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{{Short description|Recurring character in The Simpsons}}
{{cleanup-date|August 2006}}{{Simpsons character|
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
image= ]|
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2017}}
name=Abraham Simpson|
{{Infobox character
gender=]|
| name = Grampa Simpson
hair=Sparse|
| series = ]
age=83|
| image = Abe Simpson.png
job=Greeter at ]; bullfighter (briefly); formerly a ] soldier and a ] ]|
| first_minor = ]
relatives= ex-wife ] aka Penelope Olsen, father ], mother ], brother Cyrus Simpson, brother Bill (William) Simpson, sister Hortensia Simpson, sons ] and ], daughter ], daughter-in-law ], grandson ], granddaughters ] and ].|
appearance=]| | first_major = ]
| first_date = January 10, 1988
voiceactor=]
| creator = ]
| designer = Matt Groening
| voice = ]
| full_name = Abraham Jay Simpson II
| occupation = {{Flatlist|
* Retired farmer
* Retired salesperson
* ] veteran
}} }}
| affiliation = ]
'''Abraham "Abe" Simpson''', or '''Grampa''' (age 83), is a ] featured in the ] ] series '']'', voiced by ].
| family = {{plainlist|

* Orville Simpson (father)
==Early life==
* Yuma Hickman (mother)
Abraham J. Simpson, perennially known as "Grampa" Simpson, was born in the "Old Country" as the son of ] and ]. Either ] or ] seems most likely to be his place of birth, but Abe cannot remember. Indeed, almost all of his biographical information is supplied by Abe himself, and many of his memories seem wildly inaccurate and often physically or historically impossible, suggesting that Abe may be a bit senile. He once referred to ] as a former president, and claims to have personally turned cats and dogs against each other.
* ] (brother)

* Bill Simpson (brother)}}
He claims to have immigrated to the United States with his family, who lived in the ] until they filled the head with garbage and had to move out. He then moved to ], New York, where he was supposedly voted "most handsome boy". He claims to have enlisted in the ] during ] by lying about his age, as he is a toddler in one war scene.
| spouses = {{plainlist|

* ] (divorced; deceased)
In the episode "]", he purports to be 83 years old. There appears to be some confusion as whether he is older than than fellow cast member ]. According to the ] stories, Abe is is sometimes described as older, yet Burns is often depicted as the oldest Springfieldian in other episodes. Abe boasts of having been a watchman at ] and that ] ] spanked him on two nonconsecutive occasions (a reference to Cleveland's two nonconsecutive terms of office). He dubiously claims to having "taken a shot at ]".
* ] (divorced)

* ] (divorced)
Abe seems to be a member of several different organizations, including the ], the ], the ], the ] (of which he claims he briefly served as President) as well as the ] (a take on the Freemasons).
* ] (divorced)}}

| children = {{plainlist|
Abe once claimed to be in '']'', and that his legs were the ones that actually curled up when the ruby slippers were removed from the wicked witch of the east.
* ] (with Gaby)

* ] (with Mona)
==World War II==
* ] (with Edwina)
Abe's recollections of his ] experiences are sometimes implausible. However, at least portions of his outlandish anecdotes are proven accurate when the entire family actually meets his illegitimate British daughter, when Santa Claus flies him to see his brother in Tahiti, and when the State Department confiscates the art his army unit found in Germany. His tales also pose him as a pilot, seaman, and elite commando leader who goes on suicide missions (e.g., to assassinate Hitler) seem to be delusional.
}}

| relatives = {{plainlist|
===Europe===
* ] (grandson)
Several episodes place him in the European theatre during the later years of the war (1944-1945). He claims to have earned the ] ], worked as transvestite ] dancer for high-ranking Nazis, and served as sergeant in a frontline unit, the ]. Among those under his command was ], who had been demoted to the rank of private after obstructing a probe from J. Edgar Hoover. After "liberating" a stash of priceless art from the ], his unit formed a ], and buried the art in a trunk at sea. Decades later, ] tries to murder Abe in order to get the art, prompting Abe to violate the tontine. When Abe and Bart retrieve the art from Burns after a spectacular confrontation, ] arrive to give the art to their "rightful" owner, a snooty young German aristocrat. This whole escapade indicates there is some truth to Abe's accounts.
* ] (granddaughter)

* ] (granddaughter)
Abe sired an illegitimate daughter in England the day before he joined the D-Day operations at Normandy. This daughter is seen in the same episode lending further credence to the idea that he served in Europe. Moreover, he once showed Bart and Lisa an album with photos of dead Germans killed by his platoon.
* ] (daughter-in-law)

* <small>(See also ])</small>}}
===Pacific===
| significant_others = {{plainlist|

* ] (deceased)
Abe claims to have served on ], where he hears ] say the phrase "]," prompting Abraham to yell "He's a ]! Get him!" causing two other crewmen to beat up JFK. Grampa Simpson has also been noted as saying "I haven't felt this relaxed since I was watchman at ]", implying that he had been stationed there.
* ] (deceased)

* ]
In the ] ], Grampa Simpson tells the story of having been a navy pilot in ] in the Pacific theatre, with Burns this time as his tailgunner. The story involves him being marooned on a desert island for the remainder of the war with Burns, and also involves him meeting ]. This story is apparently confirmed by the arrival of Santa Claus in the present at the end of the story although as a Christmas episode its place in canon is ambiguous. The episode also introduced Grampa's older brother Cyrus.
* ]

}}
==Education==
| home = ], ], United States
In the aforementioned 2005 Christmas episode "]", Abe Simpson asserts authority over Monty Burns as the stronger man ''and in military rank''. Earlier, he had said that Burns was a lieutenant serving as an airplane pilot, which would make Abe Simpson a first lieutenant or better. (As a commissioned officer, Abe Simpson probably has a college degree but he does mention that he was a sergeant, and hence likely to be a ] rather than a military academy graduate).
}}

'''Abraham Jay''' "'''Abe'''" '''Simpson II''',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Wedding for Disaster |episode-link=Wedding for Disaster |series=The Simpsons |network=Fox |airdate=2009-04-29 |season=20 |number=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=Lady Bouvier's Lover |episode-link=Lady Bouvier's Lover |series=The Simpsons |network=Fox |airdate=1994-05-12 |season=5 |number=21}}</ref> better known as '''Grampa Simpson''', is a recurring character in the animated television series '']''. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "]", a one-minute Simpsons short on '']'', before the debut of the television show in 1989.
==Adulthood==
There is evidence that Abe was not a particularly caring father to Homer (evidenced when he tells Homer on his first day of school, "Homer, you're dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it!") Homer does not generally resent these casual abuses, though Homer did place his father in a decrepit nursing home.

