Editing Krusty the Clown (section)

===Creation===
[[File:Krustys first appearance.png|right|200px|thumb|Krusty in his first appearance in the ''Simpsons'' short "The Krusty the Clown Show"]]
Krusty first appeared in "The Krusty the Clown Show", one of the [[The Simpsons shorts|''Simpsons'' shorts]] from ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'' that first aired on January 15, 1989.{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=15}} The character was partially inspired by TV clown "[[James H. Allen|Rusty Nails]]" whom ''The Simpsons'' creator [[Matt Groening]] and director [[Brad Bird]] watched as children while growing up in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]].<ref name="NPR">{{cite interview |last=Groening |first=Matt |subject-link=Matt Groening |interviewer=[[Terry Gross]] |title=Fresh Air |publisher=[[NPR]] |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1476480 |location= Philadelphia |date=October 23, 2003 |access-date=June 9, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/james-allen-dead-simpsons-krusty-811814/ |title=James Allen, TV Personality Who Inspired Krusty the Clown on 'The Simpsons,' Dies at 87| first=Mike|last=Barnes|website=Hollywoodreporter.com|date=July 29, 2015| access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> Groening describes Rusty Nails as being a sweet clown whose show sometimes had a Christian message, but whose name scared Groening.<ref name="KGBCom">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt; Bird, Brad; Kogen, Jay; Wolodarsky, Wallace |year=2001 |title=Commentary for the episode 'Krusty Gets Busted'. The Simpsons: The Complete First Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> [[Dan Castellaneta]] based his voice characterization on [[Chicago]] television's [[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]] who had a very raspy voice and portrayed [[WGN-TV]]'s [[Bozo the Clown]] from 1960 to 1984.<ref name=tvguide>{{cite news |title=Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves |date=October 21, 2000 |work=[[TV Guide]] | first=Joe | last= Rhodes}}</ref> Krusty has been compared to an earlier incarnation named "Flunky the Late Night viewer mail clown" who had appeared on ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''. [[Jeff Martin (writer)|Jeff Martin]], a writer on Letterman’s show, created and played the character. Martin also went on to become a writer on ''The Simpsons'' writing episodes that included Krusty.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Zinoman |first1=Jason |title=The Tears (and Fears) of a Clown |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/arts/the-tears-and-fears-of-a-clown.html |work=The New York Times |date=22 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hoffman |first1=Ken |title=Houstonian was the man behind Letterman's Flunky the Clown |url= https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/columnists/hoffman/article/Houstonian-was-the-man-behind-Letterman-s-Flunky-6271565.php |work= HoustonChronicle.com |date=18 May 2015}}</ref>

Many events in Krusty's life parallel those of comedian [[Jerry Lewis]], including his Jewish background, addiction to Percodan, hosting of telethons,<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=January 29, 2012 |date=July 30, 2007 | first= Greg | last= 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> and appearance in an adaptation of ''[[The Jazz Singer (Ford Startime)|The Jazz Singer]]''. When asked, Groening has simply noted that "[''Simpsons''] characters are collaborations between the writers, animators, and actors" without specifically confirming or denying the association.<ref>{{cite interview |url= https://www.avclub.com/matt-groening-1798209542 |title=Matt Groening |access-date=January 29, 2012 |date=April 26, 2006 | interviewer= Nathan Rabin |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>

Krusty's appearance and design is essentially that of [[Homer Simpson]] with clown makeup.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1565538/20070725/story.jhtml |title='Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers |access-date=July 29, 2007 |date=July 26, 2007 | first=Larry | last= Carroll |publisher= MTV |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071220140402/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1565538/20070725/story.jhtml |archive-date=December 20, 2007 }}</ref> Groening said that "The satirical [[conceit]]<!--sic, please do not "correct" this without checking the source--> that I was going for at the time was that ''The Simpsons'' was about a kid who had no respect for his father, but worshipped a clown who looked exactly like his father", a theme which became less important as the show developed.<ref name="NPR"/> One concept initially saw Krusty being revealed as Homer's secret identity but the idea was dropped for being too complex and because the writers were too busy developing the series.<ref>{{cite magazine |url= http://www.ew.com/article/2007/07/20/talking-about-simpsons |title=Talking about ''The Simpsons'' |date=July 20, 2007 |magazine= [[Entertainment Weekly]] | publisher= |access-date=April 5, 2008 }}</ref> There are two instances of the one assuming the identity of the other. In a [[Butterfinger]] commercial depicting a contest for $50,000 to find out who stole Bart's Butterfinger, a captured Homer appears to be the culprit until Maggie pulls off a mask, revealing Krusty. In the episode "[[Homie the Clown]]", Homer goes to Clown College and dresses up as—and is confused with—Krusty.

The Krusty character was originally conceived as just a normal man wearing clown makeup, but [[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]] noted that "at some point, we decided he looked [like a clown] all the time".<ref name= tvguide/> The producers had long discussions about whether or not Krusty would always remain in his clown makeup but eventually decided that it did not matter.<ref name="KGB"/> The writers had tried showing Krusty's real face a few times in early episodes, but decided that it did not look right, although his real face was seen in "[[Krusty Gets Busted]]" and "[[Like Father, Like Clown]]". Later episodes made jokes about Krusty's face. In "[[Homer's Triple Bypass]]", Krusty reveals that his "grotesque appearance" is the result of multiple heart attacks. Homer remarks that he seems fine, and Krusty replies, "This ain't makeup." In "[[Bart the Fink]]", he abandons an idea to sail away with a new identity and swims towards shore, leaving a trail of yellow makeup in his wake and his natural white face underneath. On shore, he shakes off his black hair, revealing his natural green clown hair, and removes his normal-looking fake nose to reveal his natural red bulbous clown nose underneath.<ref>{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Reiss, Mike; Carrington, Michael; Silverman, David |year=2004 |title=Commentary for the episode "Homer's Triple Bypass". The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>