Sam Simon, Who Helped Shape ‘The Simpsons,’ Dies at 59
Source: New York Times
Sam Simon, a creative force behind “The Simpsons” who left the show after its fourth season in a lucrative arrangement that allowed him to spend much of the rest of his life giving his money away, has died. He was 59.
His death was announced on Monday by the Sam Simon Foundation, the organization through which he donated his money. The announcement did not say where or when he died or specify the cause, although Mr. Simon learned he had cancer in late 2012.
The cartoonist Matt Groening, recruited by the producer James L. Brooks, invented the Simpson family for a series of short animated segments first seen in 1987 on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” Mr. Groening even named some of the characters after members of his own family, including Homer and Marge, the parents.
But although Mr. Groening is the person most closely associated with “The Simpsons,” Mr. Simon — who had published cartoons while he was a student at Stanford, worked on the cartoon show “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids” and been a writer and producer for the sitcoms “Cheers” and “Taxi” — played a crucial role as “The Simpsons” evolved into a half-hour series, which would eventually become the longest-running sitcom in television history.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/arts/television/sam-simon-who-helped-shape-the-simpsons-dies-at-59.html
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interview with somebody involved with "The Simpsons," it'd be Sam Simon who answered the phone and gave us the interview. Whenever you needed react, James L. Brooks was never available. Matt Groening was only available to the big guys ("The Today Show," "Entertainment Tonight," "TV Guide," and the big entities), and Sam Simon was the one you'd usually get.
Bless him. Safe passage, and high flight, Mr. Simon.
He'd been a part of some of the biggest TV shows ever.... they had a good life and could run "free."