Abe held a variety of postwar jobs, including a ] in Homer's early childhood until the bank foreclosed (when the ] gave sour ] after Homer spooked them). Abe was also a ] at a ] ]. He spent most of this time living in a house he won on a crooked ] ], until selling it to help Homer buy a house for his family. Abe moved in with the family, but was sent to a ] some three weeks later.

In the episode "]", Abraham's kidneys 'burst' after Homer would not let him go to the bathroom. Homer wound up (unwillingly) donating one of his kidneys to his father.

==Work==
* Soldier, pilot and cancan dancer in WWII ''(see WWII section above)''
* Matador in the episode "]"
* Employee at Krusty Burger
* Greeter at Sprawl-Mart the episode "]"
* Credited with writing several '']'' episodes (ghostwritten by Bart & Lisa) in "]"

==Family==
Abraham Simpson is estranged husband to ], father to ], father-in-law to ] and grandfather to siblings ], ] and ]. He also fathered two illegitimate children; a daughter named ] by a British lady named Edwina while in ] during ] and ] with a carnival hooker. He was briefly married to Amber, the same woman Homer married on a ] binge. Also in ], the family tree shows his parents' names to be ] and Yuma Hickman. Abe's brother Cyrus appeared in the ] episode. Cyrus lives in Tahiti with multiple wives.

Abraham Simpson has the same first name as ]'s real-life grandfather. But the writers of ''The Simpsons'' were actually the ones that chose the name, not Groening -- an interesting coincidence, especially since Groening personally named almost every other Simpson character after a family member. Also, one of Matt Groening's sons is named Abraham.

The fact that he is called "Grampa" seems obvious since he is grandfather to Bart, Lisa and Maggie. However, his ''Junior Buckaroo (ID) Badge'' reads "Little Grampa Simpson". Since it is thought that he obtained his badge during childhood, it can be assumed that this was thrown in as a sight gag. He also calls himself "young Grampa Simpson" in "]" in a World War II flashback -- a good twenty years before his first son would be born. This may be attributed to his failing mind, however, as the story is somewhat fantastic in nature.

Abraham Simpson apparently has an elder brother named Cyrus, who was shot down when serving in World War II and lived out most of his life on the island of ]. At the end of "]", Grampa makes reference to a brother named Bill.

===Romantic life===
He was married for several years to Mona, who became entranced with the ] lifestyle after watching ] on TV. She became a fugitive from justice after she abetted in the sabotage of a biological weapons research lab owned by Montgomery Burns. Abe tells a six-year-old Homer that Mona died while Homer was at the movies. Some three decades later, Mona and Homer have a chance encounter at Springfield ]. (Each thought the other was dead: she was visiting "his" grave, and he was visiting "hers"). Homer takes her home to meet his family, where she spends the next few days. After the initial shock of seeing her again, Abe begs Mona for ], but she turns him down flat. Mona is forced to go underground again when Burns again comes after her.

Before his marriage during ], Abe had an affair with a woman in England named Edwina, producing an illegitimate daughter, Abbie, whom he did not meet until she was grown. .

He once even dated a 120-year-old woman, who was the nurse who delivered ]. But the short-lived romance ends after she spends much time with the ] crowd. He wore a 13 ] beard of ] for her, but it was not enough to win her back.

Another affair, with a nameless prostitute he met at a ], produced Herbert. Herb was adopted by Edward Powell and Mililani Osler and worked his way up from poverty to found a successful automotive business. Believing himself to be dying, Abe confesses Herb's existence to Homer, who goes on a quest to find his half-brother. Upon learning that Herb is a multi-millionaire, Abe grouses: "I kept the wrong kid." By the time he is able to visit see him, Herb has been bankrupted by Homer's whacked-out prototype concept car (or, as Lisa puts it: "He was a rousing success until he found out he was a Simpson.")

In his golden years, Abe dated ] (voice by ]), a fellow resident of his retirement home. Bea died and left Abe a little over $100,000 in her ]. After some soul-searching (interviewing an endless stream of Springfielders, each of whom wanted him to fund various schemes), Abe went to a ]. Homer keeps him from losing the whole bundle at ]. He finally decides to use the money to refurbish the falling-down ], including a fancy new memorial dining hall in Bea's name.

He briefly dated another fellow golden-ager named Zelda, but her head is turned by a slick elderly gentleman at the home with a spiffy car. Abe realized, following an ill-fated jaunt to ], ] that she was a "hoochie" and totally wrong for him.

He also dated his daughter-in-law's mother, ]. She later started dating ] and almost married him, though the marriage was stopped by Abe.

Abe at one point taking cards out of wallet reveals he is a Communist as well as president of the gay and lesbian alliance for some reason. Perhaps he is more sexually experimentive than we are lead to believe.

===Personality===
Grampa Simpson is an old, grizzled, periodically incontinent and quite ] figure who lives in the ], a sad, lonely place filled with demented, crippled and depressed old people. (A sign near the entrance says "Thank you for not discussing the outside world"). His closest friend appears to be ], a fellow Retirement Castle resident.


