Pamela Hayden, who's voiced Bart's best friend Milhouse Van Houten and a number of other characters on The Simpsons for the past 35 years, is retiring from the series.
Fox announced the news in a press release on Wednesday, along with a video tribute to Hayden from The Simpsons team. In addition to Milhouse, Hayden also voiced Jimbo Jones and Rod Flanders, among other characters.
Hayden's last episode as Milhouse and Jimbo Jones will come this Sunday with "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes." The episode will follow Lisa after she's transported "into three strange stories from the innocent 1950s, the chilling retro-present, and a brutalist future where prestige TV rules the world."
As for how the show will handle Hayden's absence, Fox says casting for her characters will begin "in the near future."
“The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons?......not easily," Hayden said in a statement. "It's been an honor and a joy to have worked on such a funny, witty, and groundbreaking show, and to give voice to Milhouse (and Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey, Malibu Stacy, and many others)."
Milhouse has been with the show from the very beginning, making his first appearance in a Butterfinger commercial back when The Simpsons was merely a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. Hayden is credited in nearly 700 episodes of The Simpsons, which is currently in its 36th season.
"Pamela gave us tons of laughs with Milhouse, the hapless kid with the biggest nose in Springfield," The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said in a statement. "She made Milhouse hilarious and real, and we will miss her."
Hayden's other credits outside of The Simpsons include Lloyd in Space, Party Wagon, and voicing Bianca Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Her voice also appeared in 2007's The Simpsons Movie.
For more on The Simpsons, check out our list of its 36 best episodes in honor of its 36th season, or our ranking of every Treehouse of Horror episode.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
