The coolest guy on TV

Except when she opens her mouth, the mother of two age 8 and 6 admits with a chuckle about her work on the popular animated TV series The Simpsons. 8220;It happens sometimes that people figure out it8217;s Bart8217;s voice coming from my mouth,8221; she grins. 8220;They8217;ll say, you8217;re him, aren8217;t you?8221; But in pure Bart language, Nancy says her response is usually, 8220;no way, man!8221;

According to executive producer Sam Simon, it8217;s not that unusual for a woman to be the voice behind a male cartoon character. 8220;It8217;s very common,8221; Sam explains, 8220;and it8217;s not like we cast Nancy as Bart. Nancy is Bart 8212; there wouldn8217;t have been a Bart without Nancy. So much of Bart8217;s attitude and so many of the catch-phrases are things that Nancy ad-libs and comes up with.8221;

Although other women have voiced male characters, the producers were initially worried that the audience would have a cow8217; about a woman being behind Bart8217;s macho image, so they kept Nancy a secret. 8220;But I8217;ve been out of the closet for a while,8221; she now says.

The Simpsons was borne as a 20-second 8220;bumper8221; segment 8212; inserted between two longer comedy skits on the now-defunct American TV series The Tracey Ullman Show. As the segment, created by cartoonist Matt Groening, grew in popularity, it was suggested by the network that it should be developed into its own 30-minute weekly format.

The main actors who play the typical American family in the TV show are: Julie Kavner as Marge, Dan Castellaneta as Homer, Yeardley Smith as Lisa and Nancy Cartwright as the mischievous brother and two-faced son who8217;s been immortalised on T-shirts with catch-phrases such as 8220;I8217;m an underachiever8221; and 8220;Don8217;t have a cow, man!8221;

Sam Simon says, 8220;Some people ask if we will ever do a live Simpsons movie and I say, 8220;I8217;ve seen it!8221; Because, when they stand up there and play out their scenes, they are all just like the Simpsons.quot; While most cartoon shows record lines with the actors separately and blend them all together later, The Simpsons is a rare exception, bringing the cast together every week for a read-through8217; and taping the lines with all the actors in the same room.

Simon explains, 8220;We do lots of takes but essentially we start at the beginning and have eight or nine microphones set up and all the actors read their scenes to each other through to the end.quot; For a show that started off as a 8220;bumper8221; segment, this Emmy winning series remains to date on of the one of the most popular shows in the world, and boasts a star-studded list of cameo voice-overs with names such as Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Danny DeVita and Michelle Pfeiffer. 8220;I8217;m not usually star struck,8221; Nancy adds, 8220;but for some reason I became very excited when Ernest Borgnine came in!8221;

Although she doesn8217;t get to enjoy the perks of fame, Nancy has received a huge pay increase after all the actors banded together for more money and were almost fired before a compromise figure was reached and plenty of other work offers, including more voice work in other animated shows. Not to mention the approval of her own children.

8220;Sometimes they8217;ll say. Do Bart, mommy8217;,8221; she chuckles, 8220;and especially if they bring friends home from school, they want to make sure I do the voice. We have a Bart pinball game in the living room and there are animation cells on the wall, along with Bart chairs and Bart dolls and anything else Bart puts his name on, but I don8217;t mind my kids cashing in on it all. Not too many kids can say their mom is the coolest guy on TV8221;!