Grampa Simpson is voiced by ], who also voices his son, ]. He is the paternal grandfather of ], ] and ]. In the 1,000th issue of '']'', Grampa was selected as the "Grandpa for The Perfect TV Family".<ref name="List 2008">"TV: Breaking Down the List," ''Entertainment Weekly'', #999/1000 June 27 & July 4, 2008, 56.</ref> Grampa is a ] veteran and retired farmer who was later sent to the ] by Homer. He is known for his long, rambling, often incoherent and irrelevant stories and senility.
His rambling stories trail away in forgetfulness, and sometimes Abe falls asleep in the middle of a statement:
:"You see, back in those days, rich men would ride around in ]s, dropping coins on people, and one day I seen ] flying by. So I run out of the house with a big washtub and... hey! Where are you going?"
:"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. I used my washtub that morning to clean my ], which back then was called a 'walking bird'. We had walking bird on ] with ] sauce, Injun eyes, and yams stuffed with gunpowder. We also sat around and watched ], which back then was called ]."
:*"Anyway, 'long story short,' is a phrase whose origins are complicated and rambling."


==Biography==
They sometimes cause serious delay, as in a shopping line at Monstromart:
Grampa Simpson is the father to ], father-in-law to ] and the paternal grandfather to siblings ], ] and ]. Grampa has also fathered two illegitimate children; a daughter named Abbey by a British woman named Edwina while in the ] during ],<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Regina Monologues |episode-link=The Regina Monologues |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate=November 23, 2003 |season=15 |number=04}}</ref> and ] by a carnival prostitute.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? |episode-link=Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate= February 21, 1991 |season=2 |number=15}}</ref> Grampa has an older brother named Cyrus, who lives in ] and has ].<ref>{{cite episode |title=Simpsons Christmas Stories |episode-link=Simpsons Christmas Stories |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Payne, Don; Moore, Steven Dean |network=Fox |airdate=2005-12-18 |season=17 |number=365}}</ref> He also has a younger brother named Chet, who owns an unsuccessful shrimp company. Other siblings of his include Hubert, Tyrone, Fester, Bill, and Hortense.<ref name="oakley">{{cite video |people=Oakley, Bill |year=2006 |title=The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode 'Lisa the Simpson' |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Grampa was briefly married to ], the same woman Homer married on a drinking binge in ].<ref>{{cite episode |title=Brawl in the Family (The Simpsons) |episode-link=Brawl in the Family (The Simpsons) |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Cohen, Joel H.; Nastuk, Matthew |network=Fox |airdate=2002-01-06 |season=13 |number=276}}</ref> Grampa has also been briefly married to Marge's sister, ],<ref>{{cite episode |title=Rome-old and Juli-eh |episode-link=Rome-old and Juli-eh |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate=March 11, 2007 |season=18 |number=15}}</ref> and was once romantically linked to Marge's mother, ] (his son's mother-in-law). Grampa Simpson is also married to Rita LaFleur.


Almost all of Grampa's biographical information is supplied by himself and seems to be made up, although this could be likely due to his old age. Many of his stories seem to be wildly inaccurate, often physically or historically impossible, and occasionally inconsistent even with each other, suggesting that Grampa is quite ]. It is unknown where Grampa was born. He claims that he came to America as a boy from the "old country", but he cannot remember which country it was,<ref>{{cite episode |title=Much Apu About Nothing |episode-link=Much Apu About Nothing |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate=May 5, 1996 |season=7 |number=23}}</ref> although most likely it was the United Kingdom or ]. Grampa was raised in New York City with his parents, Orville J. Simpson and Yuma Hickman.<ref>{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |title=The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album |year=1991 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-096582-2|title-link=The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album}}</ref> He gives his age as 83 in the Season 17 episode "]," while in "]" (season 29), the family celebrates his 87th birthday, although he is canonically 83. In the Season 25 episode "]," Homer states that Grampa's father is still alive. Due to the show's ], his age remains the same over the years, and newer episodes still depict him as a ] veteran.
:"This nickel has a long and interesting history. It dates back to one morning in 1957. I got up and made myself a piece of toast. I set the toaster to 3 — medium brown . . . "


Grampa is a veteran of World War II, where he served as ] of the ] unit which included himself (the Unit Commander, Radio Operator Sheldon Skinner (Seymour Skinner's father), Private Fifth Class Arnie Gumble (Barney Gumble's father), Asa Phelps, Iggy Wiggum (Clancy Wiggum's father), Milton "Oxford" Haas, Etch Westgrin, Griff McDonald, Private Charles Montgomery Burns and Grey Fox.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flying Hellfish |url=https://simpsonswiki.com/Flying_Hellfish |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=Wikisimpsons |language=en}}</ref> At the very end of the war in Europe, Grampa's unit "liberated" a stash of priceless art from surrendering German forces. The Flying Hellfish formed a ] and buried the art in a trunk at sea. Decades later, ], the second surviving member of the unit, tried to murder Grampa in order to get the art, prompting Grampa to violate the tontine. When Grampa and Bart retrieved the art from Mr. Burns, ] arrived to return the art to its rightful owner.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish' |episode-link=Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate=April 28, 1996 |season=7 |number=22}}</ref> Grampa was a hated wrestler named "Glamorous Godfrey" in the 1950s, revealed in the episode "]", starring him and ].
A recurring feature is Abe's constant explanation of what happened "in those days":
:"We can’t bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell 'em stories that don’t go anywhere -- like the time I caught the ferry over to ]. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. 'Give me five bees for a quarter,' you’d say.
:"Now where were we? Oh yeah -- the important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn’t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones..."


