[ The Real Stars Of The Simpsons: Al Jean | Alf Clausen | Dan Castellaneta | David Silverman | Hank Azaria | Harry Shearer | James L. Brooks | Julie Kavner | Matt Groening | Nancy Cartwright | Pamela Hayden | Phil Hartman | Russi Taylor | Tress MacNeille | Yeardley Smith ]

Simpsons Role: Executive Producer, Writer Filmography: [ Producer | Writer ] Biography: Whether you know his name or not, it's very likely that Al Jean has tickled your funny bone on more than one occasion. After a writing stint on the popular sitcom "ALF," and serving as a producer for Showtime's acclaimed series "It's Garry Shandling's Show," Al made a move that would change his life through the 1990's and beyond - Al moved to Springfield. Winner of five Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his work on The Simpsons, Al is responsible for such fan favorite episodes as "Lisa's Pony," "The Way We Was," and "Lisa's Sax," among the myriad of other episodes he's written and produced. An executive producer and the current showrunner for The Simpsons, Al also helped to produce "The Critic," "Teen Angel," and "The PJs" in the 1990's. Date Of Birth (Location): March 28, 1941, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Simpsons Role: Composer Website: AlfClausen.com Filmography: [ Composer ] Biography: Alf Clausen grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota. Despite his musical inclinations (he played piano, was a French hornist in his school band, and sang in his school choir) he enrolled at North Dakota State University majoring in mechanical engineering. One summer, he traveled to New York City to visit his cousin - a professional pianist in Manhattan. It was there that Alf decided that he was destined for the musical life. Upon his return to North Dakota, he switched his major to music theory and would eventually head off to Berklee College in Boston for more in-depth music studies. He taught at Berklee for a year after his graduation, then moved to Los Angeles where he found work as a bassist, copyist, teacher, arranger, and a ghost composer (for Las Vegas night-club acts, commercial jingles, and the likes). An emergency call from a friend landed Alf his first work for "Donny and Marie," and from there the doors started slowly opening up. Today, of course, Alf is the series composer for The Simpsons. Simpsons creator, Matt Groening refers to him as "our secret weapon" and, unquestionably, his contributions to the show are too numerous to mention. The show provides him the opportunity to score realistic drama, overblown comedy, gritty urban jazz, Broadway-worthy show tunes, and some of the most clever and loving parodies of cheap-o television news themes, '70s action music, and feature film scores ever done. Alf delivers in spades, always bringing his trademark stylistic verve and technical precision. He has proved beyond a doubt that television scoring is not the vast wasteland it is often purported to be and that an intelligent composer can take even the most demanding shows and elevate them to new heights. Date Of Birth (Location): 1958, Chicago, Illinois, USA Spouse: Deb Lacusta Voices He Does: Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Freddy Quimby, Hans Moleman, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Arnie Pie, Kodos, Scott Christian, Louie, Luigi the Italian Chef, Poochie, and Gil Filmography: [ Actor | Writer | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: A 1975 graduate of Oak Park High School, Dan Castellaneta was honored with Emmy Awards in 1992 and 1993 as the voice of Homer Simpson and many others on The Simpsons. At first, for the voice of Homer, Dan tried to imitate Walter Matthau, but he had trouble with certain emotional registers and intonations with the voice, so he slightly changed the present voice of Homer beginning at the beginning of the second season of The Simpsons. In addition, his voice characterization of Krusty the Clown on was based on Chicago television legend Bob Bell who portrayed WGN-TV's Bozo from 1960-1984. His tremendous voice-over talent has given life to Genie in the successful animated television series "Aladdin," based on the hit movie, as well as the second sequel, "Return of Jaffar." Castellaneta's television films include the Emmy Award-winning "Hand in the Glove" and the remake of Disney's "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes." On stage, Castellaneta performed for four years with the famous Chicago Improvisational group The Second City. Classical stage credits include "Taming of the Shrew," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Macbeth." In 1991, he played the offbeat underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor" in