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The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writers originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town of Springfield, where the series primarily takes place. A number of these characters have gained expanded roles and have subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to the creator of ''The Simpsons'', Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show ''Second City Television''.

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Agnes Skinner

Agnes Skinner (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is the mother of Principal Skinner and first appears in the first season episode " The Crepes of Wrath" as an old woman who embarrassingly calls her son "Spanky". However, as episodes progress, the character turns bitter.''The Simpsons'' episode " The Crepes of Wrath" She is very controlling of her son and often treats him as if he is a child. She hates Edna Krabappel due to her son's feelings for the other woman.''The Simpsons'' episode " Special Edna" Agnes has been married four times.''The Simpsons'' episode "Midnight Towboy"

Declan Desmond

Declan Desmond (voiced by Eric Idle) is an odd and skeptical English documentary filmmaker who has directed several films, including ''Do You Want Lies with That?'', ''American Boneheads: A Day In The Life Of Springfield Elementary'', ''Growing Up Springfield'', ''Ain't No Mountain: A Blind Man Climbs Everest'', and ''The Spy Who Learned Me''. ''Growing Up Springfield'' is his most notable documentary. It follows the lives of the inhabitants of Springfield, starting when they were in third grade and continuing every eight years. Desmond appeared in the episodes 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" and " Fat Man and Little Boy" and his ''Growing Up Springfield'' series were featured in the episode " Springfield Up".

The Desmond character appears to be loosely based on British director Michael Apted, who is known for his ''Up'' Series of documentaries following groups of individuals as they age.

Dewey Largo

Dewey Largo (voiced by Harry Shearer) is the music teacher, whom Lisa credited with proving that any piece of music could have the soul sucked out of it. Like most of the staff of Springfield Elementary, Largo has long since lost all passion for his job as conductor, and cares little for creativity or music anymore. He is always seen in the opening sequence, teaching his class and throwing Lisa out of his band class when she plays a tune on her saxophone. His last name, '' Largo'', is also an Italian word for a slow, broad, musical tempo, likely a reference to the fact that he can make any piece of music uninteresting. He is a lover of the music of John Philip Sousa, and is incredulous when Lisa suggests the school band plays something different. However, he does seem to have some appreciation for Lisa's musical talent, as shown when he advises his replacement to "just teach the one with the starfish head, and you'll be okay".

He has not played a large role in the series, but was originally intended to be an uptight foil for Lisa and her non-conformist ways. After the first few seasons, Mr. Largo was rarely seen. However, he has since resurfaced as a recurring character in the seventeenth season, making appearances in several episodes after. In the episode "Homer's Paternity Coot", it is revealed that Largo was accepted to the Juilliard School, but never got the letter as it was frozen atop Mount Springfield. He ended up at Springfield Elementary instead. In season 22's Elementary School Musical, after attending a performing arts camp, Lisa is warned by Mr Largo that he also attended one as a child, and that they just "fill your head with sugarcandy dreams that can't come true." A recurring gag since the 17th-season episode "See Homer Run", are allusions that Largo is gay. The 22nd-season episode " Flaming Moe" confirmed that Largo is gay and in a relationship with an older man, also named Dewey. In " Eeny Teeny Maya Moe", Dr. Nick mistakenly makes Mr Largo shorter, instead of Moe. It is implied Dr. Nick was about to give Moe the sex-change operation that was originally meant for Largo, as he is heard to cry: "I look nothing like Julie Newmar!". ''My Fair Laddy'' reveals that he is considered the second least important employee of the school after Willie, as he is demoted to groundskeeper after Willie leaves.

Disco Stu

Disco Stu, real name Stuart Discothèque''The Simpsons'' episode "Homer Scissorhands" (voiced by Hank Azaria), is a man who is mentally stuck in the disco era.''The Simpsons'' episode " Two Bad Neighbors" He is normally featured wearing a rhinestone-encrusted leisure suit. Stu was introduced as the punchline to a joke in " Two Bad Neighbors". In a rummage sale, Homer attempts to sell a jacket on which he had once tried to write "Disco Stud" in rhinestones, but having made the letters too big he did not have room for the final "d". After Marge remarks that nobody would ever want to buy a jacket that read "Disco Stu", another customer recommends it to Stu, but Stu replies, "Disco Stu doesn't advertise."