Homer's mother, ], was married to Grampa for several years. According to "]", they met in the 1950s and hooked up on the day Grampa allegedly broke the ]. She became entranced with the hippie lifestyle after seeing ]'s hair on television. She became a fugitive from justice after she abetted in the sabotage of a ] research lab owned by Mr. Burns to deliberately poison everyone in ]. To explain this to his then-six-year-old son, Grampa said that Mona died while Homer was at the movies.<ref name=MotherSimpson>{{cite episode |title=Mother Simpson |episode-link=Mother Simpson |series=The Simpsons |credits=]; ] |network=Fox |airdate=1995-11-19 |season=07 |number=08}}</ref> Grampa has a poor, but sometimes loving relationship with his son, who placed him in a nursing home as soon as he could, despite Grampa selling his house in order to provide Homer with a mortgage.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Lisa's First Word |episode-link=Lisa's First Word |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Martin, Jeff; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=1992-12-03 |season=04 |number=10}}</ref> It is recurringly suggested that, while caring, Grampa was a strict disciplinarian who could be very controlling, neglectful, and even emotionally abusive towards Homer when he was growing up and he still had not forgiven him for that.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Bart Star |episode-link=Bart Star |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Cohen, David X.; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=1997-11-09 |season=09 |number=06}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy |episode-link=Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Oakley, Bill & Weinstein, Josh.; Archer, Wes |network=Fox |airdate=1994-12-04 |season=06 |number=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=Barting Over |episode-link=Barting Over |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Kreisberg, Andrew.; Nastuk, Matthew |network=Fox |airdate=2003-02-16 |season=14 |number=11}}</ref> After Mona left Homer at a young age and ran off with a ], Grampa brought up Homer by himself. In the season four episode, "]", Grampa tells Roger Myers Jr., head of Itchy and Scratchy studios, that he worked as a cranberry silo night watchman for forty years.
:"You never know what you're capable of. For example, I never thought that I could shoot down a German plane. Last year I proved myself wrong." (''Said during the present day, NOT during a flashback to World War II'').


The Simpson family will often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa. A running gag in the show usually has Grampa in a cameo episode appearance where he wonders where everyone is or wishes to be noticed by the family. One example of this was when the family thought they left something on the plane in the episode "]", which is revealed to be Grampa. Despite this, Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Old Money |episode-link=Old Money (The Simpsons) |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=]; ]; Silverman, David |network=Fox |airdate=1991-03-28 |season=02 |number=17}}</ref>
Bart and Lisa dread his occasional childminding sessions; even a phone call has its dangers ("...and that's everything which happened in my life right up to the time I got this phone call...") -- at least until he falls asleep and leaves them to their own devices. In the meantime, he fills his time with complaining about anything and everything to anyone and everyone he can find.


==Character==
Another notable instance of the dangers of calling Abe on the phone: <br>
===Creation===
], creator of ''The Simpsons'', wanted to have a character that was "really cranky" and old, and who complained a lot and invented stories to tell to children, so he created Grampa.<ref name=tvguide/> After naming the main characters after his own family members (except for ], an anagram of "brat", which he substituted for his own name),<ref name="americasfirstfamily">{{cite video |people=BBC |year=2000 |title=The Simpsons: America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250735/ |format=DVD |location=UK |publisher=20th Century Fox |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081722/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250735/ |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Groening refused to name Grampa after his grandfather, Abraham Groening. He left it to the writers to choose a name and they ironically chose "Abraham", although not knowing that it was also the name of Groening's grandfather.<ref name="oldmoney">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt |year=2002 |title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode 'Old Money' |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Grampa first appeared in the ] "Grandpa and the Kids", which premiered on '']'' on January 10, 1988. In the short, Grampa tells his grandchildren stories of "the good old days". When they stop paying attention to him, he feigns his own death to recapture their attention.<ref>{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |pages= |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} |title-link=The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family}}</ref>


''The Simpsons'' writer ] commented that Grampa is often the focus of pointed jokes about old people. He said the reason for that is because the staff is trying to illustrate how society mistreats the elderly, "and some of it is because people over 55 never watch our show".<ref name=tvguide>{{cite news |title=Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves |date=October 21, 2000 |work=] |author=Rhodes, Joe}}</ref> ] and ], former writers on the show, said that they liked to write episodes about Grampa because they are "obsessed" with old people.<ref name="Oakley">{{cite video |people=Oakley, Bill |year=2004 |title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Weinstein commented that they "both love and seem to really hate them at the same time".<ref name="Weinstein">{{cite video |people=Weinstein, Josh |year=2004 |title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> He also said that he "enjoys" writing for characters such as Grampa and Mr. Burns because of their "out-datedness", and because he gets to use dictionaries for looking up "old time slang".<ref>{{cite video |people=Weinstein, Josh |year=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode 'Team Homer' |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
Lisa: Hi, Grandpa, how are you?<br>
Grandpa: Well, you're really asking yourself two questions there. The first takes me back to 1926: Admiral Byrd had just flown a plane over the North Pole, mere hours ahead of the Three Stooges...


===Voice===
Abe is ] of the ] according to a card he finds in his wallet, although he does not know why. (Oddly, he enjoys homosexual fantasies, such as being the Belle of the West, telling two gunfighters, "Stop! You can ''both'' marry me!") He is also an ], a ], a ], and member of the ], enabling ] to join this secret society.
] voices Grampa and several other recurring characters]]


