The Complete Story Of Bret Hart's Cameo On The Simpsons

The month is April 1997. Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar is number one at the box office, Song 2 by Blur is being enjoyed around the world, and season one of The Crocodile Hunter starring Steve Irwin has just premiered to the delight of children everywhere.

April 1997 is also the month that one of the many legendary cameos on The Simpsons took place as Bret Hart appeared in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it portion of 'The Old Man and the Lisa.'

The Background

After being featured in short sketches in three seasons of The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons - a cartoon parody of the traditional nuclear family - received its own show on FOX in 1989 to follow the adventures of Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and their fellow citizens of the fictional town of Springfield, with the series quickly becoming an overwhelming cultural phenomenon in the 1990s with its own books, comic books, video games, and a merchandising empire.

By 1997, The Simpsons was in the middle of season eight, very much a part of the golden age of the series with classic episodes like ‘Homer’s Enemy', ‘You Only Move Twice’ with Hank Scorpio, ‘The Springfield Files’, ‘The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show’, and ‘The Mysterious Voyage Of Our Homer’ all in that particular season. 

Pro wrestling, meanwhile, was amidst the Monday Night Wars as WWF Monday Night Raw went head-to-head on a weekly basis with WCW Monday Nitro. World Wrestling Federation was also in the process of transitioning from the New Generation to the Attitude era, a process that was just months away from being completed by April 1997. 

Bret Hart competed in one of the best matches in pro wrestling history just one month before his Simpsons cameo as he completed a double turn with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 which cemented The Hitman as a heel in the United States and a babyface in Canada, such was his popularity in his native Great White North. 

Bret Hart’s cameo wasn’t a random appearance on The Simpsons either as professional wrestling was often mentioned during the early seasons of the cartoon.

One of the earliest references to pro wrestling came in season two’s ‘Bart The Devil’ where the Simpson family watched a match between Rasputin The Friendly Russian and Professor Werner Von Brawn. Another pro wrestling match emerged in season four’s ‘Last Exit to Springfield’ where Homer watched a commercial for a Texas Death Match from the Springfield Grapplarium between The Iron Yuppie and Doctor Hillbilly in which the loser would be unmasked and killed in the ring. 

Everyone’s favourite Simpsons actor Troy McLure even noted in season seven that fans may know him from such celebrity funerals as ‘Andre The Giant, We Hardly Knew Ye’, while pro wrestling appeared earlier in season eight during ‘The Twisted World of Marge Simpson’ when the Springfield Investorettes sponsored the Mexican luchador El Bombastico.  

Bret Hart Records His Simpsons Cameo

One year before ‘The Old Man and the Lisa’ premiered, Bret Hart had taken a step back from the World Wrestling Federation after dropping the WWF Title to Shawn Michaels in their Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII. Hart had planned to take some time away from the company after WrestleMania in order to recharge, as well as as pursue outside projects, including acting. 

Upon discovering that The Simpsons were looking for a wrestler’s voice for a cameo on the show, Hart, already a big fan of the cartoon, pitched for the part and he was ultimately booked for the role by his casting agent. Hart wasn’t originally scheduled to play himself, however, and he was simply booked to provide the voice for The Mad Viking, a fictional pro wrestling character.

A common adage in pro wrestling came to fruition in the TV world, though, as plans changed after Hart headed to FOX Studios in Los Angeles mere weeks after beginning what would end up being a seven-month hiatus from WWF. After recording his lines in a matter of minutes, Hart found himself stuck at FOX Studios as his limousine driver had driven off to refuel. At this point, Hart was surrounded by FOX employees and their children and he spent the next 30 to 40 minutes signing autographs, which ultimately led to The Simpsons producers changing their minds and deciding to draw Hart into the show as himself, something he had been pitching for all along anyway. 

