Horatio McCallister

Generally referred to as the Sea Captain, or Captain McCallister there is some debate regarding his given names: Horatio and/or Pete. Though in court, he admitted that he isn't a real captain, he has (incompetently) piloted several vessels. He's always seen holding a corncob pipe and squinting: because he has at least one glass eye - though in "The Old Man and the "C" Student" he taps both of his eyes and says he has 'two glass eyes.' In addition to eye(s), he also has an artificial leg.

Controversy Over Voice Credit
There is some confusion as to who should be named as voice of The Sea Captain: Harry Shearer or Hank Azaria?

Let’s look at some creditable web sites:

The “Internet Movie Data Base”
The IDMB has a very comprehensive filmography on all the Simpsons’ cast, and a character profile on Captain McAllister - which credit both Shearer and Azaria

Harry Shearer’s 430 Simpsons episodes:
According to IMDB Shearer’s first credit as Captain McAllister is in 1993 on (Simpsons episode) line 93 - $pringfield (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling). He's next credited with the character's voice in 1996. This time as the "Sea Captain" on line 154 - You Only Move Twice.

Shearer is credited at least 24 more times as the Sea Captain and Captain McAllister until his last credit as "Captain McAllister" in 2002, on line 279 - The Bart Wants What It Wants. It seems that Hank Azaria takes over as the voice of The Captain from here on.

Hank Azaria’s 421 Simpsons episodes:
According to IMDB Azaria’s first credit as the “Sea Captain” is in 1993, on (Simpsons episode) line 62 - Marge vs. the Monorail. He is next listed as simply “Captain” in 2000 on line 228 - The Mansion Family.

Azaria continues to be credited as just “Captain” until 2007, on line 378 - The Wife Aquatic - where he’s credited as “Captain McAllister” (also the last credit given for The Captain)

Captain McAllister’s Overview:
What is perplexing though is, the Internet Movie Data Base does not list ‘The Sea Captain’ as a character in what apparently was Captain McAllister's first appearance on The Simpsons in - New Kid on the Block

And even more mystifying: the Internet Movie Data Base has a separate 'character Overview' listing for (just) Sea Captain, where again Shearer and Azaria are credited.

The Simpsons Archive
A excellent place for 'Simpsons Geeks' to find in-depth trivia.

Captain McAllister File
Here, Harry Shearer is named as the Captain's voice

Wikipedia.org on The Simpsons
"Here, Wikipedia names Hank Azaria as the voice of The Sea Captain"

Origins
The character was created by NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" host Conan O'Brien while he was a writer for "The Simpsons". Voiced by Hank Azaria, the character first appeared in 1992 in the New Kid on the Block episode as the owner of The Frying Dutchman all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant. In that episode, McCallister is sued by Homer for not letting him eat all he could eat. Homer Simpson's visit to the restaurant caused the captain to observe about him, "'Tis no man, 'tis a remorseless eatin' machine!"

Primary Occupation
Being a sea captain, ironically McCallister is frequently shown to be completely incompetent at seafaring. On one occasion, he wrecks a cargo ship full of hot pants; on another, in a probable reference to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, he causes an oil spill by crashing his tanker while drunk. He launches a river raft for Homer, only to have it sink immediately to the bottom. The captain's idea for Mr. Burns' casino involved three ships and fifty "stout men" who would "sail 'round the Horn and return with spices and silk". On several occasions, he acknowledges his incompetence with a depressed, "Yarr, I don't know what I'm doin'."

Other Jobs
On another occasion, he tried selling his houseboat to Marge and Homer while they were looking for a new home, and in an obvious nod to Robert Shaw's character in Jaws starts grappling with a shark when it attacks through the floor.

Incompetence
As an entrepreneur, McCallister is equally incompetent. His restaurant, The Frying Dutchman, is a failing business venture that does not generate enough income to support its owner. In the episode Lisa Gets an "A", the captain appears as a penniless bum. When seeing Homer and Marge walking Homer's pet lobster at the beach, he approaches them and claims that he runs a "small academy for lobsters." However, when Marge refuses to send the lobster away to "some snobby boarding school," McCallister asks her for spare change instead.

Sexuality
He has never been shown with a girlfriend and, while it's generally believed that he's not gay, he has hinted to the fact that he has engaged in "situational homosexuality" with his fellow sailors. In episode 1F05 (Bart's Inner Child), however, McAllister takes a picture of naked Patty and Selma, a picture which he claims to need for "those lonely nights at sea". In episode 2F10 (And Maggie Makes Three), he is seen to have a son, whom he describes as "the catch of the day."