Krusty the Clown
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (Yiddish: הערשעל שמױקל פּינחס ירוחם קרוסטאַפֿסקי; Hebrew: הירשל שמויקל פנחס ירוחם קרוסטופסקי),[2][3] better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the long-time clown host of Bart and Lisa Simpson's favorite TV show, a variety show consisting of various kid-friendly sketches and cartoons, most notably The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Despite his cheery onscreen persona, Krusty is actually a cynical, burnt-out, addiction-riddled smoker who is made miserable by show business but continues on anyway. He has become one of the most frequently occurring characters outside the main Simpson family and has been the focus of many episodes, some of which also feature Sideshow Bob.
This article is about the character from The Simpsons. For the 2018 episode, see Krusty the Clown (The Simpsons episode).Krusty the Clown
Matt Groening
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky
Male
Television clown, entertainer, Congressman
- Rachel Krustofsky (mother; deceased)
- Hyman Krustofsky (father; deceased)
- Luke Perry (half-brother; deceased)[1]
- Holly Hippie (ex-wife)
- Mia Farrow (ex-wife)
- Eartha Kitt (ex-wife)
Princess Penelope Owsley (ex-fiancée)
Sophie Krustofsky (daughter)
Jungle Boy (nephew)
Krusty was created by cartoonist Matt Groening and partially inspired by Rusty Nails, a television clown from Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon. He was designed to look like Homer Simpson (also voiced by Castellaneta) with clown makeup, based on the scrapped original concept of Krusty where Bart worships a television clown who is ironically his own father that he looks down upon; the idea of Homer playing the role of Krusty would eventually be explored in the Season 6 episode, "Homie the Clown". Krusty's voice is based on Bob Bell, who portrayed WGN-TV's Bozo the Clown. Krusty made his television debut on January 15, 1989, in the Tracey Ullman Show short "The Krusty the Clown Show".
Promotion and reception[edit]
Krusty has been included in many Simpsons publications, toys and other merchandise. Krusty-themed merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, Jack-in-the-boxes, Pint glasses, bobblehead dolls, costumes, and clothing such as T-shirts.[48] Playmates Toys has made a talking evil Krusty doll, based on the one that appeared in "Treehouse of Horror III".[49] In 1992, Acclaim Entertainment released the video game Krusty's Fun House for PC and home consoles. Krusty was made into an action figure, and several different versions were included as part of the World of Springfield toy line. The first, which shows Krusty in his normal clown attire with several Krusty products, was released in 2000 as part of "wave one".[50] The second, released in 2002 as part of "wave nine", is called "busted Krusty" and shows him in a prison and without his clown makeup, as he was seen in "Krusty Gets Busted".[51] The third was released in 2003 as part of "wave thirteen" and was called "Tuxedo Krusty".[52] Several Krusty themed play sets were also released, including a Krusty-Lu Studios[53] and Krusty Burger playset, both released in 2001.[54] Krusty appears as a playable character in the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions, released via a "Fun Pack" packaged with a Clown Bike accessory in November 2015. In game, his only ability is being able to spray water and all his voice lines are archive audio from Dan Castellaneta.[55]
In The Simpsons Ride, a simulator ride opened at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood in May 2008, Krusty builds and opens a cartoon theme park called Krustyland. Sideshow Bob makes an appearance and tries to murder the Simpson family.[56][57][58] In July 2007, convenience store chain 7-Eleven converted eleven of its stores in the United States and one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts to celebrate the release of The Simpsons Movie. Amongst the products sold were "Krusty-O's", which were made by Malt-O-Meal.[59] In 2015, Krusty had its first merchandise experience during the AW15 influence.[60]
In 2004, Dan Castellaneta won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in "Today I Am a Clown", an episode that heavily features Krusty.[61] Several episodes featuring Krusty have been very well received. In 2007, Vanity Fair named "Krusty Gets Kancelled" as the ninth best episode of The Simpsons. John Ortved felt, "This is Krusty's best episode – better than the reunion with his father, or the Bar Mitzvah episode, which won an Emmy much later on. The incorporation of guest stars as themselves is topnotch, and we get to see the really dark side of Krusty's flailing showbiz career. Hollywood, television, celebrities, and fans are all beautifully skewered here."[62] Matt Groening cites "Krusty Gets Busted" as his ninth favorite episode[63] and has said that he particularly loves Castellaneta's voice work. Groening claims that he has to leave the room every time Castellaneta records as Krusty for fear of ruining the take.[64] Star News Online named "Krusty the Clown's hatred of children", Kamp Krusty, and Krusty's line "All these rules, I feel like I'm in a strip club" as some of the four hundred reasons why they loved The Simpsons.[65] The Observer listed two Krusty products, "Krusty's Non-Toxic Kologne" and "Krusty's home pregnancy kit", as part of their list of the three hundred reasons why they loved the show.[66]
In 2015, The A.V. Club stated that Krusty has "arguably the most pathos of any Simpsons character not named Moe Szyslak".[67] In 2021, Meghan Markle reflected on her old memorable haircut being compared to Krusty the Clown at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[68]