parade commentators. The producers were unable to get Brinkley to play his part, so he was instead voiced by Harry Shearer. However, they were successful in getting Somers to voice herself. Roger Meyers, Jr. was voiced by Alex Rocco, who also voiced the character in the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"; while the character had reappeared in several episodes, in those instances he was voiced by Hank Azaria. The episode also stars Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille, and Phil Hartman as lawyer Lionel Hutz. Cultural references Roger Meyers Sr. being cryogenically frozen is a reference to the myth that Walt Disney was frozen. The entire plot, revolving around the legal question of who created the anthropomorphic mouse Itchy, is also a reference to the controversy over whether Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney or his animator Ub Iwerks. When Roger Meyers Jr. pleads his case in court, he mentions that several animated television series and characters were plagiarized from other series and characters: "Animation is built on plagiarism! If it weren't for someone plagiarizing The Honeymooners, we wouldn't have The Flintstones. If someone hadn't ripped off Sergeant Bilko, there'd be no Top Cat. Huckleberry Hound, Chief Wiggum, Yogi Bear? Hah! Andy Griffith, Edward G. Robinson, Art Carney." The Manhattan Madness cartoon in "The Day the Violence Died" is based on one of the first animated cartoons Gertie the Dinosaur. The "Amendment To Be" segment is a parody of the educational show Schoolhouse Rock, and more specifically "I'm Just a Bill", and refers to the Flag Desecration Amendment. Jack Sheldon, who sang the original song in "I'm Just a Bill", voices the song in the "Amendment to Be" segment. The cartoon "Itchy and Scratchy Meets Fritz the Cat" is a reference to the animated film Fritz the Cat (1972) that depicts drug use and sexual situations openly. Fritz the Cat was also the first animated movie to be rated X, before the NC-17 rating existed. The first Itchy & Scratchy cartoon entitled "Steamboat Itchy", which originally appeared in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", is a reference to Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon to be released, and Joseph P. Kennedy, father of former United States President John F. Kennedy, is listed as one of the cartoon's producers. The episode's title alludes to the line "the day the music died" from Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie". Reception