Los Angeles. In 1992 and 1993 he performed with his wife, Deb Lacusta, in "Deb and Dan's Show" at different clubs in Santa Monica. He won a Drama League Award for his performance in "Tom and Jerry" as part of the Met Theater's 1994 One Act Festival. His feature film work includes "Nothing in Common," "K9," "War of the Roses," "Space Jam," "Forget Paris," and "My Giant." Recently, Dan starred in his one man play entitled "Where Did Vincent Van Gogh?" and has written Simpsons episodes such as "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" (co-written with his wife) and "Gump Roast." Date Of Birth (Location): March 15, 1957, New York, New York, USA Simpsons Role: Former Producer & Animation Director Filmography: [ Writer | Producer | Director | Actor ] Biography: A former writer for TV shows such as "The Jeffersons" and "Newhart," David Silverman was there for the very beginning of The Simpsons. He was one of two directors working on the show during its stint as a series of animated shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show," and continued on with the series once it went on to episodic television. Silverman was also responsible for the original transition between Matt Groening’s original version of the family to a standardized, model-sheet version that all animators could work from. He remained with the show for ten years, finally leaving in 1996 to take his talent elsewhere. A brief stint at DreamWorks soon led him to Pixar, best known for their computer animated features such as "Toy Story." He recently co-directed 2001's smash-hit, "Monsters Inc." Date Of Birth (Location): April 25, 1964, Forest Hills, New York, USA Voices He Does: Apu, Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Lou, Carl, Dr. Nick Riviera, Snake, Kirk Van Houten, Captain McCallister, Bumblebee Man, Superintendent Chalmers, Professor Frink, Cletus, Akira, Disco Stu, Drederick Tatum, Gabbo, and Frank Grimes Filmography: [ Actor | Producer | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Without a doubt, Hank Azaria has become the most visible cast member outside of the show with his large roles in "Along Came Polly," "The Birdcage," and "Tuesdays with Morrie" alongside the late Jack Lemmon. Hank was even once a regular along with fellow Simpsons cast member Yeardley Smith on "Herman's Head" (In fact, it was an episode in which their characters' slept together that supposedly turned off viewers). Hank trained at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and played the title role in a production of "Hamlet" at Columbia University. He continued his theater studies at Tufts University, where he appeared in productions of such plays as "Uncle Vanya," "The Merchant of Venice," "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" and "The Dumb Waiter." He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where he further honed his skills under the direction of Roy London. He experimented in improvisation and sketch comedy, becoming a favorite at local comedy clubs, and won a DramaLogue Award for his work in the play "Conspicuous Consumption." After his big break with his Emmy award-winning roles in The Simpsons, Hank starred in a NBC comedy entitled "Imagine That" which debuted in January of 2002. Also, Hank was recently married to actress Helen Hunt but they parted ways in December of 2000. Date Of Birth (Location): December 23, 1943, Los Angeles, California, USA Spouse: Judith Owen Website: HarryShearer.com Voices He Does: Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Otto, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Julius Hibbert, Kent Brockman, Jasper, Lenny, Eddie, Rainier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Kang, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Dr. Pryor, Herman, Jebediah Springfield, and Birch Barlow Filmography: [ Actor | Writer | Composer | Director | Producer | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: California native Harry Shearer was one of the busier child actors of the 1950's. He appeared in such films as "The Robe" (1953) (as the boy David) and "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" (1953); he could be heard on such radio programs as "Suspense," "Lux Radio Theatre" and "The Jack Benny Show"; and among his many TV guest roles was the character who would evolve into Eddie Haskell in the 1955 "Leave It to Beaver" pilot. After attending UCLA, Shearer flourished as a standup comedian and comedy writer. He was frequently employed on the writing staff for such TV laughspinners as "Laverne and Shirley" and "America 2Night"; he also worked both sides of the camera in the 1984 rockumentary parody "This is Spinal Tap," costarring