Matt Groening

Matthew Abram Groening (born February 15, 1954) (name rhymes with raining, IPA {{IPA|)}} is an American cartoonist and the creator of the animated series The Simpsons and Futurama. He currently serves at the former as creative consultant.

The Simpsons

Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strip caught the attention of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, and asked Groening to developed a series of short animation skits to be featured on the FOX variety show The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. The animation skits would later be known as The Simpsons.{{ref|the-simpsons}}

Related Topics:
Gracie Films - James L. Brooks - The Tracey Ullman Show - The Simpsons

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The Simpsons family character names

He quickly named the main family Simpson characters after his own family (reportedly he was not feeling very creative in those fifteen minutes), his parents, Homer and Margaret (Marge), and his younger sisters, Lisa and Maggie. Groening also has an older brother and sister, Mark and Patty, but these siblings were left out of the main Simpson family. As for Groening himself, he decided it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself and therefore chose the name "Bart" (an anagram of brat).

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Not wishing to curse another member of his family by lending their name to a cartoon character, Groening says he refused to name Homer's dad, instead choosing to leave the room. When he returned, the writers had given him the name of Abraham, which coincidentally turned out to be the name of Groening's grandfather. The name 'Wiggum' for the police chief Clancy Wiggum came from Groening's mother's maiden name. Groening has also named his own sons Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe (which is the name of Grandpa Simpson). Other names, like other elements of the cartoon, are rife with obscure and not-so-obscure references to pop-culture for alert viewers to discover on their own.

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Other character names

Groening grew up in Portland, Oregon, and seems to have found names for some characters from major Portland street names such as Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby, and Terwilliger.

Related Topics:
Portland, Oregon - Characters - Flanders - Lovejoy - Powell - Quimby - Terwilliger

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