Homer Simpson

Homer Jay Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. The character received his first name from Groening's father. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Homer is one of the main characters on The Simpsons, appearing in every episode to date.

Homer is the boorish father in the titular family. With his wife, Marge, he has three children; Bart, Lisa and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Embodying several American working class stereotypes, he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless, and lazy. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences, and possesses an integrity that reflects his own values, including a fierce devotion to and protectiveness of his family.

In the shorts and earlier episodes, his voice was a loose impression of Walter Matthau but eventually evolved into a more robust voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons—including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials and comic books—and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "d'oh!", has been included in the The New Oxford Dictionary of English since 1998 and Oxford English Dictionary since 2001.

Homer has become one of the most influential fictional characters, having been described by the British newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time. He was ranked the second greatest cartoon character by TV Guide and was voted the greatest television character of all-time by Channel 4 viewers. Castellaneta has earned three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special achievement Annie Award for voicing Homer. In 2000, Homer, along with the rest of his family, were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.