The Simpsons death: Creator Al Jean would 'kill himself' before character like Homer or Lisa

A 'great' character was killed off on Sunday and it wasn't Krusty the Clown

The Simpsons creator Al Jean has no plans to kill off any more cartoon characters (Getty Images)

Al Jean, The Simpsons showrunner, would “kill himself” before “someone like Homer or Lisa”, after the long-awaited death on last night’s new season premiere proved an anti-climax for some fans.

Viewers had been casting bets over which character would meet their demise for months but in the end it was Krusty the Clown’s father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, who died just eight minutes in.

Plenty of viewers thought that Krusty was doomed after the episode’s title, “Clown in the Dumps”, was revealed, but speculation was off the mark.

Jean admitted that the storyline rapidly became over-hyped after he revealed that an actor won an Emmy Award for playing the ill-fated character.

“It was funny, originally it was not planned to be a big deal,” he told RadioTimes.com. “About a month ago I thought ‘I better backpedal and make sure people don’t think it’s Bart’.”

Fans need not worry about future Simpsons deaths, however, as Jean has “no desire to kill any more cartoon characters” for the rest of his life.

“It was never going to be someone like Homer or Lisa,” he said. “I would kill myself first. No one who has disappeared as a character has ever been an integral family member or main character on the show. I don’t even want to consider that happening.”

Rabbi Hyman Krustofski and his son Krusty the Clown (Fox)

Earlier this year, Jean said that although the character to be killed off this season was “great,” he “never used the word iconic”.

The episode opened with Bart writing “Spoiler alert: Unfortunately my dad doesn’t die” on the blackboard during the credits.