Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Groening at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born Matthew Abram Groening
February 15, 1954
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Education Lincoln High School
Alma mater The Evergreen State College
Occupation cartoonist, screenwriter, producer
Years active 1977–present
Known for The Simpsons
Futurama
Life in Hell
The Simpsons Movie
Political party
 Democratic
Spouse(s) Deborah Caplan (m. 1986–99)
Agustina Picasso (m. 2011)
Children 3
Signature

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening (/ˈɡreɪnɪŋ/ GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954)[1] is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012) as well as the co-creator of two successful television series, The Simpsons (1989–present), Futurama (1999–2003, 2008–2013), and a Christmas special Olive, the Other Reindeer. The Simpsons has gone on to become the longest running U.S. primetime television series in history, as well as the longest running animated series and sitcom.

Groening made his first professional cartoon sale of Life in Hell to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. At its peak, the cartoon was carried in 250 weekly newspapers. Life in Hell caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, the Simpson family, and named the members after his own parents and sisters—while Bart was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series The Simpsons, which has since aired 571 episodes. In 1997, Groening and former Simpsons writer David X. Cohen developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999, running for four years on Fox, then picked up by Comedy Central for additional seasons.

Groening has won 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, ten for The Simpsons and two for Futurama as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012.

Early life

Groening was born on February 15, 1954[2] in Portland, Oregon,[3] 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). His Norwegian-American mother, Margaret Ruth (née Wiggum; March 23, 1919 – April 22, 2013),[4] was once a teacher, and his German American father, Homer Philip Groening (December 30, 1919 – March 15, 1996),[5] was a filmmaker, advertiser, writer and cartoonist.[6][7] Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Mennonite, Plautdietsch-speaking family.[8]

Matt's grandfather, Abram Groening, was a professor at Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kansas before moving to Albany College (now known as Lewis and Clark College) in Oregon in 1930.[9]

Groening grew up in Portland, and attended Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School.[10] From 1972[11] to 1977, Groening attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington,[12] a liberal arts school that he described as "a hippie college, with no grades or required classes, that drew every weirdo in the Northwest."[13] He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal, for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons.[11] 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.[14] Groening has credited Barry with being "probably [his] biggest inspiration."[15] He first became interested in cartoons after watching the Disney animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians,[16] and he has also cited Peanuts and its creator Charles M. Schulz as inspirations.[17]

Career

Early career

In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. He went through what he described as "a series of lousy jobs," including being an extra in the television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July,[18] busing tables,[19] washing dishes at a nursing home, clerking at the Hollywood Licorice Pizza record store, landscaping in a sewage treatment plant,[20] and chauffeuring and ghostwriting for a retired Western director.[21][22]

Life in Hell

Main article: Life in Hell
A book with black and white pencil drawings, with a large title on top, and a drawing of an anthropomorphic bunny kneeling before a dead anthropomorphic bunny
Cover of Life in Hell No. 4, published in 1978

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.[23] Groening distributed the comic book in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked. He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978.[23] The strip, titled "Forbidden Words," appeared in the September/October issue of that year.[19][24]

Groening had gained employment at the Los Angeles Reader, a newly formed alternative newspaper, delivering papers,[11] typesetting, editing and answering phones.[20] He showed his cartoons to the editor, James Vowell, who was impressed and eventually gave him a spot in the paper.[11] Life in Hell made its official debut as a comic strip in the Reader on April 25, 1980.[19][25] Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead.[13] In an effort to add more music to the column, he "just made stuff up,"[18] concocting and reviewing fictional bands and non-existent records. In the following week's column, he would confess to fabricating everything in the previous column and swear that everything in the new column was true. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column.[26] Among the fans of the column was Harry Shearer, who would later become a voice on The Simpsons.[27]

Life in Hell became popular almost immediately.[28] 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.[29] Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan.[11] Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled merchandising for Life in Hell.[19] Groening also started Acme Features Syndicate, which syndicated Life in Hell, Lynda Barry and John Callahan, but now only syndicates Life in Hell.[11] At the end of its run, Life in Hell was carried in 250 weekly newspapers and has been anthologized in a series of books, including School is Hell, Childhood is Hell, The Big Book of Hell, and The Huge Book of Hell.[10] Although Groening has stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. It's my foundation,"[30] he announced that the June 16, 2012 strip would mark Life in Hell‍ '​s conclusion.[31] After Groening ended the strip, the Center for Cartoon Studies commissioned a poster that was presented to Groening in honor of his work. The poster contained tribute cartoons by 22 of Groening's cartoonist friends who were influenced by Life in Hell.[32]

