Harry Shearer makes Derek Smalls funny by listening when others would compete for the joke. His voices in The Simpsons are just as carefully judged: we hear what each character expects from other people.
Fi1m perspective
In This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Harry Shearer's Derek Smalls lets his bandmates do much of the talking. Beside Christopher Guest's Nigel Tufnel and Michael McKean's David St. Hubbins, he has little need to compete for attention. We laughed at his listening because he seems to give their foolish explanations more consideration than they deserve. Shearer makes this patience credible: Smalls belongs with these men and does not behave as though he has wandered in to expose them.
Shearer's radio comedy work with The Credibility Gap in the late 1960s preceded these screen ensembles. In Rob Reiner's film, he shares both writing and music credits with Reiner, Guest and McKean. The interruptions and repeated explanations suggest people who have spent too long together, while the force of the riffs gives their musical pride some justification. The story is slight, but the care taken over the songs makes the band worth spending time with. His later appearance as Mark Shubb in A Mighty Wind (2003) continued his work in Christopher Guest's mockumentary ensemble.
The Simpsons (1989) makes his contribution easier to hear, though counting the voices misses what matters. Mr. Burns speaks as if obedience has already been agreed; Ned Flanders sounds as if agreement is still something to hope for. Shearer gives each a different way of dealing with other people, so a change of pitch is only part of the job. Alongside Hank Azaria, whose Moe Szyslak hears ordinary exchanges as personal setbacks, he makes the supporting characters interesting enough to follow for their own sake. We can recognise their mistakes without being encouraged to dismiss them.
That does not make every episode of The Simpsons worth an evening, any more than the performances give This Is Spinal Tap a substantial story. His contribution is worth seeking out, but it cannot be a promise that everything around him will work. Start with Reiner's film, and pay some attention to Smalls when somebody else has the floor.
Biography
Harry Shearer (born 23 December 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer and voice artist. Born in Los Angeles, California, he began his career as a child actor and later joined the radio comedy group The Credibility Gap.
Shearer is best known for voicing multiple characters on the animated series The Simpsons (1989–), including Mr Burns, Ned Flanders, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner and Lenny Leonard; he has also written for the show. He co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) as Derek Smalls, and appeared in films such as The Truman Show (1998) and A Mighty Wind (2003).
He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live in two periods and has hosted the public radio programme Le Show since 1983. Shearer has won a Primetime Emmy Award and has been married to singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993.
