Sam Simon
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director
, producer
, writer
, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University
, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script
for the sitcom Taxi
, which was produced, and 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
.
In 1989 he developed the animated comedy series The Simpsons
, along with Matt Groening
and James L. Brooks
. Simon assembled the show's first writing team, co-wrote eight episodes and has been credited with "developing [the show's] sensibility". Simon's relationship with Groening was strained and he left the show in 1993, negotiating a pay-off which sees him receive tens of millions of dollars from the show's revenue each year. The following year he co-created The George Carlin Show
, before later working as a director on shows such as The Drew Carey Show
. Simon has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards for his television work.
Simon has since turned to fields outside of television: he regularly appears on Howard Stern
's radio shows, managed boxer Lamon Brewster
and helped guide him to the World Boxing Organization
Heavyweight Championship in 2004, is a regular poker player and six-time in the money finisher at the World Series of Poker
, and runs the charity the Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues and trains stray dogs. He has been married twice, including to the actress Jennifer Tilly
, and is currently engaged. 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."
, United States, and grew up in Beverly Hills
, and Malibu. He had a childhood which has been described as "comfortable" and "privileged". Simon was interested in art from a young age, appearing on televised local art programs at the age of five. He attended Beverly Hills High School
and later Stanford University
, graduating in 1977. At Stanford, he served as a cartoonist
for the college newspaper, but was denied admission to a drawing class for not being talented enough. He majored in psychology
.
. After graduating, he worked as a television storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. There he worked on several animated shows, including Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
(1979). Simon recalls Filmation approving of his work because he was "self-taught and unschooled." On the suggestion of Filmation producer Lou Scheimer
who was impressed by Simon's writing ability, Simon submitted a spec script
for the series Taxi
which was produced and aired in 1981. Simon was hired as a writer, quickly becoming showrunner, working on the show until 1983. Simon next worked as a writer and producer on Cheers
from seasons one to three (1982-1985), writing five episodes: "Endless Slumper", "Battle of the Ex's", "Fairytales Can Come True", "Cheerio Cheers" and "The Bartender's Tale". He 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), and wrote the 1991 film The Super
.
, which premiered on the Fox network in 1989 and has remained on air ever since. The show is regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time, with Time
magazine naming it the 20th century's best series. The premise began life as a series of short cartoons airing as part of The Tracey Ullman Show
in 1987, on which Simon was a writer and executive producer alongside James L. Brooks
. The cartoons were developed into a full series two years later. For The Simpsons, Simon served alongside Matt Groening
(who conceived the show and the five main characters
) and Brooks as showrunner for the show's first
(1989-1990) and second
(1990-1991
) seasons, and was creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He assembled and led the initial team of writers, consisting of John Swartzwelder
, Jon Vitti
, George Meyer
, Jeff Martin
, Al Jean
, Mike Reiss
, Jay Kogen
and Wallace Wolodarsky
.
Simon has been credited as "developing [the show's] sensibility". Former The Simpsons director Brad Bird
has described him as "the unsung hero" of the show. Writer Ken Levine
calls him "the real creative force behind The Simpsons...The tone, the storytelling, the level of humor – that was all developed on Sam's watch." 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." Simon designed the models for several of the show's recurring characters, including Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum and Eddie and Lou, 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 was credited with co-writing the season one episodes "The Telltale Head
", "The Crepes of Wrath
", and the season finale "Some Enchanted Evening
". "Some Enchanted Evening" was intended to be the show's premiere but was delayed due to poor animation. Simon adapted Edgar Allen 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 canceled after the thirteen episodes of the first season. Therefore, he also told the staff that they had creative freedom to do whatever they wanted to make The Simpsons as good a show as possible, regardless of network or public opinion, because he thought it inevitably would not be renewed; 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." However, Groening interpreted it as meaning Simon was uncommitted and did not care whether the show was a success or not, as Simon's career would survive, whereas his own would not. In 2001, Groening described Simon as "brilliantly funny and one of the smartest writers I've ever worked with, although unpleasant and mentally unbalanced." According to John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
, when the show became successful Simon resented the media attention Groening received, particularly the praise for the show's writing; Simon felt that Groening's involvement was limited, and that he should have been the one receiving credit for the show. As well as Groening, Simon was often at odds with Brooks and production company Gracie Films
. While working on The Simpsons, he and Brooks had co-created the series Sibs
(1991) and Phenom
(1993) as part of a multi-series deal for ABC; both were poorly received and swiftly canceled, which put a strain on the pair's relationship. Simon left Gracie Films and The Simpsons in 1993. Simon commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," and "that 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 sees him receive a share of the show's profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since. The deal means he makes over 10 million dollars a year from The Simpsons; he later told Stanford Magazine that "tens of millions" was a closer figure. Simon commented: "When I was there I thought I was underpaid. I thought I wasn't getting enough credit for it. Now, I think it's completely the opposite. I get too much credit for it. And the money is ridiculous."
the sitcom The George Carlin Show
for Fox. It aired 27 episodes before being canceled in December 1995. Simon served as showrunner throughout its run and directed several episodes. Simon convinced Carlin to do the show after writing it as something which would not be "typically sitcomy." He conceived the show as what Carlin's life would have been like had he never become a comedian; Carlin plays 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 has written negatively of his relationship with Simon. On his 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."
In the late 1990s, Simon primarily worked as a director. He directed on the American adaptation of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly
in 1996, 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 1998 to 2003, he served as a consulting producer and director for The Drew Carey Show
, and directed the show's series finale. He was also a creative consultant on Bless This House
in 1996.
's radio shows. He wrote and directed the one-off radio sitcom "The Bitter Half" for Stern's Howard 101
in 2006.
Since 2002, Simon has self-funded, at the annual cost of several million dollars, the Sam Simon Foundation dedicated to rescuing and retraining stray dogs who would otherwise be euthanized. An episode of 60 Minutes
broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the grandest dog shelter in the country, a five star, [6 acre (0.02428116 km²; 0.00937500828913072 sq mi)] 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." As Simon explains, the foundation aims to "rescue dogs" and "train them to be service dogs, [to help] people with disabilities," primarily the deaf. It also provides a free mobile spay and neutering service for low-income pet owners, free operations for sick dogs, and trains dogs to help soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with post-traumatic stress disorder
. Simon says the money he uses is "well spent just for the pleasure it gives me." The training program has a 20% success rate, because many of the rescued dogs "have physical and psychological problems" but the dogs which cannot be trained are put up for adoption. The foundation is non-profit, does not accept public donations, but does receive some federal government funding due to a bill written and passed by Senator Al Franken
. In 2011 Simon established the Sam Simon Foundation Feeding Families program to provide food for people and animals in need. Simon is also a board member for Save the Children
, and hosts the largest annual fundraiser for PETA
. Simon stated in 2011 that there is "nothing [which gives him] more pleasure than" helping others via his charities.
Simon has long been a fan of boxing, attending fights with his grandfather, but his interest increased particularly after seeing the 1990 heavyweight championship fight between Evander Holyfield
and James "Buster" Douglas which he described as "the most electrifying feeling I'd had in my life." He began training and won six out of nine amateur fights; he was also a reserve contestant on the Fox series Celebrity Boxing
. Simon was for eight years the manager of heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster
, the now-retired former World Boxing Organization
heavyweight champion. He met Brewster in 1997 and began managing him, helping him rise to the top of the WBO rankings. Simon considers guiding Brewster to his April 2004 victory over Wladimir Klitschko
to win the vacant WBO Heavyweight Championship, with Klitschko the heavy favorite, to be amongst the greatest moments of his life; it "eclipsed everything he had achieved in a glittering 26-year showbiz career." Before the Klitschko fight, Simon calculated he had spent several hundred thousand dollars funding Brewster, paying him a large salary on top of match fees as well as letting him stay rent-free at one of his houses, and taking only a 10% cut of the match fees; however, he never intended boxing to be a substantial "source of revenue". Simon retired from boxing management soon after Brewster became WBO Heavyweight Champion.