The Simpsons

Main article: The Simpsons

Creation

A cartoon drawing of a family, with a baby, two children, and two parents. They are dressed in casual and formal clothing, and have yellow skin.
The design of the Simpson family, circa 1987

Life in Hell caught the eye of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, who had been shown the strip by fellow producer Polly Platt.[28][33] In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation on an undefined future project,[7] which would turn out to be developing a series of short animated skits, called "bumpers," for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Groening feared that he would have to give up his ownership rights, and that the show would fail and would take down his comic strip with it.[34] 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.[34][35][36] Groening famously named the main Simpson characters after members of his own family: his parents, Homer and Margaret (Marge or Marjorie in full), and his younger sisters, Lisa and Margaret (Maggie). Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat.[34][37] However, he stresses that aside from some of the sibling rivalry, his family is nothing like the Simpsons.[38] Groening also has an older brother and sister, Mark and Patty, and in a 1995 interview Groening divulged that Mark "is the actual inspiration for Bart."[39]

Maggie Groening has co-written a few Simpsons books featuring her cartoon namesake.[40]

The Tracey Ullman Show

The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings.[34] The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.[41] When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his own initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans.[42] 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.[6][43] Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size.[44] At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes that appear to be an extension of his head.[45] Lisa's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline.[46] While designing Lisa, Groening "couldn't be bothered to even think about girls' hair styles".[47] When designing Lisa and Maggie, he "just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color".[48] 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.[49]

The Simpsons shorts first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.[50] Another family member, Grampa Simpson, was introduced in the later shorts. Years later, during the early seasons of The Simpsons, when it came time to give Grampa a first name, Groening says he refused to name him after his own grandfather, Abraham Groening, leaving it to other writers to choose a name. By coincidence, they chose Abraham, unaware that it was the name of Groening's grandfather.[51]

Half-hour

Although The Tracey Ullman Show was not a big hit,[52] the popularity of the shorts led to a half-hour spin-off in 1989. A team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. James L. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content.[53] Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching.[54] The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special.[10] "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems.[55]

The series quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, to the surprise of many. Groening said: "Nobody thought The Simpsons was going to be a big hit. It sneaked up on everybody."[13] The Simpsons was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Groening and Simon, however, did not get along[52] and were often in conflict over the show;[19] Groening once described their relationship as "very contentious."[35] Simon eventually left the show in 1993 over creative differences.[56]

Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. The name "Wiggum" for police chief Chief Wiggum is Groening's mother's maiden name.[57] The names of a few other characters were taken from major street names in Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, including Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby and Kearney.[58] 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.[59]

Although Groening has pitched a number of spin-offs from The Simpsons, those attempts have been unsuccessful. In 1994, Groening and other Simpsons producers pitched a live-action spin-off about Krusty the Clown (with Dan Castellaneta playing the lead role), but were unsuccessful in getting it off the ground.[22][60] Groening has also pitched "Young Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield.[61]

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. 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.[39] He requested his name be taken off the episode.[62]

Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "The Telltale Head", "Colonel Homer" and "22 Short Films About Springfield", as well as The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007.[63] He has had several cameo appearances in the show, with a speaking role in the episode "My Big Fat Geek Wedding". He currently serves at The Simpsons as an Executive Producer and Creative Consultant.

Futurama

Main article: Futurama
Stephen Sandoval & Matt Groening at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.[64]

After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Simpsons writer/producer David X. Cohen (still known as David S. Cohen at the time) in 1997 and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000.[15][65] By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions.[65] Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life."[15] The show premiered on March 28, 1999. 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).

