, better known by his stage name '''Sideshow Bob''', is a
Fictional Character on ''
The Simpsons ''. He is voiced by
Kelsey Grammer , who won an Emmy for the role in 2006.
''Wizard Magazine'' rated Bob as the 66th greatest villain of all time.''Wizard'' #177
Sideshow Bob was originally
Krusty The Klown 's TV sidekick, and was often fired out of a cannon. (He also communicated solely with a
Slide Whistle , despite being well-spoken).
He has since become a and inability to actually kill anyone, especially his
Archenemy Bart Simpson . He has a tendency to walk onto the bottom of rakes, causing them to spring up and hit him in the head. Some viewers have described him as "
Frasier as a homicidal maniac" (appropriate as his voice actor, Kelsey Grammar, played Frasier Crane).
He was named after Dr. Terwilliker from ''
The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T ''.
1
Bob never anticipated a career in show business. His younger brother
Cecil auditioned for the role of Krusty's sidekick, having wanted to act in that capacity since the age of five. However, Krusty thought Bob's upright demeanour would make him a better comic foil, and gave him the job instead. It should be noted that Bob was only there to give Cecil moral support.
As the years went on, the highly-educated Bob became increasingly angered at being overshadowed by Krusty's 'dilapidated
Vaudeville antics', not to mention Krusty's continual abuse. Finally, he snapped and framed Krusty for armed robbery. He took over the show, making it more upmarket (for example, Krusty's catchphrase 'Children, who do you love?' was replaced by the grammatically correct 'Whom do you love?') introducing culture, singing
Cole Porter , and reading the classics (''
Man In The Iron Mask '', etc.) to his rapt young audience. Although the show earned critical raves -- and boffo ratings -- his reign was shortlived, as
Bart exposed his plan and landed him in jail.
Since then, he has taken the position of . Bob has been eager to get revenge on Bart for foiling his schemes, but in ''
The Great Louse Detective '', when he had the opportunity to kill Bart, he found himself unable to, as he had 'grown accustomed to Bart's face' (an homage to ''
My Fair Lady ''). Bob seemingly has become used to the urge to kill Bart, and having his schemes foiled by him, and apparently can't bring himself to end their rivalry.
Bob was briefly married to
Selma (whom he also tried to kill). He is a staunch
Republican , and was briefly mayor of Springfield, as well as briefly the mayor of a village in
Tuscany ,
Italy . He can sing entire
Gilbert And Sullivan operettas off the cuff, and in ''
The Italian Bob '' sang the climax of ''
Vesti La Giubba '' after having Krusty fall through a trapdoor during his performance of the title role of
Pagliacci . He also has a tendency to step on rakes, as evidenced in both ''
Cape Feare '' and ''
Day Of The Jackanapes ''. Bob was also married to an Italian woman at some point prior to 2005, with whom he has his son Gino.
Bob is surprisingly multitalented, able to speak
Sanskrit ,
French ,
German ,
Spanish and
Italian , sing surprisingly well (leading a prison production of ''
Evita '' and giving an off-the-cuff rendition of ''
H.M.S. Pinafore ''), perform skilful
Acrobatics and
Pantomime (as shown on the campaign trail when running for mayor), read
Alexandre Dumas, Père , cite
Buddhist philosophy, and generally be highly educated and intellectual. Bob had accepted Krusty's job offer with the hopes of creating high-quality children's programming that would enlighten and nurture young minds, but became bitter and disillusioned after years of Krusty's abuse and lowbrow shenanigans. As Bob himself put it, "my foolish capering destroyed more young minds than
Syphilis and
Pinball combined!" He seems quite disgusted with the state of American culture, for example remarking on how far
Aviation has fallen from "the days when it was a gentleman's pursuit... back before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and jet off to
Raleigh-Durham ."
Bob also has several tattoos, such as 'Die Bart Die'. He claims this is
German for 'The Bart, The' (which could be another interpretation, where 'die' is the German feminine for 'the' and 'Bart' is German for 'beard'), which led to his being granted parole on the grounds that "no one who speaks German could be an evil man". On his chest is another tattoo showing Bart's decapitated head on a skateboard, and on his back is a tattoo with a word bubble saying 'Ouch, Man'. The tattoos on Bob's fingers parody those of Robert Mitchum's character in ''
The Night Of The Hunter '' (whose fingers are tattooed L-O-V-E and H-A-T-E), but, as Simpsons characters have only three fingers (besides the thumb), Bob's finger tattoos spell 'L-U-V' and 'H-Ā-T'.
Bob's brother Cecil has harbored resentment for winning the role of Krusty's sidekick for many years, and during one of Bob's releases from prison, tried to frame him for embezzlement and sabotaging the Springfield Dam. Cecil's plan ended with mixed results: the sabotage did not destroy Springfield as expected, and both brothers took the blame for it. During the same episode it was revealed that Cecil attended
Princeton University for four years (derided as 'Clown College' by Bob), whereas Bob had already been established as a proud graduate of
Yale (like
Mr. Burns ). Like the two brothers, these Ivy League schools have a long-standing rivalry. The character of Bob is much like Grammer's alter-ego
Frasier Crane as they both enjoy the arts, attended Ivy League schools and speak with immaculate grammar and pronunciation. Their only differences (besides the criminal record) are in politics as Bob is a staunch Republican whereas Frasier is a liberal (although Kelsey Grammar is a Republican).
Unlike his brother, he won political office. Following a successful campaign by
Rush Limbaugh -clone
Birch Barlow to secure his release as a "persecuted
Conservative ", he ran against
Mayor Quimby , defeating him thanks to his skills in electoral fraud. He quickly used his new office to divert the newly-planned
Matlock Expressway to force the razing of the Simpson home. His scheme was thwarted when his usual adversaries tricked him into revealing the multi-volume 'Bob's Fraud Log' to a judge. When the judge asked him why, he told him that it was to save the people from themselves, in a speech parodying
Jack Nicholson 's iconic "You can't handle the truth" monologue from ''
A Few Good Men ''. This did not save him as he returned to prison, albeit a minimum security facility where he got the opportunity to compete in rowing competitions against the alumni of Ivy League universities.
Later on in the series, Bob decides to give himself a fresh start, so he becomes mayor of a village in Tuscany. He marries an Italian woman and also has a child who is just as evil as he is. When the Simpson family comes to visit Italy, Bob welcomes them with hospitality on the condition that they not reveal his felonious past. However Lisa, while drunk, reveals Bob's past in America, alienating him from his citizens and prompting him to swear a
Vendetta on the Simpsons. He and his family pursue the Simpsons, but the Simpsons eventually escape to America with help from Krusty the Klown. He and his family merely walk away, but it is likely that they still want to get rid of the Simpsons.
Kelsey Grammer recorded lines for Sideshow Bob in the ,
2006 However, the scene in which he was to appear was cut.
TV Guide has revealed that Sideshow Bob will be making his tenth appearance in an upcoming episode in
Season 19 along with his brother
Cecil and his father. The episode's plot is unknown, though Bob's father will be voiced by
John Mahoney , who played Grammer's character's father on ''
Frasier .''
