30 Years Later, 'The Simpsons' Are A Part Of The American Family
For 30 years Bart, Marge, Homer, Lisa, Maggie and the other citizens of Springfield have entertained people around the world. The Simpsons also created a path for many other animated sitcoms.
On April 19, 1987, a momentous event happened: America was introduced to one of its most enduring families, The Simpsons.
Bart, Homer, Marge and the rest of the family first appeared in 48 short filler segments on the sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, but those first characters were very different from the Simpsons of today.
"At first they wereand commercial breaks," says Maureen Furniss, an animation historian who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts.
