Editing Krusty the Clown (section)

===Development===
[[File:Dan Castellaneta 2.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Dan Castellaneta]] based his voice characterization on Chicago television's [[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]].]]
The [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] episode "[[Like Father, Like Clown]]" is the first to establish that Krusty is Jewish. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept, and the idea came from [[Jay Kogen]]. The episode is a parody of ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'', which is about a son with a strict religious upbringing who defies his father to become an entertainer. In order to make "Like Father, Like Clown" a full parody of ''The Jazz Singer'', the decision was made to make Krusty Jewish and have his father be a rabbi. Krusty's real last name, Krustofsky, was pitched by [[Al Jean]].<ref name= "LFLCCom">{{cite video |people= Groening, Matt; Bird, Brad; Kogen, Jay; Wolodarski, Wallace; Jean, Al; Castellaneta, Dan; Kavner, Jean |year= 2003 |title=Commentary for the episode "Like Father, Like Clown". The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Krusty's father Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky was played by [[Jackie Mason]], who won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] for the episode.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher= | website= Emmys.org |access-date= April 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330160256/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date= March 30, 2008 }}</ref> It was established in "[[Krusty Gets Busted]]" that Krusty is illiterate. This was shown in subsequent episodes like "[[Itchy & Scratchy & Marge]]" but the trait was dropped after the first few seasons because it was hard for the writers to write for an illiterate character.<ref>{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |year= 2002 |title=Commentary for the episode 'Itchy & Scratchy & Marge'. The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

Krusty's design has undergone several subtle changes since the early years. For the episode "[[Homie the Clown]]", Krusty's design was permanently enhanced and he was given a different shaped mouth muzzle and permanent bags under his eyes in order to distinguish him from Homer.<ref>{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt; Mirkin, David; Silverman, David; Kirkland, Mark |year=2005 |title=Commentary for the episode 'Homie the Clown'. The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In the episode "[[Lisa's Wedding]]", which is set fifteen years in the future, Krusty's design was significantly altered to make him look considerably older and was based on [[Groucho Marx]].<ref name= "Daniels">{{cite video |people=Daniels, Greg |year=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode 'Lisa's Wedding' |medium= DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

Krusty is a favorite character of several of the original writers, many of whom related themselves to him and wanted to write the Krusty-focused episodes. Krusty was used as a chance for show business jokes. Thus, many of Krusty's experiences and anecdotes are based on real experiences and stories heard by the writers.<ref>{{cite video |people= Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Reiss, Mike; Silverman, David |year= 2004 |title=Commentary for the episode 'Krusty Gets Kancelled'. The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> He was a particular favorite of [[Brad Bird]], who directed the first two Krusty episodes and always tried to animate a scene in every Krusty episode.<ref name= "LFLCCom"/>

In 1992, [[Matt Groening]] and [[James L. Brooks]] began planning a [[live-action]] spin-off from ''The Simpsons'' that revolved around Krusty and would star [[Dan Castellaneta]] as Krusty.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mangels |first= Andy |date=January 1993 |title= Hollywood Heroes |journal=[[Wizard (magazine)|Wizard]] |issue=17 |page= 34 |publisher=[[Wizard Entertainment]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-simpsons-originally-planned-to-film-a-live-action-krusty-the-clown-spinoff/|title=The Simpsons originally planned to film a live-action Krusty the Clown spinoff| first=Bradley | last= Russell|date=April 27, 2021| website= Gamesradar.com|access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> They pitched the series in 1994. Groening and Michael Weithorn<ref name="empire">{{cite news | first=Olly | last= Richards |title=.Life in Development Hell |page= 76 |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date= May 24, 2007 }}</ref> wrote a [[television pilot|pilot]] script  in which Krusty moved to [[Los Angeles]] and hosted his own talk show. A recurring joke throughout the script was that Krusty lived in a house on wooden stilts which were continuously being gnawed by [[North American beaver|beavers]]. Eventually, the contract negotiations fell apart, and Groening decided to stop work on the project.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1999/04/15/matt-groening-tells-ew-online-about-lost-simpsons-spin |title=Send in the Clown |date=April 15, 1999 |first=Dan |last=Snierson |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |publisher= |access-date=April 4, 2008 |archive-date=April 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409160510/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84306,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prior to Groening's live-action pitch, ''Simpsons'' showrunners [[Al Jean]] and [[Mike Reiss]] planned an animated Krusty spin-off in which he would be a single father in New York City.  Supporting characters would include a prickly make-up lady and a boss resembling [[Ted Turner]]. This unsuccessful pitch was later reworked into the animated series ''[[The Critic]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reiss |first1=Mike |title=[[Springfield Confidential]] |date=2018 |publisher= Dey Street |location=New York |isbn= 978-0-06-274803-4 |page=209 |edition= First}}</ref>