Waylon Smithers

Waylon Smithers Jr. (voiced by Harry Shearer) is a fictional character from The Simpsons. He is the self-proclaimed best friend and personal assistant of Mr. Burns (often condescendingly referred to simply as Smithers), and serves as an executive administrator at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Since the debut of the show, the term "Smithers" has become a common synonym for a spineless underling.

Personal life

Initially there was much speculation about Smithers' sexual orientation, and eventually he was revealed to be gay, but officially he is currently "in the closet".

Related Topics:
Sexual orientation - Gay - In the closet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In many ways Smithers represents the stereotype of the closeted gay man. In his private life he has many gay friends and hangs out at Springfield's gay village. In public, however he remains insecure and uncomfortable with his sexuality, denying it when questioned. The brevity of his marriage is portrayed as being a result of this, in a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof parody. Because of this past relationship, Smithers might be regarded as bisexual, though he has shown little interest in women since.

Related Topics:
Stereotype - Gay village - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Bisexual

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While he has had other boyfriends – in "Homer's Phobia", he confronts John (guest-voiced by John Waters) after realizing he lied to get out of a date (claiming he was caring for his sick mother) – Smithers's great love is Burns. His sexual orientation has been characterized by the writers of the show as "burnsasexual". He periodically has fantasies about his boss (in "Rosebud", Burns pops nude out of a birthday cake and sings "Happy Birthday, Mr. Smithers," and when his computer is turned on, it features a nude Mr. Burns that says to him: "Hello Smithers, you're quite good at turning me on"). In "Secrets of a Successful Marriage", Smithers's then-wife blames Burns for ruining their marriage. He has openly declared his love for Burns at least twice, most dramatically in "Lisa the Skeptic", when, believing the world is coming to an end, Smithers kisses him on the lips; the oblivious Burns dismisses the whole episode. Perhaps because of the large generation gap between the two men (Burns still regards "gay" as meaning happy), Burns has remained largely indifferent or ignorant of Smithers' subtle advances, much to his frustration, even when Smithers says "I love you" (although in more recent episodes Burns appears to have some concerns).

Related Topics:
Homer's Phobia - John Waters - Rosebud - Nude - Secrets of a Successful Marriage - Lisa the Skeptic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His catch-phrase can be heard whenever Burns almost dies in various accidents; he sobs "Oh Mr. Burns! You were too beautiful for this world!". However, Burns never hears him say that because he's always unconscious at the time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Smithers is also lethally allergic to bee-stings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Smithers has the world's largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls, is president of the Malibu Stacy Fan Club, and staged Malibu Stacy, The Musical.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 2005 episode Future-Drama (which takes place 8 years into the future), Smithers is shown as being on a date with a woman, explaining that he injects anti-gay drugs into his arm every 10 minutes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~