The Simpsons: What Happened To Marge’s Father

The Simpsons has given viewers a look at the backstories of Homer and Marge a couple of times, but one big question remains regarding Marge’s family background: what happened to her father? Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons began as a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, and after three seasons, it was developed into a half-hour prime time show, officially debuting on Fox in 1989. Since then, the series has become one of the longest-running American sitcoms, with over 30 seasons and still counting.

The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family and their close friends (and a couple of enemies too, such as Sideshow Bob) in the fictional town of Springfield. The series has taken some time to explore Homer and Marge’s life before the events of the series, showing how they met and even taking a look at their childhoods, which has also helped explain why they act the way they do. While grandpa Simpson is a recurrent character, Marge’s family (particularly her sisters, Patty and Selma) has appeared a couple of times, but there’s one big question about the Bouviers: what happened to Marge’s father?

Not much is known about Clarence “Clancy” Bouvier, also referred to as Grandpa Bouvier, as he has only appeared a couple of times. However, his brief and sporadic appearances have revealed enough details about him and the dynamic with his family. First off, Clancy was a chain-smoker, a habit that Patty and Selma quickly picked up, and he won over Jaqueline Gurney’s heart by sending her a box of candy with his photo in it. Clancy passed away years ago, which is why he’s just a minor character, though he did get to meet Bart and Lisa. Given his unhealthy habits, Clancy died of lung cancer.

Clancy might be best remembered for his appearance in the episode “Fear of Flying”, where Marge revealed she had a fear of flying and so went to a therapist. There she learned that the root of her fear was related to her father, who she thought was a heroic pilot, and was traumatized when she discovered he was actually a flight attendant. It was revealed in a different episode that Clancy also served in the United States Navy, where he picked up a new habit: swearing heavily, which nearly cost him his job as a baby photographer, though Jacqueline helped him get over it with a swear jar.

Like many other characters from The Simpsons, there are some inconsistencies in Clancy’s story. It has been implied that he died before Homer and Marge got married, but he was later shown alive when Bart and Lisa were toddlers. In addition to that, in his first appearance he had brown hair, and though it was later changed to blue to match with the rest of the family, he has appeared with brown hair a couple more times. Fans of The Simpsons can’t expect to see much of Clancy Bouvier as he’s dead – or at least not in canon, as he can still appear in Treehouse of Horror specials.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3276 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

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Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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