Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was a singer who guest starred on The Simpsons in the episode "Stark Raving Dad." He performed the speaking voice of Leon Kompowsky John Jay Smith. Jackson was a fan of the showsghjvvlvb;' was micheals real middle name but was way tot[1] and called Matt Groening one night and offered to do a guest spot.[2]
Jackson especially liked Bart and wanted to give him a number one single, so he wrote much of the song "Do the Bartman" although he did not receive credit for it.[3] Jackson also wrote the song "Happy Birthday Lisa" for the episode, which was later included in the album Songs in the Key of Springfield.[4]
One of Jackson's conditions for guest starring was that he voicedrecorded the voice work for the character, all of his singing was performed by Kipp Lennon,[5] because Jackson wanted to play a joke on his brothers and fool them into thinking the impersonator was him.[3] Jackson's lines were recorded at a second session by Brooks.[4] Jackson showed up for the recording session alone and did not use the special trailer that was set up for him.[5] Lennon and Jackson recorded their parts at the same time, and Jackson found Lennon's impersonations hilarious.<refCentury Fox.</ref> Jackson actually did record versions of the songs, and while there have been rumors that those tracks were used.[4] Leon Kompowsky's normal speaking voice was recorded by Hank Azaria.[6]
The producers of the show were legally prevented from confirming Jackson guest starred at the time, although many media sources assumed it was really him.[7][8][9][10] After this episode the producers decided that if a celebrity wished to guest star on the show, they had to be willing to be credited under their real name and not a pseudonym.[11]
References
- ↑ Ray Richmond. "Gloved One secret 'Simpsons' fan"Variety.
- ↑ Groening, Matt. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in The Simpsons: The The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brooks, James L. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in The Simpsons:son [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedJean - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedReiss - ↑ Castellaneta, Dan. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ↑ Jay Sharbutt. "'Simpsons' Returns with a Big White Michael Jackson"Press of Atlantic City.
- ↑ Virginia Mann. "Simpsons Plays Name That Voice"The Record.
- ↑ Tom Shales. "TV Previews - Simpsons: A Surprise Thriller"Washington Post.
- ↑ Phil Rosenthal. "Some Clues as to why 'The Simpsons' is Simply the Best"Daily News of Los Angeles.
- ↑ Anita Gates. "The Voice Is Familiar but I Can't Place the Overbite"The New York Times.
Guest stars in season 3
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| Michael Jackson • Neil Patrick Harris • Joe Mantegna • Chick Hearn • Magic Johnson • Jackie Mason • Aerosmith (Steven Tyler • Joe Perry • Brad Whitford • Tom Hamilton • Joey Kramer) • Sting • Phil Hartman • Jon Lovitz • Don Mattingly • Roger Clemens • Steve Sax • Ken Griffey, Jr. • Darryl Strawberry • Wade Boggs • Mike Scioscia • José Canseco • Ozzie Smith • Terry Cashman • Steve Allen • Beverly D'Angelo • Kelsey Grammer • Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest • Michael McKean • Harry Shearer) • Kimmy Robertson • Danny DeVito • Joe Frazier |
