Voice of Homer Simpson Stars in 1-Man Play

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Byline: Ted Cox

Dan Castellaneta remembers seeing a recent list of the 100 funniest people, with Homer Simpson in the top 10.

"I think he was ahead of Richard Pryor," Castellaneta says, "but my name wasn't even mentioned - as if Homer's entirely separate."

For the record, Castellaneta not only provides the voice of Homer on "The Simpsons," but helped develop his character over the show's 12 years (and running and running). Homer isn't just an amalgamation of fantastically stupid lines ("Well, of course, everything looks bad if you remember it"), he's a product of Castellaneta's impeccable comic timing and gift for nonsense - not just Homer's trademark "D'oh," but his extensive vocabulary of whimpers, groans and hoots.

Castellaneta honed his comic craft in the mid-'80s at Second City before moving on to "The Tracey Ullman Show," a great if little-seen variety program on the fledgling Fox network, which not …