| Seth MacFarlane | |
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Seth MacFarlane at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. |
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| Born | Seth Woodbury MacFarlane October 26, 1973 Kent, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Rhode Island School of Design (B.F.A.) |
| Occupation | Actor, voice actor, animator, writer, comedian, singer, producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | Family Guy American Dad! The Cleveland Show |
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane[1] (/ˈsɛθ ˈwʊdbɛri mɪkˈfɑrlən/; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, producer, director and singer, best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.
A native of Kent, Connecticut,[2] MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied animation, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for several television shows, including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory and I Am Weasel, before creating his own series for 20th Century Fox entitled Family Guy in 1999. MacFarlane went on to co-create American Dad! in 2005, The Winner in 2007 and The Cleveland Show in 2009 for 20th Century Fox.
As an actor, he has made guest appearances on shows such as Gilmore Girls, The War at Home and FlashForward. MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and fantasy has led to cameo and guest appearances on Star Trek: Enterprise and voicing the character of Johann Kraus in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. In 2008, he created his own YouTube series entitled Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. As a performer, MacFarlane has sung at several venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
MacFarlane has won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Annie Award. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. For several years, Family Guy has been a large subject of criticism from television watchdog groups, such as the Parents Television Council, who regularly condemn it for its indecency. Even fellow cartoonists such as The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, The Ren & Stimpy Show's John Kricfalusi and South Park duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone have criticized MacFarlane's creation on numerous occasions. He occasionally speaks at universities and colleges throughout the United States, and is a supporter of gay rights.
On the February 10, 2011 episode of the TBS variety nighttime talk-show series Conan, MacFarlane announced he is directing his first feature-length film, Ted. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as an adult who, as a child, wished his teddy bear would come to life. MacFarlane will be the voice and motion capture for the bear. It is currently in production and is scheduled for release sometime in 2012.[3] In September, 2011, MacFarlane released a debut album of American standards, Music Is Better Than Words. Also in fall, 2011, MacFarlane is reportedly beginning development of a revival of Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones for the Fox network. The first episode is scheduled to air in 2013.[4][5]
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MacFarlane's parents, Ann Perry (née Sager) and Ronald Milton MacFarlane, were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts.[6] He is of Cuban ancestry, partly by way of Havana, and his ancestors include William Brewster, who travelled to America on the Mariel.[7][8] MacFarlane's parents met in 1970, when they both lived and worked in Boston, and married later that year.[6] In 1972, the couple moved to Kent, Connecticut, where Ann Perry began working in the Admissions Office at South Kent School and later in the College Guidance and Admissions Offices at Kent School, a selective college preparatory school where Ronald was also a teacher.[6][9] During his childhood, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration and began drawing cartoon characters Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker, as early as two years old.[10] By the age of five, MacFarlane knew that he would want to pursue a career in animation, and began by creating flip books, after his parents found a book on the subject.[11] Four years later, at nine, MacFarlane began publishing a weekly comic strip entitled "Walter Crouton" for The Kent Good Times Dispatch, the local newspaper in Kent, Connecticut, which paid him five dollars per week.[12][13] In one anecdote from the time, MacFarlane said in a 2011 interview he was "always like just weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony [so] I did a strip that had a guy kneeling at the altar taking Communion and saying 'Can I have fries with that?' And to my 11-year-old brain that was comedy ...." The paper printed it and he got "an angry letter from our local priest .... It created sort of a little mini-controversy in our little town." [14]
MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School.[6][9] While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and was given an 8 mm camera by his parents.[15] MacFarlane went on to study film, video and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[12] As a student, he had originally intended to work for Disney, but changed his mind upon graduating.[16] At RISD, MacFarlane created a series of independent films, eventually meeting future Family Guy cast member Mike Henry, whose brother was MacFarlane's classmate. His senior year at RISD, MacFarlane created a thesis film entitled The Life of Larry, which would eventually become the inspiration for Family Guy.[12] MacFarlane's professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, where he was later hired.[17]
After college MacFarlane was hired at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry, rather than on cartooning ability. He was one of few people hired to the company solely based on writing talent.[2] At Hanna-Barbera, MacFarlane worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series.[18] He described the atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old fashioned Hollywood structure, where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another." MacFarlane worked on four television series during his tenure at the studio: Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and Johnny Bravo.[19][20] Working as both a writer and storyboard artist, MacFarlane spent the most time on Johnny Bravo. He found it easier to develop his own style at Johnny Bravo through the show's process of scriptwriting, which Dexter, Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel did not use.[2] He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation, writing for Jungle Cubs and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes, and plot points, MacFarlane found the work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on Ace Ventura).[2] MacFarlane also created and wrote a short titled Zoomates for Frederator Studios' Oh Yeah! Cartoons on Nickelodeon.[21] In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry and Steve, which features a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. Executives at Fox saw both Larry shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series.[22]
Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor.[2] He first pitched Family Guy to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive for Hanna-Barbera, who was trying to get back into the prime-time business at the time, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Collins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of King of the Hill in 1997, MacFarlane called Collins once more to ask about a possible second pitch for the series. The company offered the young writer a strange deal: Fox gave him a budget of $50,000 to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least $1 million).[2][23] Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times, MacFarlane stated, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot".[24] After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with a "very, very simply, crudely animated film – with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and ordered the series immediately.[2] In July 1998, the Fox Broadcast Company announced the purchase of Family Guy for a January 1999 debut.[25] Family Guy was originally intended to be a series of shorts on MADtv, much in the same way The Simpsons had begun on The Tracey Ullman Show a decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's MADtv connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns.[2] At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer.[10]
Family Guy first aired January 31, 1999.[26] MacFarlane's work in animating Family Guy has been influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from The Simpsons and All in the Family.[27] In addition to writing three episodes, "Death Has a Shadow", "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1" and "North by North Quahog", MacFarlane voices Family Guy's main characters – Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Glenn Quagmire as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake and additional characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and established fan loyalty, Family Guy developed into a $1 billion franchise.[23] On May 4, 2008, after approximately two and a half years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached a $100 million agreement with Fox to keep Family Guy and American Dad until 2012. The agreement makes him the world's highest paid television writer.[28]
MacFarlane's success with Family Guy has opened doors to other ventures relating to Family Guy. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created Family Guy: Live in Vegas. The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in the track "Stewie's Sexy Party".[29] A fan of Broadway musicals,[22] MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component to Family Guy:
| “ | "I love the lush orchestration and old-fashioned melody writing ... it just gets you excited, that kind of music", he said. "It's very optimistic. And it's fun. The one thing that's missing for me from popular music today is fun. Guys like [Bing] Crosby, or [Frank] Sinatra, or Dean Martin, or Mel Tormé [...] these are guys who sounded like they were having a great time".[30] | ” |
In addition, a Family Guy video game was released in 2006.[31] Two years later, in August 2007, he closed a digital content production deal with AdSense.[32] MacFarlane takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. Family Guy Live provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007 Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth season premiere "Blue Harvest". Shows have been played in Montreal, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.[33]
On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official".[34] In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script.[35] Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year".[36] He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie". He later went to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel".[37]
Despite its popularity, Family Guy has not been immune to criticism.[38] The Parents Television Council frequently criticizes Family Guy for its content, once organized a letter-writing campaign aimed at removing Family Guy from FOX's lineup,[39] and has filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some episodes of the show contained indecent content.[40] MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things, "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings."[41] Family Guy has been cancelled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider.[42] MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected the lineup of writers each time Fox again gave Family Guy the green-light, "One of the positive aspects of 'Family Guy' constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to restaff writers".[30]
During the sixth season, episodes of Family Guy and American Dad! were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike (which MacFarlane participated in to support the writers while FOX aired three Family Guy episodes without MacFarlane's permission). On February 12, 2008, the strike ended,[43] and the series resumed airing regularly, beginning with "Back to the Woods".
Seth co-created American Dad! with Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker. American Dad! was first shown after Super Bowl XXXIX as a sneak preview on February 6, 2005. The show began airing regularly on Fox on May 1, 2005.[44][45] MacFarlane describes the show being similar to All in the Family[30]
American Dad! received its inspiration from President George W. Bush's policies.[46] The show focuses on Stan Smith, a straight-laced CIA officer and fanatical conservative. Stan's wife (Francine) and children, (Hayley and Steve), share a typical middle class home with Roger, an extraterrestrial rescued by Stan from Area 51, and Klaus, a goldfish who hosts the transplanted brain of an East German, 1986 Olympian skier.[47][48] Seth MacFarlane provides the voices of Stan and Roger, basing Roger's voice on Paul Lynde as he played Uncle Arthur in Bewitched.[10] His sister Rachael MacFarlane provides the voice of Hayley Smith.[49]
MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called The Winner. The show premiered on Fox on March 4, 2007.[50] The plot has a man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends.[51]
After six episodes, the show was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007.[52] However, at Family Guy Live in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane stated, "It is looking like there could be a future life for The Winner".[53] After MacFarlane's statement neither Fox nor MacFarlane has released any details of plans for the show to return. The show was mentioned in the Family Guy episode "Family Gay" where all of the horses at a racing track are named after failed Fox shows, The Winner being one of them.
MacFarlane developed a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show, which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by Family Guy writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes,[54] was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered.[55] Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up the back nine episodes of season 2, making a 22-episode season and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44.[56]
On September 10, 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. These animated shorts were distributed by Burger King and released weekly.[57]
In May 2011, it was reported that MacFarlane had signed a deal to revamp The Flintstones for airing in 2013.[58]
In August 2011, Fox announced that they had ordered a 13-part updated series of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage which MacFarlane will co-produce with Anne Druyan and Steven Soter. The new series will be hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and is expected to begin airing on the channel in 2013, with repeats airing on the National Geographic Channel on the same night.[59]
MacFarlane's debut studio album, Music Is Better Than Words, was announced in 2010[60] and released on September 27, 2011, drawing on his training in and attraction to "the great American songbook and particularly the early- to late-'50s era of orchestration". The singer, asked about his experience with the music, said he did "old Nelson Riddle, Billy May charts [with o]ne of my composers, Ron Jones, [who] has a group called the Influence Jazz Orchestra that he performs with throughout L.A."[14] His album has been nominated in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category" at the 54th Grammy Awards.
MacFarlane has appeared in sitcoms, comedy and news programs, independent films, and other animated shows. In 2002, MacFarlane appeared in the Gilmore Girls episode "Lorelai's Graduation Day".[17] Four years later on November 5, 2006, MacFarlane guest starred on Fox's The War at Home as "Hillary's Date", an unnamed 33-year-old man who secretly dates teenaged Hillary in the episode "I Wash My Hands of You".[16][61] MacFarlane also appeared as the engineer Ensign Rivers on Star Trek: Enterprise in the third season episode "The Forgotten" and the fourth season episode "Affliction".[62] During 2006, MacFarlane had a role in the independent film Life is Short. He portrayed Dr. Ned, a psychologist who advises a short man (played by Freaks and Geeks star Samm Levine) to have relationships with taller women.[63] He is also a frequent guest on the radio talkshow Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky.
