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Homer Jay Simpson is a Fictional Character in the Animated Television Series '' The Simpsons '' voiced by Dan Castellaneta . He has become a very popular cartoon character along with the rest of his family, and his catchphrase, the annoyed grunt " D'oh! ", has been included in the '' Oxford English Dictionary ''. Homer is named after the father of the show's creator Matt Groening . Homer embodies several American Working Class Stereotype s such as being crude, overweight, incompetent, intolerant, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. Despite his apparent Blue-collar status, he has had a number of remarkable experiences. Although he is gluttonous, lazy and extraordinarily stupid, he has occasionally displayed flashes of brilliance and an integrity reflecting his own values. Due in part to these contradictory attributes, Homer has been recognized by fans and media organizations alike as one of the greatest comedic creations of modern times.1 CHARACTER Creation Matt Groening first conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks ' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his '' Life In Hell '' series. When he realized that animating ''Life in Hell'' would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction.2 He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, with Homer being named after his father.3 Homer's middle initial "J," which was revealed to stand for "Jay",'' The Simpsons '' " D'oh-in In The Wind " November 15 , 1998 was a "tribute" to Bullwinkle J. Moose from '' Rocky And Bullwinkle '', a show Matt Groening loved as a child.4 According to Matt Groening, the whole family was designed so that they would be recognisable in silhouette.5 However, the features of Homer's character design are not used in other characters.6 Homer then made his debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on April 19, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman Short "Good Night".Richmond, p. 14 Voice Homer is performed by Dan Castellaneta . Homer's voice sounds different on the shorts than the later half-hour show. His voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau , but developed into a more robust and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.7 Castellaneta changed the voice, as he could not sustain his Matthau impression for the 9-10 hour long recording sessions and had to find something easier.8 ROLE IN ''THE SIMPSONS'' Biography Although ''The Simpsons'' has a Floating Timeline in which the characters Do Not Age , and the show is set in the current year, certain dates have been given. Homer was born on May 12 , 1956 .'' The Simpsons '' " Duffless " February 18 , 1993 He was raised on a farm by his parents, Mona and Abraham Simpson . In the mid-1960s, while Homer was between nine and twelve years of age, Mona went into hiding following a run-in with the law. '' The Simpsons ''. " Mother Simpson ". 19 November 1995 . Homer attended Springfield High School and fell in love with Marge Bouvier in 1974. '' The Simpsons ''. " The Way We Was ". 31 January 1991 . '' The Simpsons ''. " Homer Goes To College ". 14 October 1993 . Marge became Pregnant with Bart in 1981, while Homer was working at a Miniature Golf course. The two were wed in a small wedding chapel across the state line, '' The Simpsons ''. " I Married Marge ". 26 December , 1991 . From there they spent their wedding reception alone at a truck stop, '' The Simpsons ''. " A Milhouse Divided ". 1 December , 1996 . and the remainder of their wedding night at Marge's parents' house. After failing to get a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant , Homer left Marge to find a job by which he could support his family. He briefly worked at a taco restaurant called the Gulp n' Blow, until Marge found him and convinced him to return. As a result, Homer confronted Mr. Burns and secured a job at the Plant. Marge became pregnant with Lisa in 1983, shortly before the new couple bought their first house. In 1985 and 1986, Homer saw brief success as the lead singer and songwriter for the Barbershop Quartet the Be Sharps , even winning a Grammy . During his time with the group, Homer was frequently absent from home, which put stress on his marriage. After the group broke up due to creative differences, Homer went back to Springfield to continue his old life. '' The Simpsons ''. " Homer's Barbershop Quartet ". 30 September 1993 . Sometime in the late 1980s, Homer and Marge carefully budgeted so Homer could have his dream job as a pin monkey in a bowling alley. Unfortunately for Homer, Marge became pregnant with Maggie shortly after he started his new job, and not being able to support his family, he went back to the Nuclear Plant. '' The Simpsons ''. " And Maggie Makes Three ." 22 January 1995 . According to comments on ''The Simpsons'' DVD commentaries by the writers and producers, Homer's age was initially 34, but as the writers aged, they found that he seemed a bit older too, so they changed his age to 38; this is contradicted by The Homer Book which states Homer is currently 36.Mentioned in several DVD commentaries in the Seventh and Eighth seasons. Personality Homer's personality is one of frequent stupidity, laziness, and explosive anger. He suffers from a short attention span which complements his short-lived passion for hobbies, enterprises and various causes. Homer is prone to emotional outbursts; he is very envious of his neighbors, the Flanders Family , and is easily enraged by Bart and strangles him frequently. He shows no compunction about this, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family, even showing disregard for his son's well being in other ways, such as leaving Bart alone at a port. '' The Simpsons ''. " The Great Money Caper ". 