Rostraver fan wins 'Simpsons' role

She wanted to win a lousy old smock.

Instead, Cheryl Yex, of Rostraver, won a trip to Hollywood and a role on "The Simpsons."

A longtime fan of the animated comedy, Yex, 49, said she's "both excited and nervous" about the opportunity to appear in one of television's most popular and longest running shows.

Yex's big break came in July during the media blitz that accompanied "The Simpsons Movie." The publicity campaign for the movie included making over about a dozen 7-Eleven stores to look like the knock-off Kwik-E-Mart of Simpsons fame. Online consumer contests followed.

A self-employed computer programmer, Yex said she visited the 7-Eleven Stores Web site, entered a coded number from a 7-Eleven cup, and was surprised to see, flashing on the screen, the message, "Congratulations, you are the grand prize winner."

"I thought to myself, 'You've got to be kidding.' I printed it out and showed it to my husband (Bill)."

Almost instantaneously, Yex received an e-mail confirming the good news.

"I didn't expect the grand prize. I really wanted the (Kwik-E-Mart) smock. I thought it was cute."

Yex hasn't heard from the show yet, so it's not certain when her Simpsons debut will take place. But she has been thinking about the kind of part she'd like to play. She'd prefer one with her 5-year-old mixed breed pooch, Misty.

Failing that, Yex said she's up for anything. Conversing with Marge would be fine, though Bart and Homer are her favorite characters.

"I like Bart's responses to Homer," she said.

In the true spirit of Tinseltown, Yex said she's been informed her role could end up on the cutting room floor.

D'oh.