| Daphne Burns
|
| Character Information
|
- "Mr. Burns has a mother? She must be a hundred million years old!"
- ―Homer Simpson[src]
Martha Burns[2], also known as Daphne Charles[3][4] and Mrs. Burns, is Charles Montgomery Burns's mother. She was married to Clifford Burns, but once had an affair with President Taft; Mr. Burns never forgave her.
Children
Daphne holding toddler Burns.
Daphne had many children, including Montgomery, George, Zeph, Cornelius and Cornelia Burns. However, the father of at least three of her children is unknown, despite their last name being Burns.[5]
Present
She seems to live at a resting home now, and all she is capable of doing is dialing phone numbers and yelling. Mr. Burns rarely calls her.
It is implied that Mr. Burns killed her and her husband when he says that his parents cause of death was "Got in my way".[6] When Burns almost dies, he also asks if the voice he hears is his mother, which could mean that she has died. After buying out KBBL and firing Bill and Marty, Mr. Burns comments that the lack of indoor plumbing killed his mother.[7] Mr. Burns also once asked Smithers where his "stuffed mother" was, implying that his mother is deceased.[8] It is possible that, in these instances, he is actually referring to his grandmother Evelyn Graycomb, much like how he once referred to his grandfather Wainwright Montgomery Burns as his father.[9]
When Homer attempted to pretend to be Mr. Burns' mother as part of a scheme to get Smithers rehired (after Homer unintentionally disconnected his mother from the phone while attempting to transfer the call to his line), Burns implied that he may have attempted to "pull the plug" on her as revenge for her affair with William Taft, but had not expected her to "live another five decades".[10]
Appearances
Gallery
References
Episode – "Simpson and Delilah" (seen in picture)
Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album 
Comic story – Oh, Brother! 
