--- title: Remembering Stephen Hawking Guest Starring on The Simpsons description: Stephen Hawking appeared multiple times as himself on 'The Simpsons' and has been called the show's most intelligent guest star. canonical: https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-14T15:57:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:51:23.907Z og:title: Stephen Hawking's Other Stroke of Genius: Simpsons Star og:description: "The most intelligent guest star in the brief history of the Simpsons." og:url: https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4afb3462690843e/69892ab922fb85d4d6e250ec/stephen-hawking-the-simpsons.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Stephen Hawking Addresses The Cambridge Union og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Hawking's Other Stroke of Genius: Simpsons Star twitter:description: "The most intelligent guest star in the brief history of the Simpsons." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4afb3462690843e/69892ab922fb85d4d6e250ec/stephen-hawking-the-simpsons.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Remembering Stephen Hawking's Other Stroke of Genius as _The Simpsons'_ 'Most Intelligent Guest Star'  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 14, 2018 3:57 PM UTC  CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE - NOVEMBER 21: Professor Stephen Hawking addressing The Cambridge Union on November 21, 2017 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Photo by Chris Williamson/Getty Images) CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE - NOVEMBER 21: Professor Stephen Hawking addressing The Cambridge Union on November 21, 2017 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Photo by Chris Williamson/Getty Images)Chris Williamson—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 14, 2018 3:57 PM UTC Renowned theoretical physicist [Stephen Hawking](http://time.com/5198751/stephen-hawking-physicist-obituary/) died on Wednesday at the age of 76, leaving behind [a legacy that has changed the scientific landscape](http://time.com/5198842/stephen-hawking-quotes-universe-life/) forever. However, his scientific work isn’t the only thing he’ll be remembered by; the physicist became a pop culture icon in his own right, often appearing as himself in shows like _Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory_, and memorably guest starring multiple times on [_The Simpsons_](http://time.com/4667462/simpsons-predictions-donald-trump-lady-gaga/)_._ In his first appearance on _The Simpsons_ in season 10, Hawking appears as himself, visiting Springfield after its chapter of Mensa (prodigy Lisa included) takes over the town with disastrous results. Hawking gives them a bracing reality check on their utopia, telling them it’s more like a “fruitopia.” “I don’t know what is the bigger disappointment,” he said. “My failure to formulate a unified field theory – or you.” Later in the episode, Hawking gives some sage advice to Lisa: “Sometimes the smartest of us can be the most childish.” His trademark wry humor showed itself, however, when Lisa asks if this advice also applied to him, with Hawking replying, “No. Not me. Never.” Hawking himself jokingly said that he thought as many people knew him from the Simpsons as his science. “The appeal of The Simpsons is that the characters display all the traits we see in ourselves,” he said before saying that he thought the show was “the best thing on American television.” _The Simpsons_ paid their respects to the great scientist via social media on Wednesday. Producer and writer Matt Selman called Hawking “the most intelligent guest star in the brief history of _The Simpsons_.” > [](https://twitter.com/mattselman/status/973777216013152256) While producer Al Jean paid homage with a photo of a Hawking Simpsons figurine. > [](https://twitter.com/AlJean/status/973775549473714179) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/"},"headline":"Remembering Stephen Hawking's Other Stroke of Genius as The Simpsons' 'Most Intelligent Guest Star'","datePublished":"2018-03-14T15:57:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:51:23.907Z","description":"\"Farewell to the most intelligent guest star in the brief history of the Simpsons.\"","url":"https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4afb3462690843e/69892ab922fb85d4d6e250ec/stephen-hawking-the-simpsons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4afb3462690843e/69892ab922fb85d4d6e250ec/stephen-hawking-the-simpsons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stephen Hawking Addresses The Cambridge Union","caption":"Stephen Hawking Addresses The Cambridge Union","creditText":"Chris Williamson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/","name":"Remembering Stephen Hawking's Other Stroke of Genius as The Simpsons' 'Most Intelligent Guest Star'"}}]}] ```