Talk:Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer has been listed as one of the Sports and recreation good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.

Harry Shearer is part of the The Simpsons main cast members series, a good topic. This is identified as among the best series of articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
June 10, 2009	Good article nominee	Listed
June 14, 2009	Peer review	Reviewed
June 28, 2009	Good topic candidate	Promoted

Current status: Good article

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30s work?[edit]

It says in the article he was born in the 40s, though it later states he had roles in programs in the 30s. Seems like one of these "facts" is a blatant error.

I'm curious to find the comprehensive list of Harry Shearer characters on The Simpsons. All the lists I find contain a few major ones and then 'among others'. Wikipedia should be the keeper of this deeper knowledge. Heck, it should have this info for all the Simpsons voice actors.

I did find these:

Lenny, Bill, Bouncer, Bret Gunsilman, C. Montgomery Burns, Derek Smalls bassist of Spinal Tap, Dr. Hibert, Dr. Marvin Monroe, God, Grim Reaper, Herman, Jack Larson, Jasper, Jim Wallace, Kang, Kent Brockman, McBain, Mr. Dewey Largo, Ned Flanders, Otto Mans, Owner - Frying Dutchman, Rev. Lovejoy, Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon, Satan, Scratchy, Seymour Skinner, Sportscaster, Tom Brokaw, Trash tabloid TV host, Usher, Waylon Smithers

I just attended a talk by Harry at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco last night where he said he does 17 characters on The Simpsons - but he didn't list them. There are over thirty in the above list. Maybe Harry lost count? --DJay 18:52, 8 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Political commentator?[edit]

He appears to have written several articles at the Huffington Post. [1]. Perhaps this should be added.VarunRajendran (talk) 16:06, 14 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's already noted in the 'external links' section. I don't know where else it would go? Zeno Izen (talk) 05:16, 16 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Starcraft[edit]

Can we get a source on him doing voice work on SC? 71.225.7.137 (talk) 21:59, 2 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Recreational Drug user?[edit]

In an TV interview, he was asked which character he voiced in The Simpsons he was most like in real life. His reply,

"Wow, I'm not like any of them in real life, Thank God! I mean if I were like anybody I guess I would be like Otto, for reasons I won't explain now."

The character Otto Mann is portrayed as a regular pot user through the series. [2] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Deverell (talk • contribs) 17:06, 18 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

this is not true - Otto is portrayed as a slacker and a rocker, but never as a user of any illegal drugs. in fact, i dont think ive ever seen a simpsons character ever smoking joints, bowls, bongs, blunts - ever!

people smoke tobacco on the series, and drink alcohol, but i have never once seen drugs portrayed on The Simpsons. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.119.125.191 (talk) 15:49, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Look for the episode titled "medical marijuana."

You may be correct about Otto not being shown as a user in the series. However, Otto is shown using a bong (water pipe) in The Simpsons Movie. The reason for this no doubt is related to U.S. broadcast televisions Standards & Practices department policies. Several reviews have mentioned the bong in the movie: [3] [4]. --Krelnik (talk) 16:13, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry but Otto is a recreational drug user, read his wikipedia page and follow the references. As mentioned above he is smoking marijuana in the Simpsons movie and in a few simpsons episodes e.g. Weekend at Burnsies and Strong Arms of the Ma. It has also been implied he has had harder drugs such as Heroin and LSD. -Deverell —Preceding unsigned comment added by Deverell (talk • contribs) 16:25, 18 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First Marriage?[edit]

When listed in the section on his personal life, his first marriage is said to have begun in 1976, while the summary box at the top of the article has it as 1974. Anyone know which it is?

Nation piece on Algiers - Does it belong here?[edit]

He recently wrote a response to A.C. Thompson's piece in The Nation that belittles and avoids the real white supremacist violence that occurred in Algiers, LA after Hurricane Katrina in The Huffington Post.[5]

The sentence above strikes me as problematic on several levels:

NPOV ("...belittles and avoids the real white supremacist violence...")
What does "recently" mean?
"...that belittles and avoids..." - Apart from NPOV, to which piece of writing does this refer? Shearer's or Thompson's?

