Milhouse Doesn’t Live Here Anymore: Pamela Hayden, Voice Actor on ‘The Simpsons’, to Retire After 35 Years
Everything may be coming up Milhouse, but Pamela Hayden won’t be the one to tell us about it.
Hayden, who for 35 years has voiced the character of Milhouse Van Houten, Bart Simpson’s blue-haired bestie, announced she is retiring from the long-running animated sitcom.
Hayden also provided the voice of school bully Jimbo Jones, Rod (and sometimes Todd) Flanders, Sarah Wiggum and Lisa Simpson’s friend Janey Powell. Her last episode will be the annual “Treehouse of Horror” special, which will air on November 24th.
Hayden has been with the show ever since its debut in 1989. She received credits for 694 out of 776 episodes of the animated sitcom, which just began its 36th season, according to IMDb.
Milhouse first appeared in a Butterfinger ad in 1989, when the show was presented as a series of shorts on Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show, and has been part of the series since its first episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”
“The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons? Not easily,” Hayden said in a statement. “It’s been an honor and a joy to have worked on such a funny, witty, and groundbreaking show. … I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that blue-haired 10-year-old boy with glasses.”
Simpsons creator Matt Groening said in a statement, “Pamela gave us tons of laughs with Milhouse, the hapless kid with the biggest nose in Springfield. She made Milhouse hilarious and real, and we will miss her.”
“Pamela’s talent and joy and love for her characters has added a magic to The Simpsons that will never be forgotten,” added showrunner and executive producer Matt Selman. “Everything’s coming up Pamela!”
Fox will now begin casting for her characters.