I don’t remember how I ended up at the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers site today and I really don’t care. Of course I loved it and poked around for a while. I even gained some more knowledge about my favorite yellow family that I felt like sharing. In the FAQ section, there is a question “Who are Sam Etic and John Jay Smith, and why were they credited as special guest voices?”

The answer is that “Sam Etic” (a play on ‘semitic’) is really Dustin Hoffman. He played Mr. Bergstrom in Lisa’s Subsitute in season 2. “John Jay Smith” is really Michael Jackson. He did the “Michael Jackson” voice for mental patient Leon Kompowski in Stark Raving Dad in season 3, although his singing was done by session vocalist Kipp Lennon, since Jackson’s record company forbade him from singing himself. Both performers could not use their names because of contractual obligations.

This was pointed out in a meta-reference in the season 4 episode Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie, when Lisa mentions that Hoffman and Jackson had guest roles in the movie: “Of course they didn’t use their real names, but you could tell it was them!”

After Stark Raving Dad, Matt Groening, fearing a trend, would only let guest stars on if they used their real names.

I always thought that it was MJ in that episode but never had 100% confirmation. Now I do. Yay.