His father, Homer Philip Groening, was a writer, filmmaker and advertiser and his mother, Margaret Ruth, was a teacher. Homer and Abe were their two sons. "Futurama" moved away from the family sitcom structure and into dysfunctional workplace territory, a subject that had long inspired Groening. 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. 8) Does this fill you with shame and guilt and cheese puffs? Now I'm deliriously happy all the time.". 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. From this and other joyless jobs, "Life in Hell" was born. "[19] The show premiered on March 28, 1999. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. (2005). The weekly comic strip chronicles the miseries of Bongo, the one-eared rabbit, as well as those of Akbar and Jeff, the lovelorn look-alikes. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column. 2) Disappointed? Choosing Los Angeles because it was the place where a writer was most likely to be overpaid, Groening answered a "writer/chauffeur wanted" ad in the L.A. Times. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan. But while he used to drive a beat-up Dodge Dart, he now drives a sleek new BMW. By then, however, "Life in Hell" was running in several other alternative weeklies, and soon the L.A. Weekly brought him on board. He found some work along those lines, whipping up slogans for horror movies, but also took on a series of jobs that included chauffeur, dishwasher and record store clerk to make a living. 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. Deborah Kaplan has been divorced from Matt Groening since 1999. In 2016, Groening developed a new series for Netflix, Disenchantment, which premiered in August 2018. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [64], Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. The comic strip Life in Hell was a huge success. Eventually, it was moved to Sundays at 8 p.m., but although Fox recently ordered 18 more episodes for next season, Groening, thinking like the businessman that he is, still feels the show could benefit from more aggressive promotion and a better time slot. [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. ", .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}James Cameron Keeps Smashing His Own Records, The Cocaine Bear Drug Smuggler Was a Real Person, Meet The Last of Us Creator Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us Cast Guide: Actors and Characters, Biography: Jon Stewart (Community Heroes), Biography: You Need to Know: Dorothy Arzner. After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Simpsons writer and producer David X. Cohen (known as David S. Cohen at the time) in 1997 and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000. It was Mr. Groening's girlfriend, Deborah Caplan (now his wife), who in 1984 gave the comic strip its first lift by forming a small company to publish a collection of his cartoons, "Love Is Hell . Matt and Deborah separated in 1999. Matt Groening. [74] In an interview with CNN, Groening said that "we have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me". Now, though, "The Simpsons" offices at Fox, housed in what looks like a cheap motel, run on a routine, and he has eased off a bit. His office at Fox has the frantic clutter of a teen-ager's bedroom. One of his first employers was an aging B-movie director who needed help both getting around and writing his memoirs. But he realized that Fox would own whatever characters went on the air. Still, it's clear that Groening's satire feeds on frustration and the stupidity of others. He went through what he described as "a series of lousy jobs," including being an extra in the television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July,[25] busing tables,[26] washing dishes at a nursing home, clerking at the Hollywood Licorice Pizza record store, landscaping in a sewage treatment plant,[27] and chauffeuring and ghostwriting for a retired Western director. I may be going to hell, but I did embrace all the stuff -- the T-shirts, the Bart phone, the chess set, all of it.". He was born in Portland, Oregon, 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). Indeed, "The Simpsons" has something to offend almost everyone: the cops sit around eating doughnuts, the teachers are lost without their answer books, the parents are losers and even God is a malcontent. After graduating in 1977, Groening headed to Los Angeles with the idea of pursuing a writing career. The couple have two children together: a son, Homer, and a daughter, Maggie. They had two sons together, Homer and Abe. The artist saw his first non-self-published comic appear in a 1978 issue of Wet magazine. The message? Menu Log In Sign Up A self-published anthology of "Love Is Hell" led to a deal with Pantheon Books, and eventually Caplan began running Life In Hell Inc. They said, 'Make it like "The Jetsons"! TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. [47], The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. "But I don't consider 'The Simpsons' a compromise in any way. He notes with a chuckle that he has just received the lastest shipment of Simpsoniana: Bart golf balls. And they said, 'Don't make it like "Blade Runner"!' When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four straight-to-DVD films Bender's Big Score (2007), The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Bender's Game (2008) and Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009) would be produced. ------------------------------------------. The final episode aired on September 4, 2013. In 1994, Matt Groening started the comic book publishing company named Bongo Comics. [33] Among the fans of the column was Harry Shearer, who would later become a voice on The Simpsons. [95] In 2020, their daughter Nirvana was born. Every week or so Mr. Groening gets a new offer to develop a movie or a cartoon or a situation comedy. 