deborah caplan matt groening

But the conformity of a suburban existence soon proved dull, even to a young Groening. [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. Groening and Deborah divorced in 1999. His son Leroy."' The pilot episode of "Futurama" was scheduled to air in the coveted slot between "The Simpsons" and "The X-Files" on Sunday night, and was watched by 19 million viewers. And the idea of creating a show on his own appealed to him. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. [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". If you answered no, you are also probably a fan of Matt Groening. In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. 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. "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. We're calling everybody's bluff. The network resisted giving Groening the autonomy he needed and plied him with notes. [90] In July 2013, Groening co-authored Hard Listening (2013) with the rest of the Rock Bottom Remainders (published by Coliloquy, LLC).[91]. 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. "But I thought I would have a little bit more leeway since I made Fox so much money with 'The Simpsons. He also co-wrote and produced The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007. The world is full of literalists (Elmer Fudds, Mr. Groening would say). And they said, 'Don't make it like "Blade Runner"!' 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). [69], In 1995, Groening got into a major disagreement with Brooks and other Simpsons producers over "A Star Is Burns", a crossover episode with The Critic, an animated show also produced by Brooks and staffed with many former Simpsons crew members. By high school, Groening had learned to channel his subversive leanings in a manner that engaged his classmates. Groening went on to the liberal Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where he butted heads with the more extreme countercultural types that populated the campus. [10], Matt's grandfather, Abraham Groening, was a professor at Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kansas, before moving to Albany College (now known as Lewis and Clark College) in Oregon in 1930. This is likely influenced by the name of Groening's own parents. 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." Matt Groening was the writer and executive producer of this project. The show continued in to 2013,[76][77] before Comedy Central announced in April 2013 that they would not be renewing it beyond its seventh season. However, the show's collection of memorable supporting characters and winking, multilayered nods to popular culture, arguably owes more to Simon and the original stable of writers than to Groening. [64], Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. [86][88] He illustrated the cover of Frank Zappa's posthumous album Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute (1996). [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. 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 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. He also invited the off-the-wall submissions of campus cartoonists, finding himself inspired by the original works of fellow undergrad Lynda Barry. Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999) A few years earlier they had set up their own syndicate, ACME Features, to distribute the strip. [103] He also donated to the now-defunct Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which supported and campaigned for the Democratic Party. "It turns out I was the latest in a long line of writer-chauffeurs," Mr. Groening said. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. Since 1989, Groening take part in the television series The Simpsons which is the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom. 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). Matt Groening Love Is Hell His then-girlfriend and co-worker at the Reader Deborah Caplan offered to publish "Love is Hell", a series of relationship-themed Life in Hell strips, in book form. He found some work along those lines, whipping up slogans for horror movies, but also took on. Brooks' and Simon's hand in shaping the show was significant. Matt Groening is well known for his cartoon characters, comic strips and animated television series. . The couple also welcomes daughters Luna Margaret and India Mia born in 2015. 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). He finally added staff cartoonist to his resume when Life in Hell first appeared in the paper in the spring of 1980. He donned the role of an executive producer for animated films Futurama: Bender's Game (2007), Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Futurama: Bender's Game (2008), and Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009). So, how much is Matt Groening worth at the age of 67 years old? In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. And yet he speaks like the kid who just made it big, who still can't believe his luck. During this time he was the editor of college paper The Cooper Point Journal. 2002, 2003 and 2004. His mother, Margaret, though, used to have "huge hair.". Groening is a 68-year-old who was born on February 15, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Needless to say, it panned out. As to the autonomy he'd enjoyed with "The Simpsons," Groening was told, "We don't do business like that anymore. The strip gained traction after a shift in tone, with Binky becoming less preachy and more of a victim of the cultural and social forces that browbeat dissidents into submission. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986[27] and had two sons together, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe,[44] both of whom Groening occasionally portrays as rabbits in Life in Hell. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. His sister Lisa does not play the saxophone. In 2016, he developed a new series for Netflix, Disenchantment, which began in August 2018. The show, according to Groening, was "buried." Hold out for as much money as you can get, but make the deal. [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. At its peak, the cartoon was carried in 250 weekly newspapers. [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. ", Mr. Groening identifies closely with the oppressed children of America, sitting at their desks, waiting to cause trouble. [107] He received a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. Television and those who watch it are remorselessly lampooned. But mainly, he is Matt Groening. "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. (After 13 years of marriage, Caplan filed for divorce in March 1999, the same month as Groening's second show, "Futurama," premiered. [18] Groening has credited Barry with being "probably [his] biggest inspiration. In 1988, James L. Brooks, looking for a filler in the television show, The Tracey Ullman Show (1987), turned towards a framed "Life in Hell" strip on his wall and contacted Groening. But the short clips were a hit with fans, and producers began exploring a standalone series as Tracey Ullman floundered in the ratings. Groening worked at the Reader for six years, as a typesetter, editor, paste-up artist and rock critic. [17] He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal, for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons. In 2011, Groening married Argentine artist Agustina Picasso after a four-year relationship, and became stepfather to her daughter Camila Costantini. Matt and Deborah separated in 1999. On the radio, a drunken DJ wept a final farewell to his job. 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. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/matthew-abram-groening-2308.php, 20th Century Film & Theater Personalities, 21st Century Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century American Film & Theater Personalities, 21st Century American Film & Theater Personalities, Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour), Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less). The same year his direct-to-video film Futurama: Bender's Big Score earned him the Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment. Futurama: Benders Big Score (2007) "And to be honest, the whole 'Simpsons' project was a project to see how far I could go in the mainstream. In 1994, Matt Groening started the comic book publishing company named Bongo Comics. ", .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. Brooks contacted him in 1985 about adapting Life in Hell for animated sequences for the Fox variety shows The Tracey Ullman Show. [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". [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. "To many divisions of this company, 'The Simpsons' was the shining light that kept us motivated and believing that our division would grow. [61] The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. After their marriage, he became the stepfather of Augustina Picasso's daughter Camille. [26][32] Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. **** View Matt Groening results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. His Norwegian American mother, Margaret Ruth (ne Wiggum; March 23, 1919 April 22, 2013),[6] was once a teacher, and his Russian Mennonite father, Homer Philip Groening (December 30, 1919 March 15, 1996),[7] was a filmmaker, advertiser, writer and cartoonist. The Simpsons is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. "I'm a fan of counterculture -- of which there is very little right now," he told Fortune magazine. He also enjoyed a happy home life, with his dad, Homer, mom, Margaret, and four siblings, including younger sisters Lisa and Maggie. Groening was one of four children. Homer Groening (born 1991) In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening about adapting Life in Hell for animated sequences for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe. She married Groening in 1987 and they got divorced in 1999, after 13 years of marriage. I think he kind of wants to prove, maybe to no one but himself, that he can do it without those guys.". "[19] The show premiered on March 28, 1999. When Billie Met Lisa (2022), Disenchantment (2018-present) [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. 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. The final strip of the comic strip "Life in Hell" was published on June 16, 2012. 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. Matt Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and director. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. [24], In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. "[46] He also formed Zongo Comics in 1995, an imprint of Bongo that published comics for more mature readers,[46] which included three issues of Mary Fleener's Fleener[84] and seven issues of his close friend Gary Panter's Jimbo comics. This show won many Emmy Awards. [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. He was an English major and a World War II vet. 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. [34], Life in Hell became popular almost immediately. The couple has two sons, Homer and Abe. "Do people who don't have cockroaches and can afford their rent, are they happier?" Born Matthew Abram Groening on 15th February, 1954 in Portland, Oregon, he is famous for Creator of The Simpsons, Futurama and Life In Hell. 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. It's my foundation,"[37] the June 16, 2012 strip marked Life in Hell's conclusion. Still, it's clear that Groening's satire feeds on frustration and the stupidity of others. The series, Disenchantment, was ordered by Netflix on July 25, 2017. Homer and Abe were their two sons. Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "The Telltale Head", "Colonel Homer" and "22 Short Films About Springfield". In the mid-1980s, he moved to Los Angeles and started drawing a comic strip named "Life in Hell", which eventually became published in the newspaper where he worked. He also made appearances in episodes of television series The Pitts, Portlandia and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 2011, he married artist Augustina Picasso, with whom he had been in a relationship for four years. Even to this date, it continues to appear in many other alternative newspapers. The Simpsons premiered in 1989 with him as creator, writer, voice actor and executive producer. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. By installment No. [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. "Futurama" moved away from the family sitcom structure and into dysfunctional workplace territory, a subject that had long inspired Groening. Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat. Matthew Abram Groening (/ren/ GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954)[1] is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. [94] On June 16, 2018, he became the father of twins for a second time when his wife gave birth to Sol Matthew and Venus Ruth, announced via Instagram. Playdate with Destiny (2020) Unlike most shows, which he finds sluggish, "The Simpsons" is written to move at a manic pace. 