Editing Troy McClure (section)

==Reception and cultural influence==
Even after his retirement, McClure remains a popular supporting character. ''[[IGN]]'' ranked McClure first in their 2006 list of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral Characters", calling him "a wonderfully bizarre and entertaining character that showcases the best of what small roles on The Simpsons can be."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/02/16/the-simpsons-top-25-peripheral-characters?page=3|title=Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral Characters|access-date=March 6, 2015|date=February 16, 2012|author1=Eric Goldman |author2=Dan Iverson |author3=Brian Zoromski |website=IGN}}</ref> In a 2007 article on ''Simpsons'' guest stars, Adam Finley of [[TV Squad]] wrote that McClure was "responsible for some of the funniest moments in ''Simpsons'' history."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/20/the-five-great-simpsons-guest-stars/|title=The Five: Great Simpsons guest stars|author=Adam Finley|date=June 20, 2006|publisher=TV Squad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108051237/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/06/20/the-five-great-simpsons-guest-stars/|archive-date=November 8, 2006|access-date=June 23, 2007}}</ref> Hartman ranked first on [[AOL]]'s list of their favorite 25 ''Simpsons'' guest stars.<ref>{{cite web|author=Potts, Kimberly|title=Favorite 'Simpsons' Guest Stars|url=http://television.aol.com/feature/the-simpsons/guest-stars|access-date=November 24, 2008|publisher=[[AOL]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515205009/http://television.aol.com/feature/the-simpsons/guest-stars|archive-date=May 15, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Chris Turner (author)|Chris Turner]] argues in ''[[Planet Simpson]]'' that McClure and [[Lionel Hutz]] "together ... represent the most significant contribution to the show outside of its permanent cast," adding that "the show's Golden Age is hard to imagine without them."{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=405–406}} He continues, "The smarmy Hollywood type ... has been done to death, but Hartman's version breathed new life into it with each appearance. McClure has become the [[apotheosis]] of the stereotype, a gut-achingly funny reinterpretation whose trademark introduction ... has become a shorthand way to describe any grossly artificial media figure."{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=405–406}}

McClure's most prominent episode, "[[A Fish Called Selma]]", is a favorite of many staff members,<ref name=fcs/> and has been cited as one of the series' best episodes by several publications. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' placed the episode eighth on their top 25 ''The Simpsons'' episode list,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748_2,00.html|title=The Family Dynamic|access-date=June 9, 2007|date=January 29, 2003|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-date=May 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510032159/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C417748_2%2C00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''IGN'' named the episode the best of the [[The Simpsons (season 7)|seventh season]], calling it the "obvious pick". They also deemed McClure's ''Planet of the Apes'' musical the best moment of the episode and "maybe even the whole show".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/08/the-simpsons-20-seasons-20-episodes|title=The Simpsons: 17 Seasons, 17 Episodes|author1=Goldman, Eric |author2=Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski |website=IGN|date=September 8, 2006|access-date=June 9, 2007}}</ref>

McClure was one of Hartman's best-known roles. He often used his McClure voice to entertain the audience between takes while taping episodes of ''[[NewsRadio]]''. He remarked, "My favorite fans are Troy McClure fans."<ref>{{cite news|title=Out of the Bottle&nbsp;– Along With Many Amusing Characters, Phil Hartman of 'Newsradio' Unleashes the Rare Exception|date=February 24, 1998|work=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]|page=Y–01|author=Virginia Rohan}}</ref> He added "It's the one thing that I do in my life that's almost an avocation. I do it for the pure love of it."<ref>{{cite news|title=No raise ... no big deal|date=May 11, 1998|page=1|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref> Many obituaries of Hartman mentioned his work as McClure as one of the highlights of his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www1.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/1998/05/28feature.html |title=Phil Hartman: 1948–1998 |access-date=May 27, 2008 |date=May 28, 1998 |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |author=Joyce Millman |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516032341/http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/1998/05/28feature.html |archive-date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Phil Hartman was quite a character|date=May 29, 1998|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|author=Eric Mink}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=An impressionist who let his voices propel him to fame|date=May 29, 1998|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|author=Jennifer Weiner}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=fc561425-d286-4953-be7f-f4acc76c9857&entry=index|title=Comic Phil Hartman's Tragic End|access-date=May 27, 2008|date=May 28, 1998|publisher=[[E!|E! News]]|author=Joal Ryan}}</ref> The [[BBC]] said that "[Hartman's] voice was known to millions" because of McClure and [[Lionel Hutz]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/104343.stm|title=Friends pay tribute to murdered comic|access-date=May 27, 2008|date=June 1, 1998|work=BBC News}}</ref>

The title of a song on American indie-rock band [[Yo La Tengo]]'s ninth full-length album, ''[[And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out]]'', "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House", is based upon a telethon that McClure hosts in the episode "[[Marge on the Lam]]". In an interview with the [[The A.V. Club|A.V. Club]], [[Ira Kaplan]], the singer and guitarist of Yo La Tengo, states that [[James McNew]], the band's bassist, titled a series of instrumentals from the Troy McClure filmography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22884|title=Tengo inside out|last=Thompson|first=Stephen|date=March 22, 2000|website=The A. V. Club|type=Interview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614055355/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22884|archive-date=June 14, 2006|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref>