Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Creator and Executive Producer

Matt Groening changed television forever when he brought animation back to primetime with this immortal nuclear family. He is also creator and executive producer of the FOX animated series Futurama. Originally brought to life in 1987 for FOX's Emmy Award-winning series The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons was Groening's introduction into the animation world. Previously, he was best known for his "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of broken life that debuted in 1977 and currently appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide. In 1993 he formed Bongo Comic Group, whereby he serves as publisher over the following: "Simpsons Comics," Itchy & Scratchy Comics, Bartman, Radioactive Man, Lisa Comics and Krusty Comics. In 1995 he founded and published "Zongo Comics," which included Jimbo and Fleener. In addition to producing his weekly strip, keeping on top of the ongoing production demands of the weekly television series, and meeting regularly with the Bongo team, Groening oversees all aspects of the licensing and merchandising of The Simpsons. In addition to the recent best-seller The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, Groening's books, based on "Life in Hell" and The Simpsons include Love Is Hell, Work is Hell, School is Hell, The Big Book of Hell, Akbar & Jeff's Guide to Life, Love is Hell 10th Anniversary Edition, Binky's Guide to Love, The Simpsons Xmas Book, The Simpsons Rainy Day Fun Book, Making Faces With the Simpsons, Bart Simpson's Guide To Life, The Simpsons' Uncensored Family Album, Cartooning With The Simpsons, Simpsons Illustrated magazine, Simpson Comics & Stories comic book, Simpsons Comics Extravaganza, Simpsons Comics Spectacular, Bartman: The Best of The Best, and Simpsons Comics Simps-O-Rama. Groening, a native of Portland, Oregon, resides in Los Angeles.

MATT GROENING

"Most grown-ups forget what it was like to be a kid. I vowed I would never forget," says the 40 year-old cartoonist. This very same man reared The Simpsons and helped bring them to life. Although, he prefers to think of himself as "a writer who just happens to be a cartoonist."

Matt Groening was born in Portland, Oregon on 15th February 1954. His father, a cartoonist himself, encouraged his son's primitive doodlings. Matt enjoyed drawing from an early age, but felt a strong loathing for coloring books, mainly because he was not able to stay inside the lines. In primary school, little left-handed Matt drew cartoons when he should have been paying attention, which left strange gaps in his education. To this day, he does not know his state capitals, and do not bother asking him to multiply any numbers between 7 and 13. He'll just stare at you blankly.

In high school, Matt continued his frivolous ways. He drew cartoons in every class, even Physical Education, injuring himself severely while doodling on the parallel bars. Until he was kicked off the staff, Matt drew cartoons for the school newspaper. Feeling the revolutionary enthusiasm of the time, Matt and his hippie pals formed their own political party, the Teens for Decency. Responding to the campaign slogan, "If You're Against Decency, Then What Are You For?" his confused classmates elected Matt Student Body President and immediately regretted it.

Matt attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, taking full advantage of the school's no-grade, no-required-courses policies. There he met fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry, who inspired Matt to keep plugging away at doing cartoons when he was unsure of himself. He graduated in 1977 and drove to Los Angeles to become a writer, where his car broke down in the fast lane of the Hollywood Freeway just above the Vine Street exit at 2 am, later inspiring "Life in Hell", Matt's first cartoon series.

However, things did not happen quite as he planned. Instead of writing newspaper or magazine articles, he worked as a chauffeur and "biographer" for an 88-year-old director of bad movies. Groening drove the man around and listened to his stories. In the evening, he typed up notes about the stories. This was not a very good start for a hopeful writer.

He lived in a small apartment. The guy downstairs liked to play loud rock Ð''n' roll in the middle of the night. At first, Matt tried to get back at him by blasting reggae music. He finally got his point across by dropping a cinder block on the floor, which knocked