MacFarlane appeared on the November 11, 2006 episode of Fox's comedy show MADtv and performed a live action re-enactment of a scene from the Family Guy episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High". In the scene, Peter and Lois suspect Chris of murdering his teacher's husband. As a reaction, a terrified Meg jumps out the window. A version with MacFarlane as Peter, Nicole Parker as Kathy Griffin as Lois, Ike Barinholtz as Dane Cook as Chris, Nicole Randall Johnson as Queen Latifah as Meg, and Keegan-Michael Key as Snoop Dogg as Stewie was recorded over the original cartoon.[64] MacFarlane served as a host to the Canadian Awards for the Electronic & Animated Arts's Second Annual Elan Awards on February 15, 2008.[65]
MacFarlane has also appeared on news shows and late night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live![66] and Late Show with David Letterman.[67] On January 19, 2007, MacFarlane appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC to discuss Stephen Colbert's appearance on The O'Reilly Factor and Bill O'Reilly's return appearance on The Colbert Report. MacFarlane introduced the segment by saying in Stewie's voice "Oh, wait Bill. Hold still, allow me to soil myself on you. Victory is mine!"[68] Three months later on March 24, 2007, MacFarlane was interviewed on Fox's Talkshow with Spike Feresten,[69] and closed the show by singing the Frank Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young".[70] He also provided Stewie's voice when he appeared as a brain tumor-induced hallucination to Seeley Booth in an episode of Bones, writing his own dialogue for the episode.[71] On May 8, 2009, MacFarlane was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher.[72]
Other than Family Guy and American Dad!, MacFarlane voices characters in other cartoon shows and movies. He voiced Wayne "The Brain" McClain in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.[73] He has also voiced various characters on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, including a parody of Lion-O and Emperor Palpatine as well as Peter Griffin in the Season 2 premiere – he even parodied himself in the Season 4 premiere, in which he renewed the show simply by mentioning it in a Family Guy-like cutaway after its fictitious cancellation at the end of Season 3. He also played the villain "The Manotaur" in Bob Boyle's animated kids series Yin Yang Yo!.[74] In addition, MacFarlane voiced Johann Krauss in the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army.[75] He also had a guest appearance in the animated film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder where he sings "That Was Then (And This is Too)", the opening theme.[76] He had also starred in a commercial for Hulu in which he plays an alien presenting Hulu as an "evil plot to destroy the world", progressively as his famous Family Guy and American Dad! characters.
On August 1, 2009, MacFarlane performed at The BBC Proms with John Wilson and his orchestra, singing a selection of songs from MGM musicals[77] alongside Kim Criswell, Sarah Fox, Sir Thomas Allen, and Curtis Stigers.[78][79] Three songs from High Society, Singin' in the Rain, and That's Entertainment were featured. Seth also repeated the MGM musicals show on tour in the UK with the John Wilson Orchestra during November and December 2010.[80] He made another appearance with the John Wilson orchestra in a BBC Two special, Swingin' Christmas, on December 25, 2010.[81]
Seth also played in a character named Ziggy in the 2010 film, Tooth Fairy. In August 2010, MacFarlane appeared as a guest voiceover in a sci-fi themed episode of Disney's Phineas and Ferb entitled "Nerds of a Feather".[82] MacFarlane was the roastmaster of the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff in 2010 and then of the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in 2011, as well as the Roast of Charlie Sheen, also from 2011. He is the first (and currently the only) person to serve as roastmaster for more than one occasion of the Comedy Central Roasts.
MacFarlane is a frequent speaking guest on college campuses.[83] On April 16, 2006, he was invited by Stanford University's ASSU Speakers' Bureau to address an audience of over 1,000 at Memorial Auditorium.[84] MacFarlane was invited by Harvard University's class of 2006 to deliver the "class day" address on June 7, 2006. He spoke as himself, and also as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire.[85] He has also delivered speeches at George Washington University,[83] Washington University in St. Louis,[19] the University of Texas,[86] the University of Missouri,[87] University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University[88] and Loyola Marymount University.[89]
MacFarlane is a supporter of the Democratic Party.[41] He has donated over $200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.[90] He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis.[91]
MacFarlane came to support gay rights and gay marriage after a family member wondered aloud whether his gay cousin's homosexuality could be "cured".[41] The incident angered MacFarlane, who said in a 2008 interview in The Advocate, that such a statement "was fucking horrifying to hear from somebody that you love".[41] He credits his parents for raising him to be a logical person, in reference to his support for gay rights.[41]