"The funny story about The Simpsons cartoon is they initially were not going to draw me in as me. I had just lost the title to Shawn Michaels at the Iron Man Match in Anaheim. This is maybe a week or two later and they flew me in. I was just going to be the Mad Viking or something like that, I was gonna be some other wrestling persona that was made up. I tried really hard to get them to draw me in as myself and they finally said, 'It's just the part for Mad Viking, take it or leave it.' I said, 'Okay, I'll still take it. It'll be fun to go to LA and be the voice for The Mad Viking,'" Hart told Fightful in a 2021 interview.

"I did the whole thing in about five minutes. I drove there in a big limo, went into the studio and did my lines in less than five minutes. Did it every which way you can think of, more mad, it came out not quite so mad. My limo driver had driven off, had gone to get gas I think, so I got stuck sitting there for about a half hour because I got done so quick. All of these workers who were working at FOX Studios came out of the woodwork, I’m talking like over 100 people came out and they had programmes, and pictures, and figures. So I just signed, I had nowhere to go anyway, so I just signed all their stuff," Bret continued.

"I remember when I was sitting there after I'd signed for 30 or 40 minutes, I remember I guess the guy who was the director of my episode came up and he goes, 'I had no idea you were this big of a star. If it's okay with you, we're going to draw you in as yourself now because we had no idea.' So I always thought just by being a good sport and being nice and taking my time and being friendly with people and signing autographs, they drew me in as myself. Never hurts to be a nice guy, so I thought that was always an interesting story that it paid off." 

The Build To The Old Man and the Lisa 

‘The Old Man and the Lisa’ was due to air on Sunday, April 20, 1997 and there was plenty of promotion for The Hitman’s cameo on the show, including Hart appearing on the front cover of WWF Magazine alongside Bart Simpson. Bret’s appearance on The Simpsons would also receive a double page spread in the April 17 edition of the Calgary Herald. 

"Its cool to be part of a show that makes people laugh really hard," Bret said about his appearance, before he showed his own sense of humour as after being asked if comedy was the same as pro wrestling, The Hitman replied: "Wrestling, well, people take it so seriously."

Hart then noted how highly he thought of being on The Simpsons, placing it alongside his then-four reigns as WWF Champion as he called the cameo "more satisfying being on that show than any other show I can think of" due to being such a big fan of the cartoon. 

"I give Burns a pretty good shakeup. If you blink you’ll miss it. It’s only maybe 15 or 20 seconds long, but it probably will give me more notoriety than all the titles I’ve won," he added. 

Hart also pulled his own Rick Rude months before his moustached colleague would do so in November 1997 as ‘The Old Man and the Lisa’ went head-to-head with WWF In Your House 14: Revenge of the ‘Taker, a pay-per-view main evented by a WrestleMania rematch between Bret Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to determine the number one contender for the WWF Title. 

"So I'm kind of on the air and fighting on one channel and giving Burns a good piece of my mind on the other. Either way - fighting evil," Hart told the Calgary Herald about pulling double duty.

Bret’s fight against evil would be more successful on The Simpsons than WWF In Your House as The Hitman would lose to Austin by DQ following interference from the Hart Foundation. 

The Old Man and the Lisa

The April 20, 1997 episode of The Simpsons focused upon the unlikely alliance of Lisa and Mr. Burns. After the owner of Springfield’s nuclear power plant went bankrupt in the episode, Lisa helped him regain his money by recycling cans. Eventually, C. Montgomery Burns earned enough money to purchase his own recycling plant but the capitalist was unable to avoid returning to his evil ways as he actually used the plant to create a multi-purpose edible compound made of squished sea creatures. Burns ended the episode by selling the plant for $120 million and offering Lisa 10 per cent of the profits, which the young Simpson duly turned down, causing Homer to have four consecutive heart attacks. 

Hart’s appearance occurred while Mr. Burns was down on his luck and had returned to his almost-empty mansion to retrieve his few remaining belongings.

As Burns and his assistant Waylon Smithers moved to make their exit, Hart and an estate agent entered the building, with the realtor making a joke about pro wrestling, saying, "I'm sure a pro wrestler such as yourself will appreciate all the closet space, Hitman."