Grampa's voice is performed by ], who also voices numerous other characters, including ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Castellaneta was part of the regular cast of '']'' and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago alongside his wife ].<ref name="The Age">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/27/1046064146568.html |title=D'oh, you're the voice |access-date=September 21, 2008 |date=February 27, 2003 |author=Lee, Luaine |work=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102224412/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/27/1046064146568.html |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions,<ref name="Tribune">{{cite news|url=http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jun/23/voice-homer-simpson-leads-his-own-simple-life/ |title=Voice of Homer Simpson leads his own, simple life |author=Morrow, Terry |access-date=September 5, 2008 |date=June 23, 2007 |work=]|publisher=Scripps Howard News Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012024317/http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jun/23/voice-homer-simpson-leads-his-own-simple-life/ |archive-date=October 12, 2013}}</ref> and tries to visualize a scene in his mind so that he can give the proper voice to it.<ref>Castellaneta, Dan. (2005). Commentary for "]", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref> The episode "]" (], 1994) featured many interactions between Grampa and Homer, so Castellaneta therefore had to talk to himself when he recorded the voices for that episode.<ref name=Mirkin>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |year=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Castellaneta said it is hard for him to do Grampa's voice because it is "wheezy and airy".<ref>{{cite video |people=Oakley, Bill |year=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
He spends a good deal of his time writing letters of complaint. He once wrote to the President, complaining that there were too many states, and requesting that they get rid of three of them. He also owns a 49-star American flag, because of his undefined hatred of the state of ]: "I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missoura." He also holds a grudge against the Swedes, sometimes exclaiming remarks like, "The Swedes are coming! The Swedes are coming! They got lingonberries!" He calls Homer a cowardly Swede for being terrified by a large bear.


==Reception==
Abe Simpson once shook his fist at a cloud, which was publicized in the local newspaper.
===Commendations===
Nancy Basile of ] named Grampa the fifth best character of ''The Simpsons'', calling him a "perfect stereotypical old person".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animatedtv.about.com/od/lists/tp/sicharacters.htm |title=Top 10 'The Simpsons' Characters |last=Basile |first=Nancy |publisher=About.com |access-date=December 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707074806/http://animatedtv.about.com/od/lists/tp/sicharacters.htm |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1000th issue of '']'', Grampa was selected as the "Grandpa for The Perfect TV Family".<ref name="List 2008"/> Joe Rhodes of '']'' considered Grampa's most memorable line to be "If I'm not back at the home by nine, they declare me legally dead and collect my insurance."<ref name=tvguide/> Dan Castellaneta has won two ]s in the ] category for voicing various characters, including Grampa. The first was awarded in 1992 for the episode "]",<ref name="Emmys">{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher=Emmys.org |access-date=January 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403022947/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date=April 3, 2009}}</ref> and the second in 2004 for "]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2004/scene/awards/emmy-speaks-for-homer-1117908929/ |title=Emmy speaks for Homer |work=] |author=Schneider, Michael |access-date=December 27, 2008 |date=August 10, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012175223/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117908929.html?categoryid=1603&cs=1 |archive-date=October 12, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, Castellaneta was nominated for the award for voicing Grampa and Homer in the episode "]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/62ndemmys_noms.pdf |title=2010 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations |access-date=July 8, 2010 |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310014216/http://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/62ndemmys_noms.pdf |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>


''The Simpsons'' writer ] said that one of his favorite jokes on the show is the one where Grampa cycles down the street in high speed and shouts that he feels young again, and is then knocked flying from his bicycle after a doll's head flies into the spokes and falls into an open grave.<ref name="Mirkin"/> In a review of the Grampa-centric episode "]", Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict said that he is "never terribly interested" in episodes that revolve around Grampa, because he believes Grampa is "great as a background character, but less so when he takes center stage."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 24, 2009 |url=https://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=February 23, 2005 |author=Bromley, Patrick |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116115733/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |archive-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref> DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said in a review of the same episode that Grampa is "always fun" and "it’s nice to see him in an ebullient mood, at least for a while."<ref>{{cite web |access-date=January 24, 2009 |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season (1993) |publisher=DVD Movie Guide |date=December 21, 2004 |author=Jacobson, Colin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420194900/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |archive-date=April 20, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Abe Simpson appears to be about 5' 11" tall.


===Analysis===
] thinks that what makes Grampa funny is that the "boring" and "tedious" things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium.|alt=A seated David Mirkin wearing a cap smiles as he looks into the distance. His hands are crossed.]]


Mirkin thinks it is hard to make a "boring" and "tedious" character, such as Grampa, funny. He believes that what ultimately makes Grampa funny is that the things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium.<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |year=2004 |title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Anne-Marie Barry and Chris Yuill, the authors of the book ''Understanding the Sociology of Health'', commented that in episodes in which Grampa appears, the comedy content is often generated by Grampa falling asleep at "inopportune" moments or "embarking" on long rambling stories about his youth. "Instances such as these match popular stereotypes that all old people are 'demented' and in poor health," they wrote.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barry |first=Anne-Marie |author2=Yuill, Chris |title=Understanding the Sociology of Health |publisher=SAGE |year=2008 |page=212 |chapter=Ageing in society: a general overview |isbn=978-1-4129-3623-1}}</ref>


Alan S. Brown and Chris Logan wrote in '']'' that Grampa has the least amount of "power" in the Simpson family, and that he is treated as little more than a child and is often ignored. The family frequently laughs at his "failing" memory and his "ineffectual" attempts to get what he wants. They added that Grampa is left behind, forgotten, and rarely invited to spend time with the family. The authors commented that he is "not without influence, but he certainly does not play the traditional grandfather role in the family hierarchy."<ref name="brown"/>


