{{Distinguish|Homie the Clown}} {{Good article}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = Krustytheclownshow.png | caption = Krusty's show | season = 3 | episode = 6 | director = * [[Jeffrey Lynch]] * [[Brad Bird]] | writer = * [[Jay Kogen]] * [[Wallace Wolodarsky]] | production = 8F05 | airdate = {{Start date|1991|10|24}} | guests = * [[Jackie Mason]] as [[List of The Simpsons characters#Rabbi Krustofsky|Hyman Krustofsky]] | blackboard = "I will finish what I sta" (stops mid-word){{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=67}} | couch_gag = [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] leaps into everybody's lap, annoying [[Homer Simpson|Homer]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page6.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031223200551/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page6.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 23, 2003 |title=Like Father, Like Clown |access-date=2009-06-23 |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> | commentary = * [[Matt Groening]] * [[Al Jean]] * [[Dan Castellaneta]] * [[Julie Kavner]] * [[Jay Kogen]] * [[Wallace Wolodarsky]] * [[Brad Bird]] | prev = [[Homer Defined]] | next = [[Treehouse of Horror II]] }} "'''Like Father, Like Clown'''" is the sixth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, [[Krusty the Clown]] reveals to the Simpsons that he is Jewish and that his father, [[Rabbi]] [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky|Hyman Krustofsky]], disowned him for pursuing a career in comedy. [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] try to reunite a heartbroken Krusty with his estranged father.
The episode was written by the duo of [[Jay Kogen]] and [[Wallace Wolodarsky]], and directed by [[Jeffrey Lynch]] and [[Brad Bird]]; as it was Lynch's first credit as a director, Bird was assigned to help him. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody the 1927 film ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' and establish that Krusty is Jewish. The episode was carefully researched and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and [[Harold M. Schulweis]], were credited as "special technical consultants". Comedian [[Jackie Mason]], who had once been an ordained rabbi, provided the voice of Hyman Krustofsky. Hyman later became an infrequently recurring character voiced by [[Dan Castellaneta]]. Mason returned to voice the character in several later episodes.
In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 12.7. Mason won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] in 1992 for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] for his performance as Hyman Krustofsky.
==Plot== Krusty had agreed to have dinner with the Simpsons to repay [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] [[Krusty Gets Busted|for helping exonerate him for charges of armed robbery]].{{efn|As depicted in the 1990 episode "[[Krusty Gets Busted]]"}} When he keeps canceling, an upset Bart writes him a letter saying he has lost faith in Krusty. Krusty's secretary, [[Lois Pennycandy]], is so moved by the letter that she threatens to quit if Krusty does not keep his promise to Bart, so Krusty reluctantly attends. When asked to say grace, Krusty recites a [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Berakhah|blessing]]. Realizing that Krusty is [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] speaks of his heritage, making him break down in tears. He tells the family that saying the blessing reminds him of his troubled past.
Krusty reveals his real name is Herschel Krustofsky ({{Langx|yi|הרשל קרוסטופסקי}}) and describes his upbringing on the Lower East Side of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]. His father, [[Hyman Krustofsky]], is a [[rabbi]] who hated his son's wish to become a comedian and wanted him to follow in his footsteps. At school, Krusty made the other students laugh and became a [[slapstick]] comedian behind his father's back. One night, Krusty performed at a rabbis' convention unknowingly attended by Hyman. A rabbi squirted [[seltzer water|seltzer]] on him, washing off his clown makeup. Recognizing Krusty, an outraged Hyman [[Disownment|immediately disowned his son]]. They have not seen or spoken to each other in 25 years.
While filming an episode of ''The Krusty the Klown Show'', Krusty is reduced to tears on-camera after showing a father-and-son themed episode of ''[[The Itchy & Scratchy Show]]''. Lisa says “A man who envies our family is a man who needs help” and she and Bart decide to reunite father and son. Hyman tells them: "I have no son!" and Bart says "Great, we came all this way and it's the wrong guy." He adds: "I didn't mean that literally!" He refuses to reconcile with Krusty because he believes that his son had abandoned his faith and family. To outsmart Hyman, Lisa finds [[Judaic]] teachings that urge forgiveness, but he refutes her arguments. In a last-ditch effort, Bart convinces Hyman to abandon his stubborn ways by quoting [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] — a Jewish entertainer like Krusty — and making a passionate plea about the struggles that the Jewish people have overcome. Bart's speech finally convinces Hyman that entertainers have a place in [[Jewish culture]].