Simon is a regular poker player and particularly plays Texas hold 'em
. He was introduced to the game as a child through weekly family poker games and casino trips with his grandfather. Simon did not consider himself a serious player until a game at writer David Steinberg
's house with several "scholarly" players, which encouraged him to study the game and enter numerous tournaments, although he decided not to become professional. He has competed at the World Series of Poker
(WSOP) each year between 2007 and 2011, finishing in the money in six events. In 2007
, at the 6,358-player $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Main Event, he finished 329th for a $39,445 payday. He also finished 16th winning $35,493 at the $1,000 1,048-player No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys in 2007, 41st winning $10,708 at the $1,000 706-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008
, 53rd winning $10,692 at the $1,000 879-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008, 20th winning $24,066 at the $10,000 275-player World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em in 2009
, and 500th winning $23,876 at the $10,000 6,865-player No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2011
. 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. Simon's private poker games between him and his celebrity friends have been described as "raucous and very entertaining". Their reputation led Playboy TV
to produce the show Sam's Game
, a televised version featuring Simon as host and master of ceremonies of a Las Vegas celebrity Texas Hold 'em match; he also produced the show. He had previously appeared on a 2009 episode of High Stakes Poker
.
in 1989 and Outstanding Writing In A Variety Or Music Program
in 1990. In the former he was nominated again in 1990, for the latter he was also nominated in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He received the Emmy Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
for The Simpsons in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001 with further nominations in 1990 (for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
" which was counted as a separate special), 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2002. He was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series
for Taxi in 1983 and Cheers in 1985, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for It's Garry Shandling's Show in 1988 and Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special for The Best of Tracey Ullman Show in 1990. He also won a Peabody Award
for The Simpsons in 1996.
from 1984 to 1991 and remains friends with her. He later married Playboy
Playmate Jami Ferrell, and the marriage lasted three weeks. He lives in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in the restored Bailey House, built by Richard Neutra
. After being destroyed by a fire in 2007, Simon redesigned his home to be environmentally friendly; much of the interior is constructed from recycled materials while solar panels provide virtually its entire power needs. The building has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Gold certificate. Simon has three dogs, supports the Democratic Party
, and is a vegan. He has an extensive art collection; he owns paintings by Thomas Hart Benton
, John Singer Sargent
and one of the original casts of Auguste Rodin
's The Thinker
. He also has a sculpture by Robert Graham
and works by Alberto Vargas
, Gil Elvgren
, Ed Ruscha and Richard Estes
.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
for the sitcom Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, which was produced, and later became the series' showrunner. Over the next few years, Simon wrote and produced for Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
and other programs, as well as writing the 1991 film The Super
The Super
The Super is a 1991 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci as a New York slum landlord sentenced to live in one of his own buildings until it is brought up to code...
.
In 1989 he developed the animated comedy series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, along with Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
and James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
. Simon assembled the show's first writing team, co-wrote eight episodes and has been credited with "developing [the show's] sensibility". Simon's relationship with Groening was strained and he left the show in 1993, negotiating a pay-off which sees him receive tens of millions of dollars from the show's revenue each year. The following year he co-created The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by veteran TV producer Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.-Synopsis:...
, before later working as a director on shows such as The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
. Simon has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards for his television work.
Simon has since turned to fields outside of television: he regularly appears on Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's radio shows, managed boxer Lamon Brewster
Lamon Brewster
"Relentless" Lamon Tajuan Brewster is a retired American professional heavyweight boxer, and former WBO heavyweight champion. He won the silver medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata....
and helped guide him to the World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
Heavyweight Championship in 2004, is a regular poker player and six-time in the money finisher at the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
, and runs the charity the Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues and trains stray dogs. He has been married twice, including to the actress Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
, and is currently engaged. Following a profile of Simon on 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
in 2007, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
writer Daniel Schorn wrote in an online article that Simon was "perhaps the Renaissance man of the baffling, uncertain age we live in."