as rock idol Harry Smalls and cowriting the script with director Rob Reiner and fellow cast members Christopher Guest and Michael McKean. In league with another top satirist, Albert Brooks, Shearer concocted the screenplay for another faux documentary, 1979's "Real Lampoon." During the 1984-85 TV season, Shearer joined the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." After supplying his voice to The Simpsons, he has hosted and cowritten a weekly syndicated radio comedy potpourri, Le Show, since 1992. Date Of Birth (Location): May 9, 1940, North Bergen, New Jersey, USA Spouse: Holly Beth Holmberg Simpsons Role: Executive Producer Filmography: [ Producer | Writer | Director | Actor ] Biography: One of the few producer/director/writers to handle both movie and TV assignments with equal success, James L. Brooks was born in New Jersey and spent his college years in New York City. The creator (or co-creator) of hit TV shows "Room 222" (1969-74), "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-77), and "Taxi" (1978-83), the multi-talented Brooks made his feature-film debut writing, producing, and directing "Terms of Endearment" (1983), which won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay - not a bad way to start a film career. His long suit is character delineation (possibly a by-product of his extensive work in episodic TV), which was amply demonstrated in his handling of the three principal, sympathetic but not totally likable characters of "Broadcast News" (1987), Oscar nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. It wasn't until 1994 that he wrote and directed another feature: "I'll Do Anything." Not that he hasn't been busy; his company produced "The Tracey Ullman Show" and its wildly successful animated spinoff, "The Simpsons," among others. Brooks also produced "Big" (1988), "Jerry Maguire" (1996), and in 1997 he had a major success with the Jack Nicholson/Helen Hunt vehicle "As Good As It Gets," a sentimental comedy that provided both Hunt and Nicholson best acting kudos from the Oscars and Golden Globe ceremonies. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Picture. James L. Brooks was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1997. Date Of Birth (Location): September 7, 1951, Los Angeles, California, USA Voices She Does: Marge Simpson, Patty, Selma, Jacqueline Bouvier, and Aunt Gladys Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Kavner's distinctive voice, described by one writer as "creaking like a gate hinge in need of oiling," gives the impression of a veteran New Yorker, but in fact Kavner was born and raised in southern California. She made her acting debut as Valerie Harper's kid sister on the popular TV sitcom "Rhoda" (1974-78), winning an Emmy for her work, but after the show's demise she fell out of the public eye. (Her movie debut, in 1981's "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies" went unseen when that film was shelved.) Then Woody Allen gave her a juicy part in "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), and she became part of his repertory company, blossoming in "Radio Days" (1987) and winning Woody onscreen, in "New York Stories" (1989). She also appeared in smaller roles for him in "Alice" (1990) and "Shadows and Fog" (1992). Her other credits include "Bad Medicine" (1985), "Surrende"r (1987), "Awakenings" (1990, a warm performance as doctor Robin Williams' faithful nurse), and her first starring role, "This Is My Life" (1992, playing a hard-working single mom who finds fulfillment as a standup comic). She displayed her versatility in a variety of roles on "The Tracey Ullman Show" (1987-90) and is the voice of mother Marge Simpson on The Simpsons, which began as a segment on the Ullman series. Recent credits include "I'll Do Anything" (1994). Full Name: Matthew Abram Groening Date Of Birth (Location): February 15, 1954, Portland, Oregon, USA Spouse: Deborah Caplan. They have two sons. Simpsons Role: Creator, Writer, Executive Producer Filmography: [ Actor | Producer | Writer | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Best known as creator and executive producer of The Simpsons, the son of Homer and Margaret Groening made television history by bringing animation back to prime time and creating an immortal nuclear family. Originally brought to life in 1987 for FOX's Emmy Award-winning series "The Tracey Ullman Show," The Simpsons was Matt Groening's introduction into the animation world. The program remains one of the FOX network's highest-rated shows and currently airs in over 100 countries around the world. Groening is also well known for his weekly "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of life's