Stu's speech pattern is similar to that of Duffman, also voiced by Hank Azaria; he speaks in the third person, often referring to himself as "Disco Stu" (emphasizing "Stu" and then pausing before saying anything else; whatever follows usually rhymes with "Stu"). According to "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", Stu actually is aware disco is dead, does not like disco music at all, and worries that his personality may make him a "one-note guy". He got an annulment from Pope John Paul II after a brief marriage to Selma Bouvier.''The Simpsons'' episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"''The Simpsons'' episode "How I Wet Your Mother" In "How I Wet Your Mother", Professor Frink creates a device that allows people to enter the dreams of others. He stated he had already used the device "To cure another Springfielder of his particular obsession" at which point Stu walks into the frame in khakis and a collared shirt saying, "Normal Stu likes normal things." In "Homer Scissorhands", Stu is seen attending a ball alone, saying his girlfriend is not feeling well. She is then seen arriving arm-in-arm with Krusty the Clown. In the episode " Springfield Up", it is revealed that in his younger years, he had a budding career as a sea captain, going by the name of "Nautical Stu", and only finds the joy of disco music when Marge puts some on while taking his picture for his captain's license.

Show runner Bill Oakley described the original Disco Stu as "an old, wrinkly John Travolta". Stu was originally to be voiced by repeat guest star Phil Hartman. However, when the animators remodeled the character, Hartman was not available to dub the voice and so Hank Azaria took over the role. Out of 25, IGN named Stu the 24th top peripheral character in ''The Simpsons''.

Doctor Colossus

Doctor Hector von Colossus (voiced by Hank Azaria) is a supervillain and mad scientist who resides in Springfield. He has light blue skin and wears a white laboratory coat, gloves and goggles. Doctor Colossus is a minor character and usually only appears in the background.

The character first appeared in the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" as one of Stacy Lovell's ex-husbands.

In '' Simpsons Comics'', Doctor Colossus is the archenemy of Professor Frink. His full name was revealed in the Bart Simpson comic series.

Dolph Shapiro

Dolph Shapiro, formerly known as Dolph Starbeam (voiced by Tress MacNeille in most appearances, Pamela Hayden in "The Telltale Head") is a bully and student at Springfield Elementary School who is one of Jimbo Jones' friends. Dolph is recognized by his asymmetrical haircut which covers one eye; he wears cutoff shorts and basketball shoes. He is a 14-year-old. In a later episode, it is revealed that he is Jewish, and goes to Hebrew School after elementary school, wherein he is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, which is typically a very important event in Jewish boys' and girls' lives at age 13, not 14. It is not revealed if he and his family are members of the same Synagogue as Krusty and his Rabbi father Herschel, but it could be inferred that they are since there do not appear to be other Synagogues in Springfield.

Drederick Tatum

Drederick Tatum (voiced by Hank Azaria in seasons 2–31; Jay Pharoah in season 33-present) has appeared in several episodes. He is a professional boxer and the reigning world heavyweight boxing champion. He features prominently in the episode "The Homer They Fall", in which Homer takes up boxing and is lined up as an opponent for Tatum, soon to be released from prison. The fight proves one-sided, and Homer is rescued by Moe just as he is about to be knocked unconscious by Tatum. Tatum grew up in Springfield, but in "Flaming Moe's" he calls the city "a dump" and says "if you ever see me back there, you know I really leeped expletiveup bad."

The 1984 Olympic gold medalist, he first became world champion after defeating Watson in the heavily promoted "Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out", a fight Homer and his friends watched on his illegal cable hookup. He was so feared inside prison, he could stop riots just by telling the rioters to "shut up". Tatum also appears in "Bye Bye Nerdie", in which Lisa swabs him with nerd sweat, which forces Nelson Muntz to involuntarily get up and start punching Tatum and give him a wedgie, to little effect. A sobbing Nelson tries to apologize but Tatum rolls up his sleeves and declares "you leave me little recourse".

