Over the course of its 33 seasons, The Simpsons has featured countless characters. While some of them have been incredibly forgettable and only made a handful of appearances, others have gone on to become real fan favorites. That's pretty impressive considering that the majority of them are voiced by just six different voice actors.
While most of these characters still appear regularly on the show, there are some who are no longer with us. A few simply disappeared with no real explanation given while others were written out of the show for a variety of different reasons. As a result, fans have had to deal with the losses of some fairly major characters over the years, many of whom had been with the show since the very beginning.
Updated May 7, 2022, by Tom Bowen: When a show has been on the air for as long as The Simpsons has, it's only natural for it to develop a sizeable cast. Over the show's 33 seasons, hundreds, if not thousands of different characters have featured, many of whom tent to return on a fairly regular basis. Over the years though, certain characters have been put out to pasture, with the show's creators retiring or killing off many a fan favorite for a variety of different reasons. These are the most popular and memorable Simpsons characters to have been axed from the show since it first debuted more than three decades ago.
12 Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Perhaps the most famous of the show's departed characters, Apu was a naturalized Indian American and the owner of the town's Kwik-E-Mart. He was given plenty of screen time over the years and was used to explore a number of sensitive issues including immigration, arranged marriage, and violence against store clerks.
As society's attitude towards racial stereotyping and representation in media changed, however, the show's producers came under increasing scrutiny to drop the character. This eventually led to voice actor Hank Azaria announcing that he would no longer be voicing Apu in early 2020. The announcement came as little surprise to many as the show's writers had been slowly phasing the character out for some time.
11 Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu's younger brother Sanjay was a fairly minor character by comparison but featured fairly frequently throughout the show's early years. He could often be seen working shifts at the Kwik-E-Mart and at various Nahasapeemapetilon family events. He never really spoke too much, but still provided his fair share of funny moments.
Like Apu, Sanjay was gradually phased out of the show, making only a handful of appearances between 2010 and his last in 2016. Although his character has never officially been retired, his final appearance could be seen as something of a send-off as he hands over his shares in the Kwik-E-Mart to his son. Regardless, given the reasons for Apu's removal from the show, it seems very unlikely that Sanjay will be seen again.
10 Mona Simpson
Homer's relationship with his mother, Mona, was incredibly complicated and one which is explored through several episodes of the show. While there are times when it might seem like her political and social causes mean more to her than her son, there can be no denying that she cared for Homer. She's also treated pretty atrociously by Abe, which no doubt played a part in her prolonged absence from her son's life.
That Mona was killed off just as it was starting to look as though she may be able to reconnect with her son was tragic, though she left a lasting impression with both Homer and the show's viewers nonetheless. Even in death, she continued to aid the environment, with Homer accidentally using her ashes to prevent Mr. Burns from dumping nuclear waste into the Amazon.
9 Bleeding Gums Murphy
Lisa's sax mentor first appeared in the series' sixth episode and did so fairly regularly over the next few seasons. Bleeding Gums is the person who taught Lisa to really express herself through music and gave her the saxophone that she still plays today. The show didn't really explore his character in any great depth, but his influence on Lisa has had a lasting effect throughout the series.
Bleeding Gums was one of the very first characters to officially die within the show which provided the writers with a chance to explore the subject of death from a child's perspective. It's at times a very touching episode, especially when Bart uses his compensation money to purchase the record that his sister needs for her tribute to her hero.
8 Alice Glick
Alice Glick was a background character who was primarily used to parody the elderly. She was a resident of Evergreen Terrace for many years and showed up fairly regularly despite never really having too much to say. Despite her modesty though, she still provided plenty of humerus moments during her time on the show.
Alice's character was eventually killed off in the season 23 episode "Replaceable You." Strangely, however, she still appeared in a handful of subsequent episodes even in spite of her death. Whether the show's writers simply forgot about writing her out of the show or her death was some kind of fake-out remains unclear. However, as her last appearance came a few years ago and as a ghost, it would seem that she is once again dead and – presumably – gone for good.
7 Fat Tony
Seemingly based on real-life mobster Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, Fat Tony is one of the most sinister characters to have ever graced The Simpsons. Though he can technically still be seen on the show today, this isn't actually the original version of the character, who, according to the series' lore, died from a heart attack during the season 22 episode, "Donnie Fatso."
