‘The Simpsons’ Dan Castellaneta Reflects on Sam Simon

Since The Simpson‘s Sam Simon passed away on March 8th, we’ve reported on his entertainment & philanthropic contributions, but haven’t mentioned anything from the show’s cast members. But now the voice of Homer (and countless other characters), Dan Castellaneta, has reflected on the co-creator, writer, producer, and director’s impact.

“I first met Sam while we were doing The Tracey Ullman Show,” Dan told Variety. “My first memory of him from those days was that although he had already been in the business for a while, he was still kind of a wunderkind.”

“He’d be sitting there with all these experienced guys — Jerry Belson, Jim Brooks — and there’d be times when people would be stuck for a line. I’d see Sam thinking and talking to himself, and then he would say something. At least 70% to 90% of the time, it would be a really great, succinct line,” he continued.

“He directed a lot of Tracey Ullman shows and we always had a blast working with him. Sam could interface with anybody, because he had such a wide variety of interests. He loved theater and movies and sports — we even talked about comic books. That’s what I remember most about Sam. He was a really funny, charismatic guy.”

Of course what most people will remember Simon for is The Simpsons, a show he had a huge role in launching.

“Sam was just instrumental in laying the template for how things run on The Simpsons. To this day, we’re still working with his template. He was incredibly influential in terms of how the room was run, and in terms of the tone of the show. He brought on a number of writers who are still with us today. [Current Simpsons showrunner] Al Jean was a protégé of Sam’s. Sam was our primary director for the first two or three years. He was instrumental in fine-tuning the voices. Sometimes I would come up with a voice for a character, and he would go, ‘Eh.’ We would keep at it and finally find the right one.”

“Sam was a really good director, because he was great with actors. He was very relaxed, but he constantly came up with ideas, and he was always open to ideas. He made it a great atmosphere to work, and on top of that, he was just fun to be around.”

In addition The Simpsons and Tracey Ullman, Castellaneta also worked with Simon on FOX’s The George Carlin Show and ABC’s Sibs. Needless to say, Dan thinks he personally owes a lot to Sam.

“Sam was very influential in my life and my career. I even wrote him a little note once to say that I was thankful for what he’d done. When somebody of his talent and ability says, ‘You’re good,’ that does a world of good for your confidence. Most actors don’t have that much confidence. I will always be very appreciative of his support.”

[via Variety]