Difference between revisions of "Lionel Hutz"

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Lionel Hutz (b. 31 July 1963) is a character from the The Simpsons, voiced by Phil Hartman. The local lawyer, Hutz' first appearance was in the second-season episode Bart Gets Hit by a Car, and his final speaking role was in the ninth season's Realty Bites.

Lionel Hutz character (along with Troy McClure) role was removed from the show after his voice actor Hartman death in 1998 (season 10). He still appear in non-speaking holes or in the Simpsons Comics. Eventually Gil took his place of not competent guy, and sometimes as the Simpsons family lawyer.

Character

He is an inept ambulance chaser and, to quote Lisa, a "shyster" whom the Simpsons nonetheless repeatedly hired as their lawyer (a fact remarked on by Marge in a typically self-aware aside) most likely becaue they cant afford a better lawyer. At one point, he claims to have graduated from Princeton school of law, although Princeton has never had a law school. His legal practice, located in a shopping mall, was named "I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!". He often tried to entice potential clients with free gifts, including a "smoking monkey" doll and a business card that "turns into a sponge when you put it in water." Lionel Hutz was a supporting character early in the series and had central roles. Marge is shown to distrust Lionel Hutz because he is an incompetent lawyer, even remarking once during a trial "We really should stop hiring him." Lionel Hutz has appeared from season 2 to 9; however, in season 8 he didn't have any speaking roles, but appeared in many cameos and backgrounds.

Creation

Hutz was characterized as both an incompetent lawyer with little or no knowledge of the actual law^[1] and an unethical individual in general; for instance, in the season 4 episode Marge in Chains he described the following as his "problem" with Judge Snyder:

Well he's had it in for me ever since I kinda ran over his dog... Well, replace the word "kinda" with the word "repeatedly," and the word "dog" with "son.".

he has appeared in 46 episodes.

Disabilities

Hutz was a recovering addict; also in Marge in Chains, he hastily left the courtroom after handling a bottle of bourbon in order to consult his sponsor, musician David Crosby. Also, Hutz referred to bourbon as "brownest of the brown liquors" and offered to share with Marge and Homer "a belt of scotch" at 9AM, explaining that he "hadn't slept in days."

Jobs Oustside of Law

Beyond the law, he also tried his hand at selling real estate in Realty Bites. Hutz was briefly married to Selma Bouvier, although this storyline was not shown in an episode. When Homer hired him to babysit the Simpson children, he had renamed himself Miguel Sanchez following some trouble that prompted him to change his identity. At some point, he apparently went by the alias Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc, a Vietnamese name. He also won the role as 'Mitch' in the musical adaption of 'A Street Car Named Desire', whilst simultaneously suing the troupe. He may also be a drug dealer.

Cases won

Although Hutz loses almost all of his cases, he did win several cases for the Simpsons, for instance representing Homer in his case against Captain McAllister and the Frying Dutchman restaurant over its "All You Can Eat" offer. While the Blue Haired Lawyer tried to show that Homer's eating was far beyond what could reasonably be expected out of an all-you-can-eat offer, Hutz won by putting Marge on the stand and having her reveal the desperate actions she and Homer took after they were kicked out of the restaurant. At Hutz´ urging, Marge tearfully admitted that after searching for another All You Can Eat fish restaurant until 3AM, Homer and Marge "went fishing." Considering Marge's honest nature, it is unlikely that she was lying. The case was helped by the fact that the entire Jury was made up of obese juror's Captain McAllister was then forced to settle out of court with Homer.

Another case he won for one of the Simpsons was when Bart Simpson discovered that an old tramp named Chester J. Lampwick was the real creator of The Itchy & Scratchy Show, which was proved by an old drawing by Lampwick. Roger Myers (who had falsely claimed credit for the creation) then had to pay him $800 billion, which forced the Itchy & Scratchy Studios to close down for a short time. Although this had nothing to do with Hutz's skills as a lawyer.

Hutz also won another case when Bart sued Krusty after he got appendicitis after eating a piece of jagged metal that was being given away as a prize in his cereal that wasn't even in the safety package all prizes are held in. The case was won and Bart was given $100,000 in compensation. $99,500 of which was taken by Hutz who'd assembled a team of phony lawyers to make it seem to Bart that it was necessary.

Hutz additionally represented Homer in a Treehouse of Horror episode, against the Devil (Ned Flanders). At issue was the rightful owner of Homer Simpson's soul. In a hastily assembled courtroom in the Simpsons' living room, before a jury of the damned, Hutz discussed competently the nature of a contract, although his argument ironically was harmful to Homer. Despite the fact that the contract between Homer and the Devil clearly awarded Homer's soul to the Devil upon Homer's consumption of the 'forbidden donut', the jury found a note from Homer to Marge sying that he pledged his soul to her for all eternity thus his soul was not to rightfully give up to the Devil causing them rule in favor of Homer. In retribution for losing the court case, Homer was cursed by the Devil and his head was turned into a giant donut. The case was not won so much for Hutz's skill as an attorney, but by Marge's introduction of the relevant evidence (the photo with a note from Homer on the back, granting his soul to Marge).

Retirement

The character was retired after Hartman's murder in 1998, as well as his other main character Troy McClure. Since the Simpson family frequently appears in court,^[2] other characters have represented the Simpsons in legal matters since the retirement,  ranging from just as incompetent to actually knowing what they're doing. For example, in Sweets and Sour Marge, the equally-incompetent Gil stepped in. The Blue Haired Lawyer has also served as the family's attorney, Lionel Hutz still appears infrequently in clip shows and flashbacks, as well as crowd scenes, but only in non-speaking roles. Hutz and McClure still appear in Simpsons Comics, as a voice actor is not needed.

Episode Appearances

• Bart Gets Hit by a Car
• Old Money
• When Flanders Failed
• Bart the Murderer
• Flaming Moe's
• A Streetcar Named Marge
• Marge Gets a Job
• New Kid on the Block
• Marge vs. The Monorail
• Selma's Choice
• Duffless
• Marge in Chains
• Rosebud
• Marge on the Lam
• Treehouse of Horror IV
• Bart's Inner Child
• The Last Temptation of Homer
• Homer the Vigilante
• The Boy Who Knew Too Much
• Burns' Heir
• Secrets of a Successful Marriage
• Sideshow Bob Roberts
• Homer the Great
• 'Round Springfield
• The Springfield Connection
• Who Shot Mr. Burns?
• Radioactive Man
• Lisa the Iconoclast
• The Day the Violence Died
• 22 Short Films About Springfield
• Much Apu About Nothing
• Burns, Baby Burns
• Bart After Dark
• Hurricane Neddy
• The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
• Brother from Another Series
• In Marge We Trust
• The Principal and the Pauper
• Lisa the Skeptic
• Realty Bites
• Trash of the Titans
• The Trouble with Trillions
• Lost Our Lisa (non-speaking)
• The Joy of Sect
• A Tale of Two Springfields (non-speaking)

Comic Appearances

• The Amazing Colossal Homer
• The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth

References