18: I killed off Larry the Barfly sitting on My Left Hand Side on the April 21 episode titled "Cremains Of The Day" of the Simpsons

The Simpsons producer apologizes to fans for killing off long-running character... while defending the shocking death for being impactful
By BRIAN MARKS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 18:10 EDT, 26 April 2024 | UPDATED: 18:25 EDT, 26 April 2024

One of The Simpson's core creative team is offering a mixed response to upset fans after the series shockingly killed off one of its oldest characters on Sunday.
Tim Long, a co-executive producer on the iconic animated comedy, offered up an apology to traumatized fans on Thursday while speaking to TMZ.
Long also defended the character culling, claiming that it was always intended to be an emotional blow to fans because of how rare death is on The Simpsons.
The series had teased the death ahead of time, though that didn't put all fans at ease once it was revealed that Larry, one of the longtime denizens of Moe's Tavern, had died.

Tim Long, co-executive producer on The Simpsons, apologized to fans for killing off Larry the Barfly (R) on the April 21 episode, but also defended the emotional impact to TMZ on Thursday

Larry the Barfly, who was first introduced almost 35 years ago in the premiere episode, was also revealed to be named Lawrence Dalrymple.
He was primarily a background character, and his drinking buddy, the perpetually slurring beer-bellied drunk Barney Gumble, always outshone him.
Long told the publication he was sorry that Simpsons fans were saddened by Larry's death, as well as the generally somber tone of the episode as a whole.
But the producer was also heartened that the show meant so much to its fans that they could have that strong of an emotional reaction.
He clarified that it was always the intent of The Simpsons' creative team to move viewers with Larry's death. Even though he was mostly a background character, death is extremely rare on the series, making even the loss of a minor figure noteworthy.
Long also poked fun at another classic cartoon, The Flintstones, by claiming that fans of the series — which aired from 1960 to 1966 — wouldn't have been troubled if one of its least-popular characters, The Great Gazoo, had bitten the dust. (Fittingly, The Simpsons parodied the little green alien by introducing the similarly designed Ozmodiar in season eight.)
The producer said he was happy to see that fans could still have a strong emotional reaction to the show, which was created by Matt Groening and premiered in 1989.
However, he urged upset fans to keep things in perspective, as The Simpsons didn't kill off any of its main characters, or even a popular minor character.
After the episode aired, Long posted on X (formerly Twitter): 'Good call by [co-showrunner Matt Selman] to explore how Homer and his friends foresee the afterlife. Poignant and deeply weird!'
The creative team — who came under fire from overly sensitive viewers last year over scenes in which Homer comically strangles his son Bart — may not have expected to upset many fans, as Selman wasn't particularly subtle with hints about which character would die prior to the episode airing.
One social media post urged fans to guess who would be the unlucky character, but Larry was joined by three main characters — Homer, Marge and Bart — who would almost certainly never be killed off.
Larry the Barfly's first appearance on the series was on the Christmas-themed debut episode Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire.
In the latest episode — featuring the punny title Cremains Of The Day — viewers learned that he had died.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13355739/The-Simpsons-producer-apologizes-killing-character-defending-death-impactful.html