Coincidence or happenstance?

June 26, 2024 9:29 AM

There is a character named Homer Simpson in the novel, "The Day of the Locust"... Do you find that odd or not? The creator of "The Simpsons" always said Homer was named after his Dad, I believe.
posted by Czjewel to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Wikipedia says he did name Homer after the minor character in the novel.

So not, that's not odd :)
posted by RajahKing at 9:38 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks RajahKing.
posted by Czjewel at 9:56 AM on June 26

Not a minor character. And played by Donald Sutherland in the movie.

In Lillies of the Field, Sidney Poitier's character is named Homer Smith. Too close for a coincidence.
posted by Rash at 10:35 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]

In the fine YA book Follow My Leader, the protagonist is named Jimmy Carter. Spooky!
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:01 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]

I think at various points he's said that he named him after the character, and that he named him Homer after his Dad and Simpson because it sounds like "simpleton." I suspect he decided to name him Homer, then he remembered there was character named Homer Simpson in Day of the Locust, and he thought it was a good name.
posted by Chenko at 11:32 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]

FYI: there are 67 places named Springfield in the US.
posted by SPrintF at 2:16 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]

Incidentally, Mona Simpson is named for a real person - she is an author who was married to one of the show's producers.
posted by goo at 12:58 AM on June 27

I interviewed Matt Groening in the autumn of 1989, a few weeks before the first episode of the Simpsons aired, and at the time he was saying that the characters were named after members of his family, nothing beyond that. (He also thought the show was going to be one of the all-time bombs and would be off the air after two or three episodes.)
posted by Hogshead at 5:15 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]

nb: "skittlebrau" also makes an appearance in either Day of the Locust or Miss Lonelyhearts (can't remember which at the moment)
posted by augustimagination at 3:18 PM on June 27