Reuters Michael Jackson arrives at the Oxford University Union to give a lecture in March 2001. ‘Michael Jackson? No way.’ Bart Simpson, ‘The Simpsons’
That was Bart Simpson’s reaction upon answering a telephone call in a 1991 episode of the long-running Fox FOX, +0.38% FOXA, +0.20% series “The Simpsons” to be told the caller was Michael Jackson. Turns out, according to a Fox News report, the caller was telling the truth.
The animated character portraying the caller on screen, and identifying himself as a psychiatric patient, told a very different story (see clip embedded below), but something about the distinctive voice, combined with show creator Matt Groening’s reputation for impertinence, kept “Simpsons” fans wondering for decades whether the King of Pop himself had, in fact, made a stealth cameo, despite an on-screen credit to “John Jay Smith” for having voiced the character.
Last week, according to the Fox News report, citing an Australian TV program, the truth became known. “We really did have him,” Groening told the Weekly. “He did do the show.”
Jackson died in June 2009 at 50.
Here’s a clip from the memorable episode:
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