Movies - TV
The Mysterious History Of The Simpsons' Most ‘Cursed’ Character
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
The character of Dr. Marvin Monroe first appeared in the 1990 episode of “The Simpsons,” “There’s No Disgrace Like Home,” and would be seen throughout the early seasons.
Dr. Monroe typically appeared when the show needed the word of a psychiatric specialist to aid in plot points. However, the character died before being given any chance to develop.
While Dr. Monroe was only a minor character and returned seven years after the show informed viewers of his death, many of the show’s writers felt the character was cursed.
In showrunners Mike Reiss and Mathew Klickstein’s book “Springfield Confidential,” Reiss recalls the first table reading of “There’s No Disgrace Like Home.”
Regarding Dr. Monroe, Reiss wrote, “A local radio personality played psychiatrist Dr. Marvin Monroe, but he was fired at the end of the reading.”
Reiss continued, “We later killed off the character of Marvin Monroe. And the real radio shrink we based him on committed suicide. All in all, kind of a cursed character.”
However, Reiss had the details of Dr. David Viscott — the radio personality Monroe was based on — wrong, as his death was determined to be the result of heart failure.