Sam Simon

Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American television writer, producer and animal rights activist who co-developed the animated sitcom The Simpsons.

While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. Simon submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was produced, and he later became the series' showrunner. Over the next few years, Simon wrote and produced for Cheers, It's Garry Shandling's Show and other programs, as well as writing the 1991 film The Super.

Simon turned to fields outside television in his later years. He regularly appeared on Howard Stern's radio shows, managed boxer Lamon Brewster and helped guide him to the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship in 2004, and was a regular poker player and six-time in the money finisher at the World Series of Poker. Simon founded the Sam Simon Foundation, which consists of a mobile veterinary clinic that goes into low-income neighborhoods offering free surgeries for cats and dogs several days per week, as well as a program that rescues and trains shelter dogs. He also funded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel MY Sam Simon. Simon was engaged at the time of his death, having been previously twice married, including to the actress Jennifer Tilly. Following a profile of Simon on 60 Minutes in 2007, CBS writer Daniel Schorn wrote in an online article that Simon was "perhaps the Renaissance man of the baffling, uncertain age we live in." He died on March 8, 2015.

Early life Simon was born on June 6, 1955, in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish family. He grew up in Beverly Hills and Malibu. ) was a clothing manufacturer of Estonian-Jewish heritage. Simon had a childhood which has been described as "comfortable" and "privileged". a college newspaper, Simon majored in psychology, but did not focus on his academics. "Battle of the Ex's", "Fairytales Can Come True", "Cheerio Cheers" and "The Bartender's Tale". Simon created, wrote and produced the short-lived sitcom Shaping Up in 1984, alongside Ken Estin; the show starred Leslie Nielsen as a gym owner and ran for five episodes on ABC. Simon also wrote and produced for Best of the West (1981), Barney Miller (1982) and It's Garry Shandling's Show (1987–1988),

The Simpsons

In the beginning, I was skeptical it could be successful, but I was not skeptical it could be good. I was hoping for 13 episodes that my friends would like. It's a good lesson, isn't it? If you do something trying to make your friends laugh and that you can be proud of, you can also be successful. — Simon on his work on The Simpsons. The premise for the series originated as a series of short cartoons airing in 1987 as part of The Tracey Ullman Show, on which Simon was a writer and executive producer alongside James L. Brooks, with whom Simon had worked on Taxi. For The Simpsons, Simon served alongside Matt Groening (who conceived the show and the five main characters) and Brooks as executive producer and showrunner for the show's first (1989–1990) and second (1990–1991) seasons, and was creative supervisor for the first four seasons.

Simon has been credited with "developing [the show's] sensibility." while Vitti has stated to "leave out Sam Simon" is to tell "the managed version" of The Simpsons history, because "he was the guy we wrote for." Levine says that Simon "brought a level of honesty to the characters" and made them "three-dimensional," adding that his "comedy is all about character, not just a string of gags. In The Simpsons, the characters are motivated by their emotions and their foibles. 'What are they thinking?'—that is Sam's contribution. The stories come from the characters." as well as many of the one-time and guest-star roles, such as Bleeding Gums Murphy. One of his contributions to the show's character development was his proposal that Waylon Smithers should be gay, but that this should never have too much attention drawn to it; Smithers' sexuality became one of the show's longest-running gags. Simon saw The Simpsons as a chance to solve "what [he] didn't like about the Saturday-morning cartoon shows [he had] worked on ... [he] wanted all the actors in a room together, not reading their lines separated from each other. The Simpsons would have been a great radio show. If you just listen to the sound track, it works." Simon adapted Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" for the third segment of the season two episode "Treehouse of Horror." Groening was nervous about "The Raven" because it did not have many gags, and felt it would be "the worst, most pretentious thing [they had] ever done" on the show. Nevertheless, the segment has often been praised as one of the best Treehouse of Horror stories in the show's history. Ryan J. Budke of TV Squad described the segment as "one of the most refined Simpsons pop references ever," and knows "people that consider this the point that they realized The Simpsons could be both highly hilarious and highly intelligent." Simon co-wrote the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" with Swartzwelder, an episode which Tom Shales of The Washington Post has described as "a bull's-eye political satire". The final episode he co-wrote for season two was "The Way We Was," alongside Jean and Reiss. While Reiss and Jean took over as showrunners, Simon remained on the writing staff for seasons three (1991–1992) and four (1992–1993). For the third season he co-wrote "Treehouse of Horror II," and conceived the story for the Sideshow Bob episode "Black Widower," together with mystery author Thomas Chastain, hoping to construct a full mystery story; Vitti wrote the episode's teleplay. Simon also substantially contributed to the episode "Stark Raving Dad," pitched the episode "Homer at the Bat," and proposed the "Land of Chocolate" sequence from "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk." Simon's final writing credit was for the "Dial 'Z' For Zombies" segment of "Treehouse of Horror III."

