Dr. Hibbert

Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as greedy and lacking in empathy. His signature character trait is his often-inappropriate chuckling, which is generally cued by misfortune rather than something genuinely amusing. The character was voiced from his 1990 debut by Simpsons regular Harry Shearer, and since a recasting of all of the show's non-white characters, by Kevin Michael Richardson from 2021. Profile He is near-genius (with an IQ of 155), a Mensa member, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and a former stripper. Hibbert is noticeably less dysfunctional than just about everyone else on the show, though he does have a bizarre tendency to chuckle at inappropriate moments which is later revealed to be a coping mechanism. In "Make Room for Lisa", Hibbert tells Lisa that "Before I learned to chuckle mindlessly, I was headed to an early grave." He reacts questionably to certain medical problems. For example, when Maggie saves Homer from drowning, Hibbert attributes it to common cases of superhuman strength in children whose parents' lives are in danger. Likewise, he expresses only mild surprise when both of Grandpa Simpson's kidneys are revealed to have exploded. In a Treehouse of Horror episode, Dr. Hibbert discusses the possibility of Bart being a "genetic chosen one" who can cure a zombie apocalypse over the phone with the Simpsons, while under siege from the aforementioned zombies.. There are hints throughout the series that Dr. Hibbert is not above dubious medical practices. After Marge talks him out of buying an unsuitable house, he suggests repaying her with black-market prescriptions. When he realizes that Marge is initially unenthusiastic about having a third child, he implies that a healthy baby could bring in as much as $60,000 on the black market. Hibbert covers for himself against Marge's horrified reaction by saying that if she had replied any other way, she would be sent to prison, claiming that it is "just a test". It is also suggested in the episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" that he does not in fact have a medical license. Despite his seemingly honest and good-hearted personality, there is evidence that he is, at heart, a mercenary.