The Simpsons producers have spoken out to clarify whether or not Mr. Largo was killed off in the debut episode of the show’s 37th season.
Dewey Largo is the longtime music teacher at Springfield Elementary. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and has been a part of the show since the very first episode, 1989’s “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”
He does not appear in the new episode “Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother,” but is referenced in the dialogue. When Lisa Simpson is invited to join the school’s fashion club, she is surprised to learn that they operate out of the school’s music room.
“We took it over when Mr. Largo died,” says a student named Devin, voiced by guest star Cole Escola. When Lisa reacts in shock, he adds: “Or he has jury duty. It was something dumb.”
In an interview with TVLine, co-executive producers Cesar Mazariegos and Jessica Conrad made it clear that the line was intended as a joke.
Conrad, who wrote the line, said she hadn’t intend to rile up fans of the show. “For something like this, I would welcome the riling up if you actually believe that [we] would kill him off off-camera,” she said.
Mazariegos added: “When we killed off Larry the Barfly last year, that was a big discussion. ‘How do we do it? Should it be that guy, or should it be trucker hat guy?’ Anything that’s that big, where there’s a whole episode about it, we for sure think about it.
“But we usually don’t want to get rid of our characters. And it’s such a cartoony world. We know even if Moleman is in a car that explodes, it doesn’t mean he’s dead forever.”
Last year, another of the show’s co-executive producer Tim Long said he was “sorry if some fans are upset” by the death of long-running character Larry the Barfly.
Larry Dalrymple was killed off during the episode “Cremains of the Day.” He died as he lived, on a stool at Moe’s Tavern.
“I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted,” wrote Long.
“To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires.
“To me, it’s sort of fitting that some fans are taking Larry’s demise as hard as Homer and his friends do. It’s just a measure of how much the show still means to people. I mean, nobody would have been upset if the Flintstones had killed off the Great Gazoo. If anything, they would have been thrilled.”
Long concluded: “What I think is bittersweet about this episode is that it took Larry’s death to make Homer and his friends appreciate him – and each other.
“Again, we’re sorry if anyone is upset about Larry’s demise – we certainly didn’t kill the character off lightly. But I also have to point out that Larry was never really one of the show’s breakout stars. I don’t remember any kids wearing a ‘Larry’ t-shirt, or doing a ‘Larry the drunk lonely barfly’ dance. It would have been cool if they had.”
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