The Anatomy of Krusty the Clown (or Who or What Inspired the Famous "Simpsons" Clown...and Why Clowns Get a Bad Rap)

Even the official website for Krusty the Clown (yes, there is one...as there is for everything else) has speculated for years now what makes up the invention of the famous troubled kid show host/clown on "The Simpsons." Because Krusty also makes an appearance in the new "Simpsons" movie--it'll probably continue to fuel those curious to seek out the models behind the character as cartoon characters start to become eerily too real in our culture. And the bad news is that Matt Groening isn't talking much lately about the inspiration behind Krusty--despite throwing out some hints in the past. In order to get to the true soul of Krusty (and most to all of the "Simpsons" characters), you have to step into Groening's past being born in Portland, Oregon. Most people know that Groening started his famous "Life in Hell" comic strip as a genesis to "The Simpsons" (while working in a record store in Los Angeles during the late 70's) that later became a moderately successful strip in newspapers and books. Many of the prototypes to the Simpsons family showed up in "Life in Hell"--yet he didn't develop them fully into the Simpsons as we know them until getting a deal to create animated bumpers for the old Tracy Ullman variety show on Fox in the late 80's. It's interesting to note, though, that all the media figures created in "The Simpsons" cast later seemed to be amalgams of Groening's past pop culture memories.