Because of his
importance to the show, as in without him the show wouldn't exist, Matt
Groening gets his own page. I thought it was only fair.
Birthday: February 15, 1954
Birth Place: Portland, Oregon
Birth Name: Matthew Abram Groening
Biography (taken from
Yahoo Movie pages):
He put the "d'oh!" in the Oxford English Dictionary, the Canyonero on the
road, and he's put The Simpsons in your living room every week for well
over a decade. Matt Groening has managed to capture a realistically
outrageous family dynamic in one of television history's longest-running
shows that had been awarded 18 Emmy Awards by 2003. Born February 15,
1954, the Portland, OR, native was encouraged to draw by his father, who
was also a cartoonist. He doodled his way through school, working for the
newspaper and also forming a political party called Teens for Decency.
With the slogan of "If You're Against Decency, What Are You For?," he
mischievously won the student body presidency. After graduating from
Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, in 1977, he headed out to L.A. To
keep friends and relatives informed on how his life was progressing -- or
actually, was not -- his letters home detailed his jobs at a sewage
treatment plant and as a chauffeur in comic strip form. And thus, Life in
Hell was born. The adventures of lead character Binky, his wife Sheba, and
Akbar and Jeff, among others, made their way into the Los Angeles Reader
in 1980 and can now be found in 250 newspapers worldwide. His next venture
would also prove to be long lasting. What started out as animated segments
aired during Fox's The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, The Simpsons got its
own timeslot in December 1989. Groening and his team of writers and
producers crafted the not-so-atypical family and their friends and
neighbours in a comedic light, keeping them all just on the edge of
ridiculousness. One episode captures America's favourite under-achieving
dad Homer in one of his many schemes as he gains enough weight to be
considered medically obese, thus excusing him from having to actually go
to work. He instead stays home wearing a muumuu hollering at local kids
who come by for a laugh at his expense. As is common, yet trivial Simpsons
knowledge, the characters on the series have been named after Groening's
family members, as Homer and Marge truly are his parents' names, and so
on. As one to pay homage to his beginnings, Groening has the littlest
Simpson, Maggie, lugging around a rabbit stuffed animal, which is one of
his Life in Hell characters. Creating the sarcastic landscape that is
Springfield, he infused his witty outlook on life and said when people
watch The Simpsons, they are rewarded for paying attention with inside
and/or well-placed jokes. Case in point, Homer decries cartoon writers for
their unrealistic story lines; meanwhile, another Homer walks by the
window in quite an unfathomable manner. Such humour is lost on some, but
has been impressed on enough hearts and minds to keep people tuning in
every Sunday night. Groening also dabbled in album cover art design, which
can be found on the 1987 self-titled album from Crazy Backwards Alphabet.
In 1993, he formed Bongo Comics, which publishes Simpsons-related Itchy &
Scratchy, Radioactive Man, Lisa, and Krusty comics. He also started Zongo
Comics in 1995. Books and guides giving detailed information on The
Simpsons series have been published, including The Simpsons: A Complete
Guide to Our Favourite Family. Games, both board and video, have also been
produced involving the famous inhabitants of 742 Evergreen Terrace and
Groening has also written books featuring his Life in Hell characters,
including Childhood Is Hell, Love Is Hell, School Is Hell, and The Big
Book of Hell. His next venture was into the future with the appropriately
titled Futurama. Premiering in March 1999 and featuring the voice of Ren
and Stimpy, Billy West, the sci-fi cartoon series started with the main
character, Fry, delivering a pizza to a cryogenics lab. He ends up being
frozen and when he wakes up in the year 3000, he's stuck marvelling at the
future while lamenting about his lost past with the likes of a one-eyed
love interest, a robotic best friend, and a crab as a doctor. In 2000, he
helped produce the animated adaptation of the book Olive, the Other
Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh. The film's main character,
Olive, is the voice of Drew Barrymore and it also features Simpsons'
regular Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer, Krusty the Clown, and other
Springfieldians), and former Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows.
Groening's 15-year marriage produced two sons, Homer and Abe.