"Like Father, Like Clown" is a beautiful episode from the third season of "The Simpsons." It's one of only three cases in history in which a guest actor won an Emmy for a "Simpsons" voiceover (a performance by Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky). The episode rewrites Paul's famous monologue from the climax of "A Chorus Line." A young man has a taboo interest--an interest in clowning. His imperious father, the rabbi, says that the interest must die. The boy Herschel locks himself in the bathroom--we think he is masturbating--but a violent act destroys the lock. (Nothing onanistic was happening; Herschel was just trying to teach himself how to juggle.) Later, in the Catskills, Herschel paints his face white; attending a rabbinical conference, Hyman doesn't recognize the clown. A bucket of water falls from on high; the makeup is washed away. Hyman understands that he is looking at his son, and a rupture occurs. The reconciliation is sill...