Mervin Monroe - "Bleeding Gums" Murphy

"Bleeding Gums" Murphy, voiced by Ron Taylor and Daryl L. Coley, was a jazz musician, idol, and mentor of Lisa Simpson. His real first name has never been mentioned, though Murphy claimed his nickname came from the fact he had never once been to a dentist, as "I got enough pain in my life as it is". His significant roles were in the episodes "Moaning Lisa" and "'Round Springfield", though he appears in other episodes, such as "Bart the Daredevil" (where he is yellow), "Dancin' Homer", "Old Money", "Flaming Moe's, "Bart Gets an F", "Radio Bart", and "Lisa's Pony". In "Dancin' Homer", he was voiced by Daryl L. Coley. In "Round Springfield we learn that at one point he had enjoyed a fairly successful career, releasing an album ("Sax on the Beach") and appearing on Steve Allen's Tonight Show, and as one of the Cosby children's four grandfathers on an episode of The Cosby Show, but quickly lost his money feeding his $1500-a-day habit of purchasing and smashing Fabergé eggs. He had taught Lisa to display her emotions through music, prompting Lisa to hold him as an important figure in her life. His last appearance was in "'Round Springfield" - after Bart ends up in the hospital, Lisa wanders off to find Murphy dying in a nearby ward. He explains about his life, family, and work to her as well as giving her advice for her upcoming school performance, giving her his saxophone. When Lisa returns, she finds out that Bleeding Gums has died from circumstances which are never revealed. No one, except for Lisa, attends Murphy's funeral. Lisa soon learns that though he may be gone, he still is alive in her. It is strongly hinted that Murphy and Doctor Hibbert are long-lost brothers, most notably by Murphy's quote: "I don't really have a family. All I had was a little brother who grew up to become a doctor. He used to laugh at the most inappropriate times." Hibbert then laughs inappropriately and says, "Hey, I've got an older brother that I'll never see. He's a jazz musician or some such. Oh well, bye, bye." Bleeding Gums Murphy is loosely based on Blind Willie Johnson, at whose feet the young Bleeding Gums character learned. The voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy was provided by Ron Taylor, while his saxophone playing is provided by Dan Higgins. As a sign of respect for the character, Murphy has been a fixture of The Simpsons opening sequence since the second season. Originally, even after his death, Bart would skateboard past him on the street.In "The Great Wife Hope" Bleeding Gums Murphy is mentioned and supposedly according to Carl he is still alive after Homer asks Carl if he knows African-American boxer Drederick Tatum; Carl takes offense, saying that just because he is African American, he doesn't know all the other African-American citizens in Springfield. Carl then says that he met Drederick Tatum while he was at a party with Dr. Hibbert at Bleeding Gums Murphy's house.