(voiced by
Dan Castellaneta ) is one of the main
Characters in the
Animated Television Series ''
The Simpsons ''. He is the husband of
Marge Simpson and the father of
Bart Simpson ,
Lisa Simpson , and
Maggie Simpson . Although he is often portrayed as gluttonous, lazy or simple-minded (although there are times in which he has shown amazing intelligence), he is also considered to be a caring father and husband. In the years since ''The Simpsons'' first appeared on television, he has evolved into the personality of a lovable oaf.
Homer Simpson embodies a number of negative,
Working Class ,
American stereotypes: he has a low-level job, he is crude and uneducated, overweight, intolerant, and inept. On the other hand, Homer Simpson is sometimes unpredictably adaptable, quick-witted and capable. He always retains strong moral and family values.
Homer Simpson popularized the annoyed grunt "
D'oh! " (made memorable through Dan Castellaneta's distinctive voice work), which began as an abbreviated form of
Jimmy Finlayson 's "Dooooh" from the films of
Laurel And Hardy . This modern interjection has found enough popular acceptance to be included in the ''
Oxford English Dictionary ''.
It's in the dictionary, d'oh! . BBC News. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2006.
''.]]
Homer was born and raised in
Springfield (though one episode suggests he was born in
Toronto ,
Canada ; see Age below). Homer is the son of
Abraham "Abe" J. Simpson and
Mona Simpson (also known as Penelope Olson). His half-brother,
Herb Powell , was a former automobile manufacturer before Homer ruined his business. Currently, he is an inventor. He was born due to an affair between Homer's father and a carnival worker. His half-sister, Abbie, is the result of an affair between Abe Simpson and a British woman whom Abe met while stationed in Britain during World War II. If Grampa's christmas story about an attack on the Pacific in 1941 was even partially true, then Homer would also be nephew to Abraham's brother,
Cyrus .
Homer married (Bart),
Lisa , and
Margaret (Maggie). Homer loves his family unconditionally.
He frequents
Moe's Tavern , which is owned and operated by
Moe , with his friends
Barney Gumble ,
Carl Carlson , and
Lenny Leonard , drinking
Duff Beer .
Homer's essential personality traits presented themselves early on. He was raised solely by his father after the approximate age of six. Homer slid through his classes and apparently graduated despite failing to pass Remedial Science until some 20-plus years later; he was told he would be a "shoe-in" for college but was distracted before he could sign his application form. His senior
Yearbook reveals a lack of interest in sports and activities, and his quote was "I can't believe I ate the whole thing". During high school, Homer fell in love with Marge Bouvier, whom he would later marry (though both would later learn that they had first met while children at summer camp).
Homer's short attention span complements his intense (albeit short-lived) passion for hobbies, enterprises and various causes. Although by nature an exceedingly lazy man, he is capable of exerting tremendous effort toward something for a short period of time. Homer says of himself, "When I'm passionate about something, I see it through to the end." For example, he has converted his garage into a bar just to spite
Moe , the bartender; spent a whole episode studying and emulating
Thomas Edison ; convinced all of Springfield that the
Rapture was imminent; and attempted to uncover a plot to trade Springfield's baseball team interstate by going on a
Hunger Strike . These massively spirited endeavors can be triggered by almost nothing, as evidenced by his short-lived grease collection business.
Homer is also prone to becoming very emotional. For example, he becomes very envious of his neighbours, the
Flanders Family , and he easily becomes enraged at his son,
Bart , and is repeatedly physically
Abusive towards him.
Homer has an uncommon
Sense Of Humor . For example, he thinks the
Loneliness of his father and
Marge's Mother Is Funny , and laughs hysterically at things such as
A Man Getting Hit In The Groin with a football. For some strange reason, he also finds
Monkeys hilarious.
See Also: List of Homer Simpson's jobs
Homer works as a safety inspector at the
Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in Sector 7G. He spends much of his time dozing and eating
Doughnut s, much to the chagrin of his boss,
Montgomery Burns . Montgomery Burns does not know the name of his long-working employee and often refers to him as a primate like a baboon.
