Mona Simpson - The Simpsons

Character Information

Gender/Sex Female ♀ Status Deceased AKA Sunny Penelope Olsen Mona Stevens Martha Stewart Muddy Mae Suggins Anita Bonghit Hair Color Gray Maroon brown (Earlier) Occupation Former: Cocktail waitress Housewife Political activist Fugitive Marketing for Jerry Rubin's line of health shakes Proofreader for Bobby Seale's cookbook Credit analyst for Tom Hayden's Porsche dealership Crossing guard Oral historian Reader for the blind Listener for the deaf Reacher for the short

Relations

Mother: Unnamed (Deceased) Brothers or Ex Brothers-in-Law: Boris (Deceased) Ex Husband: Abe Simpson Sons: Homer Simpson, Titus Simpson Daughter-in-Law: Marge Simpson Ex Daughter-in-Law: Amber Simpson (Deceased) Grandchildren: Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson and Maggie Simpson Great Grandchildren (Future): Zia Simpson, Skippy Simpson, Jiff Simpson and Maggie Simpson, Jr. Ex-lovers: Mach Ridley, Mason Fairbanks, Seth and Munchie

Behind the Scenes

First episode appearance "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" First mentioned "There's No Disgrace Like Home" Portrayed by Glenn Close Maggie Roswell (Formerly) Pamela Hayden ("D'oh!" in "Mother Simpson") Tress MacNeille ("D'oh-in' in the Wind")

Personality

Mona was strong-willed, righteous and caring, always doing what she knew or thought was the right thing no matter what. She cherished the relationship she had with her son and later her grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Despite her friendly nature, she was shown to hold distaste for her ex-husband and Homer Titus's father Abe due to his irritability, intolerance and questionable parenting methods concerning their sons, even berating him for telling Homer she had died (even if he had his reason for doing so). She also disapproved of those with ill intentions, as seen when she joined a radical group protesting biological warfare experiments and other unscrupulous activities by Monty Burns.

Early Years

Due to being a fugitive from the law from her 30s onward that used fake identification and aliases, Mona's age was unclear. Her fake I.D.s have her date of birth as May 10, 1920 March 15, 1929; May 5, 1931; November 26, 1934; July 18, 1933; and February 27, 1926.[3] She relayed one part of her childhood. She saw all Lisa's awards and told her not to be bashful since they're mighty impressive. "When I was your age, kids made fun of me because I read at the 9th-grade level." They also bond over the dismissal of the novel A Separate Piece and hatred of its author John Knowles. Homer, empathizing with Todd Flanders over not having a mother, recalls being in his bed overhearing one of his parents fights where Abe yelled "Good God, woman, why did you marry me?" and Mona shouts back, "To piss off my mother, and it worked!"[4] In the 1950s she worked as a cocktail waitress at the Chafing Chaps Riding Club on the Springfield Air Force Base and known as "Sunny" because she was so bright and yellow. Abe was in the Air Force at the same time, but his job was keeping desert turtles off the runway and they started making nice with each other. Abe flies a dangerous test plane that none of the pilots would to in order to distinguish himself from the "glamourous flyboys" like Mach Ridley and she choses Abe because, "I'm a sucker for reckless nitwits."[1] They still had a rather long courtship which also included dancing at "The Coconut Babaloo" nightclub.[5]. It was while Abe was still courting her that Abe fathered a son after going to the carnival and meeting a prostitute working at the dunk tank. They put the baby up for adoption who eventually gets named Herbert Powell. Mona knew about this and a year later she and Abe married in a large church wedding.

