Summary

Pamela Hayden, voice of Milhouse, is retiring, leaving The Simpsons after 35 years.
The show intends to cast a replacement for Hayden to keep Milhouse going.
Hayden voiced secondary characters such as Jimbo Jones, and Ralph Wiggum's mom.

36 seasons in, it doesn't appear that there's still any plan for The Simpsons' run to come to an end. However, from here one out, the massively popular animated series will have to find a way to move on without one of its longest running voice actors.

The Simpsons just kicked off its newest season at the end of September and while fans of the longest running show on television are always fearful of hearing the next season will be its last, that doesn't appear to be in the works yet. Despite that incredibly long run, the Fox series has also benefitted from keeping the vast majority of its cast together. The familiarity of the voices and the characters in The Simpsons is in fact, likely one of the reasons it's continued its popularity for nearly four decades. When a voice actor decides to leave the show, it's quite eyebrow-raising.

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Milhouse Is Leaving The Simpsons

It's safe to say eyebrows were raised earlier this week when reports surfaced that Pamela Hayden, the beloved voice of Milhouse Van Houten is retiring immediately. The last time fans of The Simpsons will get to hear Hayden's character is in November 24's "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes." Interestingly enough, this is much later in the season a "Treehouse of Horror" usually airs. It's possible that the Simpsons showrunners decided they wanted to position the episode for the announcement so that fans could make sure to hear Hayden's performance one more time.

While Hayden is best known for voicing Bart Simpon's best friend she is also the actor behind school bully Jimbo Jones. Like many of the actors on The Simpsons, Hayden has also voiced secondary characters including Ned Flanders’ son Rod, Chief Wiggum’s wife and Ralph Wiggum’s mother Sarah and Lisa Simpson’s friend Janey Powell. Those worried about never seeing any of these characters again can rest easy as the show has every intention of casting a replacement.

Milhouse was not a member of The Simpsons cast of characters when the show first debuted. Hayden and her character joined the show after Bart's buddy first appeared in - of all things - a Butterfinger commercial. Soon after, the showrunners realized that Bart needed someone to hang out with in the school cafeteria as well as get into various fits of mischief.

Milhouse was named after former president Richard Mlhous Nixon and has long been one of the The Simpsons' favorite punching bags.

Milhouse was named after former president Richard Mlhous Nixon and has long been one of the The Simpsons' favorite punching bags. For most of Hayden's run, he and his family have had one horrible mishap after another befall them to the point where it's often look like they're cursed. It will be interesting to see just how quickly the show finds a new voice actor for Bart's best friend and how long it takes before he makes another appearance.

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Release Date: December 17, 1989
Network: FOX
Showrunner: Al Jean
Directors: Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller
Writers: J. Stewart Burns, Michael Price, Brian Kelley, Bill Odenkirk, Dan Vebber, Kevin Curran, Stephanie Gillis, Dan Castellaneta, Deb Lacusta, Billy Kimball, Jessica Conrad, Cesar Mazariegos, Daniel Chun, Jennifer Crittenden, Conan O'Brien, Valentina Garza, Elisabeth Kiernan Averick, Christine Nangle, Broti Gupta, Loni Steele Sosthand, Megan Amram, Bob Kushell, David Isaacs, David Mandel