It is unclear how Homer has the expertise necessary to perform his duties at the power plant. During the episode
King Sized Homer , Homer becomes obese so that he can get on disability welfare, having a computer installed in his house so he can perform his job there. During this sequence, it becomes clear that Homer has no knowledge of several seemingly critical procedures which should take place routinely. Despite his stupidity in various episodes, he saves the power plant from substantial meltdowns. He also uses the unconventional pronunciation "nuke-ular" instead of nuclear. However, he is seen performing other occupations, often for only one episode.
]]
Homer stands at 6 feetAccording to the episode in which he gets a physical and in the video game entitled "Simpsons Hit and Run" at the bonus game screen. At one point Homer weighed 261 pounds — he decided to go on a diet to reach his current weight, 239 pounds. Homer's weight once totaled 315 pounds. ''The Simpsons''. "
King-Size Homer ", aired
November 5 ,
1995 .
Homer is particularly fond of
Doughnut s, especially LardLad Brand, and
Pork Chops , but also
Pie ,
Cake ,
Candy ,
Bacon ,
Krusty Burger s,
Pizza ,
Seafood ,
American Cheese ,
Steak ,
Salt Doodles , and
Pork Rind s. He drinks his favorite beverage,
Duff Beer , both at home and at Moe's Tavern. In one episode, he spends weeks eating a gigantic
Hoagie long after it goes bad.''The Simpsons''. "
Selma's Choice ", aired
January 21 ,
1993 . In the halloween special
Treehouse Of Horror XII It was analysed that his favorite meal was assorted eggs.
In various episodes, he has acquired more exotic tastes, including
Crab Juice ,
Play-Doh ,
Flower s,
Vaseline ,
Dirt ,
Lego s, pure
Flour , some novelty plastic
Lobster s from a salad bar,
Toxic Waste , buttered up bacon,
Dishwashing Liquid , the decorative bride and groom from a wedding cake, a lubricated rubber stopper that had been inserted into his mouth just before receiving
Electroconvulsive Therapy , a gummi Venus de Milo, fancy soaps, and
Marge 's
Lipstick , as well as
Dutch Flowers .
Homer responds to seeing food by drooling, by making excited poses, or by saying "Mmm" and then the name of the food about which he is thinking (eg. Mmm...Doughnuts).
Homer is incredibly lucky to be alive. He gains an extra 61 pounds on top of his already
Obese frame to get on
Disability welfare in the "
King-Size Homer ". ''The Simpsons''. "
King-Size Homer ", aired
November 5 ,
1995 Due to his heart problem brought about by his obesity, Homer once required a
Quadruple Bypass surgery. He has broken almost every bone in his body, been shot numerous times, and received countless cuts and bruises (both major and minor). Homer has apparently been rendered
Sterile from prolonged exposure to toxic materials at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
Homer also suffers from several congenital conditions, including a male "Simpson stupidity gene", finger stubbiness (abnormally short and thick fingers) and the "Simpson butt" (a large rear end which requires him to wear "balloon seated" pants). Homer also appears to have
Far-sighted Vision (on occasion), requiring the use of reading glasses when reading a book or newspaper. He has also put
Contacts which have possibly replaced his glasses. In addition he has what Dr. Hibbert calls "Homer Simpson Syndrome" whereby he has a cushioning layer of liquid around his brain that makes him a formidable and virtually invincible boxer.
Homer has a vacuous mind, but he is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about very specific subjects. He shows small bursts of astonishing foresight, memory, creativity, and fluency with many languages in nearly every episode. These bursts, however, are almost always temporary, constantly changing, and frequently self-serving. Among other examples, in one episode, he poses the question "You guys are commies? Then why am I seeing rudimentary . In another episode, while using a knife to pull a bullet out of flesh, he identifies every tissue the knife touched. Homer once admonished Lisa for constructing a
Perpetual Motion machine by saying, "In this house, we obey the
Laws Of Thermodynamics !"
In one episode, Homer temporarily displays a startlingly broad vocabulary, after he spends several nights asleep with an "Improve Your Vocabulary" cassette playing instead of a "Lose Weight In Your Sleep" cassette. In certain episodes he has displayed a polished talent for singing and song-writing, which won him a Grammy with his
Barbershop Quartet the "B Sharps." His musical abilities have reoccurred in other episodes where he has played the
Piano and the
Trombone . He is also able to
Touch-type .
Homer’s brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed by much longer periods of ignorance and forgetfulness.
