TORONTO — Harry Shearer, one of the voice actors on The Simpsons, will be back for two more seasons of the animated series, Fox announced Tuesday.
The 71-year-old comedian who provides the voices of Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner and many other characters, tweeted in May that he was off the show. Shearer told fans he wanted to be able to do other projects.
Fox said Shearer signed a deal for the upcoming 27th and 28th seasons of The Simpsons with an option for another two seasons. He will earn a reported $300,000 per episode.
When Shearer tweeted about his departure, The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean insisted “the show will go on.” Another executive producer, James L. Brooks tweeted “Hey, we tried. We’re still trying. Harry, no kidding, let’s talk.”
On Tuesday, Jean took to Twitter to apologize.
In addition to his voice work on The Simpsons, Shearer has starred in movies like Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind and on episodes of numerous TV shows.
Shearer was briefly a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live. His comedy albums earned Grammy nominations in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
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At the Primetime Emmy Awards last year, Shearer won for Best Character Voice-Over Performance in recognition of his work on The Simpsons.
Shearer also does the voices of Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert and Lenny.
The Simpsons airs Sundays on Global.
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