50 Fun Facts About Matt Groening

In which city was he born?

Several Springfield characters are named after Portland streets.

Which college in Olympia, Washington did he attend from 1972?

He called it a hippie college with no grades that drew every weirdo in the Northwest, and left without a degree.

Which campus newspaper did he edit as a student?

He wrote articles and drew cartoons for it as well.

Which fellow cartoonist, met at college, has he called 'probably his biggest inspiration'?

They bonded after he learned she had received a reply to a fan letter to Joseph Heller.

Life in Hell was loosely inspired by a chapter in a book by which philosopher?

The chapter was 'How to Go to Hell' in Critique of Religion and Philosophy.

To which avant-garde magazine did he make his first professional cartoon sale in 1978?

The strip was titled 'Forbidden Words'.

At which Los Angeles record store did he work and sell copies of his comic book?

Copies went for two dollars each at the punk corner of the Sunset Boulevard shop.

In which alternative newspaper did Life in Hell begin running weekly in 1980?

He also delivered papers, typeset and answered phones there.

Which future Simpsons voice actor was a fan of his made-up music column?

Shearer was already known for This Is Spinal Tap.

Who published the first Life in Hell book, Love Is Hell, in 1984?

Then his girlfriend and later his wife, she built the strip from 11 weeklies to 250 papers.

Which stressed, therapy-going rabbit is the star of Life in Hell?

Groening once pitched him to an editor as 'the rabbit with one ear' — though that was actually his son.

What physical feature distinguishes the rabbit Bongo from his father?

Groening admits it exists only so casual readers can tell the two apart.

Which identically drawn, fez-wearing duo ran businesses like the Tofu Hut in the strip?

Groening has described them as brothers or lovers or both — whatever offends you most.

The fez-wearing duo's designs began as failed attempts to draw which character?

They kept the striped shirts.

In which year did the final new Life in Hell strip run?

It ended with one of Akbar and Jeff dancing and the other giving in: 'Well, I tried.'

After the 2006 US elections he briefly retitled his strip as what?

The change lasted from 2007.

Which producer contacted him in 1985 about animated shorts for a Fox variety show?

Brooks had received a Life in Hell original, 'The Los Angeles Way of Death', as a gift.

The first Simpsons shorts aired as bumpers on which Fox variety programme?

The shorts debuted on April 19, 1987.

Why did he refuse to adapt his comic-strip characters for television?

He also worried a failed show would take the strip down with it.

Where did he hurriedly sketch the Simpson family for the first time?

The family was designed to be recognisable in silhouette.

Bart's name is an anagram of which word?

Groening thought naming the boy after himself would be too obvious.

After whom did he name Homer and Marge?

Lisa and Maggie are his younger sisters; his mother's maiden name was Wiggum.

Whom did he name in 1995 as the actual inspiration for Bart?

He insists his family is otherwise nothing like the Simpsons.

What did he hide in Homer's hairline and ear in the original design?

The M and G were too distracting, but he still draws the ear as a G for fans.

Marge's beehive hairstyle was inspired by which film?

His mother wore a similar style in the 1960s, though never in blue.

To how many spikes was Bart's hair eventually standardised?

The first shorts gave him spikier hair of uneven lengths.

Where does Chief Wiggum's surname come from?

Margaret Wiggum was a former teacher of Norwegian descent.

Flanders, Lovejoy, Quimby and Kearney are all names of what?

Sideshow Bob Terwilliger, despite fan belief, was not named after Terwilliger Boulevard.

Sideshow Bob Terwilliger was named after a character in which film?

The Dr. Seuss-scripted musical features the piano tyrant Dr. Terwilliker.

The writers' choice of 'Abraham' for Grampa coincidentally matched whose name?

Groening had refused to name Grampa himself for exactly that reason.

With which Christmas special did the half-hour series premiere in December 1989?

It aired on December 17, 1989.

Which co-developer of The Simpsons had a 'very contentious' relationship with him?

Simon left the show in 1993 over creative differences.

From which 1995 crossover episode with The Critic did he ask to have his name removed?

He feared viewers would see it as an advert for The Critic at The Simpsons' expense.

With which Simpsons writer did he develop Futurama from 1997?

Cohen was still credited as David S. Cohen at the time.

In which year did Futurama premiere on Fox?

Groening called getting it on air the worst experience of his grown-up life.

Futurama is set in which year?

The pilot was titled 'Space Pilot 3000'.

Which network picked Futurama up in 2008 after Fox cancelled it?

Strong DVD sales and Adult Swim rerun ratings had kept it alive.

What is the title of the fantasy series he created for Netflix in 2018?

It grew from a sketchbook of creatures he could not use on The Simpsons.

In which fictional medieval kingdom is his Netflix fantasy series set?

Princess Bean, the demon Luci and the elf Elfo are its leads.

Bongo Comics, which he co-founded in 1993, is named after what?

He wanted to bring humour into what he saw as a grim comic-book market.

He has named which Captain Beefheart record as his favourite album?

It was produced by Frank Zappa, his favourite artist.

He illustrated the cover of a 1996 posthumous tribute album to which musician?

He has also curated two editions of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival.

Which band of best-selling authors lists him as its cowbell player?

Stephen King, Amy Tan and Dave Barry are among his bandmates.

Which National Cartoonists Society honour did he receive in 2002?

He had been nominated for the same prize in 2000.

His brother-in-law Craig Bartlett created which animated series?

Bartlett was married to Groening's sister Lisa.

What provision did Brooks negotiate into the Simpsons contract with Fox?

Groening said his goal was an alternative to 'the mainstream trash' viewers were watching.

Which episode was produced first but aired last in season one because of animation problems?

It finally broadcast in May 1990.

In which episode did he voice his own animated counterpart?

He still serves as executive producer and creative consultant.

A failed 1994 live-action spin-off pitch was built around which character?

Dan Castellaneta would have played the lead.

Which former president did he enjoy ridiculing in both The Simpsons and Futurama?

Nixon's head in a jar became a Futurama regular.