Homer has an IQ of 55, which technically makes him
Mentally Challenged . This can be partly attributed to the presence of a powder-blue wax crayon in the
Frontal Lobe of his brain that remained lodged there when he inserted sixteen crayons up his nose as a child. His stupidity may be exacerbated further by excessive
Alcohol consumption, exposure to radioactive waste, and repetitive cranial trauma.
It has suggested in some episodes that Homer's normal functions do not require the use of his brain, as Homer has at times entered into debates against his own brain. Occasionally, a specific body part is portrayed debating with his brain (or forehead), such as his face, stomach, or liver.
Homer is inclined to fall into ''. In another episode, he fantasizes about primitive black and white cartoon characters dancing to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw". In one noted episode, he daydreams of going to Germany, "the land of chocolate." At times, Homer perceives reality in a more personally appealing manner.
Despite being mildly
Homophobic , Homer has been kissed by at least two other adult men (his brief personal assistant Karl and his openly
Gay temporary housemate in one episode), and he once kissed Ned Flanders. During his brief career as an artist he paints
Lenny and
Carl while showering, unconvincingly claiming that it is for "art." In another episode, Homer is skiing and tries to remember his lessons but all he remembers is Flanders shaking his
Butt wearing a skin tight suit and saying, "It feels like I'm wearing... nothing at all!" to which Homer exclaims, "Stupid sexy Flanders!". He has also admitted to wearing ladies' underwear, which he discussed with Marge to be "purely a comfort thing."
Homer's mild homophobia is evidenced by his complaints that homosexuals have taken "all the toughest American names such as Bruce and Lance and Julian". He has attempted to ensure that his son Bart remains heterosexual by taking him on an (unsuccessful) deer hunt. He has once expressed an unwillingness to enter one
Gay Bar , but only out of self-consciousness for his appearance. In another episode Homer finds Bart and Milhouse dressing up as girls, and angrily demanding a "non-gay explanation" is delighted to discover that it is because they are drunk. He becomes violent when Bart mentions being "a little attracted to Milhouse."
Subsequently, however, Homer's homophobia seems to have entirely abated. He
Disco danced at a gay bar with his two gay housemates, as well as having been found in a lesbian bar (which he left due to its lack of a fire exit).
Homer has also had autoerotic fantasies about marrying himself, and replacing his wife by wearing a wig that looks like her hair.
While having an appreciation for beautiful women, he has always been faithful to Marge. On a few occasions, temptation has arisen and Homer made the moral decision. Aspiring country music star
Lurleen Lumpkin wrote a song "I finally bagged me a Homer", and power plant co-worker
Mindy Simmons also was a great temptation, sharing Homer's love for beer and food. But Homer always remained faithful. Homer also repeatedly expressed interest in the late
Maude Flanders .
As with all things, Homer's knowledge and appreciation of religion is lacking, and has been known to distort his religious beliefs to suit the needs of a particular moment. He founds his own religion to avoid going to church on Sundays and going to work on religious holidays. In retribution for his sins, Homer's house catches fire, so he recants in fear of an angry God. He is a nominal devout Christian ("Save me
Jebus !"), but thinks little of church itself. He calls
Reverend Lovejoy , "Captain What's-His-Name" and tends to fall asleep in church. In one episode when Homer becomes an alcoholic, he has a fake bible with a flask of liquor inside and he asks reverend Lovejoy if he can read from the bible and he opens it and takes a swig. Then he quotes "No wonder people call it the good book!"
Homer is (usually) a Presbylutheran, which is the name of the branch of Christianity practiced by most of Springfield.
Ned Flanders explains that it separated from Roman Catholicism centuries ago over the right for parishioners to come to church with wet hair, a right they later renounced. He has also been a
Hedonist , a Stonecutter, a Movementarian (a parody of the
Raelians ,
Scientology ), and a
Catholic .
After seeing the movie ''Left Below'', a parody of the novel ''
Left Behind '', Homer tries twice to correctly predict the time and place of the
Rapture . The first time, the citizens of Springfield believe him and follow him, but find no Rapture. The second time he makes the correct prediction but no one believes him, so Homer goes to heaven alone. He convinces God to delay the Rapture in order to be with his family.
Over the years, Homer has done many, many outrageous things, and has also made some pretty wild discoveries. These include:
