View source for Krusty the Clown

:''For others named Krusty, see [[Krusty (disambiguation)]]''
{{Quote|Hey Hey Kids!|Krusty's catchphrase}}
{{Character
|name = Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky
|image = [[File:Krusty The Clown.png|270px]]
|gender = {{Male}}
|hair = Green
|age = 52 <ref>[[Once Upon a Time in Springfield]]</ref>
|status = Alive
|job = Television personality
|relatives = '''Father:''' [[Hyman Krustofsky]]<br>'''Ex-wives''': 14 unnamed<ref>[[Once Upon a Time in Springfield]]</ref><br>'''Daughter:''' [[Sophie]]<br>'''Half-brother:''' [[Luke Perry]]<br>'''Nephew:''' [[Josh]]
|appearance = "[[The Krusty the Clown Show]]"
|voiced by = [[Dan Castellaneta]]
}}

'''Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky''', formally known as '''Rory B. Bellows''',<ref>[[Bart the Fink]]</ref> better known by his stage name, '''Krusty the Clown''', or simply '''Krusty''', is the cynical, burnt out, addiction-riddled smoking clown host of [[Bart]]'s and [[Lisa]]'s favorite TV show, [[The Krusty the Clown Show (TV series)|The Krusty the Clown Show]].

== History ==
=== Early life ===
{{quote|Oy vey's mir! You have brought shame on our family!|[[Rabbi Krustofsky]]|Like Father Like Clown}}
[[File:Krustyyoung.jpg|thumb|left|Krusty's big break]]
Herschel Krustofsky was born to Jewish parents and grew up in the [[Lower East Side]] of [[Springfield]]. His father, respected Rabbi [[Hyman Krustofsky]], came from a long line of rabbis, looking for his son to follow in his footsteps. Hyman forbade his son from becoming a clown, but Herschel continued anyway, getting his first laughs at his {{w|Yeshiva}} impersonating his father. His father continued to try and discourage his son, by taking away his props, such as his seltzer bottle. Despite his perseverance at comedy, he was top of his Yeshiva class. He received his comedy break though entertaining the Rabbis at the Talmudic conference. Wearing clown make-up to hide his appearance, he is well received by the crowd, making balloon sculptures of the Menorah and the Star of David. However, when someone sprays water over his face, his identity is revealed, much to the dismay of his father, who disowns him.<ref>[[Like Father, Like Clown]]</ref> He never had a Bar Mitzvah

=== Early career ===
After this, Krusty moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, where he worked as a street mime. His first TV appearance was in the 1950s on "The Milk of Magnesia Summer Cavalcade", pretending to be a Russian satellite. However, he said the word "Pants" which got him banned from TV for 10 years. He then got another chance on "Laugh-In", but got stuck behind the shutter doors, putting his career back another 22 years.

In 1962, Krusty worked in [[Las Vegas]] briefly after running in to [[Mort Murderosi|Murdering Mort "The Murderer" Murderosi]]. He was approached to do 1,000 shows at Murderosi's casino, [[Nero's Trough]]. Krusty had his own slot machine on stage, but got addicted and chased out by the police. He then went on to [[Branson, Missouri]].
He then got his own television show, [[The Krusty the Klown Show]], which featured Krusty discussing current events with serious guests (an episode of the show dated February 6, 1961, featured AFL-CIO president George Meany and a discussion of the "labor crisis in America").

In 1973, he performed a song of The Doors live in TV (Break on Through (To the Other Side)). [[Sting (character)|Sting]] opened for Krusty briefly, until he fired him. In the meanwhile, Krusty's interview format got increasingly wacky, and by the 1980s the show had devolved into a children's entertainment show.
He hired [[Sideshow Raheem]] for a brief period in 1989, however, Raheem was unwilling to go against his faith, to advertise Krusty pork products, and was unwilling to take part in any sideshow stunts. Raheem later resigned, with a drunken Krusty trying to run him over. His show also used to feature the "Krustkateers".

He briefly took up stand-up comedy, and during the Gulf War, he tried to entertain the soldiers (in a manner similar to [[Bob Hope]]) by making an off-color pun off of Saddam Hussein's name ("Saddam Hussein?! They should call him "So Damn Insane!!"), as well as having the Cincinnati Bengal Cheerleaders entertain the soldiers, which was controversial at best. However, the show was unexpectedly shut down due to a sandstorm, so he was forced to take refuge in a tent which coincidentally had a [[Erin (soldier)|female soldier]] whom he later slept with. However, the night of passion quickly turned sour after he ruined her chance at assassinating Saddam Hussein (as well as destroying an entire shipment of Duff beer to the camp at the same time). As a result of the one-night stand, he became the father of Sophie.