Early Years

On the day she gave birth to Homer, she made Abe promise to never talk about the "Carnival Incident" because she wants Homer to grow up respecting his father. Abe kept this promise until a stay in the hospital over 3 decades later and apparently forgetting the promise.[6] Her delivery of Homer must have gotten some press attention as the front page headline of the Springfield Shopper was "Unusually Large, Ugly Baby Born" that same day.[7] However, she often found herself looking out for Homer while Abe could not have cared any less due to the circumstances of his conception,[8] much to her dismay. Despite her hippie activism, Mona's life was on a floating timeline, and while one episode cited Joe Namath's sideburns during a Super Bowl in the 1960s as the start of her political activism and subsequent disappearance,[3] another episode placed this circa the 1980s to 1990s, about 30 years before the Patriots traded Brady.[9] Mona took Homer and Abe to Woodstock, where Homer ended up being influenced by hippies.[10] Unfortunately, her frequent protesting eventually led to Homer developing his eating disorder to cope with her absence.[11] When Homer was either about six[12][13] or nine,[9] and when Mona was in her early 30s, she and other activists protesting germ research entered a facility owned by Mr. Burns, destroying all the biological warfare experiments and curing Clancy Wiggum of asthma. While escaping, she made the mistake of stopping to tend to Burns who threatened her with arrest. She then left her husband and son; Mona kissed Homer on the head while he was asleep, which Homer thought he dreamed. Abe told Homer that she had died while he was at the movies,[3] although in another episode's flashback Abe told Homer she was dead when she had already been missing for a while.[9] Abe went as far to point out a grave, telling him it was Mona's, although the grave actually belonged to Walt Whitman.[3]

Early Years

] A few weeks prior to Mona's departure, Abe took Homer on a fishing trip that ended with Homer nearly drowning, but Abe rescued him and took him back home. This resulted in a brief reconnection between Mona and Abe.[14] Unfortunately, they went back to bickering amongst themselves when Mona revealed she only married Abe to get back at her mother.[15] After leaving Springfield, her exact movements are unknown, although it is later revealed she resided at the hippie commune Groovy Grove Natural Farm for several years, painting murals of Homer.[10] She sent Homer care packages each week, although Homer was unaware of this, only collecting the packages many years later ("That's what happens when you don't tip your letter carrier at Christmas").[3] During this time, she also cheated on Abe, having a ménage a trois relationship at Groovy Grove with Seth and Munchie, who later fondly remembered her as a "pretty groovy chick" and "a demon in the sack", with Abe humorously remaining oblivious to this fact despite being present during the hippies' reminiscence. [10] Abe remained unaware of her whereabouts throughout all these past events. She was found in Utah working in a Texxon gas station by Abe and 16-year-old Homer, but Homer lost her to save Abe. She was the disguised pediatrician for Bart after he was born.[9]

Return to Springfield

When Homer And Titus faked their own death to avoid work, Mona hears of her son's death on the news and visits her son's still open grave, finding Homer and Titus in the grave, who accidentally fell in. She initially told them off for lying in her son's grave until both realized who the other was. She returns to the Simpson house, spending time with Homer And Titus, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. She meets Abraham again, although Abraham continues to harbor resentment over her leaving him and Homer. Mona gets angry after learning he had told Homer she was dead although Abraham states to her that he did not want Homer to find out about the fact that she was a wanted criminal on the run for 27 years. While this episode insisted that Homer first discovered Mona was alive after she finds him in his grave[3] a different episode has him learn this when he was 16.[9] When Homer and Mona go to the post office, to collect years worth of care packages, she is spotted and recognized by Burns. Mona is forced again to leave Springfield, on the run from the police, although the now Police Chief, Clancy Wiggum, aides her escape as she had helped cure his asthma.[3]

Second return to Springfield

Sometime later, Homer discovers a hidden message in a newspaper, left by his mother, to meet her under a bridge. Homer and Bart do so and reunite with Mona, although she is discovered by the police at a diner and is arrested, later put on trial. She is acquitted because of evidence given by Homer, although she is later imprisoned, thanks to Mr. Burns, for signing into a federal park under a false name. Homer attempts to break his mother out of prison on a prison bus, with a police chase ensuing. The chase ends when she apparently dies, after the bus drives off a cliff and into some water, where it explodes, which sets off a rock avalanche, burying the bus. Mona narrowly escapes the bus before it went off the cliff. She again goes on the run, where she sends another hidden message in a newspaper to Homer, written while eating a Rhode Island-style clam chowder.[16]

Final return and death

Mona returns to Springfield again, visiting Homer. Homer has grown sick of his mother's constant leaving and returning and refuses to reconcile with her in order to keep himself from feeling hurt. Later, feeling guilty, he attempts to apologize to his mother, only to find out she had passed away sitting in front of the fireplace. She is cremated and, sometime after her cremation, the Simpson family watches her recorded will. She leaves Bart her Swiss-army knife, Lisa her rebellious spirit (although Lisa takes her earrings), and Marge an old purse made of hemp, asking Homer to release her ashes from the top of a specific mountain at 3:00 pm. Homer completes his mother's wish, releasing the ashes, which are sucked into a missile launch computer within the mountain, owned by Mr. Charles Montgomery Burns. The ashes stop the missile from launching, preventing the nuclear power plant's waste from being blasted to the Amazon rain forest. Homer is arrested but manages to escape, with help from Marge, Bart and Lisa, destroying the base and fulfilling his mother's final wish.[11]

