‘The Simpsons’ To Feature Deaf Actor and American Sign Language For First Time –

The Simpsons will first perform as a hearing -impaired actor in a series with 722 episodes on Sunday.

The new episode, “The Sound of Bleeding Gums,” focuses on Lisa Simpson, who discovers that her star and beloved musician, the late saxophonist Bleeding Gums Murphy, has a child who is deaf and in need of a cochlear implant.

Bleeding Gums (primarily Ron Taylor’s voice) died in the episode of the sixth season round. Springfield, who passed in 1995. His son Monk, will be voiced by John Otter II.

On Sunday, the story of the episode was led by screenwriter Lonnie Still Sosthand, whose sister Ellie Still, is deaf. CNN reported.

Even if people in the world of “Simpsons” only have four fingers on their hand, they will use American Sign Language in the episode.

The producers talked to two ASL specialists about the signs used by the characters. Sostand told CNN. Specialists went through the first versions of the episode’s artwork to make sure the four -finger signature was still understood.

“It’s a bit difficult, especially since we’re just going to translate Shakespeare.” Sosthand told Variety. “But I think we’ve done it.”

The breakthrough episode came two weeks after “CODA” won Best Picture at the Oscars. CODA means “Deaf Adult Child” and the film, written and directed by Xian Heather, tells the story of a teenager who grows up as the only one who hears his family.

“The Simpsons” executive producer Al Jinn Noticed on Twitter Coincidentally it was just a coincidence that one episode happened immediately after CODA’s win on Thursday.