During another trip to entertain the troops, he built his act around future troop movements, as a tribute. The court martial sentenced him to death. However, it turned out this was a [[Krusty's double|double of him]], as he himself was too coward to go to the war zone, the double also spying on the American forces. The spy was executed.<ref>[[The Krusty Book]]</ref>

=== Sideshow Bob and his arrest ===
{{quote| Why did the clown cross the road?<br>To rob a Kwik-E-Mart.|[[Scott Christian]]|Krusty Gets Busted}}

Krusty hired [[Sideshow Bob|Bob Terwilliger]] as his sidekick after seeing him at his brother, [[Cecil Terwilliger|Cecil's]] attempt to land the job. Krusty and the producers rejected Cecil during his audition, as he lacked the dignity necessary to pull the job off. Krusty then spotted Bob, standing to the side in a suit and looking like he didn't want to be there. Krusty threw a pie-in-his-face, resulting in the top hat he was wearing falling off and his hair springing up underneath. Krusty hired him on the spot. Krusty once had a heart attack on air while trying his own line of pork products, leading to a triple bypass and a pacemaker. He ran his own campaign against illiteracy, "give a hoot, read a book!"
[[File:KGB.jpg|Krusty under arrest|thumb]]
Bob, however, was not happy with the sidekick job and did not appreciate being fired out of a cannon, or having pies thrown in his face. Bob decided to frame Krusty and robbed the [[Kwik-E-Mart]] in his guise, being caught on CCTV and witnessed by [[Homer Simpson]]. Krusty was arrested by a SWAT force as the news broke out, with Homer positively identifying him as the robber. [[Reverend Lovejoy]] led a mass-burning of Krusty merchandise as a result of the crime. 
At the [[Springfield Court]], after a brief mix up between guilty and not-guilty, Krusty pleads his innocence. Krusty reveals to the court the next day that he is illiterate. The jury reaches a guilty verdict.
Sideshow Bob takes over the show for Krusty, who is making the show more cultured, adding in books and psychology. Lisa and Bart meanwhile investigate the crime scene and find that the microwave, which Krusty was apparently standing near, has a no pacemaker sign, as well as finding that in the CCTV footage, Krusty is reading, despite his illiteracy.
Bart, [[Lisa]] and [[Maggie]] decide to visit the [[Krustylu Studios|television studios]] to visit to Sideshow Bob, who gives them free tickets as the show is about to start, noticing Bob's large feet. In the audience a saddened Bart watches the show and when Bob notices Bart's emotional state, he invites him on stage for a new psychological segment called Choices. While on stage Bart reveals he thinks that Krusty was framed, however, Sideshow Bob tries to convince him otherwise. While Sideshow Bob is talking to the audience he mentions that he has "big shoes to fill." "Big shoes," makes everything click in Bart's mind. He jumps to his feet and declares that Sideshow Bob is the one who framed Krusty. The police watching the show hear Bart's evidence and arrests Bob. Sideshow Bob reveals that he framed Krusty because he couldn't stand all the antics and felt his intelligence was wasted on the show. Later at the police station Krusty is released and he thanks Bart for his help, him regaining his show.

He later hires [[Sideshow Mel|Melvin Van Horne]] to replace Bob.

=== His father and his camp ===
After breaking down at a dinner hosted by The [[Simpson family]] about his estranged father, Lisa and Bart work to get them back together. After the Rabbi closes the door on them and defends his point on radio show [[Gabbing about God]], Lisa studies the books in the [[Springfield Public Library|library]], quoting esteemed rabbis and the Talmud, with the Rabbi countering them. Eventually, the only text left to use (without learning Ancient Hebrew) is by {{w|Sammy Davis Jr.}}, which, during a game of chess with Bart, wins the Rabbi over. During Krusty's show, the pair reunite to "Oh Mein Papa" live on the show, with his father throwing a pie in Krusty's face.

When hearing about [[Timmy O'Toole]], a orphaned boy trapped down [[The Old Well|a well]], he called up [[Sting (character)|Sting]], and arranged a charity single. It also featured [[Bleeding Gums Murphy]], The [[Capital City Goofball]], [[Mayor Quimby]], [[Lance Murdock]], [[Marvin Monroe]], [[Princess Kashmir]], [[Rainier Wolfcastle]], [[Scott Christian]], [[Sideshow Mel]] and [[Troy McClure]]. The song became US #1 for one week, until Timmy turned out to be a hoax by [[Bart Simpson]], leading it to slide down to #97.