Two men sit at a table behind microphones, both have glasses, and one is shorter than the other.
David X. Cohen and Groening at the Futurama panel of Comic-Con 2009

After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox. In a situation similar to Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four straight-to-DVD films—Bender's Big Score (2007), The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Bender's Game (2008) and Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)—would be produced.[66][67] Since no new Futurama projects were in production, the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the Futurama franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film.[68] 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."[69] Comedy Central commissioned an additional 26 new episodes, and began airing them in 2010. The show continued in to 2013,[70][71] before Comedy Central announced in April 2013 that they would not be renewing it beyond its seventh season. The final episode aired on September 4, 2013.[72]

Other pursuits

In 1994, Groening formed Bongo Comics (named after the character Bongo from Life in Hell[73]) with Steve Vance, Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison, which publishes comic books based on The Simpsons and Futurama (including Futurama Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis, a crossover between the two), as well as a few original titles. According to Groening, the goal with Bongo is to "[try] to bring humor into the fairly grim comic book market."[39] He also formed Zongo Comics in 1995, an imprint of Bongo that published comics for more mature readers,[39] which included three issues of Mary Fleener's Fleener[74] and seven issues of his close friend Gary Panter's Jimbo comics.[75]

Groening is known for his eclectic taste in music. His favorite band is Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and his favorite album is Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart (which was produced by Zappa).[76] He guest-edited Da Capo Press's Best Music Writing 2003[77] and curated a US All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in 2003.[76][78] In May 2010, he curated another edition of All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, England. He also plays the drums in the all-author rock and roll band The Rock Bottom Remainders (although he is listed as the cowbell player), whose other members include Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., Stephen King, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry and Greg Iles.[79] In July 2013, Groening co-authored Hard Listening (2013) with the rest of the Rock Bottom Remainders (published by Coliloquy, LLC).[80]

Personal life

Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986[20] and had two sons together, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe,[37] both of whom Groening occasionally portrays as rabbits in Life in Hell. The couple divorced in 1999 after thirteen years of marriage.[21] In 2011, Groening married Argentinian artist Agustina Picasso after a four-year relationship, and became stepfather to her daughter Camille.[81] In May 2013, Picasso gave birth to Nathaniel Philip Picasso Groening, named after writer Nathanael West. She joked that "His godfather is SpongeBob's creator [Stephen Hillenburg]."[82] Matt is the brother-in-law of Hey Arnold! creator, Craig Bartlett, who is married to Groening's sister, Lisa. Arnold used to appear in Simpsons Illustrated.[83]

Groening identifies himself as agnostic[84][85] and a liberal[86] and has often made campaign contributions to Democratic Party candidates.[87] His first cousin, Laurie Monnes Anderson, is a member of the Oregon State Senate representing eastern Multnomah County.[88]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Hair High Dill (voice)
2004 Comic Book: The Movie Himself
2005 The Devil and Daniel Johnston Himself Documentary
2006 Tales of the Rat Fink Finkster (voice)
2008 The Seventh Python Himself Documentary
2013 I Know That Voice Himself Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1989–present The Simpsons Himself (voice) Also creator, writer, executive producer
1996 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "Glen Campbell"
1999 Olive, the Other Reindeer Arturo (voice) TV special
1999–2003,
2008–2013 		Futurama Himself (voice) 140 episodes; also creator, writer, executive producer
2003 The Pitts Bank teller Episode: "Dummy and Dummier"
2015 Portlandia Himself Episode: "Fashion"

Video games

Year Title Voice
2007 The Simpsons Game Himself
2014 The Simpsons: Tapped Out Himself

Music video

Year Title Artist Notes
1990 "Do the Bartman" Nancy Cartwright Executive producer

As a crew member

Year Title Notes
1987–1989 The Tracey Ullman Show 48 episodes; writer, animator
2007 The Simpsons Movie Writer, producer
2007 Futurama: Bender's Big Score Executive producer
2008 The Simpsons Ride Producer
2008 Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Executive producer
2008 Futurama: Bender's Game Executive producer
2009 Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Executive producer
2012 The Longest Daycare Short film

Awards

Groening has been nominated for 25 Emmy Awards and has won twelve: ten for The Simpsons and two for Futurama in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or less)" category.[89] Groening received the 2002 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award, and had been nominated for the same award in 2000.[90] He received a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004.[91] In 2007, he was ranked fourth (and highest American by birth) in a list of the "top 100 living geniuses", published by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.[92]