Early life
Simon was born in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States, and grew up in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, and Malibu. He had a childhood which has been described as "comfortable" and "privileged". Simon was interested in art from a young age, appearing on televised local art programs at the age of five. He attended Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
and later Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, graduating in 1977. At Stanford, he served as a cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
for the college newspaper, but was denied admission to a drawing class for not being talented enough. He majored in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Early career
While still at Stanford, Simon got his first job as a newspaper sports cartoonist for The San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco ExaminerThe San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
. After graduating, he worked as a television storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. There he worked on several animated shows, including Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
(1979). Simon recalls Filmation approving of his work because he was "self-taught and unschooled." On the suggestion of Filmation producer Lou Scheimer
Lou Scheimer
Louis Scheimer is an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning American producer, one of the original founders of Filmation, an animation company, and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons .-Career:Early in Filmation's history, Scheimer also contributed...
who was impressed by Simon's writing ability, Simon submitted a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
for the series Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
which was produced and aired in 1981. Simon was hired as a writer, quickly becoming showrunner, working on the show until 1983. Simon next worked as a writer and producer on Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
from seasons one to three (1982-1985), writing five episodes: "Endless Slumper", "Battle of the Ex's", "Fairytales Can Come True", "Cheerio Cheers" and "The Bartender's Tale". He created, wrote and produced the short-lived sitcom Shaping Up
Shaping Up
Shaping Up is a short-lived American sitcom created by writer-producers Sam Simon and Ken Estin, which ran for five weeks on ABC.-Synopsis:...
in 1984, alongside Ken Estin
Ken Estin
Ken Estin is an American Emmy Award-winning television producer and screenwriter. He has worked on Taxi and The Tracey Ullman Show, and Cheers.-External links:...
; the show starred Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
as a gym owner and ran for five episodes on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Simon also wrote and produced for Best of the West
Best of the West
Best of the West is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982.-Synopsis:The Old West spoof featured the misadventures of Sam Best, a Civil War veteran who becomes a marshal in Copper Creek after accidentally scaring off an incompetent gunfighter called the Calico...
(1981), Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
(1982) and It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
(1987-1988), and wrote the 1991 film The Super
The Super
The Super is a 1991 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci as a New York slum landlord sentenced to live in one of his own buildings until it is brought up to code...
.
The Simpsons
Simon co-developed the animated series The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, which premiered on the Fox network in 1989 and has remained on air ever since. The show is regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time, with Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine naming it the 20th century's best series. The premise began life as a series of short cartoons airing as part of The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
in 1987, on which Simon was a writer and executive producer alongside James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
. The cartoons were developed into a full series two years later. For The Simpsons, Simon served alongside Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
(who conceived the show and the five main characters
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
) and Brooks as showrunner for the show's first
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
(1989-1990) and second
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
(1990-1991
1990-91 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all four networks for the fall season beginning in September 1990. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.New series are highlighted in bold....
) seasons, and was creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He assembled and led the initial team of writers, consisting of John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
, Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
, George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (writer)
Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
, Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
, Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
and Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky is an American television writer and director. He wrote for The Simpsons during the first four seasons; all of his episodes were co-written with former writing partner Jay Kogen...
.
Simon has been credited as "developing [the show's] sensibility". Former The Simpsons director Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
has described him as "the unsung hero" of the show. Writer Ken Levine
Ken Levine (TV personality)
Ken Levine is a writer, director and producer in the television and film industry. Levine has worked on a number of television series, including M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker and Dharma and Greg...
calls him "the real creative force behind The Simpsons...The tone, the storytelling, the level of humor – that was all developed on Sam's watch." 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." Simon designed the models for several of the show's recurring characters, including Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum and Eddie and Lou, 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
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
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 was credited with co-writing the season one episodes "The Telltale Head
The Telltale Head
"The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons first season, and it originally aired February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart cuts the head off the statue of Jebediah Springfield in the center of...
", "The Crepes of Wrath
The Crepes of Wrath
"The Crepes of Wrath" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired April 15, 1990. The episode was written by George Meyer, Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti, and was directed by Wes Archer and Milton Gray. In the episode, Bart is sent to France on a student...
", and the season finale "Some Enchanted Evening
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)
"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth, final aired, and first produced episode of The Simpsons first season and originally aired on the Fox network on May 13, 1990. Although it was the first episode produced, it aired as the season finale due to significant animation problems. The episode...
". "Some Enchanted Evening" was intended to be the show's premiere but was delayed due to poor animation. Simon adapted Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
for the third segment of the season two episode "Treehouse of Horror
Treehouse of Horror
"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first of a...
