Melvin Van Horne

Melvin Van Horne/Sideshow Mel
Gender/Sex
Status
Hair Color	Aqua Blue
Occupation	Children's entertainer TV Personality
Relations	Father: Norman Mother: Lucille Wife: Barbara Van Horne Son: Melvin Van Horne's son Stepson: Josh
First episode appearance	"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"
Portrayed by	Dan Castellaneta

“They say any publicity is good publicity.”

―Sideshow Mel

“I am Melvin Van Horne, and this is my associate, Herschel Krustofski.”

―Sideshow Mel

“Everyone's always kissing your ass. Well I'm not afraid to tell you you're a [bleep]!”

―Sideshow Mel, to Krusty the Clown

Melvin Van Horne (aka Sideshow Mel) is Krusty's current sidekick on The Krusty the Clown Show. When not in character, Mel speaks in a grandiose English/Shakespearean accent and owns many poodles.

Biography

Mel as a cube

Mel joined the cast of the Krusty the Clown Show to replace Sideshow Bob, who was sent to prison for attempting to frame Krusty for armed robbery.

Mel with his son

Sideshow Mel uses a slide whistle to communicate on camera. When not in character, Mel speaks in a grandiose English/Shakespearean accent and owns poodles. His main accomplishment so far has been successfully removing Waylon Smithers from suspicion of having shot Mr. Burns. Off-screen, Mel is generally very eloquent, educated, poetic and intelligent, with a beautiful singing voice - it is implied that, as with Sideshow Bob before him, his true talents are wasted on Krusty's show. He attended Cornell University. When Lisa Simpson won the "Entertainer of the Year Award," it was revealed that Melvin also won the award previously for his portrayal of Biff in Death of a Salesman, but his desire to keep his stardom eventually led him to become the sidekick he is today. He was once forced to conduct an orchestra of kazoo-playing monkeys. When he pleaded with Krusty to not force him to do it, Krusty simply shouted at him to "shut up and conduct!"

Although ultimately loyal to Krusty, he also is known to not be a doormat to some of Krusty's antics. In one instance, when Krusty's 29th anniversary was occurring, Mel, while drunk, made clear that he viewed Krusty as a word that can't be repeated unlike the others who kissed Krusty's butt. In addition, when the series was about to get cancelled, Mel ended up quitting citing the abuse he frequently had to undergo, although he ultimately ends up returning to Krusty's side by the time of the Comeback Special.

He was apparently a fan of the Cosmic Wars franchise since childhood, and like several other people hated Episodes I, II, and III, as when he saw in the opening blurb for Episode VII: A New Take that the aforementioned episodes had been erased from continuity via a space-time rift, he not only celebrated with the others at the news, but also proceeded to declare his childhood "unruined."

Sideshow Mel is blowing the slidewhistle.

Religion and Education

Little is known about Mel. He is a Cornell University graduate. It is also shown that Mel could be a recovering alcoholic as he had attended several Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Although he is occasionally seen at the Presbylutheran church, Mel was retroactively an atheist until the episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass," where he converted to religion after watching Ned's home movies depicting Bible stories.

Hair

Aside from the bone, Mel has a light blue curly hair in a sort of the beehive-like style similar to Marge's, only shorter and rounded at the top. His hair also appears to be "fashioned/poised/set" in an upward position because it seems to sit atop his head, showing that he has no sideburns or even a hair "tail". Mel perpetually wears a bone in his hair which may or may not be permanently affixed. He once warned Lisa not to use a bone to try and get gum out of her hair, as he did and it became permanently stuck there. However, he has been seen removing the bone to use it as a weapon during a duel, and to whack at the dome under which Springfield was trapped by the EPA. Bart also took the bone out of his hair to prank Martin Prince, after which Mel was shown to have long flowing hair. Homer also took the bone out of his hair and used it as a murdering weapon. He indicated that he could feel meteorological conditions in the bone, such as incoming storms. Before he got his bone, Mel was famous in both London and Hollywood and was able to comb his hair.

Mel wacking the dome with his bone

Disabilities

It was revealed in "Bart Gets Famous" that Sideshow Mel was lactose-intolerant when Bart gave him a grilled cheese sandwich.

Family

He may be married to or living with a woman named Barbara, who may or may not be Krusty's sister with whom he wished to purchase a house from Marge Simpson. Mel once complained that Barbara no longer pleasured him with the French Arts.. It is revealed that he has at least one child when he says "Krusty, please, my wife is giving birth as we speak." He has also been seen with a son, Warren, a daughter, Becca, and several unnamed children. Mel also has a deceased father, whose funeral he attended shortly before performing at an ice rink with Krusty. He once said his father was a monster.

Mel may be divorced from Barbara or another wife or girlfriend. The papers say he is having a contentious custody battle with the mother of at least one of his children ("Homerazzi").

Krusty reveals to Mel that he has been secretly having an affair with Mel's wife, and that he wants to dump her after 11 years since the thrill is gone.

Other Jobs

After Krusty's show was cancelled following the rise of Gabbo, Mel worked at a fast food restaurant where he initially refused Krusty's pleas to return to his show.

