History Creator / HarryShearer

* Sarcastic, often unprofessional news anchor Kent Brockman

* [[BadBoss Evil nuclear plant owner]] [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Charles Montgomery Burns]] ''[[ActingForTwo and]]'' his increasingly TransparentCloset, sycophantic assistant Waylon Smithers

** He was in the {{ADR}} loop group for ''Film/ANewHope'', voicing several minor characters such as Dex Tiree (Gold Two).

* [[BadBoss Evil nuclear plant owner]] [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Charles Montgomery Burns]] ''and'' his increasingly TransparentCloset, sycophantic assistant Waylon Smithers

* TalkingToHimself: Happens regularly on ''Simpsons'', most notably in the case of Mr. Burns and Smithers, who almost always speak to each other when they both appear, but Smithers's "secret" crush on Mr. Burns and his backhanded flirty comments make Shearer notable as one of the few voice actors to hit on themselves.

** After Creator/PhilHartman's death in 1998, the Simpsons producers thought about having Shearer take over the role of Lionel Hutz before deciding to retire Hutz from the show along with Hartman's other recurring character, Troy [=McClure=], out of respect.

** After Creator/PhilHartman's death in 1998, the producers thought about having Shearer take over the role of Lionel Hutz before deciding to retire Hutz from the show along with Hartman's other recurring character, Troy [=McClure=], out of respect.

* TheComicallySerious: Shearer's authoritative BadassBaritone voice makes him the go-to for ''Simpsons'' characters who are humorously straitlaced and uptight, such as Principal Skinner and Smithers.

* Creator/BillCosby Expy and the town's only competent doctor Dr. Julius Hibbert

Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor and VoiceActor famous for starring as Derek Smalls in ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'', as well as his voicework on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', where he played many characters including squeaky-clean religious neighbor Ned Flanders, cynical preacher Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, school principal and ShellShockedVeteran who still lives with -- and is being controlled by -- [[MyBelovedSmother his mother]], Seymour Skinner[[note]]though the infamous "Principal and the Pauper" episode reveals that the man who calls himself Seymour Skinner is really a street punk named Armin Tamzarian, who took over for a man named Seymour Skinner after he was M.I.A during the Vietnam War[[/note]], [[BadBoss evil nuclear plant owner]] [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Charles Montgomery Burn]]s ''and'' his increasingly TransparentCloset, sycophantic assistant Waylon Smithers[[note]]leading to a very HoYay-tastic case of ScrewYourself and TalkingToHimself[[/note]], Creator/BillCosby Expy and the town's only competent doctor Dr. Julius Hibbert, sarcastic, often unprofessional news anchor Kent Brockman, Homer's friend and plant coworker Lenford "Lenny" Leonard, Grandpa Simpson's elderly [[VitriolicBestFriends vitriolic best friend]] Jasper Beardley, stoner bus driver Otto Mann, and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger {{Expy}} [[TheAhnold Rainier Wolfcastle]][[note]]He also provided the voice for the "actual" Schwarzenegger, who had been elected President, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''[[/note]].

Shearer was a writer and cast member for ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' during its fifth (1979–80) season, then returned during season ten (1984–85), Dick Ebersol's final season as show runner before Creator/LorneMichaels's return; Shearer can thus be regarded as the UsefulNotes/GroverCleveland of ''SNL'' [[note]]in that he appeared in two non-consecutive seasons[[/note]]. Shearer's reason for leaving ''SNL'' during its tenth season (mid-season): CreativeDifferences (in his words, "I was creative, they were different.") Most of the celebrity impressions he did on ''SNL'' were transferred to ''The Simpsons'': his Vin Scully impression was heard on "Krusty Gets Kancelled" and sounds very similar to Kent Brockman, his UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan impression and mannerisms are the basis for Mr. Burns, and his Creator/RodSerling impression was used on the "Treehouse of Horror" special featuring the story of Bart using his God-like powers to make everyone in town bow to his whims, which parodied the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "It's a Good Life".

* MoneyDearBoy: His reason for remaining on ''The Simpsons'', despite his contention that the show's quality has been going downhill since season four[[note]]There's quite a bit of spite involved in his staying with the show. He admits that he gets paid an extraordinary amount for his work but also points out that the cast's salaries are a drop in the bucket compared to what Fox et al make from the show despite their reluctance to renegotiate whenever it's time to renew contracts. As long as he's able, he intends to squeeze every bit he can out of the show.[[/note]]

Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor and VoiceActor famous for starring as Derek Smalls in ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'', as well as his voicework on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', where he played many characters including squeaky-clean religious neighbor Ned Flanders, cynical preacher Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, school principal and ShellShockedVeteran who still lives with -- and is being controlled by -- [[MyBelovedSmother his mother]], Seymour Skinner[[note]]though the infamous "Principal and the Pauper" episode reveals that the man who calls himself Seymour Skinner is really a street punk named Armin Tamzarian, who took over for a man named Seymour Skinner after he was M.I.A during the Vietnam War[[/note]], [[BadBoss evil nuclear plant owner]] Charles Montgomery Burns ''and'' his increasingly TransparentCloset, sycophantic assistant Waylon Smithers[[note]]leading to a very HoYay-tastic case of ScrewYourself and TalkingToHimself[[/note]], Creator/BillCosby Expy and the town's only competent doctor Dr. Julius Hibbert, sarcastic, often unprofessional news anchor Kent Brockman, Homer's friend and plant coworker Lenford "Lenny" Leonard, Grandpa Simpson's elderly [[VitriolicBestFriends vitriolic best friend]] Jasper Beardley, stoner bus driver Otto Mann, and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger {{Expy}} [[TheAhnold Rainier Wolfcastle]][[note]]He also provided the voice for the "actual" Schwarzenegger, who had been elected President, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''[[/note]].

* MoneyDearBoy: His reason for remaining on ''The Simpsons'', despite his contention that the show's quality has been going downhill since season four.

** He was also [[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8590717/The-Simpsons-actor-calls-shows-decision-stop-having-white-actors-play-POC-characters.html quite critial]] of the show's decision to [[TheOtherDarrin recast all non-white characters with people of color]], noting that a major point of acting is being able to play characters outside the actor's natural range.

** Has quite heavily condemned the infamous ''The Simpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E2ThePrincipalAndThePauper The Principal and the Pauper]]" for "tossing (Principal Skinner's character) in the trash can for no good reason."