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. In the 10 years since the debut of "The Simpsons," however, Groening had gone from semifamous alternative cartoonist to iconic powerhouse. The shorts were spun off into their own series, The Simpsons, which has since aired 742 episodes. Then Fox moved "Futurama" to Tuesday night, and audiences fell to about 8 million. For more information, please consult the OP. He also invited the off-the-wall submissions of campus cartoonists, finding himself inspired by the original works of fellow undergrad Lynda Barry. [26] Groening also started Acme Features Syndicate, which initially syndicated Life in Hell as well as work by Lynda Barry and John Callahan, but would eventually only syndicate Life in Hell. [58], Although The Tracey Ullman Show was not a big hit,[59] the popularity of the shorts led to a half-hour spin-off in 1989. [12] Although Groening previously stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. In the spirit of youthful rebellion, he makes pointed digs at Fox in front of network officials. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, he created a new set of characters, the Simpson family. They divorced in 1999 and Groening married Argentine artist Agustina Picasso in 2011. platform, and regretted his victory immediately. They had 2 children, Homer (31) and Abe (29). 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. [15] At the end of its run, Life in Hell was carried in 250 weekly newspapers and has been anthologized in a series of books, including School is Hell, Childhood is Hell, The Big Book of Hell, and The Huge Book of Hell. George Bush once famously regaled the nation with the suggestion that American families should aspire to be "more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons," prompting Bart to retort, "But we're just like the Waltons -- we're both praying for an end to the depression."). Matthew Abram Groening ( / ren / GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954) [1] is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. 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. Matts youngest child is named after writer Nathaniel West. Matt Groening created a dysfunctional family and The Simpsons aired on the show for the first time in 1987. In fact, to prove that he didn't mean anything by naming a fat, incompetent slob like Homer Simpson after his father, he named his first son Homer, too. [36] Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. We're calling everybody's bluff. Groening also collectively donated to the Democratic senatorial campaign committee and to the Senate campaigns of Barbara Boxer (California), Dianne Feinstein (California), Paul Simon (Illinois), Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts), Carl Levin (Michigan), Hillary Clinton (New York), Harvey Gantt (North Carolina), Howard Metzenbaum (Ohio), and Tom Bruggere (Oregon). [16] A liberal arts school that he described as "a hippie college, with no grades or required classes, that drew every weirdo in the Northwest". Of Akbar and Jeff, he said: "'People always ask, 'Are they lovers or brothers or both?' Matt Groening - Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. "I think Matt likes the fact that this is more his baby," Rich Moore, supervising director of Rough Draft, the company that animates "Futurama," told Spin magazine. "When I was a kid, my friends and I used to put on puppet shows, make comic books, and I decided that's what I wanted to do, to play in every medium," he said. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. [61] The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. 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. [41][42][43] Groening famously named the main Simpson characters after members of his own family: his parents, Homer and Marge (Margaret or Marjorie in full), and his younger sisters, Lisa and Margaret (Maggie). "And to be honest, the whole 'Simpsons' project was a project to see how far I could go in the mainstream. [26][32] Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. She joked that "his godfather is SpongeBob's creator Stephen Hillenburg". She married Groening in 1987 and they got divorced in 1999, after 13 years of marriage. In 2013, the couple had a son named . Nowadays, you can't throw a rock at a TV set without hitting an irreverent animated social satire. 