0039 - Lewis (Patreon)

I think there were bigger plans for characters like Lewis. Early on Bart has a consistent little bunch of friends, including Lewis here, but as Bartmania calms down after the first year or two they kind of fade away as the show focuses elsewhere. Heck by season 9's "Das Bus even Bart calls him by the wrong name for a gag.

As a result of being such a minor character, he has had many voices: Jo Ann Harris, Nancy Cartwright, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor and Tress MacNeille have all played him at some point. A lot of the kids have inconsistent voice actors in the early years - occasionally you'll catch a very strange sounding Ralph or Martin - but it's rarely this all over the place. 

Lewis is a padding of a character, meant only as a kid to appear when all the main-er kids are doing something more interesting. If you need a character to say something generic to move the scene along, Lewis is your man. Poor fella! I bet you have a stronger showing in the comics.

To add insult to injury, Lewis changes skin colour in his very first scene!

The group of kids that show at Springfield Elementary is definitely something I want to explore more, come back tomorrow for an interesting little diversion...

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.