Cletus: Springfield's hillbilly

A tank top, a few missing teeth and a swarm of children: Cletus is the most famous hillbilly in Springfield.

A toothless farmer with a Southern accent, he embodies, not without affection, the show's satire of rural America. Here is his profile.

Who is Cletus Spuckler?

Cletus Del Roy Spuckler is Springfield's "Slack-Jawed Yokel": thin, toothless, with a patchy mustache, a white tank top and jeans, and a heavy Southern American accent. A running gag also gives him a name that runs on and on, "Cletus Del Roy Montfort Bigglesworth Spuckler".

💪 A white tank top and jeans: Cletus's outfit leaves his arms bare. When winter sets in where you live, our Simpsons sweatshirts cover exactly what the tank top leaves exposed.

Life on the farm

Cletus lives on a run-down farm, a country boy several generations deep: bootleg liquor stills, a produce stand, roadkill collecting… A rural way of life pushed to caricature, which makes him the satirical — but good-natured — embodiment of the country-bumpkin cliché.

🥃 Cletus's stills churn out bootleg liquor; your own drink, whether piping-hot coffee or iced tea, travels perfectly legally in our Simpsons insulated tumblers.

Brandine and a swarm of children

His partner is Brandine, with whom he forms a couple at the heart of an openly acknowledged inbreeding running gag: the show presents them in turn as husband and wife, cousins or brother and sister, which Cletus waves away with a "We's all kinds of things". Above all, the couple has an implausible number of children — the count varies from one episode to the next — with deliberately provocative names (Dubya, International Harvester, Rubella…), pure satire of rural clichés. Fully owning his status as an archetype, Cletus even bowls on a team with other Springfield caricatures, including Italian restaurateur Luigi. In one episode, Lisa even ends up teaching several of these children, brought in by Groundskeeper Willie. Among their swarm of children, Mary Spuckler stands out: she is Bart's country girlfriend.

🏷️ Dubya, International Harvester, Rubella… with the Spucklers, even the number of kids changes from one episode to the next, so it's easy to lose track of whose school bag is whose. At home, you can settle it in a flash, with our Simpsons stickers stuck on your water bottle or notebook.

Cletus's voice actors

In the original version, Cletus is voiced by Hank Azaria. In the French version, it is Gilbert Lévy who lends him his voice — the same actor as Moe, Lenny, Willie and Professor Frink.

Summary table

FAQ

• Who is Cletus in The Simpsons?
  Springfield's "hillbilly": a toothless farmer with a Southern accent, embodying the show's satire of rural America.
• Who is Brandine?
  Cletus's partner and the mother of his children, at the heart of a running gag about how ambiguously they are related.
• How many children does Cletus have?
  A deliberately vague number that fluctuates from one episode to the next — one of the character's comic engines.
• Who voices Cletus in French?
  Gilbert Lévy, also the voice of Moe and Willie.

Conclusion

Toothless, colorful and surprisingly endearing, Cletus gives The Simpsons its most openly acknowledged satire of rural America. A cartoonish character who is, quietly, an integral part of Springfield folklore.