Krusty the Clown

Krusty the Clown
The Simpsons character
First appearance	"The Krusty the Clown Show" The Tracey Ullman Show (1989)
Created by	Matt Groening
Designed by	Matt Groening
Voiced by	Dan Castellaneta
In-universe information
Full name	Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky
Gender	Male
Occupation	Television clown, entertainer, Congressman
Family	Rachel Krustofsky (mother; deceased) Hyman Krustofsky (father; deceased) Luke Perry (half-brother; deceased)[1]
Spouse	Holly Hippie (ex-wife) Mia Farrow (ex-wife) Eartha Kitt (ex-wife)
Significant others	Princess Penelope Owsley (ex-fiancée)
Children	Sophie Krustofsky (daughter)
Religion	Judaism

Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (Yiddish: ‏הערשעל שמױקל פּינחס ירוחם קרוסטאָפֿסקי; Hebrew: הירשל שמויקל פנחס ירוחם קרוסטופסקי),^[2][3] better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the long-time clown host of Bart and Lisa Simpson's favorite TV show, a variety show consisting of various kid-friendly sketches and often highly violent cartoons, most notably The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Despite his cheery onscreen persona, Krusty is actually a cynical, burnt-out, addiction-riddled smoker who is made miserable by show business but continues on anyway. He has become one of the most frequently occurring characters outside the main Simpson family and has been the focus of many episodes, some of which also feature Sideshow Bob.

Krusty was created by cartoonist Matt Groening and partially inspired by Rusty Nails, a television clown from Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon. He was designed to look like Homer Simpson (also voiced by Castellaneta) with clown makeup, based on the scrapped original concept of Krusty where Bart worships a television clown who is ironically his own father that he looks down upon; the idea of Homer playing the role of Krusty would eventually be explored in the Season 6 episode, "Homie the Clown". Krusty's voice is based on Bob Bell, who portrayed WGN-TV's Bozo the Clown. Krusty made his television debut on January 15, 1989, in the Tracey Ullman Show short "The Krusty the Clown Show".