{{Quote|Dear Mom, I no longer fear Hell, because I've been to Kamp Krusty|[[Lisa Simpson]] on [[Kamp Krusty (location)|Kamp Krusty]]|Kamp Krusty}}

Krusty after being offered a dump truck full of money, put his name on [[Kamp Krusty (location)|Kamp Krusty]], a low budgeted summer camp. The institution fed kids gruel and locked overweight children in a fat camp. Krusty never turns up at the camp and the [[Springfield Elementary School|school]] bullies - [[Jimbo]], [[Kearney]] and [[Dolph]]; are left to keep order. The kids are forced to make cheap quality wallets and forced to march and hike. When [[Mr. Black]], who runs the camp, tells them that Krusty has arrived, it was actually [[Barney Gumble]] dressed up. This drives Bart over the edge and he leads a rebellion, driving out Mr. Black and the bullies, establishing Camp Bart. Krusty, unaware of this while watching Wimbledon in [[England]], comes to apologize to the kids, explaining that he got bribed. He then took the kids to Tijuana, [[Mexico]].

=== Cancellation ===
Krusty faced a rival in children's entertainment in the name of the puppet, [[Gabbo]]. Gabbo's show is heavily advertised and quickly takes away Krusty's audience and [[The Itchy & Scratchy Show]]. Krusty tries to get his own puppet and ends up with Eastern Europe's [[Worker & Parasite]] cartoon. Krusty's audience share sinks to rock bottom and is cancelled, leading him into depression. Bart and Lisa work to get Krusty's show back by discrediting Gabbo, leaving a camera on air during an ad-break, letting the audience hear Gabbo's bad-mouthing of the audience. Krusty and Bart then begin to recruit celebrities for a [[Krusty Comeback Special|comeback special]] using Krusty's address book; managing to get {{Ch|Bette Midler}}, {{Ch|Hugh Hefner}}, his half-brother {{Ch|Luke Perry}} and the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers (characters)|Red Hot Chili Peppers]]. Both {{Ch|Elizabeth Taylor}} and his former sideshow [[Melvin Van Horne|Mel]] turn Krusty down, while Krusty gets into shape at the [[742 Evergreen Terrace|Simpsons' house]].

The show begins with Krusty singing "[[Send In the Clowns]]", and much to his surprise, Mel joins him on stage. He also fires Luke Perry out of a cannon, sending him out of the studio, through the [[Museum of Sandpaper]], through a acidic display in the [[Kwik-E-Mart]] and into a [[Pillow Factory]], just as it's being demolished. The show also features the Chilli Peppers performing, {{Ch|Johnny Carson}} juggling a car, Hugh Hefner playing "{{W|Peter and the Wolf}}" on a wine glass and Bette Midler duetting with Krusty. 

Krusty then hired Bart as his assistant, getting him to steal a Danish from [[Kent Brockman]] for him. Krusty lets Bart act out a scene on the show which goes wrong, leading Bart to exclaim "I Didn't Do It" and earning him local celebrity status as the "I Didn't Do It" kid. However, overtime the catchphrase loses its effect and Bart goes back to normal life.

=== The Mafia and Rory B. Bellows ===
Krusty was running out of cash, due to bets with the [[Springfield Mafia]] and settling with celebrities over stolen gags. His accountant opens a [[Krusty's Clown College|Clown college]] to train local Krusty's. Homer Simpson enrols, while Krusty continues to bet away his money. The Mafia take over the clown college and hunt down a fleeing Krusty. Homer, meanwhile, is milking his Krusty status and so ends on the receiving end of the mafia's attacks. Krusty meanwhile, went to Switzerland for plastic surgery, and ending up with breast enlargements. 
The mob captures Homer and the Don, [[Don Vittorio|Vittorio]], who is a fan of Krusty's. He cannot kill him, so offers to spare him if he does the loop the loop trick on the small bicycle. While this is happening, Krusty bursts in and the Don threatens to kill them both unless they do the trick together. They succeed and Krusty pays the $48 he owes.

[[File:Rory b bellows.gif|thumb|Rory B. Bellows]].

