(2005). [23] Groening graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1977. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. He won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production for his animated series The Simpsons during three consecutive years i.e. Six years later, after Groening penned an angry letter to the editor over the dismissal of a writer, the paper fired him by replacing his strip with another cartoonist's work while Groening was out of town on a book-signing tour for "Work Is Hell." His television series titled Futurama also earned him the Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production in the years 2010 and 2014, while his other work The Simpsons won the award in this category in the years 2011, 2012 and 2015. He is not. She was Groening's long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. "If there's a message that runs through the show," he told The New York Times in 2001, well after he had become wealthy and influential beyond his wildest dreams, "it's that maybe the authorities don't have your best interests at heart. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. "[19] The show premiered on March 28, 1999. She is the author of "Do You Love Me or Am I Just Paranoid?" In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. Every week or so Mr. Groening gets a new offer to develop a movie or a cartoon or a situation comedy. But for now, at least, it continues to thrive; it is consistently the most-watched show in its time slot, Thursday at 8 P.M., and is Fox's No. Furthermore, the once-struggling artist was about to be presented with the business offer that would change his life forever. [29][68] Groening has also pitched "Young Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield. When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the Futurama franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe. Groening was one of four children. He was fired from the L.A. Le fils de pre Homer Philip Groening et mre Margaret Ruth est comdien de stand-up, crivain & caricaturiste, anno 2023 clbre pour The Simpsons & Futurama. In 2016, Groening developed a new series for Netflix, Disenchantment, which premiered in August 2018. 8) Does this fill you with shame and guilt and cheese puffs? The Longest Daycare (2012) [65] The names of a few other characters were taken from major street names in Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, including Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby and Kearney. Matt Groening is married to Deborah Caplan in 1986. "I wake up every morning thinking how lucky I am. A team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. platform, and regretted his victory immediately. In 2009 and 2010, Matt Groening was awarded with the Annie Award in the category Best Animated Home Entertainment for Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs and Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder respectively. The Simpsons was mostly a satire aimed at politicians, teachers, police and other authorities. Deborah Caplan: Groening has been in a relationship with Deborah Caplan since 2006. In high school, he drew cartoons for the school newspaper until he was kicked off the staff. [55] Groening storyboarded and scripted every short (now known as The Simpsons shorts), which were then animated by a team including David Silverman and Wes Archer, both of whom would later become directors on the series. Matt Groening was born on 15 February 1954, at Portland, in Oregon, USA. Deborah Kaplan has been divorced from Matt Groening since 1999. [35][40] In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation on an undefined future project,[9] which would turn out to be developing a series of short animated skits, called "bumpers," for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. In 2002, Groening received the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award due to his work on Life in Hell. Groening and Deborah divorced in 1999. The artist saw his first non-self-published comic appear in a 1978 issue of Wet magazine. Le 15-2-1954 , Matt Groening (surnom: Matthew Abram Groening, Bat Groening, Mad Groening) est n Portland, Oregon, United States. (2006). In 1984, Groening and his wife Deborah Caplan published his first "Life in Hell" book, called Love in Hell, and eventually set up a distribution company, Life in Hell Co., which handled the syndication and merchandise for all of Groening's projects. Meanwhile, Groening was up to his old tricks of rocking the boat, writing silly reviews of bands based on their publicity photos and even making up phony acts to cover. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. As to his position on the "Simpsons" voice actors' recent contract negotiations, he told Mother Jones, "I have sympathy. [109], He was awarded the Inkpot Award in 1988. In 1994, Matt Groening started the comic book publishing company named Bongo Comics. Matt Groening created a dysfunctional family and The Simpsons aired on the show for the first time in 1987. The message? 6, the list of recipients had grown from 20 to 500. The couple divorced in 1999. This one is a Cinderella story: humble beginings, the insidious discouragement of petty authority figures, the unexpected intervention by fairy godproducer James L. Brooks and the eventual (stormy) marriage to a wealthy potentate (Rupert Murdoch's Fox network). The Simpsons Movie (2007) Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. Matt is stepfather to Agustinas daughter, Camille. [24], In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. Commentary for ", Silverman, David; Reardon, Jim; Groening, Matt. