Latest news with #Azaria
Chicago Tribune
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘Simpsons' voice actor Hank Azaria bringing Springsteen show to Elgin's Hemmens Center
Emmy Award-winning actor Hank Azaria, who voices Police Chief Wiggum, barkeep Mo Szylak and snobby nerd Comic Book Guy on 'The Simpsons,' is bringing his tribute to Bruce Springsteen to Elgin. 'Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band — A Springsteen Celebration' will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at The Hemmens Cultural Center. Tickets go on sale online this week. 'We're really excited about Hank coming to Elgin,' said Tony Lentino, cultural arts and special events programming manager for the Hemmens. 'The show should appeal to a large breadth of people who know him from his large body of work and to Springsteen fans. He has Springsteen's voice and mannerisms down pat.' In addition to his work on 'The Simpsons,' Azaria has appeared in numerous movies and television shows. Those include starring in the TV comedy 'Brockmire' and guest starring on 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,' 'Ray Donovan,' 'Friends' and 'Mad About You.' Movie credits include roles or voicework in 'The Birdcage,' 'Godzilla,' 'The Smurfs,' 'Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian' and 'Along Came Polly.' A big Springsteen fan, Azaria first put together a band to cover some Springsteen songs with him at his 60th birthday party. He became 'obsessed with singing as exactly like Bruce as he could. He practiced every day for about six months,' according to a news release about the act. 'I've never worked harder preparing for any role than I did in perfecting a singing vocal impression of Bruce,' Azaria said in the release. 'I think of it as a theatrical performance. I'm staying in character as Bruce even though I'm telling stories about myself. It's a performance piece, but I'm not a Bruce impersonator.' The band's first public performance was a sold out show on Aug. 1, 2024, at Le Poisson Rouge, a 700-seat venue in Lower Manhattan. The performance features Azaria channeling many familiar components of a Springsteen concert. However, while Springsteen is known for putting on marathon shows that can last three or four hours, Lentino said he was fairly sure Azaria's concert will be shorter. Lentino said as of Tuesday, the Elgin show was the only one booked in the Chicago area. Lentino said he and his staff had been eyeing Azaria's act for a while and initially though it might be better suited for one of the city's outdoor festivals. After watching online videos of his performances, however, led them to believe the show would be better suited to the 1,200-seat indoor venue, he said. Net proceeds from the show will benefit The Four Through Nine Foundation, which was founded by Azaria and is committed to social justice, education and recovery causes. 'I can't think of a better way to spend my time and use my passion for voices than playing these songs for a crowd that loves them and to lovingly pay tribute to Bruce, while raising money for folks who need it,' Azaria said in the release. For tickets and more information, go to
NZ Herald
18-06-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs meth production
Talented 8-year-old gymnast Azaria's big dreams Azaria Tai is 8 years old and showing a lot of potential in her gymnastics. She hopes to one day go to the Olympics and represent New Zealand. Video / Ayla Yeoman
The Citizen
31-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
WAU Azaria branch shares knowledge on Enneagram personalities
The Azaria ladies came together for one of their Women's Agricultural Union (WAU) branch meetings. Held on May 15, the meeting ushered the branch members into an informative session that brought them to the knowledge of Enneagram personalities, with Ds Peet Boshoff explaining how they work and influence people's reactions to other personality types. They also described the Enneagram as a self-awareness tool that helps one to understand other personality types, as well as gain better knowledge of one's own. The ladies came out of the meeting with a clear understanding of the nine personality types that the tool categorises every person into, namely: the perfectionist, helper, performer, individual, observer, loyalist, enthusiast, challenger, and the peacemaker. The members who attended agreed that the meeting was a great success as everyone participated enthusiastically, with Heila Engelbrecht, competition coordinator, concluding, 'It was very informative and extremely interesting to learn new things which can be applied to daily life.' Breaking news at your fingertips … Follow WITBANK NEWS on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok Chat to us: info@ At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Simpsons voice actor says stepping away from Apu role ‘required a deep dive'
The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria has explained in a new interview why he chose to step back from voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon following controversy surrounding the character. Azaria voiced the Indian shopkeeper on the animated comedy for 30 years, but his depiction faced high-profile criticism in 2017 with the release of a documentary titled The Problem with Apu. The film saw comedian Hari Kondabolu investigate why the character was problematic and a racial stereotype. Simpsons writer, producer and erstwhile showrunner Mike Reiss confirmed in 2018 that the sitcom had decided to retire Apu. In a new discussion on the topic, Azaria has told the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast that his decision to step away from Apu 'required a deep dive'. Azaria explained that the character's voice was inspired by Peter Sellars's performance in the 1968 film The Party, where the British actor wore brownface. 'What's the difference between Inspector Clouseau, a silly French voice, or Doctor Strangelove, a silly German voice, and Hrundi V Bakshi, a rather silly Indian voice?' asked Azaria. 'And it's a question I still get asked. People will say comments still to this day, 'Why can you do [Italian Simpsons character] Luigi and that's not offensive? Why can you talk like [stereotypical hick character] Cletus and that's not a problem, but you can't do Apu? Right?' 'Honestly, at first, I thought let me look into this, and then I'll go back to doing the voice, and say I understand, but I'm going to keep doing this. And I was surprised myself that I came down on, 'No, actually, I think I am participating in a harm here.'' He also said he is 'not a hero' and had a 'professional public decision to make' when he left the character. The 60-year-old went on to express his regret after learning that Apu was often cited when hate crimes were committed against South Asian people. 'It became a slur when convenience store guys were stabbed or shot or robbed, you know,' he noted. 'There's all this other stereotyping and things that have teeth in them that affect people of colour in this country. So, while Apu might not be the most important thing in the world, it's a window into something quite important.' Azaria had previously apologised for voicing Apu. In 2021 he told the Armchair Expert podcast that: 'I was speaking at my son's school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input. A 17-year-old ... he's never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It's practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.' 'I really do apologise,' Azaria continued. 'It's important. I apologise for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise. And sometimes I do.'
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Hank Azaria delivers Simpsons-style rendition of Wicked hit for 2025 Oscars
Hank Azaria channeled The Simpsons characters to recreate a Wicked song for the Oscars on Sunday, 2 March. The actor shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, on March 3, as the 2025 Academy Awards were officially underway, with Hollywood celebrating the best films and acting performances of the past year. Azaria has worked on the long-running animated sitcom since 1989 and has voiced numerous characters, including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Snake, and Professor Frink.
