The First Church of Springfield is in need of a new organist: TVLine has confirmed that Alice Glick, whose first appearance on the animated comedy dates back to 1991, officially died in the Sunday, Nov. 16 episode.
“In a sense, Alice the organist will live forever, through the beautiful music she made. But in another, more important sense, yep she’s dead as a doornail,” executive producer Tim Long tells TVLine in a statement.
If you missed the episode, here’s how it all went down (so to speak): The episode began midway through a typical church service, with Reverend Lovejoy’s sermon building to a characteristically droll climax. He assumed that Alice was merely being overzealous when a bang from the organ interrupted his preaching, only to discover Alice’s lifeless body slumped over the enormous instrument. The discovery was met with gasps from members of the congregation, many of whom have been enjoying Alice’s music for more than three decades.
The episode then cut to Springfield Elementary, where Principal Skinner accurately introduced Alice to the student body as “a dead lady you’ve never met.” Despite this, Alice apparently left all of her money to the school, with specific plans to fund a new music program — because she was always an angel.
We know what you’re probably thinking right now: If the school held a memorial for Alice, why is her death even a question? Not to get all Comic Book Guy about it, but our girl has been in a similar situation before, having previously “died” back in Season 22 at the hands of a rogue Robopet. Alice has made several appearances since then, both as a ghost and as a live woman, leaving fans to question her place both in the world of “The Simpsons.” Now, we can confidently say that Alice has rocked out to her last hymn.
The elderly organist made her debut in Season 2’s “Three Men and a Comic Book,” originally voiced by the late, great Cloris Leachman. “Simpsons” staple Tress MacNeille took over the role in subsequent appearances.
We can’t tell you how to feel right now (grief is complicated!), but we think the best way to honor Alice’s memory is to rewatch her most iconic moment — and a classic “Simpsons” moment in general — from a Season 7 episode in which Bart tricks the congregation into singing a Biblical version of Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” If you aren’t holding a lighter up during Alice’s organ solo, do you even appreciate real music?
Your thoughts on the passing — for real this time — of another longtime “Simpsons” character? Drop them in a comment below.
This story originally appeared on TVLine