Krusty is feeling glum when he starts the live of his show, and then calls for ''Itchy & Scratchy'' to roll while he goes backstage to smoke a cigarette. Bart and Lisa arrive with Hyman, who - hidden in the darkness - admonishes Krusty for smoking before stepping into the light, and the two joyously reconcile. When Krusty goes back on set, he delivers a heartfelt speech where he introduces his father and explains that they haven't seen each other in 25 years. Hyman humorously accepts a cream pie from Bart and throws it in his son's face as the audience cheers.
==Production== [[File:Brad bird cropped 2009.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Brad Bird]] co-directed the episode.]]
"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky.<ref name="bbc"/> Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' and establish that Krusty is Jewish.<ref name="Jean">Jean, Al. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> They pitched the idea to co-executive producer [[Sam Simon]], who rejected it, but it was approved by [[James L. Brooks]].<ref name="Kogen">Kogen, Jay. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> Krusty's last name, Krustofsky, was established in this episode as pitched by [[Al Jean]].<ref name="Jean"/> The portion of the episode where characters quote the [[Bible]] in support or opposition of clowning were carefully researched.<ref name="Jean"/> Cited passages from the Bible include [[The Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 20:12 and [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] 1:8.<ref>{{harvnb|Pinsky|2007 |pp=155–156}}</ref> The quotations from the [[Talmud]] were also researched,<ref name="Kogen"/> and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and [[Harold M. Schulweis]], were credited as "special technical consultants".<ref name=Pinsky150>{{harvnb|Pinsky|2007 |p=150}}</ref> Schulweis was asked to take a look at a draft of the script. While not a fan of the show, he felt "it was profound" and added some corrections. He later commented, "I thought it had a Jewish resonance to it. I was impressed by the underlying moral seriousness."<ref name=Pinsky150/>
The episode was co-directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Brad Bird. It was Lynch's first credit as a director, so Bird was assigned to help him out and "usher [Lynch] into the world of directing things quickly".<ref name="Bird">Bird, Brad. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> Krusty is one of Bird's favorite characters, and he always tries to animate a scene in every Krusty episode.<ref name="Bird"/>
Rabbi Krustofsky was voiced by [[Jackie Mason]], who had once been an ordained rabbi, but had resigned to become a comedian.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frankie Valli, Jackie Mason to perform in Worcester |url=https://pdfgoal.com/downloads/arts/x689528666/Frankie-Valli-Jackie-Mason-to-perform-in-Worcester|author=Bergeron, Chris |work=[[Daily News Transcript]] |access-date=2022-01-15 |date=2008-09-21}}</ref> Mason recorded his lines in [[New York City]], and Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Krusty, went there to record with him.<ref>Castellaneta, Dan. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> In the script, Bart and Lisa try to trick Rabbi Krustofsky into meeting with Krusty by arranging a lunch date between him and [[Saul Bellow]], the "[[Nobel Prize]]-winning Jewish novelist". Originally, this was intended to be [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]], but the writers changed it when Singer died, and Mason had to re-record his lines to accommodate the alteration.<ref name="Jean"/> Rabbi Krustofsky became an infrequently recurring character, and his occasional speaking parts were voiced by Castellaneta.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20070427fox14&date=05/30/07&filter=premieres |publisher=The Futon Critic |title=Listings — Simpsons, The on Fox |access-date=2009-06-23 |year=2007}}</ref> Mason later returned to voice the rabbi in "[[Today I Am a Clown]]" in [[The Simpsons season 15|the fifteenth season]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/criticscorner/2003-12-04-critics-corner_x.htm |title=What to watch this weekend |author=Bianco, Robert |work=[[USA Today]] |date=2003-12-04 |access-date=2009-06-23}}</ref> "[[Once Upon a Time in Springfield]]" in the twenty-first season, and "[[Clown in the Dumps]]" in the twenty-sixth season, in which the character dies.<ref>{{cite news|last=Perkins|first=Dennis|title=The Simpsons: "Clown In The Dumps"|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-clown-in-the-dumps-1798181742|access-date=2022-01-15|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=2014-09-29}}</ref>