". 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
Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 1, 1990. In the episode, Bart catches a three-eyed fish in a river downstream of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant...
" with Swartzwelder, an episode which Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
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
The Way We Was
"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, we see how Homer falls in love with...
", alongside Jean and Reiss. While Reiss and Jean took over as showrunners, Simon remained on the writing staff for seasons three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
(1991-1992) and four
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
(1992-1993). For the third season he co-wrote "Treehouse of Horror II
Treehouse of Horror II
"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments, told as dreams of Lisa, Bart and Homer. In the...
", and conceived the story for the Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
episode "Black Widower
Black Widower
"Black Widower" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons third season, originally airing on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 1992. It was written by Jon Vitti, directed by David Silverman, and saw Kelsey Grammer guest star as Sideshow Bob for the second time. In the episode, Sideshow...
", together with mystery author Thomas Chastain
Thomas Chastain
Thomas Chastain was an American author of crime fiction. He is best known for his bestseller Who Killed the Robins Family? And Where and When and Why and How Did They Die? as well as the sequel to that work. He was born January 17, 1921 and died in September 1994. He served as the president of...
, hoping to construct a full mystery story; Vitti wrote the episode's teleplay. Simon also substantially contributed to the episode "Stark Raving Dad
Stark Raving Dad
"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 19, 1991...
", pitched the episode "Homer at the Bat
Homer at the Bat
"Homer at the Bat" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons third season, which originally aired February 20, 1992. The episode follows the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team, led by Homer, having a winning season and making the championship game. Mr. Burns makes a large bet that the...
", and proposed the "Land of Chocolate" sequence from "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 5, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns wishes to pursue other interests and therefore decides to sell his power plant to two German investors for $100...
". Simon's final writing credit was for the "Dial 'Z' For Zombies" segment of "Treehouse of Horror III
Treehouse of Horror III
"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1992. In the third annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer buys Bart an evil talking Krusty doll, King Homer is captured by Mr. Burns, and Bart...
".
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 canceled after the thirteen episodes of the first season. Therefore, he also told the staff that they had creative freedom to do whatever they wanted to make The Simpsons as good a show as possible, regardless of network or public opinion, because he thought it inevitably would not be renewed; 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." However, Groening interpreted it as meaning Simon was uncommitted and did not care whether the show was a success or not, as Simon's career would survive, whereas his own would not. In 2001, Groening described Simon as "brilliantly funny and one of the smartest writers I've ever worked with, although unpleasant and mentally unbalanced." According to John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History is a book about the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was written by John Ortved, and first published in October 2009 by Faber and Faber...
, when the show became successful Simon resented the media attention Groening received, particularly the praise for the show's writing; Simon felt that Groening's involvement was limited, and that he should have been the one receiving credit for the show. As well as Groening, Simon was often at odds with Brooks and production company Gracie Films
Gracie Films
Gracie Films is an American film and television production company, created by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company has produced many award-winning films and television series, including Broadcast News, Jerry Maguire, and most notably The Simpsons...
. While working on The Simpsons, he and Brooks had co-created the series Sibs
Sibs
Sibs was an American sitcom broadcast by ABC as part of its 1991-92 prime time lineup.Sibs starred veteran actress Marsha Mason as Nora Rusico, a successful accountant and Alex Rocco as her longsuffering husband, Howie. The source of most of Howie's suffering was his wife's younger sisters , Audie...
(1991) and Phenom
Phenom (TV series)
Phenom is an American sitcom about a tennis wunderkind that aired on ABC from September 14, 1993 to May 10, 1994. The series stars Angela Goethals, Judith Light, and William Devane.-Synopsis:...
(1993) as part of a multi-series deal for ABC; both were poorly received and swiftly canceled, which put a strain on the pair's relationship. Simon left Gracie Films and The Simpsons in 1993. Simon commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," and "that 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 sees him receive a share of the show's profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since. The deal means he makes over 10 million dollars a year from The Simpsons; he later told Stanford Magazine that "tens of millions" was a closer figure. Simon commented: "When I was there I thought I was underpaid. I thought I wasn't getting enough credit for it. Now, I think it's completely the opposite. I get too much credit for it. And the money is ridiculous."
