Pamela Hayden, who has voiced famous Simpsons characters like Milhouse for over three decades, announced that she is retiring from the long-running animated series.
The actress has been voicing nerdy dork Milhouse Van Houten, Bart Simpson’s best friend, since 1988, back when the animated family was just a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show and not yet a show of its own. Milhouse first appeared in a Butterfinger commercial featuring Bart, and Hayden has voiced the blue-haired character kid ever since.
“The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons?……not easily,” Hayden said, as reported by Deadline.
“It’s been an honor and a joy to have worked on such a funny, witty, and groundbreaking show, and to give voice to Milhouse and Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey, Malibu Stacy, and many others.”
To honor Hayden’s retirement and legacy, Fox released a short video featuring the voice actor and some of Milhouse’s best moments. Here’s that video:
“Bart needed someone to talk to in the school cafeteria. We named him Milhouse because that was the most unfortunate name a kid could have,” said Simpsons creator Matt Groening about the character’s origins. “Pamela gave us tons of laughs with Milhouse, the hapless kid with the biggest nose in Springfield. She made Milhouse hilarious and real, and we will miss her.”
Deadline reports that Fox has already begun trying to recast some of her characters for future seasons of the show. The Simpsons was renewed in 2023 to run through 2025, which will take it past 800 episodes.
“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that blue-haired 10-year-old boy with glasses,” said Hayden.
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