11 December , 2000 . While Homer's thoughtless antics often upset his family, he has also performed acts that reveal him to be a surprisingly caring father and husband: in " Lisa The Beauty Queen " (episode 9F02, first aired October 15, 1992), selling his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and using the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself; in " Rosebud " (episode 1F01, first aired October 21, 1993), giving up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in " Radio Bart ", spearheading an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well, even though Homer generally hates doing physical labor; and in " A Milhouse Divided ", arranging a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their lousy first ceremony, even going so far as to hire one of The Doobie Brothers as part of the wedding band and getting a Divorce from Marge, essentially making their second wedding a "real" one. Homer frequently steals things from his neighbor, Ned Flanders, including TV trays, power tools, air conditioners, and at one point, part of his house. Flanders knows about this, but Homer constantly states that he has "borrowed" the stolen items. He has also stolen Golf balls from the local driving range, cable television, office supplies (including computers) from work, and beer mugs from Moe's Tavern .'' The Simpsons ''." Homer Vs. Lisa And The 8th Commandment ". February 7 , 1991 . Also, while 'working the night shift' with the rest of the employees at a local discount store (which was just them being locked in at night and forced to stay via electrocution chip) he made off with a number of Plasma Screen TVs on a forklift, while at the same time breaking out of the store. Homer has a vacuous mind, but he is still able to retain a great amount of knowledge about specific subjects. He shows short bursts of astonishing insight, memory, creativity and fluency with many languages. Homer is also extremely confident; no matter how little skill or knowledge he has about anything he tries to do, he has no doubt that he will be successful. However, his brief periods of intelligence are overshadowed by much longer and more consistent periods of ignorance, forgetfulness and stupidity. Homer has a low ". 1 April , 1993 . and a crayon lodged in the Frontal Lobe of his brain. '' The Simpsons ''. " HOMR ". 7 January , 2001 . Homer's intelligence was said to jump fifty points when he had the crayon removed, bringing him to an IQ of 105, slightly above that of an average person, however he had the crayon reinserted, presumably lowering his IQ back to its original 55. The amount of Homer's brain which still functions is also questionable. At one point in the series, Homer apparently lost 10% of his brain after a Coma . Homer's attitudes toward women, romance, and sex are occasionally explored. While Homer's marriage with Marge is occasionally strained, it seems generally happy and faithful. Despite this, Homer usually shows no qualms with gawking at (and drooling over) attractive women. Homer successfully avoided an affair with Mindy Simmons , but has made the occasional remark denoting his attraction to other women (including the gag about coveting his Neighbor's Wife ), even in front of Marge. His relationship with his children is not the best, although he loves his children deeply. His relationship with Bart is often shown as a love-hate relationship. They sometimes appear to get on very well, however, such as on the numerous occasions they jointly commit various petty crimes or "get-rich-quick"-schemes. Homer's relationship with Lisa is usually quite good although Lisa often tires of her father's ignorance. His relationship with Maggie is perhaps the best, due to her infant state. However, even though Maggie has saved his life a number of times, he sometimes forgets she even exists (once telling Marge the dog does not count when she told him they had three kids). CULTURAL INFLUENCE On , 2003 . Retrieved on December 10 , 2006 . Homer placed second on TV Guide 's 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny .10 In 2005 , Homer was listed fifth on Bravo 's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list.11 Homer Simpson syndrome A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome".12 Results from a word memory test showed that people with a BMI of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words. D'oh It is typically represented in the show's script as "(annoyed grunt)", and is so spelled out in the official titles of several episodes.Episode titles with the original spelling include "", " Days Of Wine And D'oh'ses ", " C.E. D'oh ", " We're On The Road To D'ohwhere ", and " He Loves To Fly And He D'oh's ". When Dan Castellaneta , the Voice Of Homer, was first asked to voice the exclamation, he rendered it as a drawn out "doooh", inspired by Jimmy Finlayson , the moustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel And Hardy films. Finlayson coined the term as a Minced Oath to stand in for the word " Damn !" The show's creator Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster so Castellaneta shortened it to "D'oh!"16 MERCHANDISING
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