Following the mobster's death, he's quickly replaced by his cousin, Fit Tony, though the pressures of running a crime family quickly take their toll. He begins binge eating in order to cope with the stress that's brought on by numerous failed-assassination attempts, which leads to some sudden weight gain. His nickname soon changes to "Fit-Fat Tony" and then, simply "Fat Tony" (who he now happens to perfectly resemble). The new Fat Tony was also killed off in a season 33 episode, though reappeared alive and well just a few episodes later.
6 Troy McClure
Troy McClure was one of Springfield's finest actors, appearing, amongst other things, in the self-help videos Smoke Yourself Thin and Get Confident, Stupid. He featured regularly throughout the show's earlier seasons and once married Marge's sister Selma to distance himself from rumors about his personal life and further his acting career.
The character was retired from the show following the tragic murder of the character's voice actor Phil Hartman in 1998. Rather than recast the character, the show's production team decided to retire the character as a mark of respect for their former colleague. McClure's final appearance came in the season 10 episode Bart the Mother, which aired many months after Hartman's death.
5 Lionel Hutz
Springfield's most incompetent lawyer could often be seen destroying legal documents or looking for a place to sleep. Despite his ineptitude though, he was occasionally able to deliver in the courtroom – most notably, perhaps, when he cleared Bart of the murder of Principal Skinner. He also worked a number of other jobs to supplement his low income, including babysitter, real estate agent, and cobbler.
Like Troy McClure, the Lionel Hutz character was voiced by Phil Hartman and so was also retired following the voice actor's death. Unlike McClure though, Hutz still popped up as a background character for a while longer. His final speaking appearance, however, came all the way back in the season nine episode "Realty Bites," in which Marge becomes a realtor.
4 Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky
Krusty the Clown's estranged father first appeared in the season three episode "Like Father, Like Clown," in which Bart and Lisa help to reunite him with his son. Following their reunion, Hyman featured sporadically, occasionally butting heads with Reverend Lovejoy over religious matters and starring in a Kardashian-inspired reality television show together with his son.
The character was eventually killed off in the season 26 episode "Clown in the Dumps" almost 23 years after his first appearance. Hyman's death contributed to Krusty falling into a deep depression although luckily, Bart is once again on hand to help his idol. The late Rabbi has appeared on a few occasions since his death, typically as an angel or a ghost.
3 Herbert Powell
Many big names have lent their voices to recurring guest characters in The Simpsons, but while Kelsey Grammer's Sideshow Bob character still appears fairly regularly, it's been some time since fans caught a glimpse of Homer's estranged brother Herb. Voiced by none other than Danny De Vito, the character last featured nearly eight years ago now and even then it was only his voice.
It's perhaps no surprise that Herb isn't too keen to be around his younger brother given the chaos that the Simpson family has brought into his life. When he first met them, Herb was a multi-millionaire with his own business but soon found himself homeless after allowing his half-witted brother Homer the opportunity to design his own car. Although Maggie did help him to regain his fortune, he never truly forgave his brother's blunder.
2 Maude Flanders
Wife to Ned and the mother of Rod and Todd, Maude is featured frequently following her introduction to the show in the season two episode "Dead Putting Society." Much like her husband, she was a devoted Christian and took offense at anything that went against her beliefs. She was responsible for plenty of great moments, particularly those that she shared with Helen Lovejoy.
Maude's untimely death came as a huge shock to Ned and his family as well as many of the show's viewers. Although it wasn't completely unheard of for characters to be killed off, it was somewhat surprising for such a prominent character to be written out of the show without some kind of outside influence. Even so, the Flanders family moved on pretty quickly.
1 Edna Krabappel
Bart's former second-grade teacher played a huge role throughout the first 25 seasons of the show and had some truly wonderful moments. Her personal relationships were given a lot of screen time over the years, but she was perhaps best known for her sarcasm and razor-sharp wit. Although she and Bart often butted heads during some of the show's earlier seasons, the pair ultimately earned each other's respect and were more or less friends.
Mrs. Krabappel was written out of the show quite suddenly in 2013 following the untimely death of voice actor Marcia Wallace. The show's creators used the intro's running chalkboard gag to pay their respects to their longtime colleague and a later episode showed Ned quietly mourning Edna's passing. As the show itself noted, she will be missed.