Tatum is a parody of Mike Tyson, with a high-pitched lisping voice, a menacing demeanor, a criminal record, financial problems, and a tendency to make pseudo-intellectual comments like "I insist that you desist" and "your behavior is unconscionable”, and in one episode, "Highway to Well", he has a tattoo on his face resembling that of Tyson. He also has an unscrupulous manager named Lucius Sweet who closely resembles Tyson's promoter and manager Don King. Indeed in "The Homer They Fall", Homer notes that Sweet "is as rich and famous as Don King, and looks just like him". King and Tyson were asked to appear in the episode, but declined. Paul Winfield, who played King in a 1995 Tyson biopic, took the role instead. Another episode shows him in the role of a shoe company endorser who is extremely candid when he describes the shoes as "butt-ugly" and follows up stating "My forthrightness is my undoing".

Dr. Nick

Nicholas Riviera, M.D. (voiced by Hank Azaria), usually referred to as Dr. Nick, is an inept physician. Upon entering a scene, Dr. Nick's catchphrase is "Hi, everybody!", with the characters present responding "Hi, Dr. Nick!". He frequently appears on infomercials, pitching all sorts of bizarre medical offers or endorsing dubious devices, and often turns his operations into TV spectacles. He is also shown as an inventor/huckster on the television show ''I Can't Believe They Invented It!'' The design of Dr. Nick is modeled physically on Gábor Csupó, the co-founder of Klasky Csupo animation studios (which animated the series for its first three seasons and ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' shorts). The animators mistakenly believed that Hank Azaria was impersonating Csupó, when in fact he was doing an impression of Ricky Ricardo from the TV series '' I Love Lucy''. He is named after George C. Nichopoulos, a former physician best known for overprescribing prescription drugs to Elvis Presley and contributing to his death from cardiac arrest in 1977. IGN placed Dr. Nick 23rd on their list of the "Top 25 ''Simpsons'' Peripheral Characters". The character was listed in ''Entertainment Weekly'' "30 Great TV Doctors and Nurses" and in ''Philadelphia Magazine'' "10 Best Doctors on Television". In a tongue-in-cheek analysis, the ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'' (''CMAJ'') compared the services of Riviera and Dr. Hibbert. It concluded that Riviera was a better role model for physicians.

Duffman

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Eddie

Edward "Eddie" (voiced by Harry Shearer) is one of the Springfield police officers. He first appeared in the first season episode " There's No Disgrace Like Home".Jean, Al (2001). Commentary for " There's No Disgrace Like Home", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete First Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Like Lou, he does not have a surname.

In " Bart vs. Thanksgiving", Eddie was animated to Lou's voice and Lou was animated to Eddie's.Vitti, Jon (2002). Commentary for " Bart vs. Thanksgiving", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season'' VD 20th Century Fox.

Edna Krabappel

Elizabeth Hoover

Elizabeth Hoover (voiced by Maggie Roswell, understudied by Marcia Mitzman Gaven) is a second grade teacher at Springfield Elementary. In early episodes, Miss Hoover seemed proud to have a student as bright as Lisa in her class. However, in later seasons it seems she has been worn down by her years in the public school system and, in "Lisa Gets an 'A', implies that she frequently drinks during lunch.

In the episode "Lisa's Substitute", she thought she had lyme disease. She is very apathetic and bored with her job. She is often seen smoking even while teaching, once even under a "No Smoking" sign in the assembly hall. Her desperate attempts to regain her stability include rushing out of class to recite "Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean" with her eyes closed, getting into her car and driving off on two occasions, and even letting Ralph teach the class after she was granted tenure and therefore free to do almost anything she wants.

Marcia Mitzman Gaven was the understudy voice for Elizabeth Hoover when Maggie Roswell was involved in a pay dispute.