Although they initially worked well together, Simon and Groening's relationship became "very contentious" according to Groening. Simon never expected the show to be a success, often proclaiming to fellow staff members "We're thirteen and out"—meaning that the show would be cancelled after the thirteenth episode of the first season. he elaborated in 2009 that "Really I was saying that to take the pressure off of everyone. I was just saying let's just go out and make 13 episodes that are really good and really funny." Simon later spoke well of Groening's influence, particularly on the show's positive tone.

Simon left The Simpsons in 1993; he commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," wished to pursue other projects, and that of "any show I've ever worked on, it turns me into a monster. I go crazy. I hate myself." Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that saw him receive a share of the show's profits every year, particularly from home media, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since 1993. He conceived the show as what Carlin's life would have been like had he never become a comedian; Carlin played a heavy drinking New York taxi driver. Simon commented: "When I was doing The Simpsons, people couldn't see how smart it was because of the low moments. There's something about this show. People who like it say it's classy. They don't see how vulgar it is." Carlin wrote negatively of his relationship with Simon. On his own website, Carlin wrote of the show: "always check mental health of creative partner beforehand. Loved the actors, loved the crew. Had a great time. Couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there." In his final book, the posthumously published Last Words (2009), Carlin elaborated: "I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, Tony Starke. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage ... The biggest problem, though, was that Sam Simon was a fucking horrible person to be around. Very, very funny, extremely bright and brilliant, but an unhappy person who treated other people poorly." Simon described himself as "combative" and said that most people see him as having a "bad attitude". the Friends season three episode "The One Without the Ski Trip" in 1997, and several episodes of The Norm Show (1999) and The Michael Richards Show (2000).

From 1999 to some time in the early 2000s, Simon was President of e-Nexus Studios the once entertainment content arm of ZeniMax Media, Parent Company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. After E-Nexus was shut down, Simon became President of the creative group at ZeniMax Productions, another subsidiary of ZeniMax. ZeniMax Productions and its sister division Vir2L Studios jointly created four online games featured on the website for the series Survivor: The Australian Outback.

After leaving The Simpsons and The George Carlin Show, Simon sought to find a "life outside television," as working in the industry "made [him] crazy." Simon had his own show on Radioio. Simon returned to television production work in 2012, serving as a consultant and director on the series Anger Management for half a day a week.

Other ventures Animal rights

Simon was a staunch advocate for animal rights and veganism, and described himself as an "animal lover". An episode of 60 Minutes broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the grandest dog shelter in the country, a five star, [] spread in Malibu, perhaps the most desirable real estate on the planet. Here, among the waterfalls and the manicured grounds, The Sam Simon Foundation gives stray and abandoned dogs a new lease on life, literally." primarily the deaf. which was unveiled in December 2012. Simon was also a board member for Save the Children, Simon has stated that animal rights charities have been his main preference for donations, over other causes like human disease and environmental damage, because "your money can bring success" with visible results. He also won the $300 438-player No-Limit Hold'em Bounty $100,000 Guarantee at the 2009 L.A. Poker Open, winning $22,228. His biggest win in terms of both field size and prize money was the $200 1,082-player No-Limit Hold'em $150,000 Guarantee at the 2010 Winnin O' The Green, where he won $57,308. he produced the show.

Awards +Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1983 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Taxi 1985 Cheers 1986 Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Comedy Cheers: "Fairy Tales Can Come True" 1987 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program The Tracey Ullman Show

Additionally, Simon won a Peabody Award for The Simpsons in 1996.

Personal life Simon was married to actress and fellow poker player Jennifer Tilly from 1984 to 1991; they remained friends after their divorce. As of 2018, Tilly receives 30 percent of net proceeds that Simon's estate receives from the show. He married Playboy Playmate Jami Ferrell in 2000, and the marriage lasted three weeks.

Simon became a vegetarian at the age of 19 and when joining People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals around 2000, he turned to veganism. He had three dogs.

He lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in the restored Bailey House, designed by Richard Neutra. He arranged for his fortune to be left to various charitable causes, stating: "The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this." Simon died in his Los Angeles home from complications of the disease on March 8, 2015, aged 59. His remains are interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Controversy surrounds the management of his trust as well as the lack of donations to groups that he supported in his lifetime.

The Simpsons episode "Waiting for Duffman" was dedicated to him.

Filmography