One of The Simpsons’ most iconic characters is hanging up his cape ‘forever’ after a Severance-style episode.
The parody episode, titled Seperance, saw Duffman officially ‘retire’ after nearly 30 years on screen alongside the famous animated family.
Duffman, who is the beloved beer spokesperson and speaks in third person, first appeared in 1997 episode The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.
Now, in season 37, he walked into Marge and Homer’s living room and confirmed: ‘The Duff Corporation has retired that character forever.’
‘All the old forms of advertising are now passé. Corporate spokesmen, print ads, TV spots. Today’s kids can’t even sing the jingles.’
Duffman was the company mascot, rarely seen without his red cape, blonde hair, and belt of beer cans.
Voiced by Hank Azaria, who also voices Moe and Chief Wiggum, was best known for the catchphrase ‘Oh yeah!’ which he ended most sentences with.
The ‘oh yeah!’ is actually a nod to the fact that advertisers began to use the Yello song after the 1986 smash hit Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Potentially, this is adding to why writers are seeing him as outdated, along with the women who surround him at all times.
Duffman, who self-identifies as Barry while out of uniform, is said to be the last of three Duffman mascot actors as revealed in 2002 episode Jaws Wired Shut.
He is also Jewish, with a handful of previous episodes exploring his relationship with his heritage.
During his retirement episode, Duffman attempted to recruit Homer to a company called EOD before going through deprogramming.
He was spotted later in the episode out of uniform, so potentially, fans will see Barry around Springfield away from his beer-related obligations.
Duffman’s retirement comes shortly after the death of another longstanding character — Alice Glick, the church organist.
In Sashes to Sashes, which aired two months ago, the church holds a memorial for Alice, who died during a sermon after 34 years on the show.
When asked about the death, executive producer Tim Long told People she will ‘live forever through the beautiful music she made’.
He then added: ‘But in another, more important sense, yep she’s dead as a doornail.’’
