Moe Szyslak

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Moe Szyslak
The Simpsons character
First appearance"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989)
Created byMatt Groening
Designed byDan Haskett
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameMoe Szyslak
GenderMale
OccupationBartender
Family
  • Morty Szyslak (father)
  • Minnie Szyslak (sister)
  • Marv Szyslak (brother)
  • Maya (fiancée)
ReligionSnake Handler

Moammar "Moe" Szyslak

Carl Carlson
, Sam, Larry, and others.

Grouchy, lonely, miserable, and prone to violent outbursts, Moe is constantly down on his luck and has attempted suicide numerous times. Other running jokes featuring him include being prank called by Bart Simpson, running illegal activities from his bar, his ugliness and his inconsistent stories about his ethnic origin and what "Moe" is short for. Although he is generally quite disagreeable and confrontational, he is frequently shown to have a tender, aching heart beneath his cantankerous exterior.

Role in The Simpsons

Moe's Tavern

Moe is the owner and bartender of Moe's Tavern (informally referred to as "Moe's"), frequented by

pandas and an orca in "Cape Feare" and "The Springfield Files", respectively. Particularly in earlier episodes, the Tavern was frequently prank called by Bart Simpson, who would ask for a gag name which when said by Moe would involve innuendo or insults (e.g., Mike Rotch/"My crotch", Homer Sexual/"homosexual", Ivana Tinkle/"I wanna tinkle", and Seymour Butz/"See more butts").[4]

Personality

Moe is one of the darkest secondary characters in the show. He is portrayed with a generally disagreeable personality: he has a short, violent temper, a penurious nature, a crass and undiplomatic manner of speech, and a mood that rapidly vacillates between anger, indifference, and suicidal despair (the latter of which has become more apparent in later episodes of the show). He has an annual Christmas tradition of attempted suicide, but his attempts are comically unsuccessful (landing on a hot-air balloon after jumping out of a plane, for example), and he has already called the suicide hotline so many times that they've blocked his number.[5]

He is easily irritated, frequently threatening the patrons at his bar with a shotgun he keeps behind the counter. He is also gullible, and Bart's unending chain of successful prank calls to his bar are particularly infuriating to him, inevitably prompting a torrent of Red Deutsch-style threats of gruesome bodily harm in return.[citation needed]

He also is, however, occasionally shown to have a sentimental and caring side to his personality, such as reading to sick children and homeless people, although he is secretive about such behavior. In his interactions with his various girlfriends, he has also shown genuine selflessness and kindness (as well as an unusual improvement in his disposition), although negative elements of his personality inevitably emerge and ruin things. He has also struck up genuine friendships with both of Homer's daughters which have remained in the following episodes. In "

Thank God It's Doomsday", he asks for salvation, because "I've done stuff I ain't proud of. And the stuff I am proud of is disgusting."[6]

Relationships

Moe has an almost non-existent love life due to his vulgarity towards women and his ugly appearance. Despite this, he has had a number of romantic experiences, including sleeping with his waitress Collette,

V.D. clinic".[14] Despite his disturbing approach, Moe has shown to be a caring and devoted lover. While dating Renee (and previously Edna), he wholeheartedly spoiled them with whatever they wanted and vowed to give up his bar and take them away from Springfield forever, even if it means losing his own money and doing illegal acts to make more money. When he thought he finally won Marge's heart, he promised to be "the best man she'd ever had".[11]

In "Pygmoelian," Moe and his three closest friends assess him as a gargoyle with cauliflower ears, lizard lips, little rat eyes, a caveman brow, and a fish snout, who is not pleasant to look at, listen to or be with.[15]

In "The Wayz We Were," Maya returns to Springfield, and she and Moe reconnect, but Moe's fear of commitment overpowers him. At Homer's suggestion, Moe proposes to Maya, which she accepts.

Family and biography

Moe's ethnic origins are a

Armenian." Moe is also hinted to be Armenian in "Judge Me Tender" (2010), claiming that Armenian Idol is his favorite show. As for indications, he was born in America, in "Homer the Heretic" (1992), Moe claims, "I was born a snake handler, and I'll die a snake handler" while in "Day of the Jackanapes" (2001) he claims to have been born in Indiana.[17] Azaria has said he sees Moe as being from Queens, New York City and portrays him with a Queens accent.[18]

Moe (left) as "Smelly" in The Little Rascals.

