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. ", "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. 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. [110], He received the 2,459th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012. 2002, 2003 and 2004. 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. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. [98] Bartlett used to appear in Simpsons Illustrated. 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. From this and other joyless jobs, "Life in Hell" was born. Realizing that he would lose the rights to his Life in Hell characters with the deal, Groening quickly created a new cartoon family named after his own siblings and parents, albeit with a "Bart" in lieu of a character named after himself. But the short clips were a hit with fans, and producers began exploring a standalone series as Tracey Ullman floundered in the ratings. One of his first employers was an aging B-movie director who needed help both getting around and writing his memoirs. He is not. 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. The Groening Of America -- `Simpsons' Creator - The Seattle Times Matt Groening's income source is mostly from being a successful Cartoonist. He used to write articles and draw cartoon illustrations for the journal. When he and former "Simpsons" show runner David X. Cohen (now the show runner on "Futurama") first approached Fox with the new idea, the network went into instant paroxysms of ecstasy. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because this is how everyone is treated [in Hollywood]," he told Mother Jones. 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. Deborah Caplan: Groening has been in a relationship with Deborah Caplan since 2006. 1 . Mr. Groening has several theories for the success of his unusually caustic brand of humor. Spouse/Ex-: Agustina Picasso, Deborah Caplan, siblings: Lisa Groening, Maggie Groening, Mark Groening, Patty Groening, children: Abe Groening, Homer Groening, Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, Ancestry: Norwegian American, Canadian American, Notable Alumni: The Evergreen State College, Founder/Co-Founder: Bongo Comics Group, Zongo Comics, The Curiosity Company, Quotes By Matt Groening | They said, 'It doesn't make any difference!'". Matt Groening Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements But the conformity of a suburban existence soon proved dull, even to a young Groening. Matt Groening, an American animator, television producer, author, and cartoonist, has an estimated net worth of a staggering $600 million. He grew up in Portland and did his schooling from the Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. "[19] He first became interested in cartoons after watching the Disney animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians,[20] and he has also cited Robert Crumb, Ernie Bushmiller, Ronald Searle,[21] Monty Python,[22] and Charles M. Schulz as inspirations. [72] Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life. I think he kind of wants to prove, maybe to no one but himself, that he can do it without those guys.". His mother, Margaret, though, used to have "huge hair.". ), to his selection of Danny Elfman to compose the iconic theme song, to his insistence on the cartoon adhering to the normal laws of physics despite the liberties taken with continuity. [8][50] Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. However, he began doing a series of odd jobs while at the city. he said in a Mother Jones interview. More than just a television hit, "The Simpsons" is also a mass marketing phenomenon: probably not since Mickey Mouse raised his ears has a silhouette appeared on as many paraphernalia as Bart Simpson's crown-roast-shaped head. Matt Groening The Simpsons, Bio, Wiki, Age, Wife, Life In Hell, and Net Matt Groening is well known for his cartoon characters, comic strips and animated television series. "That your moral authorities don't always have your best interests in mind," he told Mother Jones magazine. In 2016, Groening developed a new series for Netflix, Disenchantment, which premiered in August 2018. He is from OR. The two married in 2011 after a four-year relationship. The final strip of the comic strip "Life in Hell" was published on June 16, 2012. Yet Groening's DNA is all over the show, from the characters named after the streets of his hometown (Flanders, Lovejoy, etc. The message? They had two sons together, Homer and Abe. The poster contained tribute cartoons by 22 of Groening's cartoonist friends who were influenced by Life in Hell. [17] He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal, for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons. [81] The cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Nat Faxon. "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." Its shorts were spun off into their own series, The Simpsons, which has since aired 727 episodes. It was Homer, a cartoonist and filmmaker, who showed his precocious son that a career of creative fulfillment was possible. Needless to say, it panned out. He is a cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. Ever since his syndicated comic strip "Life in Hell" -- that series of nihilistic but cuddly dispatches from the epicenter of gloom -- first appeared in 1980, Groening has been raising the dampened spirits of the fashionably alienated by dunking Binky, his rabbity, buck-toothed proxy, into a weekly bog of self-pity, anxiety and existential despair. He described life in Los Angeles to his friends in the form of the self-published comic book Life in Hell, which became loosely inspired by the chapter How to Go to Hell in Walter Kaufmanns book Critique of Religion and Philosophy. [99], Groening is a self-identified agnostic. The Simpsons is the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom. Beginning 1987, he worked in the Traccy Ullman Show for two years as writer and animator. 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. For more information, please consult the OP. In 1991, the newly wealthy Groening still seemed to struggle with the central paradox of his career. 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). [63], The series quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, to the surprise of many. Matt Groening - Freedom From Religion Foundation While at college, he befriended famous cartoonist Lynda Barry, whom he also regards as a great inspiration. 