Bart the Fink

"Bart the Fink" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1996. In this episode, Bart ruins Krusty the Clown's career by accidentally exposing Krusty as one of the biggest tax cheats in American history. Driven to despair, Krusty fakes a suicide in order to start life anew as a sailor; feeling guilty for what he did, Bart convinces Krusty to become a television clown again.

The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and Bob Kushell, and directed by Jim Reardon. American actor Bob Newhart guest starred in it as himself. The episode's title is a play on the 1991 film Barton Fink. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews by television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 8.7, and was the fifth highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.

Plot

After the death of great aunt Hortense, the Simpson family attends a will reading. Each member of the family discovers they will receive $100 to do with as they like, but only after spending the night in a haunted house (which is surprisingly pleasant). Though Bart wishes to buy a hundred tacos from the TacoMat and Lisa to contribute to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Marge has them open bank accounts at the Bank of Springfield. Bart is excited with his new checking account, and begins writing checks for his friends.

Howard Finkel

Howard Finkel (born June 7, 1950) is an American semi-retired professional wrestling ring announcer, being employed by WWE since 1977. He began working for Vince McMahon, Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, making him the company's longest tenured employee, and has been a ring announcer since 1977.

Career

Finkel, a native of Newark, New Jersey, is the WWE's first employee after having been hired in 1975 by Vince McMahon, Sr. for what was then known as the WWWF. Finkel debuted as a ring announcer at Madison Square Garden on January 17, 1977. By 1979, he had become the organization's lead ring announcer for their biggest events. Throughout his career, Finkel's distinctive voice was sometimes used in the title sequence for the company's various television programs. Finkel's signature call was his announcement of a new champion following a title change, in which he would place extra emphasis on the word "new", in order to draw the greatest reaction from the crowd. Finkel came up with the event name "WrestleMania", as well as Ricky Steamboat's "Dragon" nickname. In 1984, Finkel became WWF's lead ring announcer for TV tapings, replacing the retired Joe McHugh. In a 2011 interview, Finkel said he had also played a part in the talent relations and creative departments during the early days of the WWF.