Simpsons Producer Stands By Decision To Kill Off [Spoiler] After 35 Seasons

It isn't every week that The Simpsons kills off a named resident of Springfield, so longtime fans of the Fox comedy are still processing the loss of Larry Dalrymple, who died in the April 21 episode.

"Larry Who," you ask? It's a fair question, as the character's last name wasn't actually revealed until after his death. But if you've been watching The Simpsons with any regularity over the past, say, three and a half decades, you're probably more familiar with the late Mr. Dalrymple than you realize.

Maybe you've never known his name, but you've seen him hanging on the bar at Moe's, drinking away his sorrows (or whatever) with Homer and the gang. A man of few words, Larry made his first appearance in The Simpsons' 1989 series premiere, giving him a 35-year run on the show. Larry died somewhat peacefully, seated quietly at the bar.

Co-executive producer Tim Long, who also served as co-showrunner on the episode, tells TMZ that the death of this seemingly unimportant side character was meant to "hit the audience hard." He offers his condolences to anyone who's upset about Larry's demise, but he "likes that fans seemed to take it as hard as Homer and the gang did during the episode, because it speaks to how beloved the show still is."

Long even jokingly compares Larry to The Great Gazoo, an iconically annoying character from The Flintstones. He says no one would have complained if The Flintstones killed him off, so the fact that fans are in their feelings over Larry's death speaks even more to the popularity of his character. (The Simpsons really hates that little green guy, huh?)

With Larry now six feet under, he joins a relatively short list of recurring Simpsons characters whose deaths have actually stuck. Others include Bleeding Gums Murphy (1995), Maude Flanders (2000) and Mona Simpson (2008), among other tragic losses.

Were you moved by Larry's death, Simpsons fans? Drop a comment with your thoughts on his untimely demise below.