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. The pair married in 1986 and had two sons together namely, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe, both of whom he occasionally portrays as rabbits in Life in Hell. So the story goes, and it has, as they say, legs. But before delirium set in, Groening spun a lingering bad mood and an "accidental" cartooning career into a billion-dollar print, broadcast, merchandising and licensing empire. However, the couple divorced in 1999 after thirteen years of marriage. Groening was born on February 15, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. 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. The following year he founded Zongo Comics to target mature comic readers. Reader hired sales rep Deborah Caplan, who observed that the Life in Hell strips were "a major selling point" of the paper. Matthew Abraham Groening (1954) | Familypedia | Fandom The PJs (1999-2001) In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. When he's not telling the Cinderella story, the story Groening tells about himself is a David and Goliath story; and the older and more powerful he becomes, the bigger and more powerful the lumbering naysayers standing in his way. 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. ", Mr. Groening identifies closely with the oppressed children of America, sitting at their desks, waiting to cause trouble. 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. And judging from the success of "The Simpsons," what Americans hold most dear is disrespect itself. 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. [34], Life in Hell became popular almost immediately. 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. [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. Sometime after midnight on the day of his arrival, his car stalled in the fast lane of the Hollywood Freeway in 100 degree heat. Deborah Kaplan - IMDb "So much humor is based on 'life is horrible, sex is nasty and you can't trust anyone,' " he said. Groening celebrates his birthday on February 15th, every year. In 2013, the couple had a son named Nathaniel Philip Picasso. But for a few brief moments in the early '90s, the idea that anything "alternative" could suddenly overtake the mainstream was still surprising. The name "Wiggum" for police chief Chief Wiggum is Groening's mother's maiden name. [64], Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. She died of heart failure on January 24, 2013. As Groening told Spin magazine. Groening became stepfather to Agustinas daughter named Camila Costantini. 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.". Le 15-2-1954 , Matt Groening (surnom: Matthew Abram Groening, Bat Groening, Mad Groening) est n Portland, Oregon, United States. In 2002, he won the Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society for his work, Life in Hell. He made his first professional cartoon sale of Life in Hell to the avant-garde magazine Wet in 1978. This is likely influenced by the name of Groening's own parents. Before, Groening was married to his first wife Deborah Caplan. 5) Are you worried you might have accidentally minimized your potential? [28][29], Groening described life in Los Angeles to his friends in the form of the self-published comic book Life in Hell, which was loosely inspired by the chapter "How to Go to Hell" in Walter Kaufmann's book Critique of Religion and Philosophy. The /s signifies sarcasm. Deborah Kaplan and Matt Groening | Married Divorced Children Ex Later, Groening attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., which was known for its extremely liberal (no grades, no core requirements) liberal arts program. They had 2 children, Homer (32) and Abe (30). Brooks selected his longtime colleague Sam Simon to help Groening develop the animated series, and The Simpsons dynasty began on December 17, 1989, when the first episode aired. The shorts were spun off into their own series, The Simpsons, which has since aired 742 episodes. Many members of the Simpson family are named for members of his own family: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa and Patty. The Good, the Bart, and the Loki (2021) Then Fox moved "Futurama" to Tuesday night, and audiences fell to about 8 million. [26][32] Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. [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. [24], In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. His first cousin, Laurie Monnes Anderson, was a member of the Oregon State Senate, representing eastern Multnomah County. He is 68 years old. [60] Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching. Matt and Deborah separated in 1999. His spirit of solidarity with children extends to his own sons, Homer, 3, and Abe, 1, toward whom, he confesses, he is "indulgent and spoiling. In 2009, the show beat Gunsmoke to become the longest-running entertainment show on primetime TV. (After 13 years of marriage, Caplan filed for divorce in March 1999, the same month as Groening's second show, "Futurama," premiered. They have two sons, Homer and Abe, now 13 and 10.). (2002). Alexandre de La cerda Tlcharger Le Pays Basque d'antan Livre PDF Franais Online . Simon was also responsible for hiring the writing staff, who shaped the characters into what they are today. "That there's no Jim Brooks around. Groening has won 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 for The Simpsons and 2 for Futurama, and a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In the mid-1980s, he moved to Los Angeles and started drawing a comic strip named Life in Hell, whi . 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. A few years earlier they had set up their own syndicate, ACME Features, to distribute the strip. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. creator, Craig Bartlett, who was married to Groening's sister, Lisa, until they divorced in 2015. It was thanks to Brooks' reputation that "The Simpsons" was granted a level of autonomy not normally given to television shows -- especially one as risky as "The Simpsons" seemed at the time. At its peak, the cartoon became carried in 250 weekly newspapers. ", See the article in its original context from. 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. 