Who's Dying on The Simpsons?

This past week, The Simpsons let out a doozy of a spoiler/teaser: one of the characters will die in either the current or the following season.

This is the sort of spoiler I can get behind, though I hope they don’t pinpoint the exact episode (they will, but a guy can dream, can’t he?).  It’s so open-ended, and it invites fans to speculate.  The only clue we have received was that the actor playing the character won an Emmy for the role.  Though some in the media have mocked this clue, it corners it down somewhat.  Let’s take a look!

Major Simpsons Actors Who Don’t Have Emmys

There are five major actors on The Simpsons who have never won an Emmy for the series.  They are:

Harry Shearer: Shearer’s lack of an Emmy is one of the greatest travesties of the voiceover category.  I’d go so far as to say that he’s probably the best voice actor on the show.  With his characters out of the running, that means that (amongst a myriad of others) Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Mr. Smithers, Ned Flanders, Dr. Hibbert, Otto, and Reverend Lovejoy shall live to see another day.

Pamela Hayden: Her primary vocal work on the show is voicing Milhouse van Houten, but with her lack of an Emmy Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, and Sarah Wiggum all get a reprieve as well.

Tress MacNeille: MacNeille voices the majority of the female characters on the series.  Agnes Skinner (one of the older characters on the show) is her most utilized, but she also does the voice of Cookie Kwan, Brandine Spuckler, and Dolph.

Maggie Roswell: Roswell was unlikely to experience a death for one of her characters to begin with considering that she had to endure the death of one of her major characters already (Maude Flanders).  Roswell’s living characters include Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten, and Miss Hoover.

Russi Taylor: Probably better known for being the voice of Minnie Mouse for the past 27 years, Taylor also has played several roles on The Simpsons, including Martin Prince and Uter.

The Unlikely (but Still Emmy-Winning) Candidates

Anne Hathaway: Before she was picking up the Oscar for Les Miz, Anne Hathaway was a surprise Emmy winner for her voice work as Penelope on The Simpsons in 2010.  Penelope was a one-time character, though, and this seems like quite a copout considering the fact that they made a big deal of the death to the media.

Yeardley Smith: In 1992, six voice actors on The Simpsons picked up an Emmy, including Smith, who won specifically for playing Lisa Simpson.  Her death seems unlikely for two reasons.  One, I doubt pretty severely that any children or any of the main five characters will pass away, even if the show is headed to an eventual end soon.  And two, Smith does occasional voice work, but has no other major characters, and I doubt that they’ll cut her from the cast all-together.

Marcia Wallace: Wallace was one of the other six actors to win in 1992, and is principally known for her work as Edna Krabappel on the series (the character she won for).  Like Smith, I doubt they’d cut the legendary actress (best known to live-action audiences as Bob Newhart’s receptionist on The Bob Newhart Show), particularly since this would make Ned a widower for the second time.

Jackie Mason: Mason only voices one character on the show and won for that character in 1992, Krusty’s father Rabbi Hyman Krustofski.  Mason has only appeared in three episodes of the series, and like Hathaway, this would be a major copout by the producers.

Nancy Cartwright: The fourth of our 1992 winners, Cartwright won for playing Bart Simpson, and like I said with Smith’s write-up, I’m very skeptical that they would kill off one of the five main characters.

The True (Emmy-Winning) Contenders

Hank Azaria: Azaria is one of only two actors on the show that has A) won more than one Emmy and B) won an Emmy for “various characters.”  This likely means that all of Azaria’s plentiful characters are in the hot seat.  Azaria’s key characters are Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, and Professor Frink.  Of these, Moe is frequently trying to commit suicide, but that seems fairly morbid for this series.  Apu is probably the most likely of the bunch, though that also seems quite morbid considering he has eight children and a wife (though he frequently has stickups at the Kwik-E-Mart, so who knows).

Dan Castellaneta: Castellaneta has won four Emmy Awards (more than any other actor on the show) during The Simpsons run, and though he’s most well-known for voicing Homer Simpson (d’oh!), he also voices Krusty, Barney, and perhaps most pertinent to this discussion Abe Simpson (Mona Simpson has died-could Homer’s father be next?)

Julie Kavner: Kavner is the last of the six winners in 1992, and won for four specific characters: Marge, Patty, Selma, and Jacqueline, their mother.  While Marge is surely out, and Jacqueline is a relatively minor character and a bit of a copout, Patty or Selma both have potential as the one who bites the dust.  I hate to see how Homer reacts at that funeral…

Kelsey Grammer: Honestly, Grammer’s Sideshow Bob is the first character I thought of when it was announced that the character won the actor an Emmy.  Grammer picked up his well-deserved trophy in 2006 for his hilarious work as the “evil” Sideshow Bob, and him going out in a blaze of glory seems like a wonderful way to end that successful story arch.

Those are my thoughts, but how about yours?  Who do you think is the most likely character to die on The Simpsons?  Any super annoying character that you’re hoping for?  Share in the comments!