During Sunday night's episode of "The Simpsons," the show honored Bart's teacher of more than 20 years Edna Krabappel with a simple phrase on the chalk board: "We'll miss you Mrs. K."
Bart Simpson is always getting himself into trouble, and one of the show's longest-running jokes is have Mrs. Krabappel have the kid write something on the board as punishment in the opening credits.
Instead of a funny phrase, Bart stood under the words on the blackboard looking somber. The voice of Mrs. Krabappel, Marcia Wallace, died on Oct. 25 at 70-years-old from complications of pneumonia , according to The Daily Mail.
"The Simpson's" executive producer Al Jean released a statement on Oct. 26 on behalf of the show:
"I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace. She was beloved by all at "The Simpsons" and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character.
"Earlier we had discussed a potential storyline in which a character passed away. This was not Marcia's Edna Krabappel. Marcia's passing is unrelated and again, a terrible loss for all who had the pleasure of knowing her."
According to the Daily Mail, the show's producers won't be removing Edna's character right away. She has reportedly recorded enough episode to last another year before have to "kill her off."
"The show's executive producer Al Jean said there was no one who could take her place on the show as Edna, who in recent years overcame her perennial loneliness by becoming the second wife of the Simpson family's neighbour Ned Flanders," the Daily Mail reports.
Wallace leaves behind her only son, Michael Hawley. Wallace's husband Dennis Hawley died of pancreatic cancer in 1992. The voice actress won Emmys for her work on "The Simpsons," and was a breast cancer survivor who spread awareness about the disease.