MacFarlane is passionate about his support for gay rights.[41] He said it is "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'" He went on to say, "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time".[41] MacFarlane continued, "Why is it that Johnny Spaghetti Stain in fucking Georgia can knock a woman up, legally be married to her, and then beat the shit out of her, but these two intelligent, sophisticated writers who have been together for 20 years can't get married?"[41]
MacFarlane, in recognition for "his active, passionate commitment to Humanist values, and his fearless support of equal marriage rights and other social justice issues", was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year in 2011.[92]
Despite his position on gay rights, MacFarlane was criticized for his portrayal of transsexualism in the Family Guy episode "Quagmire's Dad". Gay novelist Brent Hartinger found the episode's inclusion of transphobic remarks from Peter and Lois — as well as a scene of Brian vomiting profusely upon discovering his new girlfriend to be transgendered — to be "shockingly insensitive". Hartinger continued, "Frankly, it's literally impossible for me to reconcile last night's episode with MacFarlane's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the man is pretty much a complete idiot".[93] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog organization, shared "serious concerns being voiced from members of the community" about the episode.[94] MacFarlane said he was "surprised" by the negative reaction to "Quagmire's Dad", saying that "it seemed that [gay commentators] were not picking up on the fact that it was a very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character". He further added, "Look, Brian happens to be a heterosexual character, as I am. If I found out that I had slept with a transsexual, I might throw up in the same way that a gay guy looks at a vagina and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's disgusting.'"[95]
During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, MacFarlane publicly sided with the Writers Guild, and fully participated in the strike.[96] Official production of Family Guy was halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, and although he refused to work on the show during the strike, his contract with Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it subsequently produced.[97] Rumors of continued production on Family Guy prompted the statement from MacFarlane that "...it would just be a colossal dick move if they [continued production without his final approval]".[97] The strike ended on February 12, 2008.[43]
MacFarlane identifies himself as a Star Wars, Star Trek and science fiction fan.[62][98] He appeared at a Star Wars convention to promote his new Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest" on May 26, 2007.[99] MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and music are regularly themes for his birthday and Christmas parties in Los Angeles. In 2009, he held a Star Wars-themed Christmas party.[100] In 2010, he held a Rat Pack-themed party for his birthday with a 60-piece orchestra and performance by Frank Sinatra, Jr.[101]
He is a skilled pianist and singer who, in his early years, trained with Lee and Sally Sweetland,[102] Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra's vocal coaches.[22] He signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records and released a big band/standards album in 2011.[103][14]
In early 2007, fellow comedian Alex Borstein reported in an interview that MacFarlane is old-fashioned in several aspects of his life, in that "his pop culture knowledge is very retro. Seth doesn't have e-mail at home, doesn't own a computer and he doesn't really watch television. He doesn't understand MySpace and despises most new music."[104]. In a 2004 interview with The Daily Princetonian, MacFarlane noted his similarities to Brian on Family Guy, revealing, "I have some Brian type issues from time to time – looking for the right person – but I date as much as the next guy".[105]
On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, died after a long battle with cancer. Her death was reported by Larry King on his show, Larry King Live, who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with her son in May 2010.[6][106] A brief opening scene from the first episode of the ninth season of Family Guy ("And Then There Were Fewer") mentions her lifespan, and dedicates the episode to her.
MacFarlane is an atheist,[107] but says that he has no problem with religious people in general.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston, Massachusetts. Suffering from a hangover from the previous night's celebrations,[108] and with an incorrect departure time (8:15 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.) from his travel agent,[109] he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight as the gates had been closed.[109] Fifteen minutes after departure, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked,[110] and at 8:46 a.m. it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, obliterating the airplane, and killing everyone on board.[111]
In an interview with TVShowsOnDVD.com, MacFarlane said the following about his close call:
| “ | The only reason it hasn't really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn't really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you're crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car... this one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can't let it affect me because I'm a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head.[112] | ” |
