Here's what happened to one of first 30 seasons of The Simpsons are available to stream on Disney+, fans can enjoy Troy's career all over again - until he's written out of the series.
Troy McClure was a washed-up Hollywood actor who had his heyday in the 1970s, starring in such films as The President's Neck Is Missing and They Came To Burgle Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, his "romantic abnormality" - a sexual attraction to fish - became publicly known, which torpedoed his career. By the time of The Simpsons' debut, Troy was now living in Springfield where he hosted a slew of late-night infomercials such as I Can't Believe They Invented It! and educational/self-help videos like Lead Paint: Delicious But Deadly and The Decapitation of Larry Leadfoot. Troy's first appearance was in The Simpsons season 2 episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" and he was a popular recurring character until his final episode in The Simpsons season 10, "Bart the Mother".
The heartbreaking reason that Troy and Phil Hartman's other adored character, the hapless attorney Lionel Hutz, were respectfully written out of The Simpsons is because Hartman was tragically murdered. On May 27, 1998, Hartman was shot and killed in his sleep by his wife Brynn after a heated argument; Brynn was an alcoholic and had used cocaine and taken Zoloft before she murdered Phil and then took her own life. Phil Hartman was an extremely popular cast member on Futurama before his death; Billy West took over the role.
Of course, Troy McClure is best ed for "A Fish Called Selma", an episode that showcased Hartman's talent, including singing. Thanks to his wedding (to a woman) reinvigorating his career, Troy was cast by his agent McArthur Parker (Jeff Goldblum) in "as the human" in the musical "Stop The Matt Groening said that the idea of a Troy McClure movie "never got further than enthusiasm".
Like Krusty the Clown, Troy provided some local star-power to Springfield as one of the town's resident celebrities and he was an excellent vehicle for exploring the more unfortunate side of fame and fortune. Ironically, Troy was also sought after as an emcee for funerals and he hosted such memorial services as Andre the Giant, We Hardly Knew Ye and Shemp Howard, Today We Mourn a Stooge. After Phil Hartman's death, Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz, and his numerous other characters were respectfully retired and their absence has been felt from The Simpsons ever since - but at least fans can relive Troy McClure's glory days whenever they want on Disney+.