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell (1977-2012) and the television series The Simpsons (1989-present), Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-2013, 2023-onwards [2] ), and Disenchantment (2018-2022). Even to this date, it continues to appear in many other alternative newspapers. In the 10 years since the debut of "The Simpsons," however, Groening had gone from semifamous alternative cartoonist to iconic powerhouse. It is six years since "The Simpsons" made its debut as a 20-second segment in "The Tracey Ullman Show" and three years since it became its own series on Fox Broadcasting. He found some work along those lines, whipping up slogans for horror movies, but also took on. Matt Groening married Deborah Caplan in 1986. (2015) Executive producer and show runner Mike Scully once told the New Yorker, "People are always asking why 'The Simpsons' is still so good after all these years, and, at the risk of pissing off all the other writers, I think I'd have to say that the main reason is probably George." [8][9] Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Plautdietsch-speaking family. 4) Disagreeably damp and jittery? [82], In 1994, Groening formed Bongo Comics (named after the character Bongo from Life in Hell[83]) with Steve Vance, Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison, which publishes comic books based on The Simpsons and Futurama (including Futurama Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis, a crossover between the two), as well as a few original titles. After graduating to a job at a record store called Licorice Pizza, whose gimmick it was to give away licorice to its customers (but whose employees often found themselves providing free licorice meals to the indigent instead), Groening began drawing "Life in Hell," a self-published, xeroxed comic book starring Binky, a lonely, alienated rabbit living in low-income Hollywood hell. The Good, the Bart, and the Loki (2021) Groening is estimated to be worth US$ 500 million. [19][72] By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions. 5) Are you worried you might have accidentally minimized your potential? In 1973, he moved to LA and sold his comic strip Life in Hell to the LA weekly. The show premiered under the Fox Broadcasting Company banner, in 1999. Again, to his surprise, he won. I said, 'It's not going to be like "Blade Runner."' ", "I had a real strong sense of drama as a kid," he said, "and I couldn't believe adults didn't remember what it was like to be a kid. In 1997, he and retired Simpsons writer David X. Cohen developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999, ran for four years on Fox, then picked up by Comedy Central for more seasons. Groening was born on February 15, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. But while he used to drive a beat-up Dodge Dart, he now drives a sleek new BMW. What may never happen again is another show that comes along and had the overall importance to a particular company like 'The Simpsons' has had for News Corp.", Groening was outspoken about his criticisms of Fox's business practices and its inexplicably shabby treatment of him and his new show. His favorite artist is Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and his favorite album is Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart (which was produced by Zappa). [108] In 2007, he was ranked fourth (and highest American by birth) in a list of the "top 100 living geniuses", published by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. They were created when James L. Brooks, the producer of "The Tracey Ullman Show," asked Mr. Groening to create animated segments for the program. This comic book made its official debut as a comic strip in the Reader on April 25, 1980, and caught the attention of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, who had been shown the strip by fellow producer Polly Platt. 3) Disgusted? 2. [41] Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family: Homer, the overweight father; Marge, the slim mother; Bart, the bratty oldest child; Lisa, the intelligent middle child; and Maggie, the baby. However, Matt and Deborah divorced in 1999. 2) Disappointed? "I showed it to the editor of the Los Angeles Reader," he once told an interviewer, "and he hired me immediately -- to deliver newspapers." At its peak, the cartoon was carried in 250 weekly newspapers. Twenty-four years ago, Groening was just another unrecognized genius driving to Los Angeles in a crummy car with a coat hanger for a radio antenna. 1 program. The animated shorts that Groening created were The Simpsons (1989). [105], Groening has been nominated for 41 Emmy Awards and has won thirteen, eleven for The Simpsons and two for Futurama in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or less)" category. She married Groening in 1987 and they got divorced in 1999, after 13 years of marriage. 7) Do you question authority when authority is out of earshot? During this time the show has done for animated cartoons what "thirtysomething" did for yuppies: proved that despite some annoying tendencies, they can be successful in prime time. Groening became stepfather to Agustinas daughter named Camila Costantini. Clerks: The Animated Series (2000-2002) Life in Hell caught the attention of American producer James L. Brooks. "Simpsons" executive producer Mike Scully, who took over as show runner, or head writer, in 1996, has said that in order to write for "The Simpsons," a writer must have "a healthy disrespect for everything Americans hold dear." But for a few brief moments in the early '90s, the idea that anything "alternative" could suddenly overtake the mainstream was still surprising. [14] Following his high school graduation in 1972,[15] Groening attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. [17] In an effort to add more music to the column, he "just made stuff up,"[25] concocting and reviewing fictional bands and nonexistent records. He grew up in Portland and did his schooling from the Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Matt Groening created the show The Simpsons, and two of the principal characters, a husband and wife, are named Homer and Marge. Good Grief, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz (since 2000) And he has "gone Hollywood" enough, he concedes, that when he is picked up by a limousine, he no longer feels that he has to keep the chauffeur entertained for the whole ride. In 1984, certain relationship themed strips from his work were published by co- worker Deborah Caplan, as a book titled Love in Hell. On this date in 1954, Matthew Abraham Groening was born in Portland, Ore., to Homer Groening, an