10 Best Simpsons Characters Who Debuted After The Golden Age

Originally, Johnny Tightlips seemed to be the punchline of a throwaway gag. Like Frankie The Squealer, he debuts in Insane Clown Poppy, and is the straight man for the scene they write around Frankie. However, they soon realised that they could do a lot more with Johnny and so he gained prominence in subsequent mobster appearances.

Given the fact that Frankie The Squealer only really works when there’s something to squeal about, it makes sense. Johnny’s got such a dry personality that he plays off almost like Raphael The Sarcastic Clerk, but for Mafia scenes. Evidently you can write far more gags around saying nothing that you can around squealing on everything too.

Legs never had a defined role within Fat Tony’s gang, so there’s room for Johnny to be cast as the calmer, more intelligent figure without stepping on Legs’ toes.

Lines like ‘Oh, whoa! Who says I have a mother?’ are right at home alongside classic, Golden Age humour before the show started its decline. As a minor character, Johnny Tightlips isn’t going to save them, but he at least shows they can still write gags the way they could back in Season 6.