Voice actor of Milhouse in 'The Simpsons' retires after 35 years
A voice actor of The Simpsons is retiring from the beloved animated comedy after 35 years.
Deadline reported that Pamela Hayden, who's behind the voice of the mild-mannered and often bullied Milhouse, is voicing her last episode, Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes, on Nov. 24.
In a tribute video posted by The Simpsons on Facebook, Hayden reflected on her character's qualities.
"He's always getting knocked down, but he keeps getting up," she said.
"I love the little guy," she also said.
Hayden also wondered how the character "would ever become this phenomenal," and how voice acting is "the craziest job in the world."
Hayden also voiced the bully Jimbo Jones, as well as secondary characters like the religious Rod Flanders, sweet wife and mother Sarah Wiggum, protagonist Lisa Simpson's best friend Janey Powell, and doll Malibu Stacy.
“The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons?……not easily," Hayden said. "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.”
The show, which launched in December 1989, will now start casting for Hayden's characters.
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said that Hayden's character Milhouse, who was named after the former United States president Richard Milhous Nixon, gave them "tons of laughs."
“We named him Milhouse because that was the most unfortunate name a kid could have,” Groening said. “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."
Executive Producer James Brooks said Hayden "is a model for having a great spirit for every cast she has been a part of. We will miss her.”
“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that blue-haired 10-year-old boy with glasses,” Hayden also said of Milhouse.
The Simpsons satirizes American life, epitomized by the titular family comprising patriarch Homer, matriarch Marge, and their children Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.
