17. John Waters
Character: John, Homer’s gay buddy
Episode: 'Homer’s Phobia', Season 8 ('96-'97)
Waters agreed to appear as the Simpons’ stylish camp family friend because, as he told producers, “If it’s good enough for Liz Taylor, it’s good enough for me...”
The episode is a sensitive and sharp critique of knee-jerk intolerance, but John/Waters steals the show with a barrage of ultra-camp, catty zingers (“Helen Lovejoy – sure, she looks blonde, but I’ve heard cuffs and collar don’t match, if you get my drift.”)
16. Dustin Hoffman
Character: Mr. Bergstrom, Lisa’s inspirational substitute teacher
Episode: 'Lisa’s Substitute', Season 2 ('90-'91)
Hoffman was one of the show’s earliest big-name guests (“I'm Mr. Bergstrom. Feel free to make fun of my name if you want. Two suggestions are 'Mr. Nerd-strom' and 'Mr. Booger-strom') but, weirdly, he didn’t appear under his own name.
Instead, Hoffman used the pseudonym ‘Sam Etic’ - supposedly thought up by James L. Brooks as a reference to Hoffman and his character’s Jewishness (Semitic – geddit?).
15. Michelle Pfieffer
Character: Mindy Simmons, Homer’s would-be soulmate
Episode: 'The Last Temptation Of Homer', Season 5 ('93-'94)
Despite being initially nervous, Pfeiffer was a big hit with the Simpsons’ crew when she came in to record her part as Homer’s donut-loving co-worker Mindy.
She wasn’t afraid to ditch her glamorous image to really nail the part – to get her dessert-induced drooling noise just right, Pfeiffer went Method - stuffing her mouth full of water and broccoli.
Comments
Lindz28
Apr 8th 2009, 11:29
Can you do a South Park list as an companion to this one? I'm thinking Mel Gibson bouncing around smearing poo everywhere!!
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avoidz
Apr 9th 2009, 6:25
Notice how all the great guest star appearances are all in the early- mid-1990's Simpsons episodes?
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Ominater
Apr 10th 2009, 18:13
I reckon Tony Blair should have been on this, in the episode where the Simpsons go to London
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TazzaWazza
Apr 28th 2009, 1:48
@Ominater Tony Blair is not a movie-star, though he was one hell of an actor...oh, a bit controversial there.
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idbjoshm
Jun 19th 2009, 7:34
I'm not sure if I missed it or not, I re read the article. But it is a travesty that Glenn Close wasn't even mentioned as Homer's mother! It's along the same mention as liz taylor as Maggie's voice. Just like Maggie's first word as a milestone, Homer finding out that his mother is alive should at least be mentioned as the top 5.
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stevolbauer
Jul 2nd 2010, 15:18
U2 were by far the best geust stars, they send themselves up terrifically Bono: Hes talking about waste management, that effects the whole damn system The Edge: Here he goes again
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