daily preoccupations that debuted in 1977 and currently appears in more than 200 newspapers around the world. In addition to producing his weekly strip, maintaining the production demands of The Simpsons, overseeing all aspects of Simpsons licensing and merchandising, as well as serving as publisher of Bongo Comics Group, Groening was the creator and executive producer of the FOX series "Futurama," an animated look into the 30th century. "Futurama" aired on FOX from 1999 to 2003. Matt Groening, a native of Portland, Ore., resides in Los Angeles. Date Of Birth: 1959 Spouse: Wareen 'Murph' Murphy. They have two children: Lucy Mae and Jackson. Website: The Nancy Show Autobiography: "My Life as a Ten Year Old Boy" Voices She Does: Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Kearney, and Database Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Emmy Award-winning actress and voice-over artist, Nancy Cartwright, has been making waves in the entertainment community since the age of 12. Best known as the spiky-headed, yellow-skinned 10 year-old, Bart Simpson, Nancy continues to cultivate her talents on-stage and on-camera as well as voicing many popular characters in animation. After moving to Los Angeles and enrolling in UCLA, she began studying with Daws Butler, the legendary voice of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and others. Nancy herself has voiced hundreds of characters in such favorites as "Richie Rich," "Pound Puppies," "My Little Pony," "Glo-Friends," "Animaniacs," "The Pink Panther," "Pinky and The Brain," "The Critic," and "Toonsylvania." While establishing herself as a voice-over professional, Nancy balanced it with an on-camera career. Some more memorable roles include, those on "Fame," "Marian Rose White," "Empty Nest," "Cheers," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Flesh and Blood," "A Tangled Web" and "Suddenly." After receiving numerous rave reviews, Nancy received the prestigious "Drama-Logue Award" for her performance in her one-woman play, "In Search of Fellini." The play has been adapted to the screen under her "Happy House Productions," banner and is, along with several other projects, in various stages of development. Nancy was also seen in Tri-Star's production of "Godzilla," starring Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria. In addition to her quarterly newsletter, The Nancy News, you can find out more about Nancy on her own web site - thenancyshow.com. Never one to sit in the wings... Nancy is anything but an underachiever. Height: 5'4" Voices She Does: Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders, Jimbo Jones, Janey Powell, Malibu Stacy, Tattoo Annie, and Sarah Wiggum Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Most recognized for voicing Milhouse on our favorite television show, she has performed live stage shows with the cast of The Simpsons at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colorado, at the Edinburgh Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and at Playhouse Theatre in London, England. Pamela has a varied background performing in theatre, television, film, and voice-overs. Feature film work includes the lead role in the independent feature "Bring Me Your Love"; Television credits include appearances in "Television's Funniest Women: A Museum of Television and Radio Tribute," "A Family of Winners," the PBS Special entitled "Blinded," and FOX's "Schimmel." Pamela has performed stand-up in various Los Angeles nightclubs and USO shows. She recently acquired the film and TV rights to Yehudah Fines book, "The Times Square Rabbi." Stage credits include the role of Ann in "Amos & Ann" in which she received an L.A. Weekly Drama Award; the role of Roberta in "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," among others. Her autobiographical dramedy, "Send Chocolate & Marlboros," is Pamela's foray into solo work. Date Of Birth (Location): September 24, 1948, Branford, Ontario, Canada Died: May 28, 1998 Voices He Did: Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz, Lyle Lanley, and Evan Conover Filmography: [ Actor | Writer | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Philip Edward Hartmann was born on September 24, 1948 in Brantford, Ontario. He was born "Hartmann" but later dropped the second "n". As the son of Rupert and Doris Hartmann, Phil was a very caring and sensitive person and was described as "very sweet and kind of quiet." Although he was born in Canada, the family left when Phil was young and he spent the majority of his childhood in Connecticut and Southern California. He originally studied Graphic Design at California State University and designed album covers for such bands