Voice of 'Simpsons' teacher Mrs Krabappel dies

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Matt Groening (C), creator of The Simpsons, poses with characters from the show (L-R) Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie at the 20th anniversary party for the television series in Santa Monica, California in this file photo taken October 18, 2009. REUTERS photo

Marcia Wallace, the voice of Edna Krabappel, Bart Simpson's jaded, chain-smoking schoolteacher on the animated show "The Simpsons," has died, the show producers said Saturday. She was 70.

Wallace died in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, her son Michael Hawley told the Los Angeles Times.

Wallace's career in show business included her role as a sassy receptionist on the 1970s TV comedy "The Bob Newhart Show," and guest roles in '80s and '90s shows like "Full House," "Taxi" and "Murphy Brown." As Mrs. Krabappel, Bart's fourth-grade teacher since 1990, Wallace was best known for her animated character's sarcastic cackle.

"I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace," read a statement from the show's executive producer Al Jean posted on Facebook.

"She was beloved by all at 'The Simpsons' and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character," Jean wrote.

In 1992 Wallace won a Primetime Emmy award for her role as Mrs. Krabappel in a "Simpsons" episode titled "Bart the Lover." In the episode Bart takes revenge on his divorced teacher for receiving a month of detention by posing as a handsome adult man and answering her love-lorn personal newspaper ads.
 
Wallace's final role is in "Muffin Top: A Love Story," a film set for release in 2014 in which she appears with her son, who is also an actor.