deborah caplan matt groening

"And to be honest, the whole 'Simpsons' project was a project to see how far I could go in the mainstream. [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. [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. Needless to say, the life-affirming executives at Fox worried that the show was too dark and negative. Ark3n 7 yr. ago. Matt Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and director. He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. A few years earlier they had set up their own syndicate, ACME Features, to distribute the strip. [93] In 2015, Groening's daughters Luna Margaret and India Mia were born. The show went on to become the longest running US primetime TV series and earn multiple awards. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Every week or so Mr. Groening gets a new offer to develop a movie or a cartoon or a situation comedy. '", 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." In a strange coincidence, they discovered that their parents were friends and that they both attended neighboring high schools in Philadelphia. [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. His mission, Groening has said, was to create a sofa-centric sitcom about a typical American family and turn it upside down in retaliation for all the bad TV he watched as a kid. Were it not for the clueless executives, the inane network decisions, the petty betrayals at the hands of people who benefit from his success, he might have stagnated by now. 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. 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. A team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Groening is the brother-in-law of the creator of Hey Arnold !, Craig Barlett, who is married to his sister Lisa. These days Mr. Groening, who lives in Venice, Calif., tries to stay home one morning a week to write "Life in Hell." In 2011, Groening married Argentine artist Agustina Picasso after a four-year relationship, and became stepfather to her daughter Camila Costantini. Matt Groening - Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. Groening named the cartoon family named after his own siblings and parents, albeit with a "Bart" in lieu of a character named after himself. His sister Lisa does not play the saxophone. Groening grew up in Portland, Ore., with a father named Homer, a mother named Marge and sisters named Maggie and Lisa. [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. [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. By coincidence, they chose "Abraham", unaware that it was the name of Groening's grandfather. They have two sons, Homer and Abe, now 13 and 10.). He used to write articles and draw cartoon illustrations for the journal. The poster contained tribute cartoons by 22 of Groening's cartoonist friends who were influenced by Life in Hell. 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. By his own description, Mr. Groening behaved as a child much as Bart Simpson would if only he had more scholastic aptitude. Groening's writing credits for the show are for the premiere episode, "Space Pilot 3000" (co-written with Cohen), "Rebirth" (story) and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" (story). As Groening told Spin magazine. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening created a new set of characters, the Simpson family. Groening's career got a boost in the early 1980s when the L.A. Indeed, the biggest danger the show seems to face is that it will lose its power to surprise. In the 10 years since the debut of "The Simpsons," however, Groening had gone from semifamous alternative cartoonist to iconic powerhouse. I Thought I Told You to Shut Up!! [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. The broken-down car has alternately been described as a '63 Dodge Dart and a '72 Datsun. The show, according to Groening, was "buried." Homer Groening (born 1991) ", Mr. Groening identifies closely with the oppressed children of America, sitting at their desks, waiting to cause trouble. [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". 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. The paper offered him a cartoon strip in 1980, and, surprised, Groening accepted. "[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. 3) Disgusted? Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "The Telltale Head", "Colonel Homer" and "22 Short Films About Springfield". "It turns out I was the latest in a long line of writer-chauffeurs," Mr. Groening said. You know, "Meet George Jetson. He also enjoyed a happy home life, with his dad, Homer, mom, Margaret, and four siblings, including younger sisters Lisa and Maggie. The Good, the Bart, and the Loki (2021) The couple divorced in 1999. Matt Groening married Deborah Caplan in 1986. A fan of science fiction, he had been thinking about creating a show about the future for some time. 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. Abe Groening (born 1993) ", See the article in its original context from. In Groening's version, the boy dies from his head injury and returns as a ghost every Halloween, a morbid tale that surprisingly became the winning entry. However, he began doing a series of odd jobs while at the city. [56], The Simpsons shorts first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Groening found out the way everybody else did, by picking up the paper. In the mid '80s, renowned producer James L. Brooks approached Groening about using the characters from "Life in Hell" on a new show he was developing for comedian Tracey Ullman. Carina Chocano writes about TV for Salon. [30] The strip, titled "Forbidden Words," appeared in the September/October issue of that year. Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe. Where Does Matt Groening Live? 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. 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. She married Groening in 1987 and they got divorced in 1999, after 13 years of marriage. [33] Among the fans of the column was Harry Shearer, who would later become a voice on The Simpsons. Nowadays, you can't throw a rock at a TV set without hitting an irreverent animated social satire. He hates having to choose among them, he says, because doing one means not doing the others. 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. It was at this time that he began drawing cartoons for his self-published book titled Life in Hell, which was based on his struggles and featured Binky an oppressed rabbit. [26][32] Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. 6) Are you trapped in a loveless cubicle? He simply shrugs and buys more computer games, like the electronic ant farm that once caught his fancy. By now, though, the damage, such as it is, has clearly been done: the show has entered the very pop culture it pokes so much fun at. He wasn't serious. In 2009, the show beat Gunsmoke to become the longest-running entertainment show on primetime TV. Therefore, Groening has accumulated a decent fortune over the years. (2002). So, how much is Matt Groening worth at the age of 67 years old? It was reported on January 15, 2016, that Groening was in talks with Netflix to develop a new animated series. [8][9] Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Plautdietsch-speaking family. [103] He also donated to the now-defunct Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which supported and campaigned for the Democratic Party. He also invited the off-the-wall submissions of campus cartoonists, finding himself inspired by the original works of fellow undergrad Lynda Barry. The final strip of the comic strip "Life in Hell" was published on June 16, 2012. 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). But when pressed, he concedes that he is not sure what makes his critique of Middle America so appealing to Middle Americans. According to Groening, the goal with Bongo is to "[try] to bring humor into the fairly grim comic book market. The /s signifies sarcasm. [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. 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. Matt Groening was the writer and executive producer of this project. [96] In January 2022, Groening's tenth child Satori was born. Deborah Caplan: Net Worth: $600 million: Birth Place: Portland, OR: Nationality: American: Education: Evergreen State College: Father: Homer Philip Groening: Mother: Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999) 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. But that's not my point of view.". Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. In a situation similar to Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. Homer was a cartoonist, advertiser, writer, and a documentary filmmaker. . For more information, please consult the OP. He grew up in Portland and did his schooling from the Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening did not particularly like school, which is what originally turned him towards drawing. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. MATT GROENING would like to tell you a few things about his family: His father, Homer, is not bald. [14] Following his high school graduation in 1972,[15] Groening attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Netflix has also renewed the series for twenty additional episodes, which are expected to start in ten-episode batches in 2020 and 2021. [85], Groening is known for his eclectic taste in music. 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. "[42] Simon eventually left the show in 1993 over creative differences. "So much humor is based on 'life is horrible, sex is nasty and you can't trust anyone,' " he said. 1. (Statements like these, of course, set off fits of right-wing apoplexy, much to the amusement and delight of everyone else. Matt Groening is married to Deborah Caplan in 1986. His father, Homer Philip Groening, was a writer, filmmaker and advertiser and his mother, Margaret Ruth, was a teacher.