The Simpsons pay tribute to Stephen Hawking

The creators of The Simpsons have long included poignant tributes to actors or characters who are integral to the series after their death. So it is a mark of the affection they had for Stephen Hawking, who died last Wednesday, that they chose to honour his life in the first episode after the professor's death.

Sunday's episode showed a still from Hawking's best-known Simpsons' guest appearance, when he visited Springfield in They Saved Lisa's Brain. It was captioned: "In Loving Memory of Stephen Hawking". 

The animation's executive producer Matt Selman shared the tribute on Twitter:

Hawking had long been involved in The Simpsons. He was a fan of the cartoon and often,  showrunner Al Jean recently recalled, would appear at the show's table reads, sometimes offering up jokes to be added to the scripts.

Hawking made four appearances in the show between 1999 and 2010, and would record his lines through the computer that allowed him to speak.