Subsequent television work
In January 1994, Simon co-created with comedian George CarlinGeorge Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
the sitcom The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by veteran TV producer Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.-Synopsis:...
for Fox. It aired 27 episodes before being canceled in December 1995. Simon served as showrunner throughout its run and directed several episodes. Simon convinced Carlin to do the show after writing it as something which would not be "typically sitcomy." He conceived the show as what Carlin's life would have been like had he never become a comedian; Carlin plays 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 has written negatively of his relationship with Simon. On his 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
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
, Chris Rich, Tony Starke
Anthony Starke
Anthony Starke is an American actor. Starke is well known for his one episode role in Seinfeld, playing the 3rd person-speaking character Jimmy in "The Jimmy", as well as playing Jack on The George Carlin Show, on Fox.-Biography:...
. 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."
In the late 1990s, Simon primarily worked as a director. He directed on the American adaptation of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly (U.S. TV series)
Men Behaving Badly is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996 to 1997. It was based on the earlier British sitcom of the same name....
in 1996, the Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
season three
Friends (season 3)
The third season of Friends, an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 19, 1996. It is usually regarded as some of the series's finest work. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros....
episode "The One Without the Ski Trip" in 1997, and several episodes of The Norm Show
The Norm Show
The Norm Show is an American television sitcom that ran from 1999 through 2001 on the ABC television network.-Synopsis:...
(1999) and The Michael Richards Show
The Michael Richards Show
The Michael Richards Show is a sitcom that debuted on NBC in 2000. The show starred Michael Richards as reality-challenged but successful private detective Vic Nardozza who gets the job done despite his unconventional methods.- History :...
(2000). From 1998 to 2003, he served as a consulting producer and director for The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, and directed the show's series finale. He was also a creative consultant on Bless This House
Bless This House (US TV series)
Bless This House was an American CBS sitcom which starred Andrew Dice Clay and Cathy Moriarty.-Cast:* Andrew Dice Clay as Burt Clayton* Cathy Moriarty as Alice Clayton* Raegan Kotz as Danny Clayton* Sam Gifaldi as Sean Clayton* Molly Price as Phyllis...
in 1996.
Other ventures
Since leaving The Simpsons and The George Carlin Show, Simon sought to find a "life outside television," as working in the industry "made [him] crazy." He has since retired from full-time television work. On working in television, Simon concludes: "In some ways, it's the greatest job in the world. You make a product that's given away, and all it does is make people smile. Nobody gets hurt, there's no damage, and you can get crazy rich." Simon still works in the media, frequently contributing, as a writer and a participant, to Howard SternHoward Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's radio shows. He wrote and directed the one-off radio sitcom "The Bitter Half" for Stern's Howard 101
Howard 100 and Howard 101
Howard 100 and Howard 101 are two uncensored channels on Sirius XM, a satellite radio service that broadcasts programming affiliated with Howard Stern and The Howard Stern Show...
in 2006.
Since 2002, Simon has self-funded, at the annual cost of several million dollars, the Sam Simon Foundation dedicated to rescuing and retraining stray dogs who would otherwise be euthanized. An episode of 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the grandest dog shelter in the country, a five star, [6 acre (0.02428116 km²; 0.00937500828913072 sq mi)] 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." As Simon explains, the foundation aims to "rescue dogs" and "train them to be service dogs, [to help] people with disabilities," primarily the deaf. It also provides a free mobile spay and neutering service for low-income pet owners, free operations for sick dogs, and trains dogs to help soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
. Simon says the money he uses is "well spent just for the pleasure it gives me." The training program has a 20% success rate, because many of the rescued dogs "have physical and psychological problems" but the dogs which cannot be trained are put up for adoption. The foundation is non-profit, does not accept public donations, but does receive some federal government funding due to a bill written and passed by Senator Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
. In 2011 Simon established the Sam Simon Foundation Feeding Families program to provide food for people and animals in need. Simon is also a board member for Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
, and hosts the largest annual fundraiser for PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
. Simon stated in 2011 that there is "nothing [which gives him] more pleasure than" helping others via his charities.