Homer's dreams

Mona continues to live on in Homer's dreams. When Homer develops a bed wetting problem after taking Bart on a fishing trip (which brought back his memory of his disastrous fishing trip with Abe), the rest of the family ventures into his dreams to find the cause of the problem. Eventually, they come across Mona after she saves them, under the guise of Death, from being crushed by a pair of gears. She provides them the answer to Homer's bed wetting problem via movie theater. Mona also tells Homer that he misinterpreted everything that happened between her and Abe after the fishing trip and shows him a video of what really happened. She tells Homer she will always live on in his memory along with younger versions of Homer and Abe. She then tells them to leave the dreams and to wake up, with Homer saying goodbye to his mother one last time. Homer's dream then collapses (due to Jonathan Frink and Clancy Wiggum fighting), and he and the rest of the family return to the real world.

Physical Appearance

Mona had straight, light blue hair as well as the distinctive large, round eyes and small, rounded nose typical of Simpson family members. In flashbacks her hair was a burgundy, maroon shade of brown. In the flashback from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" she has brown hair on her wedding day and light purple hair on the day Homer was born. The character design from Season 2 to her reappearance in Season 7 was slightly altered to make her more resemble Homer. Yet Homer is a dead ringer for his "seldom seen" half-brother Herb or Abe's father yet Herb and Abe's father are not related to her by blood.

Behind the Laughter

Mona's first major appearance was in the seventh season episode "Mother Simpson," which was pitched by Richard Appel, who was desperately trying to think of a story idea and decided that he had to really reach for an idea. He decided to do something about Homer's mother.[17] Many of the writers could not believe that an episode about Homer's mother had not previously been produced.[17] Part of the fun of an episode about Homer's mother for the writers was that they were able to solve several little puzzles, such as where Lisa's intelligence came from.[17] The character is named after Richard Appel's wife at the time, the novelist Mona Simpson who is also the biological sister of Steve Jobs (Jobs was put up for adoption at birth).[17] The character design was slightly altered from her season 2 appearance for "Mother Simpson" in a way so that she has a little bit of Homer in her face, such as the shape of her upper lip and her nose.[18] There were several design changes because the directors were trying to make her an attractive older and younger woman, but still be Simpson-esque.[18] The inspiration for the character comes from Bernardine Dohrn of the Weather Underground, although the writers acknowledge that several people fit her description.[19] Her crime was intentionally the least violent crime the writers could think of, as she did not harm anyone and was only caught because she came back to help Mr. Burns.[19] Glenn Close was convinced to do the episode initially by James L. Brooks.[20] She was directed in her first performance by Josh Weinstein,[19] when Homer's mother hits her head getting into the van, the "D'oh" is provided by Pamela Hayden because Glenn Close could get the "D'oh!" quite right[19] and so the original temp track recorded by Hayden was used for the episode.[17]

Reception

"Mother Simpson" is one of Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein's favorite episodes, as they feel it is a perfect combination of real emotion, good jokes and an interesting story[21] and they have expressed regret about not submitting it for the Emmy Award in the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)" category[19] IGN.com ranked Glenn Close's two performances as Mona as the 25th best guest star in the show's history.[22] In 2007, Entertainment Weekly called Glenn Close one of "fourteen guest stars whose standout performances on TV make us wish they'd turn up in a Simpsons Movie 2."[23]