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Fallout Boy

In the series, Fallout Boy (alternatively voiced by Dan Castellaneta and Harry Shearer) first appears in a 1950s '' Radioactive Man'' serial film shown at a comic book convention in the episode " Three Men and a Comic Book". However, unlike many ''Simpsons'' characters, he has only made a handful of appearances since. While Radioactive Man is a broad parody of many superheroes, most obviously containing elements of Batman and Superman (and the comic incorporates an origin story similar to Marvel's Hulk), among others, Fallout Boy is mainly a parody of Robin (with his costume, references as being the 'young ward' of Radioactive Man, and his younger age and sidekick status) with elements of Spider-Man (his fictional comic book origin, for example). His catchphrase is "Jiminy Jillickers!"

Fallout Boy also appears in a real-life comic book titled ''Radioactive Man'', published by Bongo Comics (a comic created in part by Matt Groening, the creator of ''The Simpsons''). In these comic books, Fallout Boy's real name is Rod Runtledge, he has a brother named Dodd. They live in Zenith City. Rod is a high school nerd living with his aunt, Aunt June. Fallout Boy was an average book worm, until one day, he was at a Radioactive demonstration, where he met up with Claude Kane. A tall piece of machinery fell towards them. Claude grabbed Rod and jumped over the rail, Claude holding onto the machine. The machine came to life, and as the ray passed through Claude, who became Radioactive Man, it hit Rod. Rod then got a pint-sized version of Radioactive Man's powers and became Fallout Boy.

In the episode " Radioactive Man", Milhouse was chosen over Bart to play Fallout Boy in the Radioactive Man movie to be filmed in Springfield.

The rock band Fall Out Boy took their name from this character.

Fat Tony

Francesca Terwilliger

Francesca Terwilliger (voiced by Maria Grazia Cucinotta in "The Italian Bob", Tress MacNeille in "Funeral for a Friend") is the wife of Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob. She first appears in the season 17 episode "The Italian Bob", when Sideshow Bob moved to Italy to get away from Bart for a fresh start. He became the mayor of a small Tuscan village and married Francesca, with whom he had a son called Gino, although Sideshow Bob never told her, or indeed anyone about his murderous past. However, when the Simpsons visited Italy, Lisa got drunk at a feast and told the whole town of the things he had done. After being thrown out of his village, Bob swore a vendetta against the Simpsons, which Francesca encouraged, saying they brought dishonor to the whole family. She helped her husband try (and fail) to kill them at the Colosseum.

Her second appearance comes in the season 19 episode "Funeral for a Fiend" in which Sideshow Bob fakes his own death in a convoluted plot to kill Bart.

Frank Grimes

Franklin "Frank" A. Grimes, Sr. (voiced by Hank Azaria), occasionally referred to as "Grimey" much to his displeasure, was a 35-year-old everyman and consummate professional who had struggled through a lifetime of hardship. Grimes makes his only canonical appearance in the series in " Homer's Enemy" in which he is a new employee at the power plant. Throughout the episode, Grimes's professionalism is repeatedly contrasted with Homer Simpson's idiocy, gluttony, and laziness, making Grimes increasingly frustrated and angry with Homer. True to the name of the episode, Grimes eventually declares Homer his enemy after his co-worker gets him into serious trouble with his new boss Mr. Burns. After several failed attempts to expose Homer's stupidity and irresponsibility, Grimes makes one final attempt by tricking Homer into entering a nuclear power plant design contest intended for kids. After Homer is declared the winner, Grimes snaps, declaring that he can also be as lazy and moronic as Homer, and should be able to get away with it just as Homer does. As he runs amok through the plant, Grimes, declaring that he does not need safety gloves, grabs two high-voltage wires and is fatally electrocuted. As a final inadvertent insult, Homer sleeps through the funeral and amuses the assembled mourners with his insensitivity, who laugh as Grimes's coffin is lowered. Grimes has been referenced in several later episodes, first in "Natural Born Kissers", where Homer finds an old pamphlet to Grimes's funeral. Years after the episode aired, the show's producers said that Frank Grimes was meant to be a one-time experiment in having a normal, ordinary and realistic person enter the Simpsons' universe; Frank's downfall reflected the fact that a real person could not survive in this kind of world.

