<P> "Clown in the Dumps" is the season premiere of the twenty - sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 553rd episode of the series overall . It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on September 28, 2014, with "The Simpsons Guy", a crossover episode of Family Guy with The Simpsons, airing afterwards . This episode was dedicated in memory of Louis Castellaneta, the father of The Simpsons voice actor Dan Castellaneta . It was written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore, with Don Hertzfeldt directing a sequence in the opening titles . Jeff Ross, Sarah Silverman and David Hyde Pierce guest starred as themselves, with Jackie Mason and Kelsey Grammer reprising their respective roles as Rabbi Krustofski and Sideshow Bob, while Maurice LaMarche voiced several minor characters . </P> <P> In the episode, Krusty the Clown is offended by a comedy roast and asks his father, Rabbi Krustofski, if he believes that he is funny . His father disagrees and then dies, leaving Krusty upset that his father did not admire his work . After an alcohol - induced coma, Krusty vows to do good in the world, and eventually with the help of Bart discovers that his father did enjoy his work . Meanwhile, due to the death of Krusty's father, Lisa obsesses over the health and safety of her father Homer . </P> <P> In October 2013, during the promotion of the previous season of the show, executive producer Al Jean revealed that a character would die in this episode . In July 2014, on the announcement of the title of the episode, several media outlets incorrectly presumed that Krusty would die . The choice of character to die was deemed by some critics as anti-climactic due to Rabbi Krustofski's minor role in the show, although other reviewers praised its conclusion to the relationship between Krusty and his father . </P> <P> Krusty the Clown appears on a comedy roast by Jeff Ross and Sarah Silverman, and is offended by them . He seeks the advice of his father, Rabbi Krustofski, on whether he is funny; the Rabbi says he always thought he was "eh ..." and dies suddenly, right before he's about to tell Krusty what he really thinks of his comedy . As his father's last words seemed to be dismissive, and believing that nobody finds him funny anymore, Krusty quits his show . </P>

The simpsons clown in the dumps couch gag