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. She married Groening in 1987 and they got divorced in 1999, after 13 years of marriage. On the radio, a drunken DJ wept a final farewell to his job. [15] Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled merchandising for Life in Hell. Matt Groening Children & Wife | Net Worth 2023 | Age | Bio Clerks: The Animated Series (2000-2002) They divorced in 1999 and Groening . The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. Matt has a son with his wife, Argentinian artist Agustina Picasso, and two children with his former wife, Deborah Caplan. 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). [62] "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems. [73][29], Since no new Futurama projects were in production, the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. In 1973, he moved to LA and sold his comic strip Life in Hell to the LA weekly. Groening worked at the Reader for six years, as a typesetter, editor, paste-up artist and rock critic. 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. The animated shorts that Groening created were The Simpsons (1989). After graduation, Matt Groening moved to Los Angeles, in 1977, with the aim of becoming a writer. [12] Although Groening previously stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. MATT GROENING would like to tell you a few things about his family: His father, Homer, is not bald. 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. 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. She is the author of "Do You Love Me or Am I Just Paranoid?" [75] Comedy Central commissioned an additional 26 new episodes, and began airing them in 2010. His sister Lisa does not play the saxophone. Matt Groening - Biography - IMDb "To many divisions of this company, 'The Simpsons' was the shining light that kept us motivated and believing that our division would grow. "Of course, those are all true. He wasn't serious. 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). 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. He married Agustina Picasso 2011 . 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). In 2008, Matt Groening won the Annie Award in the Writing in a Feature Production for comedy film The Simpsons movie. 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. Deborah Caplan and Matt Groening are divorced after a marriage of 13 years. His wife is Agustina Picasso (m. 2011), Deborah Caplan (m. 1986-1999) Matt Groening Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2020-2021. [106] Groening received the 2002 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award, and had been nominated for the same award in 2000. When Billie Met Lisa (2022), Disenchantment (2018-present) (Villard). He works as a cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. Ark3n 7 yr. ago. He also invited the off-the-wall submissions of campus cartoonists, finding himself inspired by the original works of fellow undergrad Lynda Barry. Leslie Jordan. Chester Bennington American Singer-Songwriter. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. I like the idea of trying to be successful on some level, at least reaching an audience enough so that you can sustain it and keep on going." 7) Do you question authority when authority is out of earshot? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. 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. It may simply be, he speculates, "that people don't get it.". [36] Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. [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. In 2004. Futurama (1999-2013) We're calling everybody's bluff. platform, and regretted his victory immediately. [29][68] Groening has also pitched "Young Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield. 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 . After marriage, he became step father to Augustina Picassos daughter Camille. 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. Indeed, the biggest danger the show seems to face is that it will lose its power to surprise. "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. Good Grief, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz (since 2000) Brooks' and Simon's hand in shaping the show was significant. [2], On January 15, 2016, it was announced that Groening was in talks with Netflix to develop a new animated series. In order to avoid insulting another family member by making him the namesake of a Simpsons character, he left Homer's father unnamed. After attending Evergreen College in Olympia, Wash., Mr. Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer, but he didn't really have any idea how to get started. [97], Matt was the brother-in-law of Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train and Ready Jet Go! In the early days of "The Simpsons," Mr. Groening used to preside over all aspects of production, from scripts to story boards to voice-overs to animation. Furthermore, the once-struggling artist was about to be presented with the business offer that would change his life forever. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. "Futurama" moved away from the family sitcom structure and into dysfunctional workplace territory, a subject that had long inspired Groening. (2006). Futurama: Benders Big Score (2007) Though the Tracy Ullman Show was soon cancelled, The Simpsons had gained popularity and earned its exclusive half an hour spin-off series. She was Groenings long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. [15] He befriended fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry after discovering that she had written a fan letter to Joseph Heller, one of Groening's favorite authors, and had received a reply. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan. By then, however, "Life in Hell" was running in several other alternative weeklies, and soon the L.A. Weekly brought him on board. 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. His father Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Mennonite, Plautdietsch-speaking family. 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 studied at Evergreen State College and edited the campus newspaper. 6, the list of recipients had grown from 20 to 500. His office at Fox has the frantic clutter of a teen-ager's bedroom. However, Matt and Deborah divorced in 1999. The network resisted giving Groening the autonomy he needed and plied him with notes. Maratona Especial Os Simpsons (since 2017).