Where Does Matt Groening Live? A self-published anthology of "Love Is Hell" led to a deal with Pantheon Books, and eventually Caplan began running Life In Hell Inc. However, Matt and Deborah divorced in 1999. In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. As to the autonomy he'd enjoyed with "The Simpsons," Groening was told, "We don't do business like that anymore. Groening won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012. 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. "To many divisions of this company, 'The Simpsons' was the shining light that kept us motivated and believing that our division would grow. Matt Groening is married to Deborah Caplan in 1986. After graduation, Matt Groening moved to Los Angeles, in 1977, with the aim of becoming a writer. "Life in Hell" was also sold in the punk corner of the store, where the punks sometimes ripped them up. 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. 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. But the short clips were a hit with fans, and producers began exploring a standalone series as Tracey Ullman floundered in the ratings. The couple has two sons, Homer and Abe. It was at the Reader that Groening also met Deborah Caplan, a sales represen- tative with a background in publishing and a head for business - all qualities notoriously absent in Groening's psychological framework. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. Life in Hell comic strips were published in over 250 weekly papers and they were later collated in a series of books titled: School is Hell, Childhood is Hell, The Big Book of Hell, and The Huge Book of Hell. Matt Groening, an American animator, television producer, author, and cartoonist, has an estimated net worth of a staggering $600 million. 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. Futurama: Benders Big Score (2007) He grew up in Portland and did his schooling from the Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. [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. [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. Hair High (2004) as Dill In the 10 years since the debut of "The Simpsons," however, Groening had gone from semifamous alternative cartoonist to iconic powerhouse. After four years the show was cancelled, however, it maintained a strong fan following. "I wanted to write something they couldn't teach in high school because it had too much foul language," he said. [38] After Groening ended the strip, the Center for Cartoon Studies commissioned a poster that was presented to Groening in honor of his work. Twenty-four years ago, Groening was just another unrecognized genius driving to Los Angeles in a crummy car with a coat hanger for a radio antenna. [24], In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. Growing up in Portland, Ore., he did well in school, but was frequently hauled down to the principal's office for smart-aleck conduct, like drawing cartoons. [15] Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled merchandising for Life in 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. Gratuit English at Leicester University of Leicest. "I judge my life by how miserable it used to be," Groening told an interviewer last year, speaking of his early days as a lowly alternative cartoonist. Then Fox moved "Futurama" to Tuesday night, and audiences fell to about 8 million. 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). In 2002, he won the Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society for his work, Life in Hell. According to Groening, the goal with Bongo is to "[try] to bring humor into the fairly grim comic book market. He is a man of above-average stature. Deborah is a publisher. ", 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." Deborah Caplan-Matt Groening: 68: Aquarius: Cartoonist: American: Children Name Gender Born Age Other Parent; Homer: Male: 1991: 31 years old: Matt Groening: Abe: Male: 1993: 29 years old: Matt Groening: Discussions Have your say Be the first to make a comment >> Recommended Recommended. [81] The cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Nat Faxon. He rose to fame with the comic strip Life in Hell; and his animated television series The Simpsons. Matt Groening married Deborah Caplan in 1986. [95] In 2020, their daughter Nirvana was born. 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. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. "I don't consider anything beneath me. 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). The Simpsons is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The broken-down car has alternately been described as a '63 Dodge Dart and a '72 Datsun. For more information, please consult the OP. Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat. Matt is stepfather to Agustinas daughter, Camille. "Bart is like what would happen if Eddie Haskell got his own show," he said. 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). As to his position on the "Simpsons" voice actors' recent contract negotiations, he told Mother Jones, "I have sympathy. 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. 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." Life in Hell caught the attention of American producer James L. Brooks. 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. Groening is a guy who lunches with Rupert Murdoch and finds him congenial. Groening was married to Deborah Caplan from 1986 to 1999. [98] Bartlett used to appear in Simpsons Illustrated. He works as a cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. She is the author of "Do You Love Me or Am I Just Paranoid?" [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. He first sold his comic to magazine Wet, in 1978. ", See the article in its original context from. [2], On January 15, 2016, it was announced that Groening was in talks with Netflix to develop a new animated series. Over lunch on the 20th Century Fox lot, he tried to dispel a lot of misconceptions about "The Simpsons," about television and about comedy in general. Matthew Abram Groening (/ren/ GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954)[1] is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. Matt Groening's income source is mostly from being a successful Cartoonist. His father, Homer Philip Groening, was a writer, filmmaker and advertiser and his mother, Margaret Ruth, was a teacher. 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. In 1987, Groening married fellow Weekly staffer Deborah Caplan. Deborah Caplan (29 October 1987 - 1999) . His sister Lisa does not play the saxophone. The show centers on Fry, a pizza-delivery man who is accidentally frozen in a cryogenics lab and defrosted 1,000 years later. "What's happened is that mainstream culture has gotten so good at marketing pseudo-hipness that it overwhelms other choices that are out there.". 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. "[17] The Simpsons was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Good Grief, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz (since 2000) 2) Disappointed? Matt Groening has won 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 23 Annie Awards across various categories. [36] Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Brooks' and Simon's hand in shaping the show was significant. Then, no sooner had they ordered 13 episodes than the doubts set in. Groening and his wife Agustina Picasso welcomed a baby in May 2013 named Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, named after writer Nathanael West.