Bart Simpson, Krusty's biggest fan, gained a cheque book and wanted Krusty's signature, slipping a cheque for a quarter in his pocket. However, it is returned a month later stamped by a [[Cayman Island]] overseas holding corporation. He takes it down to the bank and Krusty is arrested for tax evasion. The IRS take away 95% of his salary a month, force him to do a show without sideshows, props or a set and take over [[Krusty Burger]]. The IRS also sell his mansion, bury veterans in his family plots, sell his stuff (including his pornography) and sell his plane. Krusty cannot take it anymore and seemingly crashes his plane into a rock after flying low over Springfield. His funeral is attended by many celebrities and hosted by [[Troy McClure]], and stamps are unveiled based on him. 
{{quote|What about being an illiterate clown who's still more respected than all the educators in the country put together!|Bart on Krusty's celebrity|Bart the Fink}}

However, in reality, Krusty has took up the new alias of '''Rory B. Bellows''', faking his death. Bart believes he sees him at the Doctor's and driving, and so investigates. They discover Rory about to flee to sea and plead with him to stay. They eventually convince him and he dives off his boat, blowing it up and cashing in the heavily insured life of Rory Bellows.

=== Change in style, retirement and entrance into politics ===
Krusty agreed to take part in a comedy festival as part of his community service alongside comedians such as [[Jay Leno]]. However, his old-fashioned comedy fails compared to the modern comedians around him. After a drunk night, he announces his retirement and while talking about his views on modern comedians, sends the press conference into hysterics, leading him to take up observational comedy and burning a dollar to show it to society. However, he later sells out and becomes spokesman of the [[Canyonero]].

He then discovered he had a long-lost illegitimate daughter, the result of a one night stand during the Gulf War. [[Sophie]] and Krusty try to bond, but do not succeed. Krusty later gambles away her violin and sneaks into a meeting of mobsters to retrieve it.

After being pressured by executives to change his show, Krusty retires for a fifth time. Krusty reveals in his interviews that he taped over the old shows featuring [[Sideshow Bob]]. Bob gains parole and leaves the prison plotting revenge and training Bart Simpson to blow up Krusty on his farewell show. However the plot fails after Krusty dedicates a song to Bob and Krusty survives to come out of retirement (again).

Krusty was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican after Bart suggested he run in order to stop [[Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington|Air Traffic problems over their house]], and with some difficulty, and some underhanded tactics from The Simpsons family with the help of a Janitor, managed to get the bill passed. A year later, he served on a House committee to investigate Ziffcorp – run by [[Artie Ziff]] until he lost 98% of the company to Homer for corporate malfeasance.

=== Bar Mitzvah ===

Krusty tired to sign himself up on to the [[Jewish Walk of Fame]], but finds himself eligible due to not having a Bar Mitzvah, as his father feared he would not take it seriously. His father agrees to teach him the Jewish beliefs, leaving his show on Saturday (Sabbath) needing someone to fill in for him. He chooses Homer, who hosts a talk show with [[Lenny]] (later [[Barney]] and [[Disco Stu]]), [[Carl]] and [[Moe]]. The show becomes a success, leading Krusty's show to be cancelled. Lisa tells Homer to teach about the environment and other concerns, but the show is then cancelled due to declining ratings. 
Krusty pitches his Bar Mitzvah to the FOX network, who take it on as "Krusty the Klown's Wet 'n' Wild Bar Mitzvah", featuring Mr. T, which is a ratings success. This, however, disappoints his father, and so Krusty also has another, more serious Bar Mitzvah.

When Lisa take on the role of tutor to some of the Spuckler children ([[Whitney]], [[Jitney]], [[Dubya]], [[Incest]], [[Crystal Meth]], [[International Harvester]], and [[Birthday]].), she takes them to Downtown Springfield, where Krusty talent scouts them, taking them on as a musical act, their father, [[Cletus Spuckler|Cletus]], signing the contract. However, their mother, [[Brandine]], who was fighting in Iraq, voids the contract by revealing that Cletus is only the father to the talentless ones.

On his 4000th show, he announced he was looking for new Krustkateers. At the tryouts Bart competes against Sherri and Terri, Milhouse Van Houten, Ralph Wiggum and Nelson Muntz but unfairly loses to Nelson after Krusty was bribed by Nelson's Mother . Lisa then begins to tell Krusty that he was wrong to put Nelson on the show and suggests that he hires Bart as his intern however Lisa's plan backfires and Krusty hires her instead as his Intern. Nelson is fired. When Mr. Teeny can't make it to one of the shows Lisa takes the opportunity to fill in for him and eventually becomes so successful she runs Krusty's show off the air and begins her own television show named "The Lisa Show" and is nominated for the annual entertainer of the year award.
However, after winning Entertainer of the Year and finding out what fame can do to people, she quits the show.

=== Marriage and Imprisonment ===
Krusty, is once again approached by two network executives who tell him they need to make big changes in the show, this time to increase ratings of girls. Krusty refuses, but the executives are ready to make a reality show to find his replacement. Desperate to stay, he agrees. The next show, he introduce [[Princess Penelope]]. A relationship develops between Krusty and Penelope and Krusty proposes to her. However, realizing that his last 14 marriages have failed, he breaks up with her. Penelope leaves and moves to [[Paris]]. Krusty follows her their, and the float down the River Seine together.

