Bleeding Gums Murphy

"Bleeding Gums" Murphy
Gender/Sex
Status
AKA	Bleeding Gums Murphy Oscar Gums Murphy (New Orleans)
Hair Color	Brown, balding
Occupation	Musician
Relations	Son: Monk Murphy Brothers: Julius Hibbert and his twin (unconfirmed) Father: Unnamed (unconfirmed) Nephews: JJ Hibbert, Dr. Hibbert's Second Son, Dr. Hibbert's Third Son (unconfirmed) and Bleeding Gums Murphy's Nephew Nieces: Dr. Hibbert's First Daughter and Dr. Hibbert's Second Daughter (unconfirmed)
First episode appearance	"Moaning Lisa"
Portrayed by	Ron Taylor Daryl L. Coley Kevin Michael Richardson ("Sorry Not Sorry" and "The Sound of Bleeding Gums")

"The Blues ain't about feeling better; it's about making other people feel worse."

―Bleeding Gums Murphy to Lisa.

"Baby, you are gonna see this… Here, take this for luck."

―Bleeding Gums Murphy’s last words to Lisa before his revival.

"Bleeding Gums" or "Oscar Gums" Murphy Hibbert (died April 30, 1995), was the idol and role model of Lisa Simpson. He first appeared in the sixth episode of Season 1, "Moaning Lisa".

Biography

A young Bleeding Gums Murphy

Bleeding Gums learned his musical skills at the feet of Blind Willie Witherspoon, who wanted to give Bleeding Gums his saxophone, only to be finally told that it wasn't a saxophone and actually an umbrella, meaning that Willie had actually been playing an umbrella for some thirty years. Bleeding Gums explained to Willie that no one informed him of the mistake because "we all thought it was funny".

Bleeding Gums recorded only one album, titled Sax on the Beach, which was extremely lucrative for him. However, he soon went broke after spending too much of his money on several Fabergé eggs a day. He revealed that he had once made a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1986 as the Huxtable children's grandfather, as well as appearing on Steve Allen's Tonight Show.

Murphy makes his first appearance playing his saxophone on a bridge in the middle of the night. This is a reference to Sonny Rollins, the great saxophonist, who famously retired from public and was not seen for three years, until a journalist discovered him playing the saxophone alone on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Bleeding Gums was a mentor to Lisa Simpson until his early death. He played and vocalized a song written by Lisa. It pleased Lisa to see the performance of her own jazz song in the bar "The Jazz Hole", but not everyone in the family was happy with lyrics, as they criticized several of them (in particular, Homer was shocked and incensed by Lisa's claim that he belonged at a zoo).

Bleeding Gums once sang a twenty six minute version of the American National anthem "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Springfield Isotopes game.

He serves as one of the three judges for a talent show once, giving Bart a 10 for his impersonation of Principal Skinner. He also appears joining in with the song "Sending Our Love Down the Well" after Bart pretends that he fell into a well.

Death

Bleeding Gums' Gravestone

He makes his final appearance in "'Round Springfield". When Bart ends up in the hospital after accidentally eating a jagged metal from his cereal, Lisa finds Bleeding Gums in a hospital bed in a nearby ward. They play Carole King's "Jazzman" together, entertaining the hospital. He explains about his life, family and work to her as well as giving her advice for her upcoming school performance, lending her his saxophone. When Lisa returns she is devastated when she finds out that Bleeding Gums has died from circumstances that are never revealed, possibly cardiac arrest. Lisa is the only one to attend Murphy's funeral. Reverend Lovejoy gets his name wrong, calling him "Blood and Guts Murphy" and "Bloody Gums Murphy", as well as saying that he was "quite the sousaphone player". This prompts Lisa to buy his album, as the jazz station didn't have it, although she cannot afford it. Bart uses the $500 he got from his court case against "Krusty O's" to buy it for her. She gives it to the jazz station who play it on the radio. The signal isn't strong enough, but a lightning strike boosts the signal so that all of Springfield does hear it.

Bleeding Gums (left) appearing to Lisa Simpson in a cloud, after his death in 'Round Springfield.'

Murphy appears to Lisa from the clouds, thanking her for her final tribute before their final performance of "Jazzman".