He received the 2,459th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012.[93]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "When and where was Matt Groening born?". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  2. ↑ Matt Groening at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on February 7, 2007
  3. ↑ Baker, Jeff (March 14, 2004). "Groening, rhymes with reigning". The Oregonian. p. D1.
  4. ↑ "Margaret Ruth Groening Obituary". The Oregonian. May 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Homer Groening, Cartoonist's Father, 'Simpsons' Inspiration". The Seattle Times. March 19, 1996.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rose, Joseph (August 3, 2007). "The real people behind Homer Simpson and family". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Matt Groening Q&A (1993)". Prodigy. June 1993. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  8. ↑ Dueck, Dora (October 7, 2002). "Homer Simpson has Canadian Mennonite roots.". Canadian Mennonite (volume 6, number 19).
  9. ↑ Suderman, Dale (August 15, 2007). "Hillsboro, Home of the Simpsons.". Hillsboro Free Press. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Matt Groening's Simpsons profile thesimpsons.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2007
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Groth 1991.
  12. ↑ "Matt Groening at Evergreen". The Evergreen State College. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Lloyd 1999.
  14. ↑ Groening, Matt (c). Life in Hell. January 14, 2000, Acme Features Syndicate.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Doherty, Brian (March–April 1999). "Matt Groening". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  16. ↑ Groening, Matt; Mirkin, David; Scully, Mike; Anderson, Bob (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Two Dozen & One Greyhounds" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  17. ↑ Groening, Matt (2005). "Foreword". The Complete Peanuts Volume 3 (1955–56). Fantagraphics Books.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sheff, David (June 2007). "Matt Groening". Playboy 54 (6). Archived from the original on October 13, 2007.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Morgenstern 1990.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Von Busack 2000
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Chocano 2001.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Rabin, Nathan (April 26, 2006). "Matt Groening". The Onion AV Club. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 McKenna, Kristine (May–June 2001). "Matt Groening". My Generation. Retrieved February 3, 2007.
  24. ↑ "World Wide WET—early". Wunderland.com. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  25. ↑ "Acme Features Syndicate". Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  26. ↑ Groening 2001a, pp. 92–93.
  27. ↑ Plume, Kenneth (February 10, 2000). "Interview with Harry Shearer (Part 3 of 4)". IGN. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Ortved 2007, p. 71.
  29. ↑ Groening 1994.
  30. ↑ Bergman, Erik H. (December 16, 1989). "Prime time is heaven for 'Life in Hell' Artist". TV Host. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  31. ↑ Graham, Jefferson (June 19, 2012). "'Life in Hell' is over for cartoonist Matt Groening". USA Today. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  32. ↑ Sturm, James (October 10, 2012). "To Hell With You, Matt Groening". Slate. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  33. ↑ Kim, John W. (October 1999). "Keep 'em Laughing". Scr(i)pt. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 BBC (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6-minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Scott 2001.
  36. ↑ Rose, Charlie (Host, Executive producer) (July 30, 2007). Charlie Rose:A Conversation About The Simpsons Movie (Television production). Charlie Rose, Inc. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Duncan, Andrew (September 18–24, 1999). "Matt Groening". Radio Times. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  38. ↑ Turner 2004.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Paul 1995.
  40. ↑ "Index to Comic Art Collection: "Gro" to "Groenne"". Michigan State University Libraries. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  41. ↑ Groening, Matt. (2005). Commentary for "Fear of Flying", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  42. ↑ Groening 2001b, p. 90.
  43. ↑ Solomon, Deborah (July 22, 2007). "Screen Dreams". The New York Times Magazine. p. 15. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  44. ↑ Silverman, David; Archer, Wes. (2004). Illustrated commentary for "Treehouse of Horror IV", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  45. ↑ Anderson, Mike B.; Groening, Matt; Michels, Pete; Smith, Yeardley. (2006). "A Bit From the Animators", Illustrated Commentary for "All Singing, All Dancing", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  46. ↑ Groening, Matt; Reiss, Mike; Kirkland, Mark. (2002). Commentary for "Principal Charming", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  47. ↑ Silverman, David; Reardon, Jim; Groening, Matt. (2005). Illustrated commentary for "Treehouse of Horror V", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  48. ↑ Groening, Matt. (2006). "A Bit From the Animators", illustrated commentary for "All Singing, All Dancing", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  49. ↑ Heintjes. "The David Silverman Interview". Hogan's Alley. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