Numerous conflicting versions of Moe's childhood have been depicted across the show. In "

circus freak. He was unsure which one but liked to think it was a little of all of them.[20] This is further reinforced in "Sleeping With The Enemy" when he briefly asserts himself as a member of the Muntz family. After Nelson's father returns, blaming his absence on having been stolen away by the circus due to a peanut allergy disfiguring his face. Teenage Moe is shown again in "She Used to Be My Girl" (2004), where he is depicted working in the school cafeteria, given as his first job "since prison"; Marge is responsible for having him sent back there. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" (2006) depicts scenes set years before the series present in which Moe and schoolteacher Edna Krabappel are shown to have had a brief love affair. In "Them, Robot" (2012), a flashback scene depicts a young child being stomped on by an elephant, and his face then changes to Moe. In "King Leer
" (2018), Moe's father, Morty, and his siblings, Marty and Minnie, are introduced, and he is shown in flashbacks as a child in Springfield.

Much like Moe's ethnic origins, his full name is also treated inconsistently as a gag. In "Flaming Moe's" (1991), he is called Morris by his lover. In "The Springfield Connection" (1995), Homer refers to Moe in the Arabic "Moammar". In "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe" (2009), he suggests that he only changed his name to Moe when he purchased Moe's Tavern. His last name Szyslak is Polish in origin,[21] and is written as Szyślak.

Character

Creation

The creator of The Simpsons

Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". Writers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein found the name in a phone book and gave it to Moe so that he would have the initials M.S., and hence be a suspect in the Burns shooting.[24] Moe was designed by animator Dan Haskett and his facial appearance was modeled after a gorilla.[25][26] Animator Mark Kirkland said that he often lets off-model drawings of Moe pass through production because the character is so ugly that no one will notice.[27]

Voice

Hank Azaria

Moe was the first voice Hank Azaria performed for the show. During the time of his audition, Azaria was doing a play in which he had the part of a drug dealer, basing his voice on actor Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon. He used the same voice in the audition and was told by Matt Groening and Sam Simon, who was directing him, to make it more gravelly like Deutsch's voice. Groening and Simon thought that it was perfect and took Azaria over to the Fox network recording studio. The result is Moe's pronounced New York accent. Before he had even seen a script, Azaria recorded several lines of dialogue as Moe for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening".[28][29] Moe was originally voiced by Christopher Collins who recorded several lines as Moe which never aired.[29] Azaria explained that he did not discover this fact for several years and that according to Groening, "that guy's" acting was fine but other staff and actors found him "a dick".[30]

Reception

In 2001 and 2003, Hank Azaria won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Moe and various other characters.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Wayz We Were". The Simpsons. Fox.
  2. ^ Groening 2010, pp. 299, 1192.
  3. ^ Rhodes, Joe (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.
  4. ^ Summers, Megan (February 4, 2021). "The Simpsons: Bart's 14 Best Prank Calls To Moe's Tavern, Ranked". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ISBN 1442278315
  6. Thank God It's Doomsday
  7. ^ Cohen, Robert; Moore, Rich; Smart, Alan (1991-11-21). "Flaming Moe's". The Simpsons. Season 3. Episode 10. Fox.
  8. ^ "Dumbbell Indemnity". The Simpsons. Fox.
  9. ^ "Pygmoelian". The Simpsons. Fox.
  10. ^ "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". The Simpsons. Fox.
  11. ^ a b "Mommie Beerest". The Simpsons. Fox.
  12. ^ "Moho House". The Simpsons. Fox.
  13. ^ Maxtone-Graham, Ian; Persi, Raymond (2006-03-12). "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story". The Simpsons. Season 17. Episode 13. Fox.
  14. ^ "Lost Our Lisa". The Simpsons. Fox.
  15. ^ "Moe Syzlak quote from "Pygmoelian", IMDB". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  16. ^ "Much Apu About Nothing". The Simpsons. Fox.
  17. ^ "Day of the Jackanapes". The Simpsons. Fox.
  18. ^ Simon, Scott (2017-05-13). "Hank Azaria Says 'Brockmire' Has Been With Him For Years". Weekend Edition. NPR. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-03-31. Moe is a New York guy, he's from Queens....
  19. ^ "Homer the Moe". The Simpsons. Fox.
  20. ^ "Springfield Up"
  21. ^ "Szyslak - Names Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 2021-10-17. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  22. ^ Kaulessar, Ricardo (2005-08-10). "Joke on 'Simpsons' started in JC". The Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  23. ^ Holt, Richard (24 September 2007). "Comic claims he is Simpsons' Moe the Barman". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  24. Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
    ", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  25. ^ Silverman, David (2001). Commentary for "Bart the General", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  26. ^ Reiss, Mike (2004). Commentary for "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  27. ^ Kirkland, Mark (2004). Commentary for "Bart Sells His Soul", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  28. National Public Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Gross. Philadelphia: WHYY-FM. Archived
    from the original on 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  29. ^ a b Azaria, Hank; Jean, Al (2004). Commentary for "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  30. ^ Hank Azaria Breaks Down His Iconic Simpsons Voices and Movie Roles | GQ, archived from the original on 2018-06-17, retrieved 2018-06-25
  31. ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2008-12-10.

Bibliography

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Prank Calls to Moe's Tavern.
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