He was the jury foreman for the Mona Simpson trial. The jury was sequestered at a Quality Inn which "more than lived up to its name."

In a comic it is revealed he was a racer and got 15 trophies, and maybe he earned even more.

Behind the Laughter

As said in "Midnight Rx", he could have been married to Marge. He had his own comic story of how he became a sideshow. His house and parents are in it.

Trivia

• He is the first character to get bleeped on the show.

Appearances

• Episode – "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"
• Episode – "Old Money"
• Episode – "Brush with Greatness"
• Episode – "When Flanders Failed"
• Episode – "Like Father, Like Clown"
• Episode – "Radio Bart"
• Episode – "Lisa the Greek"
• Episode – "Separate Vocations"
• Episode – "Dog of Death"
• Episode – "Colonel Homer"
• Episode – "Black Widower"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror III"
• Episode – "Homer's Triple Bypass"
• Episode – "Marge vs. the Monorail"
• Episode – "I Love Lisa"
• Episode – "The Front"
• Episode – "Kamp Krusty"
• Episode – "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
• Episode – "Bart's Inner Child"
• Episode – "Bart Gets Famous"
• Episode – "Lady Bouvier's Lover"
• Episode – "Secrets of a Successful Marriage"
• Episode – "'Round Springfield"
• Episode – "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
• Episode – "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"
• Episode – "Radioactive Man"
• Episode – "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming"
• Episode – "Bart the Fink"
• Episode – "22 Short Films About Springfield"
• Episode – "You Only Move Twice"
• Episode – "Bart After Dark"
• Episode – "Grade School Confidential"
• Episode – "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"
• Episode – "Brother from Another Series"
• Episode – "My Sister, My Sitter"
• Episode – "In Marge We Trust"
• Episode – "The Cartridge Family"
• Episode – "Bart Star"
• Episode – "Realty Bites"
• Episode – "The Joy of Sect"
• Episode – "The Last Temptation of Krust"
• Episode – "I'm with Cupid"
• Episode – "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
• Episode – "Hungry, Hungry Homer"
• Episode – "The Frying Game"
• Episode – "My Mother the Carjacker"
• Episode – "All's Fair in Oven War"
• Episode – "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays"
• Episode – "Day of the Jackanapes"
• Episode – "Bart Has Two Mommies"
• Episode – "The Wettest Stories Ever Told"
• Episode – "Regarding Margie"
• Episode – "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XVII"
• Episode – "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2"
• Episode – "The Wife Aquatic"
• Episode – "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times"
• Episode – "Little Big Girl"
• Episode – "Springfield Up"
• Episode – "Rome-Old and Julie-Eh"
• Episode – "Marge Gamer"
• Episode – "Homerazzi"
• Episode – "Crook and Ladder"
• Episode – "24 Minutes"
• Episode – "Dial "N" for Nerder"
• Episode – "All About Lisa"
• Episode – "Four Great Women and a Manicure"
• Episode – "The Great Wife Hope"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XX"
• Episode – "The Devil Wears Nada"
• Episode – "Rednecks and Broomsticks"
• Episode – "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"
• Episode – "The Color Yellow"
• Episode – "Moe Letter Blues"
• Episode – "The Bob Next Door"
• Episode – "Judge Me Tender"
• Episode – "Treehouse of Horror XXI"
• Episode – "The Fool Monty"
• Episode – "A Midsummer's Nice Dream"
• Episode – "Love is a Many Strangled Thing"
• Episode – "The Great Simpsina"
• Episode – "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony"
• Episode – "Homer Scissorhands"
• Episode – "The Falcon and the D'ohman"
• Episode – "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts"
• Episode – "The Food Wife"
• Episode – "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants"
• Episode – "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution"
• Episode – "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson"
• Episode – "The D'oh-cial Network"
• Episode – "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches"
• Episode – "At Long Last Leave"
• Episode – "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart"
• Episode – "How I Wet Your Mother"
• Episode – "Dark Knight Court"
• Episode – "What Animated Women Want"
• Episode – "Pulpit Friction"
• Episode – "Whiskey Business"
• Episode – "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
• Episode – "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants"
• Episode – "Days of Future Future"
• Episode – "Pay Pal"
• Episode – "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge"
• Episode – "Clown in the Dumps"
• Episode – "Walking Big & Tall"
• Episode – "Sky Police"
• Episode – "Waiting for Duffman"
• Episode – "Peeping Mom"
• Episode – "Bull-E"
• Episode – "Every Man's Dream"
• Episode – "Cue Detective"
• Episode – "Halloween of Horror"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" (Homerzilla)
• Episode – "The Girl Code"
• Episode – "Much Apu About Something"
• Episode – "Gal of Constant Sorrow"
• Episode – "Lisa the Veterinarian"
• Episode – "Simprovised"
• – The Simpsons Movie

• 1	The Simpsons Road Rage

Video game – The Simpsons Road Rage

• 1	The Simpsons: Hit and Run

Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run

• 1	The Simpsons Game

Video game – The Simpsons Game

• 1	The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out

• Comic book – Comic Fan No More
• Comic book – Fangs for Nothing!

Gallery