I am not familiar enough with these articles and related discussion to give an immediate opinion on whether anything at all should be included, but I do not like that sentence as it stands. KConWiki (talk) 05:11, 27 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that there's a problem there. It also doesn't fit in too well with the rest of the text around it. When I recently rearranged that text, I assumed the intent was to show how he has continuing concern about New Orleans as a part-time resident, and how he draws attention to it in his writing and work. But I'm not sure how that one blog post is particularly significant vis-a-vis his many other posts on the topic or the hundreds of times he's talked about New Orleans on Le Show. Maybe it could be replaced with some more general text on how he often talks/writes about New Orleans and just use the blog post as a referenced citation. --Krelnik (talk) 07:59, 27 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Since I was in the neighborhood answering questions below, I went ahead and changed the troublesome text. Its now basically a citation on a general statement about Shearer being critical of the coverage/reaction to Katrina. (I finally read the Huffington Post piece and its really not about racism much at all, its mostly about how The Nation got lots of details about Katrina totally wrong). Anyway take a look and yell at me as needed. --Krelnik (talk) 16:47, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

new orleans?[edit]

I used to work at Whole Foods Market at the old Esplanade location before they closed it, and he used to come in and shop there. Does anyone know if he still resides in New Orleans or anywhere in Louisiana state? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.119.125.191 (talk) 15:35, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

As described in the article, he has homes in both California and New Orleans. He visits New Orleans several times per year. The easiest way I know to see this is to look at the RSS Feed for Le Show which indicates where each episode originated. (Often, but not always, mentioned on the air by Shearer as well). As I write this, it shows that he was in New Orleans the week of December 21, 2008. He's also mentioned on the air recently that he's only missed one Jazz Fest since 1988, so he's always in town for that. --Krelnik (talk) 16:23, 1 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

GA Review[edit]

This review is transcluded from Talk:Harry Shearer/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Hey. I'm gonna go the GA review in pieces to make sure I hit on everything. First, Ref+image stuff:

In terms of no 404's, the refs check out fine.
The rationale on the Spinal Tap issue isn't too bad, just make sure it really explains that this was an iconic and major role of his. Other images are PD and fine.
I'm not too keen on IMDB as a reliable source, but since you're just using it for filmography that's fine. That being said, Refs 67-70 need to still use the citation templates and be completed, no bare links.
- The IMDB links were added by a user shortly before you started your review. They have been removed.
  - I'm curious: what's the matter with IMDB? Don't those movies need to be cited? (I suppose that any curious researchers could find them as easily as I did, but aren't we supposed to save them that trouble?) DougHill (talk) 18:35, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ref #9 needs a work or publisher, if possible. (I'd add it but can't open it)
- Another one added shortly before review. I don't see why it's needed, so I removed it.
A lot of ref dates look like "(2009-02-04)". In those cases the dates should probably be fully written.
- A long time ago, I used to write the dates out (so February 2 instead of 2009-02-04) but I was told to write the dates in numbers. Is there a reason why words should be used instead?
  - That's generally just my preference more than anything, since it looks nicer that way when reading the refs. Wizardman 21:40, 3 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

After these are fixed, the refs and images check out. I will then start reading the main article. Wizardman 16:37, 3 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Thanks for the review! -- Scorpion ⁰⁴²² 18:18, 3 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I fixed ref #9, now #10. I also ran Reflinks to put the IMBD references in template form.DougHill (talk) 18:16, 3 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Alright, Part II: The Lead

For the most part it is good, though it feels a bit long. Thing is, I'm not exactly sure what couple sentences could go, since it does provide a good summary. Knocking off a bit of the early life might help, since it goes into a lot of detail for a lead paragraph.
- I shortened it a bit.

Part III: Early career + SNL

I like the note of Mel Blanc taking him under his wing. However, it feels like it doesn't take that note anywhere. Could there be detail added about anything specific Blanc did for Shearer? I think it would be a nice touch, but it's okay if there's not.
- I tried listening to the interview, and he doesn't really elaborate on it.
It says he was "one of the first additions to the cast," but SNL had been around for 4 years at this time, so the sentence doesn't feel like it rings completely true.
- I was unsure at first, but as this shows, there was one addition in 1978, then he was one of seven added in 1979. The source cited does say that, so I added it.

