Fans mourn after 'The Simpsons' kills off original character Larry the Barfly

Mirna Alsharif
·2 min read
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"The Simpsons," to fans' dismay, has killed off original character Larry the Barfly after 35 years.

A man of few words and true to his nickname, Larry Dalrymple was often seen at Moe’s Tavern drinking beer. There, he'd see Homer, Lenny, Carl and Moe, who he considered his best friends — even though they never really talked.

Last week, showrunner Matt Selman shared a poll on X asking fans to guess "Who will breathe their last?" in the upcoming new episode: Homer, Marge, Bart or "Larry the silent barfly."

Fans overwhelmingly chose Larry, with many expressing their dismay at the regular character's death, despite him having such few lines. Some fans mourned the character by posting his photo, others eulogized him and one user said even though Larry has only spoken about 20 words in over 30 years, they still feel badly for him.

Larry the Barfly, second from left, stands behind Moe, left, and Barney outside Moe's Tavern in a 1989 episode of
Larry the Barfly, second from left, stands behind Moe, left, and Barney outside Moe's Tavern in a 1989 episode of

In Sunday's episode, "Cremains of the Day," Homer and the gang are watching a sports game at Moe's. When Moe angrily kicks everyone out of the bar after the team he bet against wins, Larry collapses.

At Larry's funeral, the gang realizes they don't really know Larry at all — despite seeing him at Moe's for many years. When Larry's mother, Iris Dalrymple, asks the men to say a few words about her son's love of fishing, they nervously make up a story.

"Why did you never take the time to get to know this man?" Marge asks them when they sit back down.

"Marge, Larry just didn't fit into our band of bros," Homer says.

The gang starts to feel guilty, especially when Iris shows them a picture from her son's book of the five of them at Serenity Falls with the message "MOE'S BROS" written on it.

The gang then embarks on a journey to scatter their silent friend's ashes at Serenity Falls.

Tim Long, who co-ran the episode, apologized to fans who were upset by Larry's death, but said that was the point, TMZ reported.

Long said the Barfly's death was still impactful regardless of how small his role was because "The Simpsons" characters aren't often killed off, according to the outlet. Long noted that the reaction speaks to the impact the show still has.

The Simpsons official X account posted a picture after Sunday’s episode premiered, showing Homer sat with Larry at “BUFFALO ANGEL WINGS” sharing some grub.

"After every new episode, an angel gets his wings," the caption read.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com