Famous physicist was ‘get of gets’ for TV cameos

TRIBUTE

Physicist Stephen Hawking was perhaps the most exclusive guest star in TV history.

Before his death on Wednesday at age 76, Hawking had appeared a number of times on “The Simpsons” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Cameos on both shows were invariably preceded by national news stories in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Outtakes typically went viral.

He also appeared three times — or, rather, his voice did — on “Futurama,” and his 1993 cameo on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is easily the most memorable cameo by a physicist on any iconic pop-cultural fixture ever. (He also appeared with facsimiles of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.)

Even though his body was attacked by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, when Hawking was 21, he stunned doctors by living with the typically fatal illness for more than 50 years.

Simply put, Hawking was the “get of gets," but few series ever actually got him. Those that did owe him a debt of gratitude because he helped establish both their cultural and intellectual bona fides.

Hawking was a very big deal, indeed.

Why the long-standing excitement over his TV appearances?

To some extent, shows such as “The Simpsons” and “The Big Bang Theory” are written by bright (and nerdy) fanboys and fangirls. They understood that a Hawking visitation conferred a certain dignity on a fundamentally undignified enterprise: TV comedy. Hawking raised the shows’ game and, to an extent, ennobled it, too.

The better reason, though, is simply that he was a particularly good comic actor, one with superb timing, who improbably managed these skills by not acting at all.

His art was in his delivery – invariably dry and always funny.

When he was interviewed in 2014 on “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” the host asked him whether there is a universe “where I am smarter than you.”

Hawking's answer: “Yes, and also a universe where you are funny.”

In his first appearance on "The Big Bang Theory" in 2012, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) finally gets to meet his hero in person, only to learn that the paper he has submitted to Hawking for a benediction has a “boo-boo” on the second page.

Sheldon insists that there is no mistake, but when it’s pointed out, he faints.

“Great,” deadpans Hawking. “Another fainter.”

Hawking clearly relished his TV appearances but perhaps understood them to be part of a greater good, in which his ideas would be embraced by the culture at large.

Or maybe he simply was a fanboy himself.

In an online interview several years ago, he was asked about his “Simpsons” cameos, and he said, “The appeal of ‘The Simpsons’ is that the characters display all the traits we see in ourselves, in particular Homer, the ultimate middle-aged man who repeatedly fails his kids, messes up at work, and is always trying to get something for nothing.

“My daughter knew one of the ‘Simpsons’ scriptwriters, and he said he’d like to write (an episode) — and I accepted immediately because it would be fun. ‘The Simpsons’ is the best thing on American television.”

Then he added, “More people know me through ‘The Simpsons’ than through my science.”