So far I'm impressed with the article though. I'm trying to nitpick but I'm not finding much to nitpick. I'll keep reading though and point out what I can though. Wizardman 04:04, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Part IV: Rest of career

Any further information on the 25th anniversary album? Just making sure that's up to date.
- Not that I could find.
In 1992, Spinal Tap appeared in an episode called "The Otto Show." -- It's a nice note, but it feels kinda thrust in there and breaks the flow. Maybe it would fit better in the Spinal Tap section?
- I thought it was a little out of order to mention The Simpsons in that section, but I made the switch.
Is there a note as to why he declined to participate in The Simpsons Ride?
- No, unfortunately not.

Part V: Personal life

Didn't find any issues.

This is all I found. I'll put it on hold until the above issues are addressed, though in all honesty I'm very tempted to just pass it now, since it is deserving of that. Wizardman 16:52, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks a lot for the review. -- Scorpion ⁰⁴²² 17:18, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No problem. Since the concerns have been addressed I'll pass the article. Wizardman 17:20, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, thanks a lot for reviewing the article! :) TheLeft orium 17:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Disco Beaver From Outer Space[edit]

Harry Shearer said on Coast to Coast he has never heard of Disco Beaver and is not one of its writers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.19.133.83 (talk) 07:00, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think your reversion should be reverted. I do not think that we can take what Harry Shearer said (and I heard him too) on Coast To Coast as definitive. I definitely don't think we can take ANYTHING said on Coast to coast as definitive of ANYTHING. 72.222.210.123 (talk) 07:17, 14 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Filmmaker[edit]

Shouldn't Shearer's page page mention Shearer's work as a filmmaker. Not that they ended up being big blockbusters or anything. But he did create several that may be worth mentioning, such as the documentary of New Orleans.

From the IDBM website, refer to the following:

The Big Uneasy (2010) Teddy Bears' Picnic (2002) Portrait of a White Marriage (1988) The History of White People in America: Volume II (1986) (TV) Viva Shaf Vegas (1986) (TV) The History of White People in America (1985) (TV) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.17.26.4 (talk) 23:18, 19 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Interview[edit]

There is a new interview with Shearer today. --Maitch (talk) 19:15, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Bilderberg attendee[edit]

He is interviewed in the 4th part of the film The Secret Rulers of the World as been a Bilderberg Group attendee. This should be noted in his biography.

Criticism of The Simpsons' declining quality[edit]

The third paragraph of the lead currently ends with:

Shearer has been vocal about what he perceives as the show's declining quality. In 2004, he said "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst."

That quote is now ten years old. Does he still hold such views? If so, I think the line should be updated (along with the text in the relevant paragraph later on. Otherwise, I do not think it belongs in the lead given the amount of time that has passed and the fact he is still working there. AtHomeIn神戸 (talk) 01:11, 11 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Today's announcement might also be related. I would like to find a transcript of a recent quote I heard him say, to the effect of; the cast members of such a successful show are obscenely overpaid and at the same time are getting royally screwed. Trackinfo (talk) 09:32, 14 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I heard about it on the radio this morning too. I'm sure there will be a heap of news stories we can reference to over the coming days. AtHomeIn神戸 (talk) 01:45, 15 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Footnotes[edit]

51 and 52 are dead. 51 leads to an article that you can only read the beginning of (and thus can't read any of the Harry Shearer stuff) unless you subscribe to the website (which costs money to do), and 52 is dead.2601:E:A081:9490:71B8:3F5D:89D2:EF1D (talk) 09:02, 14 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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24 FEB 2021 HARRY STEPS DOWN AS VOICE OF DR HIBBERT[edit]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-simpsons-harry-shearer-not-voicing-dr-hibbert-20210223-7xos5q3pqfa4jih3wvpbh7bbbi-story.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2406:5A00:2400:A600:C437:8D5B:6166:B4CE (talk) 18:52, 23 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Redundant categories[edit]

Category:Jewish American male comedians is a subcategory of Category:American male comedians, Category:Jewish American film directors‎ is a subcategory of Category:American film directors, and Category:Jewish American film producers is a subcategory of Category:American film producers. There is no need to include the parent category when the person is already listed as a member of a subcategory. [[5]] Meters (talk) 04:38, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]