Matt Groening is a popular American animator. Perhaps his most famous work is the mega-successful animated series The Simpsons. In this article we will talk in detail about this person. Want to learn about the life of this animator, his work, and so on, then read this article.
Matt Groening: biography
The future animator was born on February 15, 1954 in Portland. Matt Groening (photo can be seen above) lived in a large family with five children (he was his third child). Father Homer Groning worked as a director and screenwriter, mother Margaret Groning was a teacher.
He studied at Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington). Already there his talents for drawing first appeared. Matt was the editor-in-chief of a local university newspaper and at times drew illustrations, mini-comics.
In order to engage in literature, Matt Groening moved to Los Angeles (1977). In order to feed himself, he had to work very hard. For the three years spent in Los Angeles, Matt managed to visit the shoes of a courier, journalist, driver and even a record seller. In his spare time, the animator tried to develop his skills by drawing comics. Several of Groening's works have been published in newspapers and magazines. Thanks to this, in 1982, the future animator was entrusted with conducting a rock and roll column in the Los Angeles Reader. But due to the fact that in his articles, Matt often wrote about his childhood and life, Groening was removed.
In that Los Angeles Reader, Matthew met his future wife, Deborah Kaplan. She helped publish one of Groening's first successful works, titled "Love Is Hell." This work was a rather voluminous comic book. Towards the end of the 1980s, Matt illustrated and drew up brochures and posters for Apple.
But a turning point in Groening's life occurred in 1985, when producer James Brooks became interested in a promising artist. It was he who suggested Matthew to work as a multiplier, which he eagerly agreed. And so began the story of the legendary animated series.
"The Simpsons"
Matt Groening was supposed to draw short entertaining sketches for a popular television show called The Tracy Ullman Show. It was then that the Simpsons family came out of the artist's pen. Short films were to the taste of many viewers, so in 1987 the first full-fledged thirty-minute series of the animated series appeared.
As you can read above, Matthew often uses autobiographical moments in his work. The animated series "The Simpsons" was no exception. So, the characters Marge and Homer were named after the parents of the animator, and Patty, Maggie and Lisa got their names in honor of the sisters Matt.
Over the next 30 years, the series enjoyed such popularity that in 2007 even a feature film entitled "The Simpsons in the Movie" was released.
Futurama
The animated series Futurama is another less successful brainchild of Matthew. All actions take place in the year 300, and the cartoon itself tells about the Interplanetary Express team, which is engaged in the delivery of cargo throughout the galaxy. The work was created in conjunction with David Cohen (a popular television screenwriter) and was broadcast on Fox from 1999 to 2003. A couple of years after the series officially closed, 4 feature films were released, which were later split into 16 episodes. And in 2010, thanks to the support of Comedy Central, a new season of the animated series was released. But, unfortunately, all attempts to revive Futurama were in vain, as representatives of Comedy Central refused to renew the contract. As a result, at the moment there are only 8 seasons of this animated series.
Matt Groening: filmography
As they say, a talented person is talented in everything. So, Matt Groening is not only a delightful animator, the creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama", he also boasts an incomprehensible acting talent. In this part of the article we will talk about the main roles of Groening in the cinema.
Matthew often played in various American television series ("Reservoir Dogs", "Daily Show", "Cultural Show", "Space Ghost", etc.). As for large films, Groening appeared in such films as "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", "Peefeeyatko", "The Seventh Python" and others. In addition, the animator quite often attends a program such as the Oprah Winfrey Show.