After more than three decades on air, The Simpsons has said a permanent goodbye to one of its longest-running background residents – though fans didn’t realize who it was until the episode dropped its emotional twist.
Season 37, Episode 7 delivered one of the show’s more unexpected moments when a familiar Springfield face collapsed mid-sermon at the First Church.
The scene unfolded during one of Reverend Lovejoy’s typically meandering addresses, but this time the drama wasn’t in his preaching – it was in the sudden, fatal slump of the church’s beloved organist.
The moment was played both tragically and darkly comedic, perfectly in line with the show’s signature tone.
But viewers wouldn’t understand the full impact until later, when the episode revealed just how crucial this person would be to the storyline, even from beyond the grave.
A Will That Shakes Up Springfield Elementary
The episode, titled “Sashes to Sashes,” centers around the deceased character’s surprising final wish: leaving their entire estate to Springfield Elementary to fund a brand-new music program.
But because this is Springfield, nothing ever goes smoothly.
The Simpsons has been airing for 34 years. Credit: Michael Tullberg / Getty Images.
Mayor Quimby’s son quickly proposes a different use for the inheritance – a flashy three-day music festival.
The idea sparks outrage in Lisa Simpson, who takes it upon herself to expose the younger Quimby’s questionable motives.
She even ropes Bart into running against him for student council president, setting up a classic sibling-powered subplot full of schemes, secrets and schoolyard politics.
Fortunately for Springfield Elementary (and Lisa’s sense of justice), the original plan for a music program survives in the end.
The Show Finally Reveals the Fallen Springfield Resident
Only after the fallout does the episode confirm the identity of the character who died: Alice Glick, the elderly church organist who has been popping up in the series since season two.
Her death serves as the emotional core of the story – and this time, it’s permanent.
Credit: X.
Longtime fans know this isn’t her first on-screen demise.
In season 23, she was hilariously taken out by a rogue robot seal, only to reappear alive (or dead) depending on the needs of the joke.
But executive producer Tim Long made it official: *this* death is the real one.
“In a sense, Alice the organist will live forever, through the beautiful music she made,” Long told PEOPLE in a November 18 statement.
“But in another, more important sense, yep she’s dead as a doornail.”
Fans React to Another Springfield Farewell
Alice Glick first debuted in the season two episode “Three Men and a Comic Book,” originally voiced by Cloris Leachman before Tress MacNeille took over.
Fans were quick to react online, mourning yet another classic background character.
“Alice Glick died once again… Nooo,” one viewer wrote on X. Another noted her death alongside that of barfly Larry Dalrymple, adding, “The Simpsons are killing off everyone…”
But after 35+ years on air, even Springfield can’t stay frozen in time — and sometimes that means saying goodbye.