10 Simpsons Voice Performances That COMPLETELY Changed
4. Lunchlady Doris
Lunchlady Doris is one of those tertiary characters that everyone likes but no one really loves. Like the Squeaky Voiced Teen (canonically her son) or the Sea Captain, she’s just sort of there, and she’s good for laugh when she pops up.
However, for 9 years of the show, she wasn’t there at all. Doris Glau voiced the character originally, but she sadly passed away in 1995, and her vocals were last heard in Lisa’s Sax, which first aired in 1997.
In 2006, Lunchlady Doris was brought back, voiced by Tress MacNeille, first appearing in The Mook, The Chef, The Wife And Her Homer. Though MacNeille does a valiant impression of Glau’s Lunchlady Doris, there’s a noticeable difference. MacNeille is best known for Agnes Skinner (and Mom in Futurama) so her Lunchlady Doris is considerably more raspy.
Her Lunchlady Doris is also technically Lunchlady Dora, renamed as a mark of respect for the late Doris Glau. Like Ralph, fans with too much time on their hands debate whether the characters are indeed one and the same, or whether Springfield Elementary simply hired two identical lunchladies with incredibly similar personalities and names.