In "Treehouse of Horror XII", Grimes is one of the faces on the Wailing Wall. His tombstone appears in "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" and was also kicked by Homer in " My Mother the Carjacker".

His son, Frank Grimes Jr., sought to avenge his father's death by killing Homer in " The Great Louse Detective".

In the non-canon season twenty-eight episode "Treehouse of Horror XXVII", the ghost of Frank Grimes appears as part of Sideshow Bob's army of the Simpsons' enemies. His tombstone can also be seen in the new opening sequence for the show (during the flash through the town from Marge and Maggie in the car to the front of the Simpsons' house, Ralph Wiggum can be seen playing in the dirt in front of the tombstone).

Frankie the Squealer

Frankie the Squealer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is a member of the Mafia and associate of Fat Tony. However, he does not appear to be very useful to his colleagues in criminal activity due to his uncontrollable habit of squealing (he claims that "it makes imfeel big"), even squealing on himself one time. On several occasions, the mob has attempted to kill him for his squealing, though they have repeatedly been unsuccessful. Frankie first appeared in the episode "Insane Clown Poppy" where his squealing habits are introduced after he squeals on himself for squealing.
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Gil Gunderson

Gil Gunderson, a.k.a. Ol' Gil (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), first appeared in the ninth season episode " Realty Bites" as a real estate agent with Lionel Hutz's Red Blazer Realty.Scully, Mike (2006). Commentary for " Realty Bites", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. He is a spoof of actor Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in the 1992 film adaptation of the play ''Glengarry Glen Ross''. (Lemmon himself voiced a character similar to Levene in the eighth season episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson".) Show runner Mike Scully said that the writers thought that Gil would be "a one-shot thing". "Castellaneta was so funny at the table read doing the character hatwe kept making up excuses in subsequent episodes to put him in", Scully said. Writer Dan Greaney said it was a great take-off on Levene to make Gil more desperate than he was. Even so, the writers like to write Gil with "a little bit of the old sparkle" left in him.Greaney, Dan (2006). Commentary for " Realty Bites", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox.

Since the retirement of the character Lionel Hutz (after voice actor Phil Hartman's death), Gil has been working as the Simpsons' lawyer in later episodes, though he has appeared in that role much less frequently than Lionel did (most scenes where one of the Simpsons is in court have either made their attorney an anonymous figure or simply ignored him or her). Gil's work history includes many unsuccessful sales jobs, a position where he committed theft and was busted by the IRS for it, another job where he lost the entire company payroll at a Las Vegas casino, and a 2009 stint when he was hired by the Springfield Police Department after he was able to free Chief Wiggum after he handcuffed himself to his desk. He always gets fired, often for just being incompetent but sometimes out of bad luck (he lost his job as Santa at Costington's when he refused to take back a Malibu Stacey doll, he gave to Lisa so that the CEO's granddaughter could have it, and Marge fires him from her Mother Hubbard's Sandwich Shop for no real reason). His way of selling is disastrous, as he is usually very unconfident, naturally bumbling, and tends to come off as needy, especially as he almost always refers to himself in the third person, as "Ol' Gil". The only time he has been fired for something illegal or on purpose was revealed in the Season 32 episode "Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars", being arrested (and fired) for drug trafficking cocaine. In "Natural Born Kissers" it was mentioned that Gil lives in a balloon, and he is seen in "Rise of the Guardians" noting that he resides in the city's sewer system. In 2006, " Kill Gil, Volumes I & II", the only episode to center on Gil, won a Writers Guild of America Award in the animation category. It is also revealed in ''The Simpsons'' episodes that he is a grandfather now, and is seen with his granddaughter at daycare. In the Season 34 premiere "Habeas Tortoise", Gil and Miss Hoover fall in love and get married.