Behind the Laughter

The appearance of Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on Sonny Rollins, a great saxophone player who took a break from his life as a recording and performing jazz artist to practice his musical craft on a bridge. Bleeding Gums gave the origin of his nickname in "Moaning Lisa" as thus: "Well, let me put it this way... you ever been to the dentist? Not me. I suppose I should go to one, but I got enough pain in my life as it is." Bleeding Gums died in 1995 at the age of 59 after suffering an apparent heart attack.

The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor, while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins. In the episode "Dancin' Homer" he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley. Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons' opening sequence from Season Two on, even after his death. He even appeared in the live-action format, in The Simpsons Sky One commercial, that was also used for the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife". In 2009, the opening sequence had to be updated since the series was now broadcast in hi-def widescreen format. The new, updated sequence removed Murphy completely apart from a picture of him that can be seen in the Music Room when Lisa plays her Sax.

Bleeding Gums Murphy with his Sax.

In addition to his onscreen appearances, Murphy also appeared on The Simpsons Sing the Blues, an album of rock, and jazz music with vocals performed by characters from the show. On the track "God Bless the Child" (a cover of the Billie Holiday song), performed by Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith), Murphy speaks up after the final chorus to praise Lisa for her vocals, after which he and Lisa perform a saxophone duet for the remainder of the song. Murphy was again voiced by Ron Taylor for the song, and his alto saxophone part was performed by Kim Richmond.

Bleeding Gums Murphy recently appeared in The Simpsons: Tapped Out during the Homerpalooza 2017 event as a premium limited time character that comes with The Jazz Hole.

The Simpsons-Jazzman

Trivia

• Allison Taylor has a photo of Bleeding Gums on the wall. It may be possible that Bleeding Gums was also Allison's one idol. Lisa also has a picture of Bleeding Gums on her wall.
• Sometime before Murphy passed on, he invited Dr. Hibbert, Carl Carlson, and Drederick Tatum to a party at his house.
• It is hinted that Dr. Hibbert and Bleeding Gums are long lost brothers.
• Murphy can be seen in the Angry Mob scene in The Simpsons Movie, even though he supposedly died in the episode "'Round Springfield". The Angry Mob Scene is more of a gag and not meant to be taken completely seriously, the creators just wanted to squeeze in as many characters as they could.
• Murphy's last appearance to Lisa is a parody of a scene in The Lion King. To further the parody, other famous characters voiced by James Earl Jones appear as well: Mufasa from The Lion King, Darth Vader from Star Wars and Jones' own CNN narration. The characters were not voiced by Jones in this scene, although Jones had been a guest on the show before.
• Despite his death, he and Maude continued to be in the seasons 2-20 intro until the show introduced the 720p high definition opening sequence as well as the new 16:9 high definition format in the episode "Take My Life, Please".
• A live action version of him appears in The Simpsons Sky One commercial, that was also used for the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife".
• Despite his death, Murphy still appears in "The Joy of Sect", although it is possible that might be a lookalike.

Gallery

The full image gallery for Bleeding Gums Murphy may be viewed at Bleeding Gums Murphy/Gallery.

