Dr. Julius Hibbert

Julius Hibbert, M.D. is a doctor and physician from the TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer.

File:Can You.gif Dr. Hibbert is the Simpsons' (usually) kind-hearted family doctor, a genius, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Mensa member, and is one of the few regular African-American characters on the series. Hibbert is noticeably less dysfunctional than just about everyone else on the show, though he does have a bizarre tendency to laugh at inappropriate moments. He also gives questionable solutions to certain medical problems. For example, when Maggie saved Homer from drowning, he replied to Marge's question "How can a baby save the life of a full-grown man?", "It's very simple. When an adult's life is in danger, a child can summon superhuman strength!" Or when Homer lost a thumb, Dr. Hibbert tells him that his Finger Insurance will not cover reattachment (as a thumb is not a finger), and suggests he can remove the other thumb for symmetry. Or when Homer is shot with a flower, he must wait a few weeks for it to fall out, because he refuses to remove it or even trim the leaves so that Homer can watch TV, because he's "not a gardener." Or when he says the only real cure-all is "Fire, and lots of it!"

Dr. Hibbert was intended as a female character based on comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Julia Hibbert, better known as Julia Sweeney. When the Fox network moved The Simpsons to Thursdays opposite NBC's top-rated The Cosby Show, the show's producers completely redesigned Dr. Hibbert as a parody of Cosby's character Dr. Cliff Huxtable. Another possible influence in the creation of the character is basketball player Julius Erving, who was nicknamed Doctor J.

During the show there a numerous jokes about Dr. Hibbert's brothers, one being Bleeding Gums Murphy a burnt out sax player and idol of Lisa Simpson, and a worker at the Shelbyville Orphanage.

There are hints that Dr. Hibbert is not above dubious medical practices either. After Marge talks him out of buying an unsuitable house, he tells her "If you ever need a prescription, no questions asked..." On another occasion, he buys one of Bart's T Shirts with the legend "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" remarking that "This could get me out of some sticky situations." When he realized that Marge Simpson was initially unenthused about having a third child, he implied that a healthy baby could bring in as much as $40,000. Hibbert covered for himself against Marge's horrified reaction by saying that if she had replied any other way, she would sent to prison, claiming that it was "just a test". Whether or not he was sincere about selling an unwanted baby is unclear.

Despite his seemingly honest and good-hearted personality, there is evidence that he is, at heart, a committed mercenary. In Homer's Triple Bypass, Hibbert cooly announces to Homer that his heart operation will cost $30,000. When Homer has a heart attack in front of him in response to this news, he says, unmoved, "I'm afraid it's now $40,000." In Bye Bye Nerdie, after Homer's baby-proofing business eliminates child injuries in Springfield, Hibbert is seen holding a cooing infant and complaining, "Not a scratch on him, and I've got boat payments!" In "The Last Temptation of Homer," Hibbert is shown as running an H.M.O.--Hibbert's Money-Making Organization". He has also been interviewed on television sporting a baseball cap and chain blatantly advertising the wares of pharmaceutical companies. The "interview" ends with him joining in a choreographed raunchy dance routine with several attractive female dancers promoting Pfizer products. He is a committed Republican and attends Springfield's Republican meetings alongside Mr. Burns and Rainier Wolfcastle. Hibbert also freely wears fur coats, believing that while fur itself may not be murder, "paying for it sure is!"

He is often seen in flashbacks (for example, Lisa's birth, or Bart's accidents as a toddler), and each time has a different hairstyle (afro, dreadlocks, Mr. T-style mohawk, etc.), as appropriate for the time period. He is married; he and his wife Bernice have three children, two boys and a girl. When his entire family is seen together, they appear to be a spoof of The Cosby Show. Bernice is known to be something of a heavy drinker; this has been joked about on at least one occasion (in "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment," she faints, along with other imbibers of renown, upon reading the news that Prohibition has been introduced in Springfield).

It is implied that he and Bleeding Gums Murphy are long-lost brothers. Also, he bears a striking resemblance to the director of the Shelbyville orphanage, who mentions a personal quest to find his long-lost twin to an indifferent Homer. It was also suggested that Hibbert did not have a legal license in medicine (Lisa: And guess who's been practicing medicine without a license? Hibbert: <Tugs his collar nervously.> Lisa: That's right, Homer Simpson.). In addition, he once tricked Homer into signing a malpractice waiver, after his medication caused Bart to lose his hearing, by making him "test out his signature" on the waiver.

Dr. Hibbert supposedly attended Johns Hopkins University, and evidence from the show indicates he was probably born in Alabama. To pay for medical college, he performed as a male stripper under the pseudonym "Malcolm Sex." "I'd satisfy the ladies by any means necessary." He has since been seen running an adult education class in "How to Strip For Your Wife" which Homer briefly attended.

He owns a poodle called Rosa Barks (an allusion to black civil rights activist Rosa Parks) who was impregnated by Santa's Little Helper. Unhappy with a litter of grayhound/poodle (grayhoodle?) puppies, Dr.Hibert leaves the puppies in the care of the Simpsons. Lisa and Bart distribute the puppies around Springfield. The known reciepients of the puppies were Krusty The Clown, Snake and Groundskeeper Willie. The identities of the other recipients remain unrevealed.

At least one of Hibbert's cars is a green Mercedes-Benz G500, which he is seen driving in the Episode "I, D'oh-Bot." In "Bart's Girlfriend," he mentions his Porsche keys. In "Homer Loves Flanders," he is seen muttering angrily over a "rusty tailgate" on a generic-looking station wagon. In My Sister, My Sitter, he's driving a silver Volvo 850 sedan.

Along with Carl, Judge Snyder, Drederick Tatum, and Police Sergeant Lou, Dr. Hibbert represents African American people in the show, although to date, Dr. Hibbert and Carl have only had one direct exchange, with Hibbert apparently being irritated by Carl's description of him as a "brother."

Comparing Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick

A tongue-in-cheek analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal compares the services of Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Nick Riviera, a quack physician often used by The Simpsons as an alternate source of medical advice . While Dr. Hibbert is praised for his sense of humor and quality of care, it ultimately concludes that Dr. Nick is a better role model for physicians; Dr. Hibbert is a paternalistic and wasteful physician, unlike Dr. Nick, who strives to cut costs and does his best to avoid the coroner.