Brown and Logan also wrote that Grampa had a considerable influence in the formation of Homer's character, and that flashbacks in ''The Simpsons'' show what an "angry", "critical" father he was to Homer. "He yelled, used corporal punishment, and constantly belittled Homer's attempts to have fun, date, and excel at various activities," they added. The authors said that Homer tries "in vain" to repair his relationship with Grampa and continuously seeks for his approval, but Grampa continues to be "as critical as ever". However, in some episodes, he does show a loving side to ]. Such as the episode "]", he and Homer watch the farm burn, or the episode "]", where he does everything to protect Homer's dog from ] in a flashback.<ref name="brown">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Alan S. |author2=Chris Logan |title=The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh! |publisher=BenBella Books, Inc. |year=2006 |pages=3–4 (Chapter: The Family Simpson – Family Hierarchy) |isbn=978-1-932100-70-9|title-link=The Psychology of The Simpsons}}</ref> In his book ''Understanding the Psychology of Diversity'', author Bruce Evan Blaine wrote that Grampa is typically portrayed as a "doddering", "senile", and "dependent" person who is a "trivial" and "often disposable figure" in his son's life.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blaine |first=Bruce |title=Understanding The Psychology of Diversity |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingpsy0000blai_c8p4 |url-access=registration |publisher=SAGE |year=2007 |page= |chapter=Presentations and Portrayals of Older People |isbn=978-1-4129-2109-1}}</ref>
==Relations==
Abraham Simpson is:


==Merchandising==
*Husband of ]
] created two Grampa Simpson action figures for the ] series. The first, released in May 2000, depicts Grampa in his usual appearance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://figures.nohomers.net/WoS_Figures_Series_1.html |title=Series 1 |access-date=November 3, 2008 |publisher=The Simpsons Action Figure Information Station |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708230619/http://figures.nohomers.net/WoS_Figures_Series_1.html |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The second, "Sunday Grampa", was released in June 2002, and depicts Grampa in his Sunday church clothes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://figures.nohomers.net/WoS_Figures_Series_9.html |title=Series 9 |access-date=November 4, 2008 |publisher=The Simpsons Action Figure Information Station |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729011309/http://figures.nohomers.net/WoS_Figures_Series_9.html |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Alongside the television series, Grampa regularly appears in issues of ], which were first published on November 29, 1993.<ref name="gazette">{{cite web|title=Groening launches Futurama comics |work=] |date=November 19, 2000 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20001119/ai_n9979492 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915091731/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20001119/ai_n9979492 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 15, 2008 |author=Radford, Bill |access-date=September 7, 2008}}</ref><ref name="msnbc">{{cite web |url=http://cagle.msnbc.com/hogan/features/simpsons_sundays/simpsons_on_sundays.asp |title=Sundays with the Simpsons |access-date=September 7, 2008 |author=Shutt, Craig |publisher=MSNBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708094751/http://cagle.msnbc.com/hogan/features/simpsons_sundays/simpsons_on_sundays.asp |archive-date=July 8, 2007}}</ref> The final issue was published on October 17, 2018.
*Husband of Amber from Las Vegas, Homers former secret wife
*Father of Abbie, ], and ]
*Grandfather of ], ] and ]
*Brother of ] — who was not mentioned until the December 18, 2005 episode ]. Cyrus went ] during World War II, but survives to this day in Tahiti.
*Brother of Bill Simpson - mentioned in a flashback when Abraham denounced him as a ] to the ].


Grampa also plays a role in ], launched in 2008 at ] and ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/simpsons-ride-featur-1657/ |title=Simpsons ride features 29 characters, original voices |access-date=September 7, 2008 |date=April 9, 2008 |work=Los Angeles Times |author=MacDonald, Brady |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914144851/http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/simpsons-ride-featur-1657/ |archive-date=September 14, 2008}}</ref>
== Quotes ==
* (''after getting locked out of the house'') "Hello-o? Hello-o! You have my pills! Hello-o? I'm cold, and there are wolves after me." (''a wolf is heard howling'')


In 2015, Grampa appeared as a non-playable character in the ] video game '']''. In game, he only appears in the Simpsons levels and all his voice lines are archive audio from Dan Castellaneta.
* My son is ''not'' a communist! He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a ]!


==References==
== Episodes Starring Abraham ==
{{Reflist}}
''This is a list of Simpsons episodes in which Abe Simpson plays a substantial role in driving the plot, not simply a supporting role.''
*] (Season 2, Episode 17) ''Abe ponders what to do with an inheritance.''
*] (Season 4, Episode 19) ''Abe becomes a celebrated cartoon writer, with Bart and Lisa doing all the work.''
*] (Season 5, Episode 21) ''Abe courts Marge's mother.''
*] (Season 6, Episode 10) ''Abe and Homer go into business selling a highly effective impotence cure.''
*] (Season 7, Episode 22) ''Abe tries to recover paintings his unit looted from the Nazis.''
*] (Season 10, Episode 8) ''Abe's ]s explode and Homer is the only viable ]''
*] (Season 13, Episode 13) ''A smitten Abe drives to Missouri to win back his love.''
*] (Season 17, Episode 9) ''The middle of three segments depicts a surreal anecdote from Abe's war days.''
*] (Season 17, Episode 16) ''Abe gains a new lease on life as a bullfighter.''


==External links==
{{Simpsons characters}}
* at TheSimpsons.com
* on ]


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Latest revision as of 03:02, 30 December 2024

Recurring character in The Simpsons

Fictional character
Grampa Simpson
The Simpsons character
First appearance
Created byMatt Groening
Designed byMatt Groening
Voiced byDan Castellaneta
In-universe information
Full nameAbraham Jay Simpson II
Occupation
AffiliationU.S. Army
Family
  • Orville Simpson (father)
  • Yuma Hickman (mother)
  • Cyrus Simpson (brother)
  • Bill Simpson (brother)
Spouses
Significant others
Children
Relatives
HomeSpringfield Retirement Castle, Springfield, United States

Abraham Jay "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.

Grampa Simpson is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who also voices his son, Homer Simpson. He is the paternal grandfather of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. In the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Grampa was selected as the "Grandpa for The Perfect TV Family". Grampa is a World War II veteran and retired farmer who was later sent to the Springfield Retirement Castle by Homer. He is known for his long, rambling, often incoherent and irrelevant stories and senility.

