When Waters aficionados Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein became Simpsons showrunners in the mid-’90s, they cast the comedy icon. His transgressive strain of humor could be seen in a program that in its early days was shocking enough to draw the ire of the sitting president. It’s a wonder that it took so long for The Simpsons to enlist Waters. Finally I was a cartoon character - and I kind of look like one anyway. 'And this was about as close to that as I got. 'When I was younger, I always wanted to be a Disney villain,' he said. 'You know, it was an audience I never had.' The grade schoolers may not have heard of Pink Flamingos or Polyester, but they were starstruck by the guy with the pencil mustache who was cool enough to be on their favorite show. 'Little children came up to me in airports and said, ‘You were on The Simpsons,’' Waters told me recently.
That began to change soon after February 16, 1997, the night Waters appeared on The Simpsons. Twenty years ago, before his cult classic Hairspray was turned into a Broadway smash, The Pope of Trash was largely known for making movies from which parents shielded their children’s eyes. He didn’t understand the power of the greatest television series of all time until kids started recognizing him in public.
