‘The Simpsons’: Every Character Who Died on the Show
Many characters from The Simpsons are pushing daisies at Springfield Cemetery (alongside the in-world versions of Walt Whitman, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper). And in the April 21 episode of the Fox animated series, viewers mourned another loss with the death of Larry Dalrymple, a background character who’d been on the scene since the show’s 1989 series premiere.
“I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted,” co-executive producer Tim Long said in a statement to Variety. “Simpsons characters have always had unusually rich emotional lives, and this episode is really about their anxiety over ‘what comes next’ (and I don’t mean Krapopolis).”
Now that Springfield’s population is down one, check out the photo gallery below to see other memorable deaths from The Simpsons’ 35 seasons so far.
Do we even need to issue a spoiler warning here?
Larry Dalrymple
This barfly of few words dies in Season 35’s “Cremains of the Day,” passing away while still seated upright on his stool at Moe’s.
“To me, it’s sort of fitting that some fans are taking Larry’s demise as hard as Homer and his friends do,” Long said in his statement. “It’s just a measure of how much the show still means to people.”
Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky
Krusty the Clown’s father dies in Season 26’s “Clown in the Dumps.”
In the episode, after getting roasted by Sarah Silverman, Krusty seeks reassurance from his dad. The elder Krustofsky says, “If you want to know my honest opinion of you, you’ve always been… eh…” But he dies before he can finish his assessment.
Edna Krabappel
Following the 2013 death of voice actor Marcia Wallace, the character was written off.
Bart writes, “We’ll really miss you, Mrs. K.” on the chalkboard in Season 25’s “Four Regrettings and a Funeral,” Ned Flanders is shown missing her in Season 25’s “The Man Who Grew Too Much,” and her gravestone is seen in Season 28’s “Looking for Mr. Goodbart.”
Fat Tony
Don Marion Anthony D’Amico, the Springfield Mafia boss better known as Fat Tony, meets his maker in Season 22’s “Donnie Fatso” when he suffers a heart attack after discovering that Homer, who has gone undercover to infiltrate the mob and avoid jail time, has betrayed him. Now, however, his nearly identical cousin, dubbed Fit-Fat Tony, has taken his place.
Mona Simpson
Homer doesn’t get a chance to forgive his mother for being absent for much of his childhood — or to apologize for his harsh treatment of her during his adulthood — before he finds her dead in front of the fireplace in Season 19’s “Mona Leaves-a.”
He does, however follow her final wishes and releases her ashes from the top of a mountain, which — through a chain reaction of events — prevents Mr. Burns from sending a missile loaded with nuclear waste to the Amazon rainforest.
Snowball II
The Simpsons’ family cat, who was around since the series premiere, dies after getting hit by Dr. Hibbert’s car in Season 15’s “I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot.”
In that same episode, Lisa adopts Snowball III and IV but loses those two cats to other tragic circumstances. Finally, Snowball V arrives, looking like an exact replica of Snowball II, and Lisa renames the feline Snowball II to put the whole saga behind her.
Maude Flanders
In Season 11’s “Alone Again, Natura-Diddily,” the Flanders matriarch dies in a freak T-shirt cannon accident at Springfield Speedway, just after returning to her seat in the stands with hot dogs for her and Ned.
“I can’t believe my last words to Maude were, ‘No foot-longs,’” Ned says later.
Frank Grimes
The life and death of Homer’s self-avowed nemesis at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant makes up the Season 8 episode “Homer’s Enemy.”
Frank resents Homer for bumbling his way into a successful life, and even Homer’s attempts to make nice with his colleague go awry. Finally, Frank gets electrocuted to death while touching high-voltage wires in a mockery of Homer’s workplace ineptitude.
“Bleeding Gums” Murphy
Lisa’s saxophonist idol passes away in the hospital in Season 6’s “’Round Springfield.”
She’s the only one who attends his funeral, but she honors his legacy by getting Springfield’s KJAZZ radio station to play his album on the airwaves. And later, she and Bleeding Gums’ ghost share one last duet of Carole King’s “Jazzman.”
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