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) . In conversations over two days and several venues -- at a party at his friend Frank Zappa's house, over lunch at the Fox commissary and in his office -- he revealed a deep association with the adolescents who form the core audience of "The Simpsons." Groening went to Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. He married Agustina Picasso 2011 . Commentary for ", Silverman, David; Reardon, Jim; Groening, Matt. Carina Chocano writes about TV for Salon. [72] Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life. In 2011, he married artist Augustina Picasso, with whom he had been in a relationship for four years. The /s signifies sarcasm. The early iteration of The Simpsons was a crude, Neanderthal version of the family that would become ubiquitous in pop culture; both Bart and Lisa were troublemakers, and Homer was a barely controlled cauldron of rage. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because this is how everyone is treated [in Hollywood]," he told Mother Jones. Groening is estimated to be worth US$ 500 million. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan. He winds up working for an intergalactic delivery service, with a crew of misfits including Leela, the ship's one-eyed alien captain and Bender, a corrupt, vice-addled, disgruntled robot. Matt's paternal grandfather was Abram Arthur Groening (the son of Abraham Groening and Aganetha Klaassen). [89] In May 2010, he curated another edition of All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, England. "If I could pay my rent, I was deliriously happy. AT WORK WITH: Matt Groening; The Fun of Being Bart's Real Dad, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/25/garden/at-work-with-matt-groening-the-fun-of-being-bart-s-real-dad.html. Later, he got employed at an alternative newspaper Los Angeles Reader, and here with the support of his supervisor, Matt Groening was able to officially publish Life in Hell as his first comic strip, in 1980. Its first ten episodes premiered on the streaming service in August 2018, with the remaining ten episodes of the initial order scheduled to air in September 2019. Reader in 1986, after writing a letter to the editor over a fellow writer's dismissal, but by then Life in Hell was already appearing in other alt-weeklies and providing extra income through merchandise sales. [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. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. The shorts were spun off into their own series, The Simpsons, which has since aired 742 episodes. Has two sons with Deborah Caplan: Homer Groening (born 1991) and Abe Groening (born 1993). The Simpsons is the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom. Groening stands at a height of 5 ft 8 in (approx:1.7 m). Groening has said that due to his limited drawing ability, it's unlikely he could get a job as an animator on "The Simpsons" today. [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. Deborah Kaplan has been divorced from Matt Groening since 1999. By his own description, Mr. Groening behaved as a child much as Bart Simpson would if only he had more scholastic aptitude. [49] Marge's distinct beehive hairstyle was inspired by Bride of Frankenstein and the style that Margaret Groening wore during the 1960s, although her hair was never blue. He simply shrugs and buys more computer games, like the electronic ant farm that once caught his fancy. 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. 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). His father Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Mennonite, Plautdietsch-speaking family. (29 October 1987 - 1999) ( divorced) ( 2 children) In the spirit of youthful rebellion, he makes pointed digs at Fox in front of network officials. Matt Groening Futurama The strip continued to be published in the LA Weekly until 2009, when they were unable to pay Matt Groening anymore. Agustina is an Argentinian artist. "The Simpsons" has earned Fox's parent company, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., well over a billion dollars, and its role in the network's growth has been incalculable. The comic strip Life in Hell was a huge success. He first sold his comic to magazine Wet, in 1978. He is from OR. 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. Matt Groening created the show The Simpsons, and two of the principal characters, a husband and wife, are named Homer and Marge. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, he created a new set of characters, the Simpson family. [15] Life in Hell made its official debut as a comic strip in the Reader on April 25, 1980. Groening's success owes as much to his own work as it does to the work of a slew of others, including co-creators James Brooks and Sam Simon, and "The Simpsons'" writing staff. She was Groening's long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe. Yet Groening's DNA is all over the show, from the characters named after the streets of his hometown (Flanders, Lovejoy, etc. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. In 2012, a 3-D short film based on The Simpsons was released with the title The Longest Daycare. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [14] Following his high school graduation in 1972,[15] Groening attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. he said in a Mother Jones interview. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. She was Groenings long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. 1. 6) Are you trapped in a loveless cubicle? 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.". But for a few brief moments in the early '90s, the idea that anything "alternative" could suddenly overtake the mainstream was still surprising. They had 2 children, Homer (31) and Abe (29). . And judging from the success of "The Simpsons," what Americans hold most dear is disrespect itself. They have two sons, Homer and Abe, now 13 and 10.). After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox. 6, the list of recipients had grown from 20 to 500. [12] Although Groening previously stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. By then, however, "Life in Hell" was running in several other alternative weeklies, and soon the L.A. Weekly brought him on board. Matt Groening received the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program for The Simpsons in the years 1998, 2000 and 2001.