In a shock turn of events, it is revealed Krusty has won the Nobel Peace Prize. He takes Homer and Bart with him to [[Oslo]], [[Norway]]. As the plane lands, Krusty, Homer and Bart get off to find that they are not in Oslo at all but they were in The Hague, The Netherlands. A Dutch policeman tells them that Krusty is to be arrested and tried at the International Court of Justice for his behaviour in Western Europe. The only way for him to be freed was if there is evidence suggesting that Krusty has helped Western culture, leading Homer and Bart to search for evidence. Bart and Homer desperately search for evidence on the Internet and only find Krusty's bad behavior. They then find something they feel would get Krusty free. At the court, they show the evidence that Krusty inadvertently helped out, by telling the band to play vuvuzelas which led to Nelson Mandela being freed, allowing him to be freed.

== Biography ==
Krusty is a hard-living entertainment veteran who has been down and out several times (being constantly rescued by the Simpson children) and remains addicted to cigarettes and alcohol (and, at one point, Percodan). He seems to suffer from bipolar disorder, and, in a Soupy Sales parody, asked children to send him spare lithium from their parent's medicine cabinets after the nuclear power plant cut off its prescription drug plan. He says that his tolerance levels are so high from years of excess he has to smoke ground-up moon rocks to get high.<ref>[[The Heartbroke Kid]]</ref> Krusty – minus his trademark clown-hair, pale "facepaint" and red nose – bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Homer Simpson. However, there also differences such as his cow-skull birthmark, his superfluous third nipple, and his small feet. Krusty, like Homer, has apparently faced heart problems in the past as he currently has a pacemaker. The pacemaker has since permanently made his face white.
He also seems to be disturbed at even the mere mention of someone having an affair, as when Homer tells Krusty the Clown that Apu was cheating on Manjula (due to his thinking he'd joke about it), he reacted quite opposite of what Homer expected by saying in a remorseful tone that it was sad, and feeling sorry for all of their kids.<ref>[[The Sweetest Apu]]</ref> Krusty lives in his mansion in the upscale residential area of "[[Springfield Heights]]", which is also resided by Mob boss [[Fat Tony]] D'Amico and actor [[Troy McClure]].
[[File:Insane Clown Poppy.gif|thumb|with Sophie]]
[[File:down she goes.jpg|200px|left|thumb|nail|Krusty's meaner side, shooting at environmentalists protesting against [[Krusty Burger]] in [[Lisa the Tree Hugger]]]]

=== Family ===
Krusty's father is Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, and his grandfather was Rabbi Zed Krustofsky. He also has an unnamed sister and a nephew named [[Josh]]. Through his unnamed mother, Krusty is an older half-brother to actor Luke Perry. He has several illegitimate children, one of which is [[Sophie]].

=== Relationships ===
Krusty has been married 15 times. He usually gets married to his sideshows, including Eartha Kitt. He rejected [[Princess Penelope]] at their wedding in order to keep her from ruining her life as he usually got divorced shortly after.

=== Problems ===
Despite his wealth, Krusty is frequently depressed when offstage; the contrast between these two personae is often used as a source of comedy by the writers. Krusty also exhibits laziness, irresponsibility, and promiscuity, amongst other negative traits. He smokes heavily and appears to have a low standard of health.
Krusty revealed that he was illiterate during a court case after being framed for armed robbery by [[Sideshow Bob]].<ref>[[Krusty Gets Busted]]</ref>
His illegitimate daughter Sophie was the result of a one-night stand between Krusty and a female soldier during the Gulf War. Now estranged, her mother has developed a bitter hatred of clowns and displays it with her choice of artwork (depicting violence being performed against clowns), this being because his actions caused her to fail in her mission. Krusty is said to have married 8 different wives, with each wife leaving him.<ref>[[Once Upon a Time in Springfield]]</ref> At one point he tried to pick up a girl at some point until he discovered that the chick was actually male, in which the morning after, he tries to get a friend to get him out of the relationship.<ref>[[Make Room for Lisa]] '''Krusty:''' (over Baby Monitor) Hey, it's Krusty. I need you to get me out of another jam. (scene cuts to a desert with Krusty on a cell phone while wearing nothing but a towel) I picked up this chick last night. ...at least, I thought she was a chick. (Car passes by and honks horn).</ref> Outside of personal problems, he has also shown himself to have medical problems. As noted above, he once suffered a Heart Attack on the air. He was also implied to have had heart surgery from another relapse during the time New Springfield was being blacked out by Old Springfield.<ref>''[[A Tale of Two Springfields]]''</ref> He also mentioned that he was diabetic once to his daughter.<ref>''[[Insane Clown Poppy]]''</ref> He also implied once that he has several organ problems, causing him to get worried when everyone decided to remove their organ donor stickers upon Bart's point after getting a drivers license at an early age due to saving Springfield from a fire.<ref>''[[Little Big Girl]]''</ref>

