Tributes paid to deceased voice actress

Veteran voice actress Marica Wallace, who played Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons, passed away last week aged 70.
Marcia Wallace, had voiced Bart Simpson’s teacher since the now iconic show’s premiere in 1990.

“I was tremendously saddened to learn of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace,” executive producer Al Jean of The Simpsons said in a statement. “She was beloved by all here and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character.”

Jean said rumours that the show had already planned to retire Wallace’s character are not true, he added.
 
The Simpsons, which began in 1989, had recently announced it planned to end the life of a veteran character. Producers previously killed off Ned Flanders’ wife Maude in 2000. But Jean denied that Mrs Krabappel was not one they had planned to eliminate.
 
“Earlier we had discussed a potential storyline in which a character passed away,” he said. “This was not Marcia’s Edna Krabappel. Marcia’s passing is unrelated and again, a terrible loss for all who had the pleasure of knowing her.”

Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Marcia would come in and she was always a ray of light. She’s in 178 episodes – a lot more than people might think. That’s more episodes than most standard shows. Marcia was always a very big part of the group. Always a treat. The room was always a little bit better with her in it.”

Wallace was a regular guest star on a host of popular TV shows in the 1970s and 1980s, from The Love Boat and Fantasy Island to Gimme a Break!, ALF, Night Court, Charles in Charge and Magnum, P.I.

In recent years, Wallace also advocated for awareness of breast cancer, a disease she battled herself. Her 2004 book, Don’t Look Back, We’re Not Going That Way, in part chronicled her fight.

The Simpsons airs on Sundays at 6pm on OSN First Comedy HD.