Bartholomew Jo-Jo Simpson was never meant to be named after his creator. When Matt Groening sat in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office in 1987, he had intended to pitch his existing comic strip Life in Hell. Instead, he realized that adapting the strip would require him to surrender his publication rights, so he sketched a new family on the spot. He named the parents and younger children after his own relatives, but for the rebellious son, he chose the anagram of brat. Groening felt that using his own name, Matt, would not go over well in a pitch meeting, so he created a character who would become the most famous underachiever in television history. This decision birthed a character who would eventually be named one of the most important people of the 20th century by Time magazine, despite being a fictional ten-year-old boy with nine spiky hairs.
The Voice Behind The Spikes
Nancy Cartwright did not originally plan to voice the mischievous son. She auditioned for the role of Lisa, the middle child, who was described at the time as having little personality. Cartwright found Lisa unappealing and was intrigued by the description of Bart as devious, underachieving, and irreverent. Casting director Bonita Pietila had initially rejected Yeardley Smith for the role of Bart, deeming her voice too high-pitched for a boy, which led Smith to take the role of Lisa instead. Cartwright was offered the role of Bart immediately after reading the lines, and she has voiced the character since the first short aired on the 19th of April 1987. Her voice for Bart came naturally, incorporating elements she had used on shows like My Little Pony, and she typically records five or six takes of each line to give producers options. Despite the character's global fame, Cartwright is seldom recognized in public, and she declines requests to use the voice for children because it freaks them out.The Chalkboard And The Prank
The opening sequence of The Simpsons features a ritual that has become as iconic as the character himself. Bart is shown writing lines on a chalkboard, a gag that varies by episode and often includes political humor or meta-commentary. In the episode Homer the Heretic from 1992, the chalkboard read I will not defame New Orleans, serving as an apology for a controversial song in the previous week's episode. Another hallmark of Bart's early years was his prank calls to Moe's Tavern, where he would ask for fictitious people with gag names. These calls were inspired by the Tube Bar recordings, where bar owner Louis Red Deutsch's profane reactions influenced Moe's violent temperament. The calls first appeared in Homer's Odyssey in 1990, but became increasingly difficult to write, leading to their phase-out by the fourth season. The catchphrase Eat my shorts originated as an ad-lib by Cartwright during a table reading, inspired by a high school marching band chant, and may also reference The Breakfast Club.The King Of Nineties Culture
By 1990, Bart had become the most prominent character on merchandise, sparking a cultural phenomenon known as Bartmania. Millions of Bart-themed T-shirts were sold, generating 2 billion dollars in revenue in the first 14 months of sales, and inspiring a thriving black market for counterfeit items. The character was so popular that he became one of the most popular write-in candidates in the 1990 United States congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections, second only to Mickey Mouse among fictional characters. The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues was released in December 1990, and the first single, Do the Bartman, was performed by Cartwright with backing vocals from Michael Jackson. Jackson, a fan of the show, had called the producers to offer a guest appearance, which he made in the episode Stark Raving Dad under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. The song became the number-one track in the United Kingdom from February 16 to the 9th of March 1991, selling half a million copies.The Debate Over A Role Model
Bart's rebellious nature and lack of consequences for his actions led some parents, educators, and conservative groups to view him as a negative influence on children. Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described him as the child we wish we'd been, and fear our children will become. U.S. drug czar William Bennett visited a drug treatment center in 1990 and saw a poster of Bart, initially joking that the show would not help the patients before apologizing. Bill Cosby called Bart a poor role model in 1991, describing him as angry, confused, and frustrated. U.S. president George H. W. Bush said in 1992 that the show made American families less like the Waltons and more like the Simpsons. The writers responded by producing a short segment where Bart claimed they were just like the Waltons, praying for an end to the Depression. Despite the criticism, producer James L. Brooks defended the character, stating that he was wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model, noting that role models are not common in real life.The Commercial And The Movie
Bart's influence extended far beyond the television screen into a vast array of merchandise and media. The character appeared in commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1988 to 2001, and the success of these commercials played a significant role in Fox's decision to greenlight the half-hour series. In 2001, Kellogg's introduced limited-edition Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch cereal, and the United States Postal Service issued a series of 44-cent stamps in 2009, the first since Sesame Street to be issued while the show was still in production. The character also starred in The Simpsons Movie in 2007, which featured a scene where he skateboards nude. Producers were initially concerned that the scene might result in an R rating, but the Motion Picture Association of America ultimately rated the film PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout. The scene was later recognized by Entertainment Weekly as one of 30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes.The Family And The Future
Bart lives with his parents in Springfield's Lower East Side, and his relationship with his father Homer is often turbulent and volatile. Homer's short temper leads to cartoonishly-violent outbursts, such as impulsively strangling Bart, and he often refers to his son dismissively as the boy. Marge is the more caring parent, though she acknowledges that Bart is a handful. In the episode Marge Be Not Proud from 1995, Marge struggles with adjusting her parenting style after Bart is caught shoplifting, causing him to feel guilty and try to make amends. Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister Lisa, but they have a deep bond, and he often apologizes when he goes too far. The character has appeared in every episode of The Simpsons except Four Great Women and a Manicure, and in the episode Bart's Birthday from 2024, he celebrates his eleventh birthday in a hypothetical series finale, much to his dismay, as he has always identified as being ten years old.Bartholomew Jo-Jo Simpson was never meant to be named after his creator. When Matt Groening sat in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office in 1987, he had intended to pitch his existing comic strip Life in Hell. Instead, he realized that adapting the strip would require him to surrender his publication rights, so he sketched a new family on the spot. He named the parents and younger children after his own relatives, but for the rebellious son, he chose the anagram of brat. Groening felt that using his own name, Matt, would not go over well in a pitch meeting, so he created a character who would become the most famous underachiever in television history. This decision birthed a character who would eventually be named one of the most important people of the 20th century by Time magazine, despite being a fictional ten-year-old boy with nine spiky hairs.