[[File:Homer krusty.jpg|thumb|right|Krusty and Homer. The mob can't recognize who is Krusty because of the similarity]]
Krusty the Clown has aqua-green tufty hair, as well as a white face (which he once revealed was not makeup). He also wears a light purple short-sleeved suit over a yellow shirt, lime green clown pants with red clown boots, a light blue bow-tie and white gloves.


=== Products ===
''For a more accurate list see, [[KrustyCo Inc.]]''<br>
Krusty's profligate spending has resulted in encounters with the local Mafia, not to mention schemes such as running a clown college to turn out proxy Krustys to appear at birthday parties, and running a concentration-camp-like summer camp called "Kamp Krusty". He willingly sells out to commercial interests to sell all manner of second-rate goods – he even has a generic spoken endorsement: "I heartily endorse this event or product!". His lack of care towards the quality of his merchandising is evidenced by the little attention he pays to the names of events he stars in: his Christmas show, "Krusty Kinda Kristmas"; his TV special, "[[Krusty Komedy Klassics]]"; and a tennis tournament he sponsored, the "Krusty Kharity Klassic" all use the unfortunate acrostic "KKK" (as in Ku Klux Klan). Unfortunately, the only instance of this he notices is the TV special, and that was only because the initials are shown behind him. In a hindsighted booking decision, Krusty was live at the Apollo Theater at the time.

== Non Canon Appearances ==
{{Noncanon}}
=== Future ===
In the year 2013, [[Marge Simpson]] leaves Homer after he blew the family savings on an underwater home. Krusty the Clown then dates Marge Simpson. Homer tries to win Marge's love back by beating him up, and is beaten up himself. Marge Simpson then gets back together with Homer.

=== Treehouse of Horror ===
Krusty appears as the Headless Horseman in the opening of [[Treehouse of Horror VI]], throwing his head at the camera and making his trademark groan.

In the [[Treehouse of Horror XIX]] segment "How to Get Ahead in Dead-vertising", Krusty is the first celebrity murdered by Homer (albeit unintentionally) for a group of amoral admen's purpose of using his likeness in commercials without having to pay royalties. Enraged, Krusty leads an army of dead celebrities from Heaven to take revenge on Homer and other Springfieldians, killing Homer with a shotgun blast to the head.

=== The Simpsons Game ===
Rather ironically, Krusty appears in the level [[Mob Rules]] as one of the people Marge can use to protest the sales of the ''Grand Theft Scratchy'' videogame to minors. Mini-Krusties appear in [[Shadow of the Colossal Donut]] to attack Homer and Bart, spouting out various (and sometimes twisted) Krusty the Clown sound bites. Throughout the game Bart can collect Krusty coupons that he can use to win various Krusty-based trophies.

== Behind the Laughter ==
[[File:Krustys first appearance.png|thumb|Krusty's first appearance in the Simpsons short "The Krusty the Clown Show".]]
The character of Krusty was partially inspired by real-life clown "Rusty Nails" whom Simpsons creator [[Matt Groening]] watched as a child while growing up in Portland, Oregon. Some of his biographical details echo those of comedian Jackie Mason, who voices Krusty's father, including being the son of an orthodox rabbi, and being temporarily banned from television due to a controversial performance.

Krusty's appearance and design is basically just that of Homer Simpson with clown make-up. Groening said that "The satirical conceit 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. 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. The idea of Homer as Krusty, however, was revisited in [[Homie the Clown]], where Homer takes a job as a Krusty double, only to get abducted by Fat Tony, who mistakes Homer for Krusty partly due to the resemblance.

It has been stated by Groening that the voice of Krusty was based on the long-time Chicago version of Bozo played by Bell.

== Trivia ==
*Krusty stated that he weighs almost 200 pounds in "[[Pranks and Greens]]", but he also has 30 pounds of makeup on, and he also carries heavy weapons.
*In "[[Colonel Homer]]", when Krusty was throttling Sideshow Mel, he shouted "I thought I told you to stay away from my sister!" Whether he was referring to [[Barbara Van Horne]] or someone else is never explained.

