He then married Argentinian artist Augustina Picasso in 2011, after dating for four years. [64], Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. [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. [8][9] Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Plautdietsch-speaking family. 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. Ark3n 7 yr. ago. ------------------------------------------. She was Groening's long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. That year, he also began working for the alternative-weekly newspaper the L.A. Then Fox moved "Futurama" to Tuesday night, and audiences fell to about 8 million. 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. Groening claimed that he feared viewers would "see it as nothing but a pathetic attempt to advertise The Critic at the expense of The Simpsons," and was concerned about the possible implication that he had created or produced The Critic. 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. [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 excuse was that the networks never let you get away with anything," he said. Groening grew up in Portland, Ore., with a father named Homer, a mother named Marge and sisters named Maggie and Lisa. [103] He also donated to the now-defunct Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which supported and campaigned for the Democratic Party. 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. Along with mailing the comics to friends and family back in Portland, he attempted to sell his stapled-together books from his record store. Contents 1 Children 2 Siblings 3 Residences 4 Footnotes (including sources) Children Siblings Residences Every week or so Mr. Groening gets a new offer to develop a movie or a cartoon or a situation comedy. 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. Tales of the Rat Fink (2006) as Finkster 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. 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. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. And the idea of creating a show on his own appealed to him. Matt Groening sa constellation est Verseau et . The world is full of literalists (Elmer Fudds, Mr. Groening would say). 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. The Simpsons premiered in 1989 with him as creator, writer, voice actor and executive producer. Groening is a guy who lunches with Rupert Murdoch and finds him congenial. The show is watched by more than 60 million people weekly in more than 60 countries around the world -- beating out even the lowest-common-denominator friendly "Baywatch" as the world's most-watched show. Or rather, he is the struggling, penurious pre-"Simpsons" Matt Groening. 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. [34], Life in Hell became popular almost immediately. 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. 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. Perhaps, were he to walk in off the street, he could get a job as a writer on the show. Deborah Caplan: Net Worth: $600 million: Birth Place: Portland, OR: Nationality: American: Education: Evergreen State College: Father: Homer Philip Groening: Mother: At its peak, the cartoon was carried in 250 weekly newspapers. 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). Groening also became a father of twins On June 16, 2018, when his wife Agustina gave birth to Sol Matthew and Venus Ruth, as reported via Instagram. ", Groening himself has always made the deal. The Simpsons (1989-present) Quote Of The Day | Top 100 Quotes, See the events in life of Matt Groening in Chronological Order, (Cartoonist, Writer and Producer Known for His TV Series The Simpsons, Futurama and Disenchantment), https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/matt-groening-netflix-in-talks-report/, http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/01/17/simpsons-creator-matt-groening-in-talks-with-netflix-for-new-animated-series/, http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/matt-groening-netflix-comedy-talks/, http://www.shannonmcclean.com/new-pagemosaics/. Carina Chocano writes about TV for Salon. 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. [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). 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. After the two became romantically involved, she established a business to promote her future husband's work, negotiating syndication arrangements with other publications and a book deal with Pantheon. In a situation similar to Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Where Does Matt Groening Live? Upon seeing his work in the comic strip, producer and writer, James L Brooks, expressed his interest to involve Matt Groening in the creation of an animated series to run on comedy series The Tracy Ullman Show. 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). 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. Yet Groening's DNA is all over the show, from the characters named after the streets of his hometown (Flanders, Lovejoy, etc. The name "Wiggum" for police chief Chief Wiggum is Groening's mother's maiden name. ", Not that Fox isn't grateful: "If you go back 10 years ago, we didn't have a lot of successful shows on the air," 20th Century Fox Television co-president Gary Newman told Daily Variety in January 2000, about nine months after the debut of "Futurama." Later, Groening attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., which was known for its extremely liberal (no grades, no core requirements) liberal arts program. But the conformity of a suburban existence soon proved dull, even to a young Groening. He wasn't serious. Agustina is an Argentinian artist. Born Matthew Abram Groening on 15th February, 1954 in Portland, Oregon, he is famous for Creator of The Simpsons, Futurama and Life In Hell. Needless to say, the life-affirming executives at Fox worried that the show was too dark and negative. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column. He was an English major and a World War II vet. A team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. 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. 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. (2002). They had two sons together, Homer and Abe. 5) Are you worried you might have accidentally minimized your potential? While working on his animated series Futurama, he took up multiple roles like voice actor, creator, writer and executive producer of the show. They said, 'It doesn't make any difference!'". 6) Are you trapped in a loveless cubicle? In 1984, certain relationship themed strips from his work were published by co- worker Deborah Caplan, as a book titled Love in Hell. She died of heart failure on January 24, 2013. Matt Groening has made appearances in films and documentaries, such as, Comic Book: The Movie (2004), The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005), The Seventh Python (2008) and I Know That Voice (2013). They divorced in 1999 and Groening . He married Agustina Picasso 2011 . MATT GROENING would like to tell you a few things about his family: His father, Homer, is not bald. Matt Groening is well known for his cartoon characters, comic strips and animated television series. Matt's paternal grandfather was Abram Arthur Groening (the son of Abraham Groening and Aganetha Klaassen). Matt Groening has stated that he was inspired to draw cartoons after watching the animation movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The duo left the newspaper company and Matt Groening founded the Acme Features Syndicate that distributed Life in Hell. "Do people who don't have cockroaches and can afford their rent, are they happier?" In 2002, Groening received the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award due to his work on Life in Hell. In 1991, the newly wealthy Groening still seemed to struggle with the central paradox of his career. Published a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. A few years earlier they had set up their own syndicate, ACME Features, to distribute the strip. [26][31], Groening had gained employment at the Los Angeles Reader, a newly formed alternative newspaper, delivering papers,[15] typesetting, editing and answering phones. Commentary for ", Silverman, David; Reardon, Jim; Groening, Matt. . Matt Groening created the show The Simpsons, and two of the principal characters, a husband and wife, are named Homer and Marge. James L. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. Netflix has also renewed the series for twenty additional episodes, which are expected to start in ten-episode batches in 2020 and 2021. And yet he speaks like the kid who just made it big, who still can't believe his luck. [81] The cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Nat Faxon. 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). However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. He also invited the off-the-wall submissions of campus cartoonists, finding himself inspired by the original works of fellow undergrad Lynda Barry. [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. "What's happened is that mainstream culture has gotten so good at marketing pseudo-hipness that it overwhelms other choices that are out there.". Most importantly, The Simpsons retained the subversive undercurrent that has driven its creator since he was a bored grade school student. [12] Although Groening previously stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. [56], The Simpsons shorts first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Has two sons with Deborah Caplan: Homer Groening (born 1991) and Abe Groening (born 1993). They had 2 children. He was fired from the L.A. Deborah Caplan: Groening has been in a relationship with Deborah Caplan since 2006. [35] In November 1984, Deborah Caplan, Groening's then-girlfriend and co-worker at the Reader, offered to publish "Love is Hell", a series of relationship-themed Life in Hell strips, in book form. [41] The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. 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. 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. [61] The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. Images of "The Simpsons" have been licensed to sell everything from T-shirts to toys to potato chips to cheese, suggesting that mainstream culture has gotten pretty good at marketing genuine hipness as well. 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. These days Mr. Groening, who lives in Venice, Calif., tries to stay home one morning a week to write "Life in Hell." His sister Maggie is not mute. 1 . He also co-wrote and produced The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because this is how everyone is treated [in Hollywood]," he told Mother Jones. He also made appearances in episodes of television series The Pitts, Portlandia and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. She was Groenings long-time girlfriend before she married him in 2011. They divorced in 1999 and Groening married Argentine artist Agustina Picasso in 2011. 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. Groening was married to Deborah Caplan from 1986 to 1999. [92] In May 2013, Picasso gave birth to Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, named after writer Nathanael West. he said in a Mother Jones interview. Groening stands at a height of 5 ft 8 in (approx:1.7 m). Matt's grandfather Abram was born in Hillsboro, Kansas. Groening is a 68-year-old who was born on February 15, 1954, in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. 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. [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. [86][88] He illustrated the cover of Frank Zappa's posthumous album Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute (1996). 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 | 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. The message? 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.