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing Family Guy of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, and Walter Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages.[113] Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.[114][115] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.[116]
In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd "faux" magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".[117] MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox, Steve Callaghan, and Alex Borstein were all named in the suit.[118] In July 2009 a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved—"purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work", and "amount and substantiality of the taking"—counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth—"economic impact"—had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers—not Metrano or his act.[119][120]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Life of Larry | Larry Cummings Steve Lois Cummings Various characters |
Voice Only Student Film |
| 2006 | Life is Short | Dr. Ned | Short Film |
| 2008 | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Johann Kraus | Voice Only |
| 2009 | Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder | Mars Vegas Singer | Voice Only Direct-to-DVD Release |
| 2010 | The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! | I.S.R.A.E.L. (Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady) | Voice Only Direct-to-DVD Release |
| 2010 | Tooth Fairy | Ziggy | |
| 2012 | Ted | Ted | Voice Only Also Writer/Director/Producer Pre-production |
| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show | Rhode Island Bug | Episode 2.3: "Bugging Out!" |
| 1996 | The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve | Larry Steve Various characters |
|
| 1999–2002 2005–present | Family Guy | Peter Griffin Stewie Griffin Brian Griffin Glenn Quagmire Various characters |
Longest-running role, Creator/Executive producer/Voice artist/Writer |
| 2002–2003 | Gilmore Girls | Zach Bob Merriam (Emily Gilmore's lawyer; on the phone) |
Episode 2.21: "Lorelai's Graduation Day" Episode 3.11: "I Solemnly Swear" |
| 2003 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Wayne the Brain | Episode 2.10: "Super Trivia" |
| The Pitts | Radio voice | Episode 1.3: "Squarewolves" | |
| 2003–2005 | Crank Yankers | Dick Rogers Arthur Johnson |
Appeared in four episodes |
| 2004 | Complete Savages | TV Announcer | Episode 1.4: "Nick Kicks Butt" |
| 2004–2005 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Engineer | Episodes 3.20: "The Forgotten" and 4.15: "Affliction" |
| 2005–2009 | Robot Chicken | Various characters | Appeared in 15 episodes |
| 2005–present | American Dad! | Stan Smith Roger Various characters |
|
| 2006 | The War at Home | Hillary's Date | Episode 2.5: "I Wash My Hands of You" |
| 2007 | Help Me Help You | Seth | Episode 1.13: "Moving On" |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars | Emperor Palpatine | TV film | |
| 59th Primetime Emmy Awards | Stewie Griffin Brian Griffin |
TV special | |
| 2008 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Emperor Palpatine Various characters |
TV film |
| 2008 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Emperor Palpatine Various characters |
TV film |
| 2008–2009 | Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy | Various characters | Appeared in 19 episodes |
| 2009 | Bones | Stewie Griffin | Episode 4.25: "The Critic in the Cabernet" |
| 2009–2010 | FlashForward | Agent Jake Curdy FBI Agent |
Episode 1.1: "No More Good Days" and 1.15: "Queen Sacrifice"; uncredited |
| 2009–present | The Cleveland Show | Tim the Bear Various characters |
|
| 2010 | Phineas and Ferb | Jeff McGarland | Episode 2.33: "Nerds of a Feather" |
| Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff | Himself | Roastmaster of The Roast of David Hasselhoff | |
| 2010 | BBC Breakfast | Himself | Guest |
| 2010 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Emperor Palpatine | TV film |
| 2011 | Comedy Central Roast of Donald J. Trump | Himself | Roastmaster of The Roast of Donald Trump |
| 2011 | Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen | Himself | Roastmaster of The Roast of Charlie Sheen |
| 2011 | Night of the Hurricane | Peter Griffin Stewie Griffin Brian Griffin Tom Tucker Stan Smith Roger Various characters |
|
| 2013 | The Flintstones |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Jazz |
||||||||
| Music Is Better Than Words |
|
111 | 2 | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Series | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Award[121] | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. | Stewie Griffin | Family Guy | Won | [122] |
| 2002 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Music and Lyrics | Music and lyrics | Family Guy | Won | [122] |
| 2006 | Annie Award | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | Stewie Griffin | Family Guy | Won | [123] |
| 2009 | Webby Award | Film & Video Person of the Year 2009 | — | — | Won | [124] |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. | Peter Griffin | Family Guy | Nominated | [125] | |
| 2010 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Music and lyrics | Family Guy | Nominated | [126] |
| Teen Choice Award | Choice Animated Series | Creator | Family Guy | Won | [127] | |
| 2011 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Villain | Stewie Griffin | Family Guy | Nominated | [128] |
| Teen Choice Award | Choice Animated Series | Creator | Family Guy | Nominated |
Media related to Seth MacFarlane at Wikimedia Commons