The Voice Behind The Spikes
Nancy Cartwright did not originally plan to voice the mischievous son. She auditioned for the role of Lisa, the middle child, who was described at the time as having little personality. Cartwright found Lisa unappealing and was intrigued by the description of Bart as devious, underachieving, and irreverent. Casting director Bonita Pietila had initially rejected Yeardley Smith for the role of Bart, deeming her voice too high-pitched for a boy, which led Smith to take the role of Lisa instead. Cartwright was offered the role of Bart immediately after reading the lines, and she has voiced the character since the first short aired on the 19th of April 1987. Her voice for Bart came naturally, incorporating elements she had used on shows like My Little Pony, and she typically records five or six takes of each line to give producers options. Despite the character's global fame, Cartwright is seldom recognized in public, and she declines requests to use the voice for children because it freaks them out.
The Chalkboard And The Prank
The opening sequence of The Simpsons features a ritual that has become as iconic as the character himself. Bart is shown writing lines on a chalkboard, a gag that varies by episode and often includes political humor or meta-commentary. In the episode Homer the Heretic from 1992, the chalkboard read I will not defame New Orleans, serving as an apology for a controversial song in the previous week's episode. Another hallmark of Bart's early years was his prank calls to Moe's Tavern, where he would ask for fictitious people with gag names. These calls were inspired by the Tube Bar recordings, where bar owner Louis Red Deutsch's profane reactions influenced Moe's violent temperament. The calls first appeared in Homer's Odyssey in 1990, but became increasingly difficult to write, leading to their phase-out by the fourth season. The catchphrase Eat my shorts originated as an ad-lib by Cartwright during a table reading, inspired by a high school marching band chant, and may also reference The Breakfast Club.
The King Of Nineties Culture
By 1990, Bart had become the most prominent character on merchandise, sparking a cultural phenomenon known as Bartmania. Millions of Bart-themed T-shirts were sold, generating 2 billion dollars in revenue in the first 14 months of sales, and inspiring a thriving black market for counterfeit items. The character was so popular that he became one of the most popular write-in candidates in the 1990 United States congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections, second only to Mickey Mouse among fictional characters. The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues was released in December 1990, and the first single, Do the Bartman, was performed by Cartwright with backing vocals from Michael Jackson. Jackson, a fan of the show, had called the producers to offer a guest appearance, which he made in the episode Stark Raving Dad under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. The song became the number-one track in the United Kingdom from February 16 to the 9th of March 1991, selling half a million copies.
The Debate Over A Role Model
Bart's rebellious nature and lack of consequences for his actions led some parents, educators, and conservative groups to view him as a negative influence on children. Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described him as the child we wish we'd been, and fear our children will become. U.S. drug czar William Bennett visited a drug treatment center in 1990 and saw a poster of Bart, initially joking that the show would not help the patients before apologizing. Bill Cosby called Bart a poor role model in 1991, describing him as angry, confused, and frustrated. U.S. president George H. W. Bush said in 1992 that the show made American families less like the Waltons and more like the Simpsons. The writers responded by producing a short segment where Bart claimed they were just like the Waltons, praying for an end to the Depression. Despite the criticism, producer James L. Brooks defended the character, stating that he was wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model, noting that role models are not common in real life.
The Commercial And The Movie
Bart's influence extended far beyond the television screen into a vast array of merchandise and media. The character appeared in commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1988 to 2001, and the success of these commercials played a significant role in Fox's decision to greenlight the half-hour series. In 2001, Kellogg's introduced limited-edition Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch cereal, and the United States Postal Service issued a series of 44-cent stamps in 2009, the first since Sesame Street to be issued while the show was still in production. The character also starred in The Simpsons Movie in 2007, which featured a scene where he skateboards nude. Producers were initially concerned that the scene might result in an R rating, but the Motion Picture Association of America ultimately rated the film PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout. The scene was later recognized by Entertainment Weekly as one of 30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes.
The Family And The Future
Bart lives with his parents in Springfield's Lower East Side, and his relationship with his father Homer is often turbulent and volatile. Homer's short temper leads to cartoonishly-violent outbursts, such as impulsively strangling Bart, and he often refers to his son dismissively as the boy. Marge is the more caring parent, though she acknowledges that Bart is a handful. In the episode Marge Be Not Proud from 1995, Marge struggles with adjusting her parenting style after Bart is caught shoplifting, causing him to feel guilty and try to make amends. Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister Lisa, but they have a deep bond, and he often apologizes when he goes too far. The character has appeared in every episode of The Simpsons except Four Great Women and a Manicure, and in the episode Bart's Birthday from 2024, he celebrates his eleventh birthday in a hypothetical series finale, much to his dismay, as he has always identified as being ten years old.