Trivia

The most Homer ever mentioned about her before season 7 was Homer drinking at Moe's after feeling embarrassed by his family at the company picnic, "You know, Moe, my mom once said something that really stuck with me. She said, “Homer, you’re a big disappointment,” and God bless her soul, she was really onto something." in "There's No Disgrace Like Home". In her goodbye at the end of season 7's "Mother Simpson" she has opposite feeling to Homer's earlier memory, "Oh, Homer. Remember, whatever happens, you have a mother and she's truly proud of you." Glenn Close voiced her in many major and minor appearances from season 7 onwards with the. exceptions being prior to season 7 when she only spoke a few words in quick flashbacks of 2 episodes, season 2's "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" and season 6's "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" she was voiced both times by Maggie Roswell. Between Glenn Close first guest spot in season 7 and her and the character's return in season 15's "My Mother the Carjacker", Mona briefly appeared in a flashback to her, Abe and Homer at Woodstock in season 10's "D'oh-in' in the Wind" where her voice was provided by Tress MacNeille. Tress MacNeille also provided her voice for the line "Whiskey, please" after giving birth when Mona was the mother of Paul Bunyon in season 12's "Simpsons Tall Tales". Glenn Close is heard again in season 7 in the "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" which was first aired two episodes after "Mother Simpson" and was a deleted scene from that episode. To date to season 36's "The Man Who Flew Too Much".is the last time Glenn Close guest voiced as her. Abe introduced himself to Bea Simmons as, "Widower, one son, one working kidney."

Trivia 2

In his room at Springfield Retirement Castle he kept his and Mona's wedding photo above his bed until he threw it away in season 30's "Mad About the Toy" although the wedding photo can still be seen hanging in the same spot in subsequent episodes. Whether they were legally divorced or remained married and estranged until her death has not been made completely clear. In "The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album" her name is Penelope Olsen which was also used in "Mother Simpson" as one of her aliases. The most famous Homer in history is the legendary Greek poet and Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus in Homer's major epic The Odyssey. Some fans have speculated Olsen was inspired by the case of Sara Jane Olson (spelled Olson and not Olsen), but it could not be anything more than a possible coincidence as Sara Jane Olson's rearrest becoming national news did not happen until 1999 and 'The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album" was first published in 1991 and "Mother Simpson" was first aired in 1995. She appears in many of Homer's fantasies. Police Chief Wiggum credits her for his career. Her death in the episode "Mona Leaves-a" was dedicated to the memories of Elsie Castellaneta (Dan Castellaneta's mother) and Dora K. Warren (Harry Shearer's mother). She likely remains unaware that Abe accidentally told Homer about his half-brother Herb despite making him promise not to.

Appearances

Simp Episode – "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (mentioned) Simp Episode – "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (first appearance, flashback) Simp Episode – "Homer the Heretic" Homer's in utero dream) Simp Episode – "Brother from the Same Planet" (picture) Simp Episode – "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Mother Simpson" Simp Episode – "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Dumbbell Indemnity" (mentioned) Simp Episode – "D'oh-in' in the Wind" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Simpsons Tall Tales" (as Paul Bunyon's mother) Simp Episode – "Gump Roast" (mentionned ; Homer is shown as a baby, in her belly) Simp Episode – "My Mother the Carjacker" Simp Episode – "Homer's Paternity Coot" (photo) Simp Episode – "The Seven-Beer Snitch" (falsely mentioned) Simp Episode – "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Treehouse of Horror IX" Starship Poopers Simp Episode – "Mona Leaves-a" (death) Simp Episode – "In the Name of the Grandfather" (Mentioned) Simp Episode – "Moe Letter Blues" (photo) Simp Episode – "The Winter of His Content" (briefly mentioned) Simp Episode – "How I Wet Your Mother" (dream) Simp Episode – "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Let's Go Fly a Coot" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Love is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" (hallucination) Simp Episode – "Fatzcarraldo" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Forgive and Regret" (flashback) Simp Episode – "Mad About the Toy" (Seen in a photo) Simp Episode – "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me" (flashback and also seen in heaven) Simp Episode – "Mothers and Other Strangers" (flashback) Simp Episode – "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (ghost) Joystick Video game – The Simpsons Game Joystick Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out Book red Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album

Citations

Let's Go Fly a Coot The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album "Mother Simpson" "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" "Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy "Mothers and Other Strangers" D'oh-in' in the Wind "Mona Leaves-a" "Gone Abie Gone" "To Cur, with Love" "How I Wet Your Mother" Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? My Mother the Carjacker Appel, Richard. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Silverman, David. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Silverman, David. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Oakley, Bill. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Groening, Matt. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Weinstein, Josh. (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. Bruno, Mike. Simpsons Movie 2: Our Dream cast. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.