Bret then replied in a peculiar voice, "Eww, this place has got old man stink." The estate agent was able to convince Hart to buy the property, however, after mentioning that another wrestler in The Shrieking Sheik lived just three doors away. 

Hart then ended his cameo by showing exactly what he thought of C. Montgomery Burns, replying to Burns’ request to take a portrait of himself with, "Why would I want a picture of a pitiful, pencil-necked geek?!"

What’s Going On With Bret Hart’s Voice?

While Bret’s cameo has become iconic, some have questioned over the years if it was The Hitman himself providing the voice for his cameo. Hart, of course, has confirmed it was him but his voice sounded different as he recorded his lines as The Mad Viking, with the Simpsons producers only opting to draw Hart in as himself after his impromptu signing session at FOX Studios, as opposed to having Hart re-record his dialogue as well.

"I did all the lines and everything as The Mad Viking. That’s why when sometimes people hear, they go, 'That's not Bret Hart. It doesn't sound like him.' Yeah, I was supposed to be doing The Mad Viking. So I wasn’t supposed to be Bret Hart, so I was trying to have a different voice a little bit. But it's me. Again, they didn't change anything except for the artwork. I think Hitman was better than The Mad Viking anyway," Hart said in the 2021 interview with Fightful.

The Aftermath 

Bret Hart’s cameo on The Simpsons has become iconic both within pro wrestling and amongst fans of the cartoon. Hart’s appearance was even commemorated in 2014 as NECA released a Bret Hart action figure as part of season three of their '25 of the Greatest Guest Stars' collection which celebrated the 25th anniversary of The Simpsons. Others featured in the collection were Stephen King, R.E.M, Leonard Nimoy, and Penn & Teller. Those looking to get their hands on the figure today, though, will have to pay upwards of $100. 

Bret reflected on his cameo in a 2013 interview with Metro, describing his Simpsons appearance as something that will "probably end up being the greatest thing I ever did" as The Hitman believed he would still be featured in re-runs of the show for years to come. While we have since moved to a primarily streaming world, The Simpsons remains popular on Disney+.

The Simpsons have also continued referencing professional wrestling since 1997. The season 11 episode ‘EI EI (Annoyed Grunt)’ opened with the residents of Springfield attending a screening of ‘The Poke of Zorro’, a mock Hollywood movie with a joke cast list that included “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as Time Traveler #1. 

Hulk Hogan and Miss Elizabeth, meanwhile, were parodied as Dr. Bonebreak and Rumblelina in season 13, as a pro wrestling show being watched by Bart featured the couple getting married before they resorted to attacking each other with steel chairs and fire extinguishers. 2005’s The Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture also revealed that Comic Book Guy was once taken out by Rob Van Dam at an ECW show, while the season 18 premiere of The Simpsons poked fun at the kayfabe nature of pro wrestling as Lisa held up a newspaper with a front page of Homer celebrating in a pro wrestling ring with the headline ‘Local Man Thinks Wrestling is Real.’

Season 24 of The Simpsons even had it’s own episode dedicated to pro wrestling as Abe Simpson was revealed to have an alter ego as Glamorous Godfrey, who performed in the 1950s as a detestable heel who was so good he was driven out of town, causing Simpson to hang up his boots.

Encouragement from Glamorous Godfrey fan Mr. Burns caused Grandpa Simpson to come out of retirement with Bart as his manager, only for Godfrey to turn babyface after he realised his heel antics were negatively influencing Bart. Godfrey then ended the episode as Honest Abe, while Bart became Laddie Liberty.  

John Cena became just the second pro wrestler to appear on The Simpsons in the season 36 premiere as the 17-time world champion helped deliver the baby of Comic Book Guy and Kumiko Albertson, before severing the umbilical cord with a Klingon bat’leth. Cena exited The Simpsons after performing his signature ‘You Can’t See Me’ pose with the seconds-old baby.