advertising agent and amateur cartoonist, and Margaret Wiggum. He currently serves at The Simpsons as an executive producer and creative consultant. By installment No. The PJs (1999-2001) They had been married for 11.1 years. A thousand years in the future -- a wry, bleak version of a future where suicide booths and celebrity heads preserved in jars are part of the landscape -- work is still hell. Groening serves as the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell (19772012) and the television series The Simpsons (1989present), Futurama (19992003, 20082013, 2023, and Disenchantment (2018present). [38] After Groening ended the strip, the Center for Cartoon Studies commissioned a poster that was presented to Groening in honor of his work. They had 2 children, Homer (31) and Abe (29). Ten years later, at the age of 46, Groening is responsible for a comic strip syndicated in 250 newspapers, more than 25 books, two prime-time animated series and untold containers full of valuable merchandise. [8][50] Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. Comedian, screenwriter, and television producer Groening is the multitalented creator of The Simpsons, the longest-running entertainment series in 2009 on primetime television. Mr. Groening planned to use the figures from "Life in Hell." "I'm a fan of counterculture -- of which there is very little right now," he told Fortune magazine. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan. At 39, Mr. Groening still observes many of the customs of the youthful counterculture where he got his start: his hair is longish, his attire runs toward T-shirts and sneakers, and instead of business cards he hands out his phone number on little bits of torn paper. "Of course, those are all true. And I always say, 'Whatever offends you the most.' liverpool v nottingham forest 1989 team line ups; best crews to join in gta 5. jay chaudhry house; bimbo bakeries buying back routes; pauline taylor seeley cause of death Matt and Deborah separated in 1999. [96] In January 2022, Groening's tenth child Satori was born. The Simpsons premiered in 1989 with him as creator, writer, voice actor and executive producer. Deborah Caplan (m.1986, d.1999) Agustina Picasso (m.2011) Children: Abe Groening, Homer Groening, Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, India Mia Groening, Venus Ruth Groening, Luna Margaret Groening, Sol . Groenings grandfather named Abraham Groening, worked as a professor at Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kansas, prior to moving to Albany College (now named Lewis and Clark College) in Oregon in 1930. In a situation similar to Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. Groening was born on February 15, 1954,[3][4] in Portland, Oregon,[5] the middle of five children (older brother Mark and sister Patty were born in 1950 and 1952, while the younger sisters Lisa and Maggie in 1956 and 1958, respectively). He made a name exploring his own alienation and a fortune exposing the absurdities and hypocrisies of our culture, and nowadays, Groening is as powerful an insider as they come. They have a son, Nathaniel, and twin daughters, Luna and India. As to the autonomy he'd enjoyed with "The Simpsons," Groening was told, "We don't do business like that anymore. [90] In July 2013, Groening co-authored Hard Listening (2013) with the rest of the Rock Bottom Remainders (published by Coliloquy, LLC).[91]. "I never saw anything as crude as my stuff getting published," he has said. Post years of research in science fiction, in 1997, Matt Groening along with producer, David X Cohen, created an animated series project titled Futurama, about life in the year 3000. Brooks contacted him in 1985 about adapting Life in Hell for animated sequences for the Fox variety shows The Tracey Ullman Show. In 2008, Matt Groening won the Annie Award in the Writing in a Feature Production for comedy film The Simpsons movie. 1. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. From 1972 through 1977, Groening studied at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a liberal arts school that Groening described as a hippie college, with no grades or required classes, that drew every weirdo in the Northwest. Groening worked at the Reader for six years, as a typesetter, editor, paste-up artist and rock critic. But the short clips were a hit with fans, and producers began exploring a standalone series as Tracey Ullman floundered in the ratings. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Groening's rough-and-tumble early days in Tinseltown provided endless fodder for a comic he titled Life in Hell, featuring the anthropomorphic rabbit Binky. Years later, during the early seasons of The Simpsons, when it came time to give Grampa a first name, Groening says he refused to name him after his own grandfather, Abraham Groening, leaving it to other writers to choose a name. In fact, when "Simpsons" writers wax elegaic, they tend to do so about George Meyer, a writer who first became involved with the show late in 1989, a few months before its Fox premiere. He studied at Evergreen State College and edited the campus newspaper. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. It may simply be, he speculates, "that people don't get it.". "It turns out I was the latest in a long line of writer-chauffeurs," Mr. Groening said. [86] He guest-edited Da Capo Press's Best Music Writing 2003[87] and curated a US All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in 2003. There are Bart cake pans, Bart bicycles and Bart pinball machines, Bart note cards, Bart soda bottles and Bart game books. Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat. He befriended fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry and, finding no real authority to rebel against, he turned to cartooning in earnest. In the mid-1980s, he moved to Los Angeles and started drawing a comic strip named Life in Hell, whi . When Billie Met Lisa (2022), Disenchantment (2018-present) He first sold his comic to magazine Wet, in 1978. [99], Groening is a self-identified agnostic. "And to be honest, the whole 'Simpsons' project was a project to see how far I could go in the mainstream.