Biography

Grampa Simpson is the father to Homer Simpson, father-in-law to Marge Simpson and the paternal grandfather to siblings Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Grampa has also fathered two illegitimate children; a daughter named Abbey by a British woman named Edwina while in the United Kingdom during World War II, and Herbert Powell by a carnival prostitute. Grampa has an older brother named Cyrus, who lives in Tahiti and has multiple native wives. He also has a younger brother named Chet, who owns an unsuccessful shrimp company. Other siblings of his include Hubert, Tyrone, Fester, Bill, and Hortense. Grampa was briefly married to Amber, the same woman Homer married on a drinking binge in Las Vegas. Grampa has also been briefly married to Marge's sister, Selma Bouvier, and was once romantically linked to Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier (his son's mother-in-law). Grampa Simpson is also married to Rita LaFleur.

Almost all of Grampa's biographical information is supplied by himself and seems to be made up, although this could be likely due to his old age. Many of his stories seem to be wildly inaccurate, often physically or historically impossible, and occasionally inconsistent even with each other, suggesting that Grampa is quite senile. It is unknown where Grampa was born. He claims that he came to America as a boy from the "old country", but he cannot remember which country it was, although most likely it was the United Kingdom or Ireland. Grampa was raised in New York City with his parents, Orville J. Simpson and Yuma Hickman. He gives his age as 83 in the Season 17 episode "Million Dollar Abie," while in "Grampy Can Ya Hear Me" (season 29), the family celebrates his 87th birthday, although he is canonically 83. In the Season 25 episode "The Winter of His Content," Homer states that Grampa's father is still alive. Due to the show's floating timeline, his age remains the same over the years, and newer episodes still depict him as a World War II veteran.

Grampa is a veteran of World War II, where he served as Master Sergeant of the Flying Hellfish unit which included himself (the Unit Commander, Radio Operator Sheldon Skinner (Seymour Skinner's father), Private Fifth Class Arnie Gumble (Barney Gumble's father), Asa Phelps, Iggy Wiggum (Clancy Wiggum's father), Milton "Oxford" Haas, Etch Westgrin, Griff McDonald, Private Charles Montgomery Burns and Grey Fox. At the very end of the war in Europe, Grampa's unit "liberated" a stash of priceless art from surrendering German forces. The Flying Hellfish formed a tontine and buried the art in a trunk at sea. Decades later, Montgomery Burns, the second surviving member of the unit, tried to murder Grampa in order to get the art, prompting Grampa to violate the tontine. When Grampa and Bart retrieved the art from Mr. Burns, the State Department arrived to return the art to its rightful owner. Grampa was a hated wrestler named "Glamorous Godfrey" in the 1950s, revealed in the episode "Gorgeous Grampa", starring him and Mr. Burns.

Homer's mother, Mona Simpson, was married to Grampa for several years. According to "Let's Go Fly a Coot", they met in the 1950s and hooked up on the day Grampa allegedly broke the sound barrier. She became entranced with the hippie lifestyle after seeing Joe Namath's hair on television. She became a fugitive from justice after she abetted in the sabotage of a biological weapons research lab owned by Mr. Burns to deliberately poison everyone in Springfield. To explain this to his then-six-year-old son, Grampa said that Mona died while Homer was at the movies. Grampa has a poor, but sometimes loving relationship with his son, who placed him in a nursing home as soon as he could, despite Grampa selling his house in order to provide Homer with a mortgage. It is recurringly suggested that, while caring, Grampa was a strict disciplinarian who could be very controlling, neglectful, and even emotionally abusive towards Homer when he was growing up and he still had not forgiven him for that. After Mona left Homer at a young age and ran off with a jester, Grampa brought up Homer by himself. In the season four episode, "The Front", Grampa tells Roger Myers Jr., head of Itchy and Scratchy studios, that he worked as a cranberry silo night watchman for forty years.

The Simpson family will often do their best to avoid unnecessary contact with Grampa. A running gag in the show usually has Grampa in a cameo episode appearance where he wonders where everyone is or wishes to be noticed by the family. One example of this was when the family thought they left something on the plane in the episode "Fear of Flying", which is revealed to be Grampa. Despite this, Homer has shown feelings of love for his father from time to time.

Character

Creation

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, wanted to have a character that was "really cranky" and old, and who complained a lot and invented stories to tell to children, so he created Grampa. After naming the main characters after his own family members (except for Bart, an anagram of "brat", which he substituted for his own name), Groening refused to name Grampa after his grandfather, Abraham Groening. He left it to the writers to choose a name and they ironically chose "Abraham", although not knowing that it was also the name of Groening's grandfather. Grampa first appeared in the Simpsons short "Grandpa and the Kids", which premiered on The Tracey Ullman Show on January 10, 1988. In the short, Grampa tells his grandchildren stories of "the good old days". When they stop paying attention to him, he feigns his own death to recapture their attention.

The Simpsons writer Al Jean commented that Grampa is often the focus of pointed jokes about old people. He said the reason for that is because the staff is trying to illustrate how society mistreats the elderly, "and some of it is because people over 55 never watch our show". Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, former writers on the show, said that they liked to write episodes about Grampa because they are "obsessed" with old people. Weinstein commented that they "both love and seem to really hate them at the same time". He also said that he "enjoys" writing for characters such as Grampa and Mr. Burns because of their "out-datedness", and because he gets to use dictionaries for looking up "old time slang".

Voice

Dan Castellaneta voices Grampa and several other recurring characters

Grampa's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who also voices numerous other characters, including Homer Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman. Castellaneta was part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show and had previously done some voice-over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions, and tries to visualize a scene in his mind so that he can give the proper voice to it. The episode "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" (season six, 1994) featured many interactions between Grampa and Homer, so Castellaneta therefore had to talk to himself when he recorded the voices for that episode. Castellaneta said it is hard for him to do Grampa's voice because it is "wheezy and airy".

