As The Simpsons airs its 36th season, one of its mainstays is stepping away. Pamela Hayden, the voice of Bart Simpson’s best friend Milhouse Van Houten, as well as bully Jimbo Jones, Ned Flanders’ son Rod, and Chief Wiggum’s wife Sarah, announced her retirement, according to Variety . Hayden has worked on The Simpsons since its very first episode in 1989.
“People are always saying what a nerd he is. But one thing that I love about Milhouse is he’s always getting knocked down but he keeps getting up. I love the little guy,” Hayden said in a video uploaded to YouTube to announce her retirement, where she called her gig on the show “the best job in the world.
” According to Variety , Fox will now begin the casting process to find new voices for her characters. Hayden’s final voice performance will be in the upcoming episode “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” airing Nov. 24.
Seinfeld’ s Wayne Knight told TMZ that since he’s lost over 100 pounds, his acting career has taken a nose dive. The actor, who played Jerry Seinfeld’s nemesis Newman, explained, “It takes time for people to accept you as you are and they find out whether or not you can still do things without being fat.” He’s not letting it get him down, however, adding, “You just have to accept the fact that you can’t sell something that you’re not.
” As for how he lost the weight, Knight said he tried “everything that anyone could ever try from therapy .