How Steve Guttenberg Feels About ‘Simpsons’ Jab in Alf Clausen’s Stonecutter Song (Video)
Alf Clausen, who has been let go after 27 years as composer of “The Simpsons,” is responsible for a slew of memorable music numbers on the show. One person who was surprised but pleased to have been name-dropped in one of them is actor Steve Guttenberg.
“Homer the Great,” a Season 6 episode that aired in January 1995, centers on Homer Simpson joining an elite brotherhood known as the Stonecutters. Clausen wrote the group’s Emmy-nominated tune, “We Do (The Stonecutters’ Song),” which features the members boasting about their less-than-impressive accomplishments.
“Who holds back the electric car?” the gang sings. “Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star? We do!”
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On the day after Clausen announced his departure from the show that he has scored since Season 2, Guttenberg spoke to TheWrap about being mentioned in the song. As it turns out, Guttenberg has never heard from the show about the line.
“Nothing! I still have never got a call about it,” the “Three Men and a Baby” actor said with a laugh. “[‘Simpsons’ executive producers] Sam Simon and Jim Brooks, they put it together and put it on the air, and never gave me a call about it.”
“But it’s been a very successful moment for them, and been a very successful moment for me,” Guttenberg continued. “So I’ve always been flattered by it.”
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The actor, who starred in the “Police Academy” franchise and currently recurs on HBO’s “Ballers,” does not deny that the song has a point — to an extent.
“I thought it was fairly funny,” Guttenberg said. “There’s some truth to it. Who made me a star? All the people who went to see ‘Police Academy.'”
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“Then again, in reality, it’s the same people who saw [my smaller projects like] ‘Diner’ or ‘The Day After,’ or even ‘Family’ [that] I did years ago, a serious television show,” he added. “Even though it’s a funny thing, I think that plenty of people made me a star. [But] it’s a very funny line.”
Producers of “The Simpsons” issued a statement Thursday saying they “tremendously value Alf Clausen’s contributions,” and that “he will continue to have an ongoing role in the show.”
Check out the Stonecutters’ anthem in the video above.
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