  50. ↑ Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 14.
  51. ↑ Groening, Matt (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Ortved 2007, p. 72.
  53. ↑ Kuipers, Dean (April 15, 2004). "'3rd Degree: Harry Shearer'". Los Angeles: City Beat. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2006.
  54. ↑ Tucker, Ken (March 12, 1993). "Toon Terrific". Entertainment Weekly. p. 48(3).
  55. ↑ Groening, Matt (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  56. ↑ Snierson, Dan (July 18, 2007). "Conan on being left out of "Simpsons Movie" its the best movie in the whole world lol". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  57. ↑ Groening 2001b, pp. 90–91.
  58. ↑ Blake, Joseph (January 6, 2007). "Painting the town in Portland". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
  59. ↑ Larry Carroll (July 26, 2007). "'Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers". MTV. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  60. ↑ From a radio interview with Groening that aired on the April 22, 1998 edition of Fresh Air on NPR. Link to stream (13 minutes, 21 seconds in)
  61. ↑ Groening, Matt; Oakley, Bill;, Weinstein, Josh; Appel, Richard; Cohen, David; Pulido, Rachel; Smith, Yeardley; Reardon, Jim; Silverman, David (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  62. ↑ Brennan, Judy (March 3, 1995). "Matt Groening's Reaction to The Critic's First Appearance on The Simpsons". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  63. ↑ Fleming, Michael (April 2, 2006). "Homer going to bat in '07". Variety.com. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
  64. ↑ Author: Gage Skidmore
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 Needham, Alex (October 1999). "Nice Planet...We'll Take It!". The Face (33).
  66. ↑ Katz, Claudia (November 16, 2007). EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Claudia Katz on Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score. Interview with Evan Jacobs. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  67. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (April 26, 2006). "Matt Groening". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  68. ↑ Wortham, Jenna (November 4, 2008). "Futurama Animators Roll 20-Sided Die With Bender's Game". Wired.com. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  69. ↑ Leopold, Todd (February 26, 2009). "Matt Groening looks to the future". CNN.com. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  70. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (June 9, 2009). "It's official: 'Futurama' is reborn!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  71. ↑ Hibberd, James (March 24, 2011). "'Futurama' renewed for two more years!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  72. ↑ Marechal, AJ. "Toon comedy has logged seasons on Fox, Comedy Central since 1999". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  73. ↑ Groening 2001c, p. 128.
  74. ↑ Mary Fleener ~ Comic Book Covers URL accessed on September 19, 2007.
  75. ↑ Zograf, Aleksandar. "Meet The End of The Century With... Gary Panter". Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 Payne, John (November 5, 2003). "All Tomorrow's Parties Today". LA Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  77. ↑ Dacapo Books URL accessed on September 4, 2007.
  78. ↑ All Tomorrow's Parties – Archive URL accessed on September 4, 2007.
  79. ↑ Rock Bottom Remainders Official site URL accessed on March 4, 2007
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  81. ↑ ""Simpsons" Creator Scoops Up Santa Monica Crib". Open House (NBC). Retrieved July 19, 2013.
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  83. ↑ Craig Bartlett's Charmed Past Life. Awn.com. December 1998. Retrieved on 2011-12-29.
  84. ↑ "QUESTIONS FOR: Matt Groening". New York Times. December 27, 1998. Retrieved September 19, 2010. I'm an agnostic
  85. ↑ Allen, Norm. "Yes, There Is A Hell". Free Inquiry. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  86. ↑ "'The Simpsons: The Movie' Taking Shape". Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  87. ↑ "Matt Groening's Federal Campaign Contribution Report". Newsmeat.com. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  88. ↑ Mortenson, Eric (November 19, 2004). "Lawmaker feels void after mother's death". The Oregonian.
  89. ↑ Emmy Awards official siteemmys.org. Retrieved on March 4, 2007
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  92. ↑ "Top 100 living geniuses" The Daily Telegraph October 28, 2007
  93. ↑ Riedel, David (June 24, 2011). "Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel among Hollywood Walk of Fame class of 2012". CBS News. Retrieved June 25, 2011.

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