== Appearances ==
{{Incomplete}}
{{scroll|
*{{Ul|The Krusty The Clown Show}}
*{{Ep|Homer's Odyssey}}
*{{Ep|Bart the General|(seen in picture)}}
*{{Ep|The Telltale Head}}
*{{Ep|Krusty Gets Busted}}
*{{Ep|Bart Gets an F}}
*{{Ep|Principal Charming}}
*{{Ep|Bart's Dog Gets an F}}
*{{Ep|Old Money}}
*{{Ep|Brush With Greatness}}
* {{Ep|Stark Raving Dad}}
* {{Ep|When Flanders Failed}}
* {{Ep|Like Father, Like Clown}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror II}}
* {{Ep|Radio Bart}}
* {{Ep|Homer Alone}}
* {{Ep|Homer at the Bat}}
* {{Ep|Bart's Friend Falls In Love}}
* {{Ep|Kamp Krusty (Episode){{!}}Kamp Krusty}}
* {{Ep|Homer the Heretic}}
* {{Ep|Lisa the Beauty Queen}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror III}}
* {{Ep|Marge Gets a Job}}
* {{Ep|Mr. Plow}}
* {{Ep|Lisa's First Word}}
* {{Ep|Homer's Triple Bypass}}
* {{Ep|Marge vs. the Monorail}}
* {{Ep|Brother from the Same Planet}}
* {{Ep|I Love Lisa}}
* {{Ep|The Front}}
* {{Ep|Krusty Gets Kancelled}}
* {{Ep|Homer Goes to College}}
* {{Ep|Bart's Inner Child}}
* {{Ep|Boy-Scoutz N the Hood}}
* {{Ep|$pringfield}}
* {{Ep|Bart Gets Famous}}
* {{Ep|Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy}}
* {{Ep|Burns' Heir}}
* {{Ep|Lady Bouvier's Lover}}
* {{Ep|Bart of Darkness}}
* {{Ep|Itchy & Scratchy Land}}
* {{Ep|Sideshow Bob Roberts}}
* {{Ep|Lisa on Ice}}
* {{Ep|Homer the Great}}
* {{Ep|Bart's Comet}}
* {{Ep|Homie the Clown}}
* {{Ep|Lisa's Wedding}}
* {{Ep|Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)}}
* {{Ep|Radioactive Man (episode){{!}}Radioactive Man}}
* {{Ep|Bart Sells His Soul}}
* {{Ep|Mother Simpson}}
* {{Ep|Team Homer}}
* {{Ep|Lisa the Iconoclast}}
* {{Ep|Summer of 4 Ft. 2}}
* {{Ep|You Only Move Twice}}
* {{Ep|The Homer They Fall}}
* {{Ep|Bart After Dark}}
* {{Ep|Hurricane Neddy}}
* {{Ep|El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)|El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer}}
* {{Ep|Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious}}
* {{Ep|The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show}}
* {{Ep|Brother from Another Series}}
* {{Ep|My Sister, My Sitter}}
* {{Ep|Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment}}
* {{Ep|Grade School Confidential}}
* {{Ep|Homer's Enemy}}
* {{Ep|The Cartridge Family}}
* {{Ep|Bart Star}}
* {{Ep|The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons}}
* {{Ep|Miracle on Evergreen Terrace}}
* {{Ep|All Singing, All Dancing}}
* {{Ep|Bart Carny}}
* {{Ep|The Last Temptation of Krust}}
* {{Ep|This Little Wiggy}}
* {{Ep|The Trouble With Trillions}}
* {{Ep|Girly Edition}}
* {{Ep|Lost Our Lisa}}
* {{Ep|Lard Of the Dance}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror IX}}
* {{Ep|D'oh-in' in the Wind}}
* {{Ep|Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"}}
* {{Ep|Wild Barts Can't Be Broken}}
* {{Ep|Sunday, Cruddy Sunday}}
* {{Ep|Homer to the Max}}
* {{Ep|Screaming Yellow Honkers}}
* {{Ep|Make Room For Lisa}}
* {{Ep|Simpsons Bible Stories}}
* {{Ep|They Saved Lisa's Brain}}
* {{Ep|Beyond Blunderdome}}
* {{Ep|Brother's Little Helper}}
* {{Ep|Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror X}}
* {{Ep|Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder}}
* {{Ep|Grift of the Magi}}
* {{Ep|Faith Off}}
* {{Ep|The Mansion Family}}
* {{Ep|It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Marge}}
* {{Ep|Behind the Laughter}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror XI}}
* {{Ep|A Tale of Two Springfields}}
* {{Ep|Insane Clown Poppy}}
* {{Ep|Lisa the Tree Hugger}}