Appearances

• Episode – "Moaning Lisa"
• Episode – "The Crepes of Wrath"
• Episode – "Bart Gets an "F"" (cameo)
• Episode – "Dancin' Homer"
• Episode – "Bart the Daredevil"
• Episode – "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" (picture)
• Episode – "Principal Charming" (picture)
• Episode – "Bart's Dog Gets an F" (on the family quilt)
• Episode – "Old Money"
• Episode – "Stark Raving Dad" (picture)
• Episode – "When Flanders Failed"
• Episode – "Like Father, Like Clown" (picture)
• Episode – "Brother from the Same Planet" (picture)
• Episode – "Lisa's Pony"
• Episode – "Flaming Moe's" (picture)
• Episode – "Radio Bart"
• Episode – "Lisa the Greek" (picture)
• Episode – "Colonel Homer" (picture)
• Episode – "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (picture)
• Episode – "Homer's Triple Bypass" (picture)
• Episode – "Duffless" (picture)
• Episode – "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" (flashback)
• Episode – "The Front" (picture)
• Episode – "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" (On album cover)
• Episode – "Marge on the Lam" On the cover of Jet magazine
• Episode – "Bart Gets Famous" (Bleeding Gums Gold record on studio wall)
• Episode – "Lisa's Rival" (Photo)
• Episode – "'Round Springfield" (Death)
• Episode – "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" (clips)
• Episode – "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (Photo)
• Episode – "Lisa's Sax" (flashback)
• Episode – "The Joy of Sect"
• Episode – "When You Dish Upon a Star"
• Episode – "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" (Tombstone seen)
• Episode – "Lisa Goes Gaga" (photo)
• Episode – "Whiskey Business" (Hologram only)
• Episode – "Brick Like Me" (Photo)
• Episode – "Pay Pal" (Photo)
• Episode – "Peeping Mom" (Photo)
• Episode – "Looking for Mr. Goodbart" (Tombstone)
• Episode – "Mr. Lisa's Opus" (Poster)
• Episode – "Haw-Haw Land"
• Episode – "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage" (flashback)
• Episode – "Flanders' Ladder" (as a ghost)
• Episode – "Sorry Not Sorry"
• Episode – "Mother and Child Reunion" (picture seen)
• Episode – "The Sound of Bleeding Gums"
• Episode – "Lisa Gets an F1" (photo)
• Music video – "Do the Bartman"
• Video game – The Simpsons Game
• Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Homerpalooza 2017 event as character; formerly mentioned)
• Comic book – Be-bop-a-Lisa
• Comic book – Krusty, Agent of K.L.O.W.N. On album cover of Send in the Clowns

The Simpsons: Season One
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire":	"Bart the Genius":	"Homer's Odyssey":	"There's No Disgrace Like Home":	"Bart the General":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Moaning Lisa":	"The Call of the Simpsons":	"The Telltale Head":	"Life on the Fast Lane":	"Homer's Night Out":
Major	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"The Crepes of Wrath":	"Krusty Gets Busted":	"Some Enchanted Evening":
Cameo	Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Two
"Bart Gets an "F"":	"Simpson and Delilah":	"Treehouse of Horror":	"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish":	"Dancin' Homer":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor
"Dead Putting Society":	"Bart vs. Thanksgiving":	"Bart the Daredevil":	"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge":	"Bart Gets Hit by a Car":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish":	"The Way We Was":	"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment":	"Principal Charming":	"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bart's Dog Gets an F":	"Old Money":	"Brush with Greatness":	"Lisa's Substitute":	"The War of the Simpsons":
Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Three Men and a Comic Book":	"Blood Feud":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Three
"Stark Raving Dad":	"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington":	"When Flanders Failed":	"Bart the Murderer":	"Homer Defined":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Like Father, Like Clown":	"Treehouse of Horror II":	"Lisa's Pony":	"Saturdays of Thunder":	"Flaming Moe's":
Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk":	"I Married Marge":	"Radio Bart":	"Lisa the Greek":	"Homer Alone":
Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent	Absent
"Bart the Lover":	"Homer at the Bat":	"Separate Vocations":	"Dog of Death":	"Colonel Homer":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Black Widower":	"The Otto Show":	"Bart's Friend Falls in Love":	"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Four
"Kamp Krusty":	"A Streetcar Named Marge":	"Homer the Heretic":	"Lisa the Beauty Queen":	"Treehouse of Horror III":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo	Absent
"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie":	"Marge Gets a Job":	"New Kid on the Block":	"Mr. Plow":	"Lisa's First Word":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Homer's Triple Bypass":	"Marge vs. the Monorail":	"Selma's Choice":	"Brother from the Same Planet":	"I Love Lisa":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Duffless":	"Last Exit to Springfield":	"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show":	"The Front":	"Whacking Day":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Marge in Chains":	"Krusty Gets Kancelled":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Six
"Bart of Darkness":	"Lisa's Rival":	"Another Simpsons Clip Show":	"Itchy & Scratchy Land":	"Sideshow Bob Roberts":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Treehouse of Horror V":	"Bart's Girlfriend":	"Lisa on Ice":	"Homer Badman":	"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Fear of Flying":	"Homer the Great":	"And Maggie Makes Three":	"Bart's Comet":	"Homie the Clown":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bart vs. Australia":	"Homer vs. Patty and Selma":	"A Star is Burns":	"Lisa's Wedding":	"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"The PTA Disbands":	"'Round Springfield":	"The Springfield Connection":	"Lemon of Troy":	"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)":
Absent	Major	Absent	Absent	Absent