Troy McClure

Ah, where do I remember this guy from? Actor Troy McClure received his training in the classic manner: while working in a bar he was discovered by a lonely casting director and traded on his looks to book jobs. He has starred in such memorable films as Calling All Quakers, The Erotic Adventures of Hercules, and Gladys the Groovy Mule. Recently, Troy has devoted his substantial talent to narrating self-help videos (Get Confident, Stupid, Smoke Yourself Thin) and educational films (Lead Paint; Delicious But Deadly). Currently, Troy is perfoming Muttonchops!, his one-man musical tribute to the great thinkers of the 19th century, at Ye Olde Off Ramp Inn's Sapphire Lounge. Thurs.-Sun. Named after B-movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure, Springfield's resident washed-up actor first appeared in Season 2's "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment," where he was hosting I Can't Believe They Invented It!, and reminded us he was in such movies as Cry Yuma and Here Comes the Coast Guard. Troy was originally going to be voiced by Dan Castellaneta, but he was replaced by Phil Hartman: Phil had had also appeared three episodes earlier as Lionel Hutz, and he had so much fun he requested to come back, with Troy McClure being the first suitable character they had available for him. As an actor, Troy wore many different costumes over the course of the show, depending on what the theme of the movie or program was - cowboy, handyman, ringmaster, whatever - but his most common outfit was what he wore to host the infomercial: a pink sweater over a pale blue shirt and red tie, white slacks, and brown shoes. That's what this figure is wearing, naturally, and while the sculpt is mostly good, there are a few areas where we could have used a little more detail. For instance, his pants should have a strong pleat down the front, not the relatively soft crease the toy actually sports, and while they did get the bags under his eyes, they didn't get the little crow's feet wrinkles at the corners. And of course, like so many cartoon characters, the toy's hair is designed to look better from one side than the other. Playmates made a Troy McClure in their World of Springfield line back in the day (in the first series of the "All-Star Voices" subline), and though I don't remember getting him, I know I have his accessories, so I must have? No matter what, this version is going to be more fun, because Jakks is actually giving their figures articulation! You may remember him for having a swivel neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists (up-and-down hinges, not side-to-side), a balljointed waist, balljoint hips, hinged knees, and balljointed ankles. That's enough for a lot of fun! Only his right hand is shaped to hold accessories - his left is permanently giving a thumbs-up. Unlike the Series 3 Marge, Troy includes accessories: the Juice Loosener and a... thing. Lucky for us Jakks' website identifies it, because believe you me, I never would have come up with "breath freshener" on my own. Especially since the one in the episode ("A Fish Called Selma," Season 7) showed it as a blue bottle with a white top, not a white bottle with a blue top. The Juice Loosener ("Marge in Chains," Season 4) is perfectly minorly on-model, and includes the glass the juice pours into. It's packaged on top of the machine, as though it were attached; maybe that's its storage mode? The glass has a handle the figure can delicately hold, and there's even a spot of orange paint in the bottom of the glass to represent all the juice you could get from just one bag of oranges! Most of the product listings identify this toy as "Troy Mcclure with Brief Case and Breath Freshener," so either that's one heck of a typo, or that's the accessory he was originally going to come with before a last-minute change. Eh, the Juice Loosener is a way better choice! Troy McClaure stopped being used as anything more than a non-speaking cameo after Season 10's "Bart the Mother," because the show respected him enough to not recast the character after Phil Hartman died. (Thanks a lot, Andy Dick!) Before his death, he was legitimately interested in playing a live-action Troy McClure in a movie, and had apparently even looked into purchasing the movie rights, with many of the show's staff writers being willing to work on it with him. That may seem unlikely today, but you have to remember: this was the '90s, the era of Saturday Night Live characters getting full movies, and Troy McClure's Hollywood is certainly no more insane than It's Pat or Stuart Saves His Family. And Phil Hartman is probably the only Simpsons actor who looked enough like his character to make a live-action movie work. Like, imagine this: a Noises Off-style farce about about Troy's musical, Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!. And the play is being directed by Llewellyn Sinclair. It could have worked, dammit! But instead, all we have are a few toys. Even if you have the old Playmates version, this one has a better sculpt and better articulation, and having all-new accessories is a win, too! It sure would be nice if stores carried these toys. -- 01/18/26 Where do you remember Troy McClure from? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.