* {{Ep|The Computer Wore Menace Shoes}}
* {{Ep|Tennis the Menace}}
* {{Ep|Trilogy of Error}}
* {{Ep|I'm Goin' to Praiseland}}
* {{Ep|Simpsons Tall Tales}}
* {{Ep|Brawl in the Family}}
* {{Ep|Sweets and Sour Marge}}
* {{Ep|The Bart Wants What It Wants}}
* {{Ep|Tales from the Public Domain}}
* {{Ep|How I Spent My Strummer Vacation}}
* {{Ep|The Great Louse Detective}}
* {{Ep|Special Edna}}
* {{Ep|The Strong Arms of the Ma}}
* {{Ep|Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington}}
* {{Ep|My Mother the Carjacker}}
* {{Ep|Diatribe of a Mad Housewife}}
* {{Ep|The Wandering Juvie}}
* {{Ep|Bart-Mangled Banner}}
* {{Ep|Goo Goo Gai Pan}}
* {{Ep|Mobile Homer}}
* {{Ep|The Seven-Beer Snitch}}
* {{Ep|Future-Drama}}
* {{Ep|Don't Fear the Roofer}}
* {{Ep|The Heartbroke Kid}}
* {{Ep|A Star is Torn}}
* {{Ep|Thank God It's Doomsday}}
* {{Ep|Home Away From Homer}}
* {{Ep|The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star}}
* {{Ep|Milhouse of Sand and Fog}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror XVI}}
* {{Ep|The Italian Bob}}
* {{Ep|My Fair Laddy}}
* {{Ep|Bart Has Two Mommies}}
* {{Ep|Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife}}
* {{Ep|Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore}}
* {{Ep|The Wettest Stories Ever Told}}
* {{Ep|The Monkey Suit}}
* {{Ep|Homer And Marge Turn A Couple Play}}
* {{Ep|Jazzy and the Pussycats}}
* {{Ep|Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em...}}
* {{Ep|G.I.D'oh}}
* {{Ep|Moe 'N' a Lisa}}
* {{Ep|Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)}}
* {{Ep|Kill Gil Vols. 1&2}}
* {{Ep|Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times}}
* {{Ep|Yokel Chords}}
* {{Ep|Homerazzi}}
* {{Ep|Marge Gamer}}
* {{Ep|The Boys of Bummer}}
* {{Ep|You Kent Always Say What You Want}}
* {{Ep|Midnight Towboy}}
* {{Ep|I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror XVIII}}
* {{Ep|Husbands and Knives}}
* {{Ep|Funeral for a Fiend}}
* {{Ep|Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind}}
* {{Ep|E. Pluribus Wiggum}}
* {{Ep|All About Lisa}}
* {{Ep|Mypods and Boomsticks}}
* {{ep|Coming to Homerica}}
* {{ep|Homer the Whopper}}
* {{ep|The Great Wife Hope}}
* {{THOH|Treehouse of Horror XX}}
* {{ep|Pranks and Greens}}
* {{ep|Once Upon a Time in Springfield}}
* {{ep|Million Dollar Maybe}}
* {{ep|The Color Yellow}}
* {{ep|The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed}}
* {{ep|Chief of Hearts}}
* {{ep|To Surveil With Love}}
* {{ep|Moe Letter Blues}}
* {{ep|Elementary School Musical}}
*{{ep|The Fool Monty}}
*{{Ep|Homer the Father|(Picture only)}}
*{{Bon|The Book That Ate Springfield}}
*{{Bon|Spree for All}}
*{{Bon|Homer's Ark}}
*{{Bon|The Simpsons' Winter Wingding}}
*{{bon|The Greatest D'oh! On Earth}}
*{{bon|McBain Comics: Dead to the Last Drop}}
*{{bk|The Krusty Book}}
}}

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
{{Images|Krusty}}
* [http://www.silverbox.com/krusty/ The Original Krusty the Clown Homepage]
* [http://www.thesimpsons.com/characters/ The Simpsons.com Character files]

{{Clowns}}
{{Springfield Elementary}}
{{Simpsons World factfiles|1=yes}}
{{Simpsons characters}}

[[Category:Krustofsky family]]
[[Category:Male characters]]
[[Category:Adults]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Parodies]]
[[Category:Celebrities]]
[[category:Springfield Elementary School students]]
[[Category:Characters voiced by Dan Castellaneta]]
[[Category:Simpsons shorts characters]]
[[Category:Recurring characters]]
[[Category:TV personalities]]
[[Category:Fathers]]
[[Category:Jewish characters]]