Gino Terwilliger

Gino Terwilliger (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is Sideshow Bob and his wife Francesca's toddler son. He has the same bizarre hair as his father and his paternal grandmother, as well as the same hatred for Bart Simpson. He first appears in the season 17 episode "The Italian Bob", when Sideshow Bob moved to Italy to start a new life, without anyone knowing, not even his own family, about his murderous history. That is, until Lisa became drunk at a feast and told the whole town everything, even though the Simpson family had promised not to mention anything since Bob fixed their car. The Simpsons flee the town, with Gino and his parents in hot pursuit. When they finally corner the Simpsons at the Colosseum, Gino is seen to be extremely agile and adept with a knife, as well as having a taste for violence; so much so, in fact, that Bob is heard to whisper to Francesca: "I don't want to brag, but he's evil at an eighth-grade level." Unfortunately, for him, they were saved by Krusty, who needed some people to help him smuggle antiquities. Gino makes his second appearance in the season 19 episode "Funeral for a Fiend", where it is mentioned that after leaving Italy, he and his parents toured around London for a while before sneaking into America on a train. He, and all of the other members of Bob's family played a part in a complicated plan to finish off Bart for good. However, they were foiled by Lisa Simpson and were arrested by Chief Wiggum.

Gloria

Gloria Dickson (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is Snake's girlfriend. She is a meter maid. She first appears in " A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love", dating Mr. Burns. She ends up leaving him to return to her ex-boyfriend Snake. Gloria visits Snake in prison in " I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", and refuses to do whatever he asks of her.

She appears once again in "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes", where she is now pregnant. However, in "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", she and Snake have broken up. Then, in " Wedding For Disaster", Gloria and Snake got back together and apparently got married.

God

God (voiced by Harry Shearer) has had many appearances in the series, including " My Way or the Highway to Heaven", " Homer the Heretic", " Thank God, It's Doomsday", and "Pray Anything". He also appears in the opening sequence. He is portrayed in the traditional depiction of the Abrahamic God: a gray-haired man in a white robe with a booming voice. In most episodes, only His beard is seen. One of God's distinctive features is that He and Jesus are the only two ''The Simpsons'' characters to have been drawn with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. According to showrunner Al Jean, "''The Simpsons'' is one of the few shows on TV where God is not only very real, but He's a kind of vengeful Old Testament God."

Grady

Grady (voiced by Scott Thompson) is Julio's lover. In " Three Gays of the Condo", Marge finds a note that says she wanted to dump Homer before they get married. This upsets Homer and he finds a new place to live. Julio and Grady needed a third person in the apartment. He agrees to stay with them. Later, Homer loves Marge again; he moves out. Before Homer moved out, it is revealed Grady loves Homer. Homer runs away saying "I will only hurt you!"

Grady and Julio make small appearances in several other episodes.

Grampa Simpson

Groundskeeper Willie

Greta Wolfcastle

Greta Wolfcastle (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is the daughter of action movie star Rainier Wolfcastle. She first appeared in "The Bart Wants What It Wants" when Milhouse develops a crush on her, yet Bart goes out on a date with her instead. After Bart decided he was becoming too needy, the two broke up, which causes Milhouse to go back to Canada with Greta & the two get in a fight during a curling game.

The Grumple

The Grumple (voiced by Hank Azaria) is a green monster who is an obvious parody of The Grinch. He first appeared as a running gag in " Kill Gil, Volumes I & II", fighting Homer in various locations. He incidentally appears in many later episodes, attending Lady Gaga's concert in "Lisa Goes Gaga", in a video game in "White Christmas Blues", he does the Homer Shake, and he was mentioned by Matt Selman in the April 15, 2014 TV Guide article promoting " Brick Like Me" in which he jokes that he will be one of the few Simpsons characters to not be portrayed in Lego form during the episode.

Gunter and Ernst

Gunter Schmidt (voiced by Harry Shearer) and Ernst Hammerstein (voiced by Hank Azaria), Las Vegas-style entertainers, are obvious parodies of Siegfried & Roy: they speak with German accents, their act involves magic and white tigers, and one has black hair while the other has bleached-blond hair. The duo appear in " Viva Ned Flanders", "$pringfield
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