Reception

Commendations

Nancy Basile of About.com named Grampa the fifth best character of The Simpsons, calling him a "perfect stereotypical old person". In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Grampa was selected as the "Grandpa for The Perfect TV Family". Joe Rhodes of TV Guide considered Grampa's most memorable line to be "If I'm not back at the home by nine, they declare me legally dead and collect my insurance." Dan Castellaneta has won two Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category for voicing various characters, including Grampa. The first was awarded in 1992 for the episode "Lisa's Pony", and the second in 2004 for "Today I Am A Clown". In 2010, Castellaneta was nominated for the award for voicing Grampa and Homer in the episode "Thursdays with Abie".

The Simpsons writer David Mirkin said that one of his favorite jokes on the show is the one where Grampa cycles down the street in high speed and shouts that he feels young again, and is then knocked flying from his bicycle after a doll's head flies into the spokes and falls into an open grave. In a review of the Grampa-centric episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict said that he is "never terribly interested" in episodes that revolve around Grampa, because he believes Grampa is "great as a background character, but less so when he takes center stage." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said in a review of the same episode that Grampa is "always fun" and "it’s nice to see him in an ebullient mood, at least for a while."

Analysis

A seated David Mirkin wearing a cap smiles as he looks into the distance. His hands are crossed.
Writer David Mirkin thinks that what makes Grampa funny is that the "boring" and "tedious" things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium.

Mirkin thinks it is hard to make a "boring" and "tedious" character, such as Grampa, funny. He believes that what ultimately makes Grampa funny is that the things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium. Anne-Marie Barry and Chris Yuill, the authors of the book Understanding the Sociology of Health, commented that in episodes in which Grampa appears, the comedy content is often generated by Grampa falling asleep at "inopportune" moments or "embarking" on long rambling stories about his youth. "Instances such as these match popular stereotypes that all old people are 'demented' and in poor health," they wrote.

Alan S. Brown and Chris Logan wrote in The Psychology of The Simpsons that Grampa has the least amount of "power" in the Simpson family, and that he is treated as little more than a child and is often ignored. The family frequently laughs at his "failing" memory and his "ineffectual" attempts to get what he wants. They added that Grampa is left behind, forgotten, and rarely invited to spend time with the family. The authors commented that he is "not without influence, but he certainly does not play the traditional grandfather role in the family hierarchy."

Brown and Logan also wrote that Grampa had a considerable influence in the formation of Homer's character, and that flashbacks in The Simpsons show what an "angry", "critical" father he was to Homer. "He yelled, used corporal punishment, and constantly belittled Homer's attempts to have fun, date, and excel at various activities," they added. The authors said that Homer tries "in vain" to repair his relationship with Grampa and continuously seeks for his approval, but Grampa continues to be "as critical as ever". However, in some episodes, he does show a loving side to Homer. Such as the episode "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy", he and Homer watch the farm burn, or the episode "To Cur with Love", where he does everything to protect Homer's dog from Mr Burns in a flashback. In his book Understanding the Psychology of Diversity, author Bruce Evan Blaine wrote that Grampa is typically portrayed as a "doddering", "senile", and "dependent" person who is a "trivial" and "often disposable figure" in his son's life.

Merchandising

Playmates Toys created two Grampa Simpson action figures for the World of Springfield series. The first, released in May 2000, depicts Grampa in his usual appearance. The second, "Sunday Grampa", was released in June 2002, and depicts Grampa in his Sunday church clothes. Alongside the television series, Grampa regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, which were first published on November 29, 1993. The final issue was published on October 17, 2018.

Grampa also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood.

In 2015, Grampa appeared as a non-playable character in the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions. In game, he only appears in the Simpsons levels and all his voice lines are archive audio from Dan Castellaneta.

References

  1. "Wedding for Disaster". The Simpsons. Season 20. Episode 15. April 29, 2009. Fox.
  2. "Lady Bouvier's Lover". The Simpsons. Season 5. Episode 21. May 12, 1994. Fox.
  3. ^ "TV: Breaking Down the List," Entertainment Weekly, #999/1000 June 27 & July 4, 2008, 56.
  4. Swartzwelder, John; Kirkland, Mark (November 23, 2003). "The Regina Monologues". The Simpsons. Season 15. Episode 04. Fox.
  5. Martin, Jeff; Archer, Wes (February 21, 1991). "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?". The Simpsons. Season 2. Episode 15. Fox.
  6. Payne, Don; Moore, Steven Dean (December 18, 2005). "Simpsons Christmas Stories". The Simpsons. Season 17. Episode 365. Fox.
  7. Oakley, Bill (2006). The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode 'Lisa the Simpson' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  8. Cohen, Joel H.; Nastuk, Matthew (January 6, 2002). "Brawl in the Family (The Simpsons)". The Simpsons. Season 13. Episode 276. Fox.
  9. Kruse, Nancy; Chun, Daniel (March 11, 2007). "Rome-old and Juli-eh". The Simpsons. Season 18. Episode 15. Fox.
  10. Cohen, David; Dietter, Susie (May 5, 1996). "Much Apu About Nothing". The Simpsons. Season 7. Episode 23. Fox.
  11. Groening, Matt (1991). The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-096582-2.
  12. "Flying Hellfish". Wikisimpsons. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  13. Collier, Jonathan; Lynch, Jeffrey (April 28, 1996). "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish'". The Simpsons. Season 7. Episode 22. Fox.
  14. Appel, Rich; Silverman, David (November 19, 1995). "Mother Simpson". The Simpsons. Season 07. Episode 08. Fox.
  15. Martin, Jeff; Kirkland, Mark (December 3, 1992). "Lisa's First Word". The Simpsons. Season 04. Episode 10. Fox.
  16. Cohen, David X.; Kirkland, Mark (November 9, 1997). "Bart Star". The Simpsons. Season 09. Episode 06. Fox.
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