Bart Simpson Alter-ego Entertains Duke Audience

A blonde, middle-aged woman walked casually on to the Baldwin Auditorium stage last Saturday night and announced, "Hi. I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?"

Nancy Cartwright plays the voice of smart-alecky Bart Simpson on Fox's prime-time show, "The Simpsons." Her appearance at Duke, sponsored by Residential Life and Housing Services, drew several hundred students.

In describing her life "as a 10-year-old boy," Cartwright said she's doing what she loves. "In life, I was always seeking opportunities that would let me do what I wanted to do."

Cartwright's career began at age 10, when she recited a humorous character-fable at a school-wide competition and won. "Everyone laughed; I loved it," Cartwright said. "It was empowering to me because I knew that I had created that."

She then participated in children's theater groups, community plays and the like. In high school, she began working at a radio station in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. She created a demo tape for herself while working there, which her boss forwarded to Warner Brothers representatives. They put her in touch with Daws Butler, the legendary voice of the Road Runner and other cartoon characters, and her career soon took flight.

Cartwright transferred from Ohio University, where she studied communications, to UCLA to be closer to Butler -- and to Hollywood. "I just immersed myself in my dreams and what I wanted to do," Cartwright said. "Working with Daws provided an amazing playground for me."

Cartwright described herself as "very Bart-like." As an adolescent, she made annoying dripping-faucet noises with her throat and faked both hiccups and sneezes to get out of schoolwork or sticky situations. In the words of Bart, "I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything."

On "The Simpsons," Cartwright also provides the voices for devious Nelson Muntz, troublemaking Ralph Wiggum and the over-the-top Christian brothers Rod and Todd Flanders, though Cartwright admits that she feels "a little more Rod-ish than Todd-ish."

Cartwright's credits also include the voice of Mindy Sadlier from "Anamaniacs," Gloria from "Richie Rich," Pistol from "Goof Troop" and, more recently, Chucky from "The Rugrats" and the naked mole rat Rufus from "Kim Possible."

Cartwright's on-camera debut came in 1983 when she played Ethel in "The Twilight Zone." She's also appeared on "Cheers" and "Fame."

But Cartwright prefers doing voice-overs to on-camera acting. "I think being a voice actor is the envy of all other actors," she said. "This is the best job on the planet. I basically get paid to make burp and fart noises. Who could ask for anything more?"

"The Simpsons" is the longest running animated show in history. Cartwright said she thinks the show has done so well because it "is centered on the core of the family."

"I think that we can all relate to some aspect of the Simpsons," Cartwright said. "Especially Bart!"

Today, Cartwright lives in California with her two young children, who are also pursuing acting, and her husband. In describing herself and her career, Cartwright said she loves being an "anonymous celebrity."

Cartwright's advice to Duke students who want to pursue voice acting: "watch a lot of television, get a voice-over, and just make lots of sounds."

This story was originally written by Shadee Malaklou.