John Ortved’s The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History more than lives up to billing. In their own words, through direct interviews or newspaper and magazine reports going back two decades, Ortved serves up plenty of dish on the making of television’s longest running sitcom — not to mention its cultural impact, the fights over who deserves proper credit (and sizable cash payouts on a several-billion-dollar franchise that has made creator Matt Groening a very, very rich man) and why the show attracted some the brightest, craziest writers in the business. Ortved’s chewy oral history serves up a plethora of mind-blowing and fascinating information, such as:

1. Nancy Cartwright originally auditioned for the part of Lisa, but when she saw the mockup for what Bart was supposed to look like, she uttered “Oh man, yeah!” in a voice not far removed from one she’d used for The Snorks, an animated children’s show that had recently finished airing. Groening heard Cartwright and shouted, “that’s exactly it, that’s… Read More