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). '", Sharing one inane series of meetings, he told the magazine, "I said, 'Look, I told you "Futurama" is not going to be bland and boring like "The Jetsons." The Simpsons premiered in 1989 with him as creator, writer, voice actor and executive producer. Matt Groening created the show The Simpsons, and two of the principal characters, a husband and wife, are named Homer and Marge. He first sold his comic to magazine Wet, in 1978. They divorced in 1999 and Groening . In 2011, he married artist Augustina Picasso, with whom he had been in a relationship for four years. [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. [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. The show, according to Groening, was "buried." Some of the funniest jokes, he says, can only be caught on a still frame. MATT GROENING would like to tell you a few things about his family: His father, Homer, is not bald. The Simpsons (1989-present) [106] Groening received the 2002 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award, and had been nominated for the same award in 2000. He works as a cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He has donated money to the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of Democratic candidates Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, as well as previously donating to Kerry's Massachusetts senator campaign. He is also a father to five more children. The couple has two sons, Homer and Abe. As to his position on the "Simpsons" voice actors' recent contract negotiations, he told Mother Jones, "I have sympathy. 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. 6, the list of recipients had grown from 20 to 500. 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. James L. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. "[17] The Simpsons was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Groening feared that he would have to give up his ownership rights, and that the show would fail and take down his comic strip with it. [81] The cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Nat Faxon. Ian Maxtone-Graham, another writer on the show, has said in an interview, "I would rather make George Meyer laugh than get an Emmy." In 1973, he moved to LA and sold his comic strip Life in Hell to the LA weekly. Clerks: The Animated Series (2000-2002) Deborah Kaplan is currently available. "So much humor is based on 'life is horrible, sex is nasty and you can't trust anyone,' " he said. Matt Groening married Deborah Caplan in 1986. 4) Disagreeably damp and jittery? In interview after interview, he has recalled his youthful vow never to forget what childhood was like -- a gauntlet of petty rules and restrictions that exist only to be broken. View Matt Groening results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Ark3n 7 yr. ago. And for a guy whose career has been dedicated to skewering television, crass commercialism, "evil billionaire tyrants" (how boss Rupert Murdoch described himself in a cameo on "The Simpsons") and brainless consumers, Groening sure does love his merchandise. Matt Groening, an American animator, television producer, author, and cartoonist, has an estimated net worth of a staggering $600 million. [39], Life in Hell caught the attention of Hollywood writer-director-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, who had been shown the strip by fellow producer Polly Platt. In 1984, certain relationship themed strips from his work were published by co- worker Deborah Caplan, as a book titled Love in Hell. When Billie Met Lisa (2022), Disenchantment (2018-present) [48] When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his own initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening has received 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 for The Simpsons and 2 for Futurama, and a British Comedy Award due to outstanding contribution to comedy in 2004. After graduating in 1977, Groening headed to Los Angeles with the idea of pursuing a writing career. In 1987, producers of the soon-to-be-launched sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, headed by the legendary James L. Brooks, contacted Groening about developing short animated cartoons to air between skits. 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. Simon was also responsible for hiring the writing staff, who shaped the characters into what they are today. 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. Netflix has also renewed the series for twenty additional episodes, which are expected to start in ten-episode batches in 2020 and 2021. [100][101], Groening was mentioned in a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre over allegedly being forced by sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to massage Groening's feet while on Epstein's jet in 2001. Groening made his first professional cartoon sale of Life in Hell to the avant-garde magazine Wet in 1978. Matt Groening Futurama He was an English major and a World War II vet. [24], In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. "I showed it to the editor of the Los Angeles Reader," he once told an interviewer, "and he hired me immediately -- to deliver newspapers." He gleefully zinged their sensibilities after becoming editor of the school paper, at one point instigating a petition that condemned his satirization of communal life, while also training his ire on mainstream targets like the Washington state legislature. And I said, 'I think it's Elroy.' Yet Groening's DNA is all over the show, from the characters named after the streets of his hometown (Flanders, Lovejoy, etc. For a man who has become famous on the strength of his dark musings, starting with "Life in Hell," his weekly comic strip, Mr. Groening (it rhymes with complaining, his publicist says) comes off in person as surprisingly benign: big, bearish and still a bit astonished to find his jokes getting so out of hand. As described in .