D'oh! David Mamet to Guest Star on The Simpsons

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet will lend his vocals to an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, according to EW.com. Mamet will play himself in a storyline that finds the writer/director as a former staff writer on a fictional 80s TV sitcom, Thicker Than Waters, which Homer Simpson begins to obsess over.

In a nod to the often lyrical use of obscenities in Mamet's plays, Simpsons producer Al Jean said he will drop several expletives during his appearance. Jean also credits Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross character Shelly Levene (originally portrayed onstage by Tony nominee Robert Prosky, in the film adaptation by Jack Lemmon and in the Broadway revival by Tony nominee Alan Alda) as the inspiration for The Simpsons' oft disgruntled salesman, Gil. The episode, Homer the Father, will air on January 23, 2011.

Mamet has been a constant presence on Broadway for the past several seasons. A Life in the Theater received its first Broadway mounting in September. Last season saw the debut of the new play Race, as well as a revival of Oleanna. His other works include Speed the Plow, November and American Buffalo.