The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam Simon Passes Away

[Steven Bogos]

The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam Simon Passes Away

One of the three men responsible for bringing The Simpsons into the world has died.

"Matt Groening" is the name most associated with the absurdly-long-running animated TV series, The Simpsons, but it was actually Groening, alongside James L. Brooks and Sam Simon, who equally co-created the series. Now, one of the three men responsible for the American animation icon, Sam Simon, has passed away, aged 59.

Simon got his start writing episodes for Cheers and Taxi before teaming up with Groening and Brooks for The Simpsons. He worked on the show, co-writing numerous episodes, until 1993, when he left but still retained an executive producer title. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2012 and passed away in his Los Angeles home Sunday.

The writer, who received nine Emmy awards for his work on The Simpsons and beyond, made headlines late last year when he announced plans to give away his $100 million fortune through The Sam Simon Foundation [http://www.samsimonfoundation.com/] and other charitable efforts. The Sam Simon Foundation rescues stray dogs and trains them to help people with disabilities.

Source: GameSpot [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-simpsons-co-creator-sam-simon-passes-away-at-5/1100-6425810/]

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[RaikuFA]

Very sad. Been watching some classics lately and gonna watch a few more in his honor.

 

[FalloutJack]

I think everyone knows the obvious reaction espressed in one well-placed catchphrase, so I need not say it.

My parents, when I was a kid, always tried to prevent me from watching things that weren't seemingly for a kid, but frankly I never could see the point of their forbidding The Simpsons. The swearing? Hah. My dad. The tongue-in-cheek humor about all the crap that happens in that world? Like Dilbert, alot of that has some origin in the real world and is not so surprising. My folks were just over-protective. The show's fine. Sorry about the loss.

 

[ghalleon0915]

I guess when a show has run as long as The Simpsons has, this kind of thing starts to happen more frequently. He's still pretty young too, and wow, did not know he wrote some episodes for Cheers, I loved that show. At least he has a legacy with his foundation, that's pretty good, training stray dogs to help people with disabilities.

Still, sad to hear that one of the creators of one of my favorite shows of all time has passed on.

 

[bdcjacko]

Ah, that is to bad.59 is not very old.

 

[thewatergamer]

Well that's a downer regardless of your opinion on the show, no doubt this is a great loss... R.I.P. Sam

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I think everyone knows the obvious reaction espressed in one well-placed catchphrase, so I need not say it.

My parents, when I was a kid, always tried to prevent me from watching things that weren't seemingly for a kid, but frankly I never could see the point of their forbidding The Simpsons. The swearing? Hah. My dad. The tongue-in-cheek humor about all the crap that happens in that world? Like Dilbert, alot of that has some origin in the real world and is not so surprising. My folks were just over-protective. The show's fine. Sorry about the loss.

You know, my parents were also super over-protective about me and my sister watching The Simpsons. I'm still not sure why.

 

[Lightknight]

$100 million to a dog rescue project to train dogs for the handicapped? You'd think there'd be more deserving causes (such as picking a few cancer research facilities you believe in and funding them) but hey, at least the dude did something socially responsible with his wealth. Just sounds like an odd choice.

It's always sad to see someone who brought joy to millions disappear forever. 59 is pretty young nowadays.

 

[Lightknight]

$100 million to a dog rescue project to train dogs for the handicapped? You'd think there'd be more deserving causes (such as picking a few cancer research facilities you believe in and funding them) but hey, at least the dude did something socially responsible with his wealth. Just sounds like an odd choice.

I thought the same but it is a really good cause and if everyone thinks like we do they probably don't get a lot of cash.

Yeah, and it's really conflicting to have any criticism of someone who did so much good.