Sideshow Mel
Melvin Van Horne
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Character Information
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Sideshow Mel, full name Melvin Van Horne (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), is a character on the animated TV show The Simpsons. Sideshow Mel has served as Krusty the Clown's sidekick for more than a decade, replacing Sideshow Bob after Bob was incarcerated from framing Krusty for robbery. He is often seen in the mobs of people throughout greater Springfield. His role seems to be that of summing up the group's sentiments in a line.
Contents
Role in The Simpsons
Replacement for Bob
Mel's hiring was never explicitly shown in the series. He first appeared shortly after Sideshow Bob was sent to prison, filling the exact role that Bob once did. The gag seems to be that Krusty unceremoniously replaced Bob with someone even stranger-looking than he was.
Primary Role
Sideshow Mel uses a slide whistle to communicate on camera. When not in character, Mel speaks in a grandiose British/Shakespearean accent (Castellaneta's play on Kelsey Grammer's character, Sideshow Bob) and owns poodles. His main accomplishment so far has been successfully removing Waylon Smithers from suspicion of having shot Mr. Burns. Off-screen, Mel is generally very eloquent, educated, poetic and intelligent, with a beautiful singing voice-it is implied that, as with Sideshow Bob before him, his true talents are wasted on Krusty's show. In one particularly humiliating episode, he was forced to conduct an orchestra of kazoo-playing monkeys. When he pleaded with Krusty to not force him to do it, Krusty simply shouted at him to "shut up and conduct!"
Recent Seasons
In recent seasons, Sideshow Mel's frequency of appearance has increased noticeably, delivering his usual summing up a group or mob's sentiments. This has been met with criticism among viewers who believe that the routine has become massively overused.
Character Traits
Religion and Education
Little is known about Mel. He is a Cornell University graduate and an Atheist (though he is occasionally seen at the Presbylutheran church).
Hair
Mel perpetually wears a bone in his hair which may or may not be permanently affixed: in "22 Short Films About Springfield" he warned Lisa Simpson not to use a bone to try and get gum out of her hair, as he did and it became permanently stuck there. However, in another episode, he removed and used it as a weapon during a duel. In "Skinner's Sense of Snow", he indicated that he could feel meteorological conditions in the bone, such as incoming storms.
Allergies
Bart Simpson has found out that Mel is lactose-intolerant. Krusty once poured liquid nitrogen down Mel's pants and cracked his buttocks with a hammer.
Family
He may be married to or living with a woman named Barbara, who may or may not be Krusty's sister (as referenced in "Colonel Homer") with whom he wished to purchase a house from Marge Simpson in the episode "Realty Bites." In the episode "I'm With Cupid" he complains that Barbara will no longer pleasure him with the French Arts.
Other Jobs
After Krusty's show was cancelled following the rise of Gabbo, Mel worked at a taco stand where he initially refused Krusty's pleas to return to his show.
He was the jury foreman for the Mona Simpson trial in "My Mother the Carjacker". The jury was sequestered at a Quality Inn which "more than lived up to its name."
Episode Appearances
Comic Appearances
