Editing Simpson and Delilah (section)

==Production==
[[File:Harvey_Fierstein_Shankbone_Metropolitan_Opera_2009.jpg|thumb|[[Harvey Fierstein]] voiced Karl, and gave suggestions on the character's appearance.]]

Homer's hair product Dimoxinil is a spoof on a similar product, [[Minoxidil]], which fascinated the writers.<ref name="Jean"/> The production staff tried to give Homer a new hairstyle in each scene after he grows hair, which started with his long hair, then changed into a 1970s small afro, then a close-cropped 1950s haircut, and finally a moussed 1980s hairdo with a small ponytail. Homer's final look was inspired by the television series ''[[Miami Vice]]''.<ref name="Jean">{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2002 |title=Commentary for the episode "Simpson and Delilah". The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The character Karl was played by openly [[Homosexual|gay]] actor [[Harvey Fierstein]]. Groening had originally intended to design Karl to look like Fierstein, who objected to the idea because he felt he did not "look like gay people, how they're supposed to look." Fierstein suggested that the character be made "blond, and tall, and gorgeous, and skinny, and [given] a beautiful place to live."<ref name="Ortved">{{cite book |last=Ortved |first=John |title=The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History |year=2009 |publisher=Greystone Books |isbn=978-1-55365-503-9 |pages=248&ndash;250}}</ref>

In contrast to [[Albert Brooks]], [[Dustin Hoffman]], and [[Michael Jackson]], who did not allow their real names to be used (Brooks later did), Fierstein was one of the very few early guest stars who was not embarrassed or reluctant to be associated with the show and welcomed his name in the credits.<ref name="Jean"/>

The episode features a kiss between Homer and Karl, which occurred a decade prior to US television's first real man-on-man kiss on ''[[Dawson's Creek]]''.<ref name="EW"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2000/06/09/sweeps-brings-smooches/ |title=Sweeps brings smooches |first=Ken |last=Tucker |access-date=January 11, 2021 |date=June 9, 2000 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403152014/https://ew.com/article/2000/06/09/sweeps-brings-smooches/|archive-date=April 3, 2015|url-status=live |quote=A scant few months later, The WB was promoting the May 24 season finale of Dawson’s Creek on the strength of — whaddaya know — the first guy-on-guy kiss on network TV}}</ref> In the episode, Karl is implied to be homosexual; creator [[Matt Groening]] says that when people began asking "was he gay?" the day after the episode aired, his response was "he's whatever you want him to be." However, Groening points out, "he does kiss Homer: He does give him a nice pat on the butt" which is "beyond [what] any other cartoon" had done at the time.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sadownick |first=Doug |title=Groening Against the Grain; Maverick Cartoonist Matt Groening Draws in Readers With Gay Characters Akbar and Jeff |journal=Advocate |issue=571 |date=February 26, 1991 |url=http://www.snpp.com/other/interviews/groening91.html |access-date=January 11, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070920213341/http://www.snpp.com/other/interviews/groening91.html |archive-date=September 20, 2007 |quote= }}</ref>

Karl was originally supposed to return for a cameo appearance in the [[The Simpsons season 14|season 14]] episode "[[Three Gays of the Condo]]". In the script, Homer was thrown out of the house by Marge, and encountered Karl. The purpose of the appearance was to introduce a gay couple that Homer would live with. Fierstein however felt that "the script was a lot of very clever gay jokes, and there just wasn't that ''Simpsons'' twist" and turned the role down.<ref name="Ortved"/>