Hank Azaria's characters going bye bye

CosmicFool

Junior Camper
Joined
Nov 7, 2001
Messages
54
Location
Florence, NJ
My fiancee claims she heard on the radio that due to Hank Azaria getting his own show he will no longer be involved with the Simpsons. Can anyone verify this or did anyone else hear this? Maybe she was just trying to give me a coronary, without his characters there isn't much of a show.
 
I don't think he can do that, since he's bound by contractual agreements. But I sincerely hope it doesn't happen.
 
That's right, he has two seasons left on his contract with the 15th being optional to all the voice actors/actresses.
 
If any of the main voice actors left, regardless of whether they voiced family members, I'd be done watching. Maggie Roswell just had a small part and still you can feel an empty void without her sometimes. But I don't think Hank having his own show will result in him quitting. The woman who voices Peggy on KOTH was on an NBC show (I forget what it was) for awhile but still did KOTH. Phil Hartman was on "Newsradio" and still put in more than enough voices on "The Simpsons." I think it would be a bad decision on Hank's part to quit. After all, he gets a pretty hefty paycheck just to work once a week on the show.
 
My thinking is this: If after season 15 Hank Azaria doesn't renew his contract, the show will be over. Or it should be. God help us if it goes on without him.
 
Mr. Broom said:
My thinking is this: If after season 15 Hank Azaria doesn't renew his contract, the show will be over. Or it should be. God help us if it goes on without him.

Same here.
 
mrkatie said:
If any of the main voice actors left, regardless of whether they voiced family members, I'd be done watching. Maggie Roswell just had a small part and still you can feel an empty void without her sometimes. But I don't think Hank having his own show will result in him quitting. The woman who voices Peggy on KOTH was on an NBC show (I forget what it was) for awhile but still did KOTH. Phil Hartman was on "Newsradio" and still put in more than enough voices on "The Simpsons." I think it would be a bad decision on Hank's part to quit. After all, he gets a pretty hefty paycheck just to work once a week on the show.

Seriously, how hard is it to read a few lines in a recording studio?
 
Jake said:
It's a lot harder than most people realize, or else there'd be a more people choosing voice acting for a career.
It's not really that hard. I know people who voice-act. It's all about having a distinctive voice and the ability to do other voices. It's not hard for those who can do it. It's just that not many people can. That's why most people don't--they just don't have the voices for it.
 
It couldn't be that hard. Even I can do a few distinctly different voices, and obviously Hank has no problem doing many. As far as reading lines go, he only works once a week! Even if it's a little harder than we'll ever know, it can't be so hard that it's not worth the money he makes. What is it now, like $60,000 per episode?
 
Mr. Katie, no one could get the voice of Hank Azaria we are all used to. If most of the voice actors leave in the 15th season, that's it for the simpsons, total destruction.
 
barneybeergumble said:
Mr. Katie, no one could get the voice of Hank Azaria we are all used to. If most of the voice actors leave in the 15th season, that's it for the simpsons, total destruction.
I'll not only agree, but I'll take it further and say that it'd only take the loss of a couple voice actors (not even the voices of the Simpsons themselves) to kill the show. Maybe just one. Maybe just Hank Azaria. The Simpsons are a great family to use for story, but they need most of their secondary characters at the ready to amplify the comedy. Hank Azaria does too many of them to permit his loss.
 
barneybeergumble said:
Mr. Katie, no one could get the voice of Hank Azaria we are all used to. If most of the voice actors leave in the 15th season, that's it for the simpsons, total destruction.

Barney, you missed my point entirely. My point wasn't that someone could easily replace Hank. My point was that it wouldn't be difficult for Hank to do both his new show and the Simpsons because he only works once a week. I don't think he'll have any problems doing both. Yes, if you'd read my above post, I do agree the show couldn't go on without Hank.
 
I dont think he will have a problem doing both. I say this becuase his show will probably last for 3 weeks.
 
drew karaniuk said:
I dont think he will have a problem doing both. I say this becuase his show will probably last for 3 weeks.

Well, regardless of whether or not the show will be picked up by NBC, there will be 13 episodes made, which could take up a whole summer or more.
 
I think this dialogue proves how easy it is to do voice-overs.


Techie: Talking doll, take eight.
Lisa: "When I get married, I'm keeping my own name." Oh, no, that
should probably be "If I choose to get married."
Techie: Uh, look, little girl, we got other talking dollies to record
today.
Krusty: [barging in with cue cards] All right, you poindexters, let's
get this right!
One: "Hey, hey, kids, I'm Talking Krusty."
Two: "Hey, hey, here comes Slideshow Mel" -- again -- "Here
comes Sideshow Mel". "Sideshow Mel".
Three: [does a Krusty laugh]
Budda-bing, budda-boom, I'm done. Learn from a professional,
kid.
[walks out, squeals his tires away]
Techie: OK, Krusty, we are ready to roll any -- what the...?
 
He's commitrd thru season 14 and Optioned for another. The way things are going I see season 15 as the end. Think about it, the licensing of Simpsons product has been crazy lately. Cashing in while they can. Oh well, If this is the case, I'll miss it tremendously but bring on the movies.
 
If Azaria leaves, they'll have to replace Chief Wiggum, Apu, Snake, Professor Frink, Carl, Lenny, Lou, Moe, Sea Captain Horatio McAllister, and many, many others. If he leaves, I hope they end the show with a bang. But, I really don't think he'll leave. I can do lots of voices, and it's not hard if you do them a lot. I think he'll stick around for a while.
 
Even if he stays, how do you know if Dan, Yeardley, Nancy, Julie, or Harry Shearer won't decide to do something else? They all have lives outside of the Simpsons, even if it has made them more popular than they ever could have dreamed. Plus, if you think about it, Hank has handled a movie career while being a voice actor. The way I see it, even if TV shows have a different schedule, it wouldn't really affect his decision whether or not to stay on with OFF. If he does decide to leave, I doubt if it would be primarily because of the pressure of doing a TV show.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
After so many years (and after already losing one voice actress to salary problems), it's feeling more and more like a precarious situation with the cast of "The Simpsons". What I guarantee is this: if one major voice actor, especially one of the voices of the main family, cashes in his/her chips, the others will follow suit simply because it'll mean the end of the show. Without even one of those voices, the show can't go on. Unless they pull an "X-Files" and remove a replace a main character with someone new (which is a terrible idea and one I'm not even slightly considering as likely to happen), the show's done. It's all a matter of knowing who wants out for sure. I haven't heard anything about anyone saying for certain that he/she wants out at any specific time, though. Has anyone else heard anything?
 
CletusTheYokel said:
I agree...without Azaria, there'd be no Cletus, and without Cletus, there'd be no will to live.

hmmmm.....oookaaayyy.

I think for the rest of the show's run, Al Jean should bring in Billy West (does a number of voices on Futurama, including Fry and Zapp Brannigan), because he is a talented voice actor. Maybe he can spice up Springfield for what's left of its run.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top