==Cultural references== The episode is a homage to the film ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' (1927), about a son with a strict religious upbringing who defies his father to become an entertainer.<ref name="bbc"/> Krusty is partially based on Jewish comedian [[Jerry Lewis]],<ref>{{cite interview|url=http://voices.yahoo.com/the-anatomy-krusty-clown-inspired-470898.html |title=The Anatomy of Krusty the Clown (or Who or What Inspired the Famous "Simpsons" Clown...and Why Clowns Get a Bad Rap) |access-date=August 10, 2019 |date=July 30, 2007 |author=Greg Brian |publisher=[[Yahoo!]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729005644/http://voices.yahoo.com/the-anatomy-krusty-clown-inspired-470898.html |archive-date=July 29, 2014 }}</ref> who starred in the [[The Jazz Singer (Ford Startime)|1959 version]] of the film. A nod to the film is featured in dialogue when Rabbi Krustofsky says, "Oh, if you were a musician or a jazz singer, this I could forgive!"<ref>{{harvnb|Pinsky|2007 |p=153}}</ref> In the Simpsons house, Krusty plays ''[[The Concert for Bangladesh (album)|The Concert for Bangladesh]]''. In Krusty's studio, there are pictures of him with [[Alfred Hitchcock]] and [[The Beatles]]. Lisa tells [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] there are many Jewish entertainers, including [[Lauren Bacall]], [[Dinah Shore]], [[William Shatner]], and [[Mel Brooks]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pinsky|2007 |p=151}}</ref>{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=67}} In Krusty's flashback, he and his father walk down the street in a parody of a scene from ''[[The Godfather Part II]]''. The scene of a young Krusty practicing comedy in the bathroom is a reference to [[Philip Roth]]'s ''[[Portnoy's Complaint]]''.<ref name="Jean"/> Lisa and Bart try to trick Hyman into meeting Krusty, telling him that "the Nobel-Prize winning Jewish novelist [[Saul Bellow]]" wants to have lunch with him at Izzy's Deli. They tell Krusty that he's to be presented with the [[Legion of Honor]] and walks in humming "[[La Marseillaise]]", asking to be directed to [[François Mitterrand]]'s table. At the end of the episode, Krusty and his father sing "[[O Mein Papa]]", a 1952 song originally by [[Eddie Fisher]].<ref name="bbc"/> Bart quotes a passage from [[Sammy Davis Jr.]]'s 1965 autobiography ''Yes, I Can''.<ref name="The best"/>
==Reception== [[File:JackieMasonOct06.jpg|thumb|[[Jackie Mason]] won an [[Emmy Award]] for his role as Hyman Krustofsky in this episode.]] In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings for the week of October 21–27, 1991, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 12.7. It was the highest rated program on Fox that week.<ref name="Nielsen ratings/Oct 21-27">{{cite news |title=Nielsen ratings/Oct 21-27 |date=1991-10-30 |work=[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Mason won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] in 1992 for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] for his performance as Hyman Krustofsky.<ref name="Emmys.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher=Emmys.org |access-date=2009-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403022947/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date=2009-04-03 }}</ref> He was one of six voice actors from ''The Simpsons'' to win the award in its inaugural year.<ref name="44th">{{cite news |title=Briefing–'Simpsons' score big in Prime-Time Emmys |date=1992-08-03 |page=L20 |work=[[Daily News of Los Angeles]]}}</ref>
He is one of three ''The Simpsons'' guest stars to win the award; [[Marcia Wallace]] won in 1992 for voicing [[Edna Krabappel]], and [[Kelsey Grammer]] won for voicing [[Sideshow Bob]] in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/52852/sideshow_bob_nabs_emmy |title=Sideshow Bob nabs Emmy |author=Serpe, Gina |publisher=[[E!]] |date=2006-07-20 |access-date=2022-01-15}}</ref> In 1998, ''[[TV Guide]]'' listed it in its list of top twelve ''Simpsons'' episodes.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Dozen Doozies |work=[[TV Guide]] |date=January 3–9, 1998 |url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/other/articles/dozendoozies.html|access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref> The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', [[Gary Russell]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html|title=Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos|author=Preddle, Jon|date=June 1997|magazine=Time Space Visualiser|issue=51|access-date=20 August 2020|publisher=The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club|quote=I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].}}</ref> called the episode, "a magnificent show, with Jackie Mason wonderfully over the top as Krusty's long-lost pa, and [[Lois Pennycandy]] giving Krusty a good talking to about Bart."<ref name="bbc" />