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, he grew up next to the old Portland Zoo, which, after reopening in a new location in 1959, became a wonderland for Groening and his friends with its abandoned animal enclosures. The strip continued to be published in the LA Weekly until 2009, when they were unable to pay Matt Groening anymore. The paper offered him a cartoon strip in 1980, and, surprised, Groening accepted. Matthew Abraham Groening was born 15 February 1954 in Portland, Oregon, United States to Homer Philip Groening (1919-1996) and Margaret Ruth Wiggum (1919-2013) . Creating 'The Simpsons:' How Matt Groening's Own Family Inspired the Characters, Matt Groening; Photo: Gary Moss/Corbis via Getty Images, Matt Groening with a cutout of Bart Simpson; Photo: Getty Images, James Cameron Keeps Smashing His Own Records, The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. After four years the show was cancelled, however, it maintained a strong fan following. Groening is a 68-year-old who was born on February 15, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. They had been married for 11.1 years. [79] On July 25, 2017, the series, Disenchantment, was ordered by Netflix. [17] He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal, for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons. 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). 1. Deborah Caplan (29 October 1987 - 1999) . He ran for student body president on the Teens for Decency ticket, with the tongue-in-cheek slogan, "If you're against decency, then what are you for?" [45] Groening also has an older brother and sister, Mark and Patty, and in a 1995 interview Groening divulged that Mark "is the actual inspiration for Bart. [15] Life in Hell made its official debut as a comic strip in the Reader on April 25, 1980. His son Leroy."' He used to write articles and draw cartoon illustrations for the journal. But mainly, he is Matt Groening. After marriage, he became step father to Augustina Picasso's daughter Camille. [52] Lisa's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline. Illustrated commentary for ", Groening, Matt. 6) Are you trapped in a loveless cubicle? The duo left the newspaper company and Matt Groening founded the Acme Features Syndicate that distributed Life in Hell. Commentary for ", Silverman, David; Reardon, Jim; Groening, Matt. In 2002, Groening received the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award due to his work on Life in Hell. "That there's no Jim Brooks around. [89] In May 2010, he curated another edition of All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, England. Some seven years after Binky and his one-eared son, Bongo, first began delving into their epic disaffection, and the heroically insecure (but enterprising) gay twins Akbar and Jeff opened the first of their reprobate money-making "huts," "The Simpsons," the first animated series to hit prime time in 20 years, made its television debut. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe. And I always say, 'Whatever offends you the most.' He was fired from the L.A. And it's not going to be dark and drippy like "Blade Runner." Bob Cesca Show, Bio, Wiki, Age, Married, Salon, Salary, And Net Worth, Mark Blyth Political Scientist, Bio, Wiki, Age, Height, Wife, Books, Podcast, and Net Worth, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes, List of States in the US, Alphabetical list of States in the U.S., and Abbreviation of States in United States. Deborah Kaplan Entertainment - Director Why Famous: is an American screenwriter and film director Age: N/A Deborah Kaplan's Relationships (2) Matt Groening Arts - Other Why Famous: The Simpsons and Futurama Deborah Caplan: Groening has been in a relationship with Deborah Caplan since 2006. They said, 'It doesn't make any difference!'". From teachers who forced him to rip up his cartoons in front of the class, to the petty tyranny of bosses ("I was told that I would never get a job in the Pacific Northwest in journalism after my disgraceful stewardship of the Cooper Point Journal," Groening told the graduating class in a commencement address at his alma mater, Evergreen State College. A fan of science fiction, he had been thinking about creating a show about the future for some time. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. He is starting to think about other projects, like developing a show starring the Simpsons' favorite entertainer, Krusty, the dissolute clown. Matt Groening married Deborah Caplan in 1986. Deborah Caplan and Matt Groening are divorced after a marriage of 13 years. It's my foundation,"[37] the June 16, 2012 strip marked Life in Hell's conclusion. Tales of the Rat Fink (2006) as Finkster Gratuit English at Leicester University of Leicest. There are Bart cake pans, Bart bicycles and Bart pinball machines, Bart note cards, Bart soda bottles and Bart game books. The animated shorts that Groening created were The Simpsons (1989). Along with mailing the comics to friends and family back in Portland, he attempted to sell his stapled-together books from his record store. Later, Groening attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., which was known for its extremely liberal (no grades, no core requirements) liberal arts program. [66] Despite common fan belief that Sideshow Bob Terwilliger was named after SW Terwilliger Boulevard in Portland, he was actually named after the character Dr. Terwilliker from the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.[67], Although Groening has pitched a number of spin-offs from The Simpsons, those attempts have been unsuccessful. So the story goes, and it has, as they say, legs. 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.
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