Russi Taylor, the prolific voice actor behind Minnie Mouse and a variety of other animated characters, died over the summer. Among her numerous roles was The Simpsons’ suck-up/punching bag Martin Prince, a character who reared his head in the first season and never stopped spewing his irritating enthusiasm across Edna Krabappel’s classroom. Earlier this month, showrunner Al Jean welcomed Grey DeLisle-Griffin as the new voice of Martin (and Sherri and Terri, who Russi also voiced), but Taylor’s work wasn’t quite finished.
As Simpsons’ scribe Matt Selman revealed on Twitter, this Sunday’s episode will feature Taylor’s final performance as the character.
“This Sunday’s episode of @TheSimpsons features the last vocal appearance of the wonderful, hilarious Russi Taylor as Martin Prince,” he wrote. “It turned out to be an epic farewell, one Russi would have loved.”
Sunday’s “Thanksgiving Of Horror” episode is modeled after the show’s “Treehouse Of Horror” episodes, and, at 25 minutes, boasts the longest-ever running time for a single Simpsons episode, according to Entertainment Weekly. “The Simpsons face various Thanksgiving nightmares, including the first Thanksgiving, an A.I. mishap and a dangerous space mission complicated by a sentient cranberry sauce,” reads a synopsis. Selman adds to EW that “Russi’s Martin goes out in memorable style.”
Before that, however, let us revisit Martin’s transcendent reflections on Ernest Hemingway, one of the character’s many unforgettable bits.