[[Alan Sepinwall]] and [[Matt Zoller Seitz]] of ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'' listed "Like Father, Like Clown" as one of the ten episodes of ''The Simpsons'' that shows the "comic and emotional scope of the show". They wrote, "Most Krusty the Klown episodes go heavy on celebrity cameos, while playing up the character's misanthropic greed. This one gave him a heart, as Bart and Lisa try to reunite him with his estranged rabbi father (voice of Jackie Mason), who has never forgiven his son for going into show biz."<ref name="The best">{{Cite news |title=The best of "The Simpsons" doing their worst |work=[[The Star-Ledger]] |author1=Sepinwall, Alan |author2=Matt Zoller Seitz |date=1998-04-26}}</ref> DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode "lacks a surfeit of guffaws, but it manages to be sweet and heartfelt without becoming sappy. It's more of a charming show than a laughfest, but it does the job."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonthree.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991) |last=Jacobson |first=Colin |date=2003-08-21 |publisher=DVD Movie Guide |access-date=2009-06-25}}</ref>
In a retrospective review in ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', Nathan Rabin writes "Like most Borsht-Belt shtick-slingers, Krusty is prickly and hard on the outside but soft, tender and sweet on the inside. Shtick without sentimentality is like lox without bagels and 'Like Father, Like Son' taps into a side of Krusty we seldom see: a lost little boy who never got over his father’s rejection and pines for what he sees as the domestic bliss of the Simpsons. As Lisa says with just the right note of sad, weary understanding, 'A man who envies our family is a man who needs help.'”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=March 27, 2011 |title=The Simpsons (Classic): "Like Father, Like Clown" |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-like-father-like-clown-1798167746 }}</ref>
In his 2018 memoir ''[[Springfield Confidential]]'', ''Simpsons'' season 3 showrunner [[Mike Reiss]] named the episode as one of four that broke new ground, alongside "[[Moaning Lisa (The Simpsons)|Moaning Lisa]]", "[[Homer at the Bat]]" and the original "[[Treehouse of Horror (The Simpsons episode)|Treehouse of Horror]]". Reiss noted how the episode established several new precedents for the show: it centered on a secondary character, it focused on a non-Christian religion and expert consultants were involved in the writing of the religious debate between the Rabbi and Bart.<ref name=book>{{cite book |last1=Reiss |first1=Mike |title=[[Springfield Confidential]] |date=2018 |publisher=Dey Street |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-06-274803-4 |pages=141–143 |edition=First}}</ref>
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]] |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}}}} *{{cite book |last=Pinsky |first=Mark I. |title=The Gospel According to The Simpsons, Bigger and Possibly Even Better! edition |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Louisville, Kentucky |edition=Second |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-664-23160-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt0000pins }} {{refend}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_3#Like_Father.2C_Like_Clown|Like Father, Like Clown}} {{Portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|8F05}} *{{IMDb episode |id=0701153}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|3}} {{The Jazz Singer}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 3 episodes]] [[Category:1991 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Brad Bird]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Wallace Wolodarsky]] [[Category:Television episodes about Jews and Judaism]] [[Category:Jewish comedy and humor]] [[Category:Television episodes about clowns]] [[Category:The Jazz Singer (play)]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Jay Kogen]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Jeffrey Lynch]]