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Julio Franco (pronounced Hoolio) is a Central American photographer, hair stylist, mixologist, and masseuse.

He is one of two gay men Homer moves in with in "Three Gays of the Condo". The other, Grady, was his boyfriend at the time. Julio is either Costa Rican or Cuban (or both). His relationship with Waylon Smithers was central to the plot of "The Burns Cage".

History[]

Julio says he is from Costa Rica in "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind"; he clarifies this when beating up Krusty for making jokes about Mexicans.

Later, in "The Burns Cage", he refers to Cuba as his homeland and takes then-boyfriend Smithers to Havana, Cuba.

Prior to coming out, Julio was married to two women: Adriatica Vel Johnson and Lindsey Naegle.

The Simpsons finish a puzzle and have to find the last piece and Homer thinks that the piece is in the memory chest; however, he finds a note saying that Marge wanted to dump him before he got married. This then upsets Homer and he finds an apartment in Springfield's gay district. He then meets his two roommates Grady and Julio who are two gay men who needed a third man in their apartment. Homer eventually finds out Marge really loves him after all and moves back into his house again, leaving Grady and Julio behind.

It later appears that Grady and Julio broke up as Julio gets married to Thad^[1]. He has also been a hostage^[2], and at some point after that got back together with Grady.

In "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", his boyfriend Grady had an affair with Duffman^[3] and hired Homer to break up with Julio in an unspecified gay club. Julio was devastated to learn this news from Homer, but said he would only be single for about 7 more minutes.

Julio has also dated Comic Book Gay offscreen (asking him out in "Flaming Moe").

After impressing Waylon Smithers in a party in "The Burns Cage", he invites Smithers on a date to Peruvian tapas, after which they go fishing, go out to dinner again, clinked champagne glasses in Burns's office, and dine at Luigi's. He inspires an empowered Smithers to quit his job. After dating Smithers for some time, Julio invites Smithers to a trip to his homeland of Havana, Cuba. However, he is disappointed to discover that Smithers often thinks of his old boss and treats Julio as if he were Mr. Burns (such as Smithers apologizing by saying, "Sorry, sir"). During a parade, Julio asks if Waylon was willing to commit; when Waylon admits he is not, Julio continues dancing but cries under his decorative mask.

Career[]

Julio has worked several jobs over the course of the series. He is first seen working as a calendar photographer, taking photos of women with sensual clothes. He once had to make Marge drunk with wine so she undresses herself for the photo.^[4] He makes two appearances as a hairdresser, once informing Marge that she's been going gray for years ^[5], and another time to take on Homer's clientele when Homer no longer wants to work as a hairdresser. ^[6]

Later, in "Walking Big & Tall", he is seen working at a clothing store called 'Forever 21 Waist'. ^[7]

He is a mixologist and skilled at massage, which is how he impressed Waylon Smithers in "The Burns Cage".

In "Werking Mom", Julio is also a drag queen, under the alias Penelope Cruising, having served as Mr. Burns' date to the Kennedy Center Honors once.

Non-Canon[]

The contents of this article or section are/can be considered non-canon, and exist outside of the main continuity of The Simpsons.

"Four Great Women and a Manicure"[]

Julio played the part of an angry king named King Julio who tries to destroy England with an army of ships, but fails.

"Moe Goes from Rags to Riches"[]

He also played the role of the artist Michaelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Future[]

In "Days of Future Future", Julio is manager of a night club called Hard Lad and forces Bart to leave the club due to him depressing everyone.

Behind the Laughter[]

Julio was originally voiced by Hank Azaria, who uses a gay lisp like he did for his character Agador in the movie The Birdcage. He has since been replaced by Tony Rodriguez.

Julio's name may be a reference to the song "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", which is perhaps about homosexuality.

In Spanish, his name translates to the month of July.

Julio recently appeared in The Simpsons: Tapped Out during the Pride 2017 mini-event as a limited time character that came with Hairy Shearers.

Appearances[]

Citations[]