "Burns-sexual" and only attracted to his boss, while others maintain that he is, without a doubt, gay. During the Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
/Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
era, they still tried to keep his sexuality mysterious and there was debate among the writers about his orientation. 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...
, who thinks of Smithers as being a "Burns-sexual", felt that had Mr. Burns been a woman, then Smithers would not be gay. David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
, a former supervising director has said, "[Smithers] seems to be focused on one particular human, as opposed to anything beyond that. [Rather than being gay], he's sort of 'Burns-sexual.'" In a 2006 study conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, it was determined that nine of the 679 lead and supporting characters on scripted broadcast television were gay or lesbian, but Smithers was not included. A list published in 2008 by the same organization included Smithers; Patty Bouvier, Marge Simpson
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's lesbian sister, was included on both lists.
The debate is referenced in "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
"The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on Fox on December 3, 1995. As the title suggests, it is the 138th episode and the third clip show episode of The Simpsons after "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" and...
", when the episode host, Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...
is answering viewer questions, and one that is asked is "What is the real deal with Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers? You know what I'm talking about." A montage of various clips that shows Smithers' lust for Mr. Burns follows, and in the end, McClure says "as you can see, the real deal with Waylon Smithers is that he's Mr. Burns' assistant. He's in his early forties, is unmarried, and currently resides in Springfield. Thanks for writing!"
Several of the allusions to Smithers' sexuality have turned into battles with the censors. For example, in Smithers' fantasy of a naked Mr. Burns popping out of a birthday cake in "Rosebud
Rosebud (The Simpsons)
"Rosebud" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 21, 1993. The episode begins by showing how on the eve of his birthday, Mr. Burns starts to miss his childhood teddy bear Bobo...
", the censors had not wanted Mr. Burns to be naked. Another example is "Marge Gets a Job
Marge Gets a Job
"Marge Gets a Job" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It was first broadcast on November 5, 1992 on Fox. In this episode, Marge gets a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to pay for foundation repair at the Simpson house. Mr. Burns develops a crush on Marge after seeing...
", which has a dream sequence where Smithers is sleeping and Burns flies through a window. The sequence shows Burns flying towards him and Smithers looking happy, but originally it went on for a few seconds longer. It had to be trimmed down due to scenes that showed "Mr. Burns land[ing] in a particular position on Smithers anatomy". There were also issues with "the lump in his bed", which the animators said had drawn as his knee, but the censors had misinterpreted.
Mostly in the early seasons, Smithers had a catchphrase, which comes from a recurring joke that Mr. Burns never remembers who Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is. Smithers and Burns would watch Homer (usually over a security camera feed) and Burns would ask, "Who is that man?", to which Smithers would reply, "That's Homer Simpson, sir, one of your [drones, organ banks, carbon blobs, etc.] from sector 7G." Burns would invariably respond, "Simpson, eh?"
Reception
In 2004, Simpsons producers announced that one of the characters was going to come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
of the closet
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
. Speculation on who it would be was printed in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada (even claiming Smithers' "sexual orientation was about the worst-kept secret in Springfield,") as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, (the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
called Smithers "too obvious" a choice), and the United Kingdom. Despite Matt Groening joking that it would be Homer, the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
calculated the odds of several characters being gay, with Smithers at a million to one. PlanetOut Inc.
PlanetOut Inc.
PlanetOut Inc. was a public media and entertainment company exclusively targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender demographic...
hosted an online poll in the weeks prior to the episode to determine based on "cartoon gaydar
Gaydar
Gaydar is a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' sexual orientations as homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Gaydar relies almost exclusively on non-verbal clues and LGBT stereotypes...
" who was gay on the Simpsons, with 97% of the respondents choosing Smithers. Jenny Stewart, the entertainment editor at the site said of the poll, "We've never had such an avalanche of people voting in any of our polls as we did on The Simpsons." After the guessing, it was Patty Bouvier who came out.
In a 2007 article, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named Smithers the sixteenth greatest sidekick of all time. They have also described Smithers and Mr. Burns as being "TV's most functional dysfunctional couple". Star News Online named "Smithers' fey way" as one of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons. In a 2003 article, Entertainment Weekly named the Who Shot Mr. Burns? duo of episodes, in which Smithers was prominently featured, 25th best episode. Gay.com
Gay.com
gay.com is a chat, personals, and social networking website catering to the LGBT community. The site is a digital brand of Here Media Inc. In addition to community features, the site features LGBT-related news and features. As of September 2005, San Jose Mercury News ranked gay.com as the most...
ranked Smithers as the sixth gayest cartoon character.
Merchandise
Smithers was made into an action figure, and four different versions were included as part of the World of SpringfieldWorld of Springfield
The World of Springfield is a series of action figures featuring characters from the animated sitcom The Simpsons. The line ran between December 1999 and December 2004 and was released by Playmates Toys....
toy line. The first shows Smithers in his normal attire with a picture of Mr. Burns at his feet and was released in 2000 as part of "wave two". The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave ten", is called "resort Smithers" and shows him dressed as he was at the resort in the episode "Homer the Smithers". In 2003, a series of figures exclusive to Electronics Boutique was released, and a set of one Mr. Burns figure and two different Smithers toys based on the episode "Rosebud
Rosebud (The Simpsons)
"Rosebud" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 21, 1993. The episode begins by showing how on the eve of his birthday, Mr. Burns starts to miss his childhood teddy bear Bobo...
" were included. One, called "Bobo Smithers" shows Smithers dressed as Mr. Burns' teddy bear Bobo; and the other, known as "future Smithers", shows him as a robotic dog. A "future Burns" was included in the set as a companion to "future Smithers" and depicts Burns as how he appeared as a robot at the end of the episode.
External links
- Waylon Smithers at TheSimpsons.com
- Smithers' Sexuality at The Simpsons ArchiveThe Simpsons ArchiveThe Simpsons Archive, better known as snpp.com or simply SNPP , is a Simpsons fan site that has been online since 1994...