as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. In 1975, Phil joined the comedy troupe The Groundlings in California, and realized that he had a knack for comedy. The Groundlings is where he met Paul Reubens, who became a best friend throughout his entire career. Together, they created the character, "Pee Wee Herman." Phil also met friend Jon Lovitz while with The Groundlings. In 1986, Phil joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" and became an instant favorite. He was on the show for 8 seasons, which was the record he and Kevin Nealon shared until Tim Meadows broke it with 9. In 1995, Phil left SNL and went to star in the critically acclaimed show, "Newsradio". He portrayed the cocky, arrogant, radio host, Bill McNeal. Phil also did movies such as "Houseguest", "Jingle All The Way", "Greedy" and "Small Soldiers." Phil died on May 28th, 1998 in his Encino, California home. He was shot by his wife, Brynn Hartman, who then shot herself later that morning. They leave behind two children, Sean Edward (who was 9 when Phil died) and Birgen (who was 6). His ashes were spread upon Catalina Island, just off the coast off California, which was Phil's favorite vacation spot. Phil Hartman is and always will be missed by his fans, his friends, and everyone he touched. Spouse: Wayne Allwine Voices She Does: Martin Prince, Uter, Sherri, Terri, Lewis, and Wendell Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Russi has voiced characters in many Saturday morning cartoon shows, such as "The Smurfs," "Muppet Babies," "My Little Pony," and "DuckTales." Her voice has also shown up in movies, such as "Babe" and "A Bug's Life." Her husband is Wayne Allwine, who has been the voice of Disney's Mickey Mouse since 1983 (pictured with Russi). Coincidentally enough, Russi Taylor is the current voice of Minnie Mouse. Place Of Birth: California Voices She Does: Dolph, Sunday School Teacher, Brandine, Agnes Skinner, Gavin, Billy, Manjula's Mother, Spud, Cat Lady, Nelson's Mother, Nana Van Houten, Barbara Bush Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Tress MacNeille is one of the most talented women in the voice-over industry to date. Her versatile talent has done the voices of Dot Warner from "Animaniacs," Babs Bunny from "Tiny Toon Adventures" to being a featured singer in the Weird "Al" Yankovic song "Ricky", she has also appeared in a small part in the full-length motion picture "Elvira Mistress of the Dark". Tress was nominated for the 1995 Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in the Field of Animation for Dot Warner and the 1997 Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female in a Television Production for Debbie Douglas in "Freakazoid". Full Name: Martha Maria Yeardley Smith Date Of Birth : July 3, 1964 Spouse: Married actor Christopher Grove in 1990. They got divorced in 1992. Fan Club: Yeardley Smith Fan Club Voice She Does: Lisa Simpson Filmography: [ Actress | TV Guest Appearances ] Biography: Yeardley Smith is one of those actors whose voice and presence are so distinctive that with luck and talent they can work forever peppering up scenes, playing solid supporting roles and bouncing from medium to medium, always a pleasure for the audience to see. Short, moon-faced and possessing a voice that sounds as if a little girl has been eating ice cubes, Smith garnered fame as Lisa, Bart's younger sister, on The Simpsons, a role she first created when the cartoon family appeared as animated segments on "The Tracey Ullman Show." Along with five other cast members, she received a 1992 Emmy Award for voice-over performance. Smith also lent her vivacious presence before the camera as the emotions-on-her-sleeve office assistant Louise Fitzer on sitcom "Herman's Head" (Fox, 1991-94). Smith began her career at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and by 1984, was appearing in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's award-winning "The Real Thing". That same year, she made her TV debut in "Mom's On Strike" (ABC) and soon began appearing in episodics, including several of the syndicated "The New Gidget". On the big screen, Smith played a friend's kid sister who joins Helen Slater and Christian Slater in a crime spree in "The Legend of Billie Jean" (1985). She was a rival debate team member attempting to top Kirk Cameron and Jamie Gertz in "Listen to Me" (1989), and had one particularly memorable scene in "City Slickers" (1991), as a supermarket check-out clerk who interrupts a birthday party to tell Daniel Stern she may be pregnant with his baby. Smith further went on to co-star as a researcher in "Toys" (1992) and had a featured role in the romantic comedy "Just Write" (1997).