Simon has long been a fan of boxing, attending fights with his grandfather, but his interest increased particularly after seeing the 1990 heavyweight championship fight between Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
and James "Buster" Douglas which he described as "the most electrifying feeling I'd had in my life." He began training and won six out of nine amateur fights; he was also a reserve contestant on the Fox series Celebrity Boxing
Celebrity Boxing
Celebrity Boxing was a FOX television show, in which celebrities whose careers and/or notoriety had diminished were pitted against each other in exhibition boxing matches. The contestants wore headgear during the fights, which were scheduled for three rounds apiece...
. Simon was for eight years the manager of heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster
Lamon Brewster
"Relentless" Lamon Tajuan Brewster is a retired American professional heavyweight boxer, and former WBO heavyweight champion. He won the silver medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata....
, the now-retired former World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
heavyweight champion. He met Brewster in 1997 and began managing him, helping him rise to the top of the WBO rankings. Simon considers guiding Brewster to his April 2004 victory over Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
to win the vacant WBO Heavyweight Championship, with Klitschko the heavy favorite, to be amongst the greatest moments of his life; it "eclipsed everything he had achieved in a glittering 26-year showbiz career." Before the Klitschko fight, Simon calculated he had spent several hundred thousand dollars funding Brewster, paying him a large salary on top of match fees as well as letting him stay rent-free at one of his houses, and taking only a 10% cut of the match fees; however, he never intended boxing to be a substantial "source of revenue". Simon retired from boxing management soon after Brewster became WBO Heavyweight Champion.
Simon is a regular poker player and particularly plays Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
. He was introduced to the game as a child through weekly family poker games and casino trips with his grandfather. Simon did not consider himself a serious player until a game at writer David Steinberg
David Steinberg
David Steinberg is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the best-known stand-up comics in the United States...
's house with several "scholarly" players, which encouraged him to study the game and enter numerous tournaments, although he decided not to become professional. He has competed at the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP) each year between 2007 and 2011, finishing in the money in six events. In 2007
2007 World Series of Poker
The 2007 World Series of Poker began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18...
, at the 6,358-player $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Main Event, he finished 329th for a $39,445 payday. He also finished 16th winning $35,493 at the $1,000 1,048-player No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys in 2007, 41st winning $10,708 at the $1,000 706-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008
2008 World Series of Poker
The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker . Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold...
, 53rd winning $10,692 at the $1,000 879-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008, 20th winning $24,066 at the $10,000 275-player World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em in 2009
2009 World Series of Poker
The 2009 World Series of Poker was the 40th annual World Series of Poker . It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 27 to July 15. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event...
, and 500th winning $23,876 at the $10,000 6,865-player No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2011
2011 World Series of Poker
The 2011 World Series of Poker was the 42nd annual World Series of Poker . The WSOP is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with the winner of the Main Event considered to be the World Champion. It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada between May...
. 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. Simon's private poker games between him and his celebrity friends have been described as "raucous and very entertaining". Their reputation led Playboy TV
Playboy TV
Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...
to produce the show Sam's Game
Sam's Game
Sam's Game is a celebrity poker program currently airing on Playboy TV. It features a lineup of comedians, Playmates, and professional Texas Hold 'Em players and is hosted by Simpsons co-creator, Sam Simon.-Format:...
, a televised version featuring Simon as host and master of ceremonies of a Las Vegas celebrity Texas Hold 'em match; he also produced the show. He had previously appeared on a 2009 episode of High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
.
Awards
Simon won nine Primetime Emmy Awards and received ten further nominations for his work. For The Tracey Ullman Show he won the Emmys for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series is a category in the Primetime Emmy Awards. It is awarded annually to the best variety show or similarly formatted program of the year....
in 1989 and Outstanding Writing In A Variety Or Music Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program debuted in 1957, and has been annually awarded most years since 1964. It has had many slight name changes, mostly involving the addition or subtraction of the word comedy. Generally, the category has...
in 1990. In the former he was nominated again in 1990, for the latter he was also nominated in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He received the Emmy Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
for The Simpsons in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001 with further nominations in 1990 (for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989...
" which was counted as a separate special), 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2002. He was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...
for Taxi in 1983 and Cheers in 1985, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for It's Garry Shandling's Show in 1988 and Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special for The Best of Tracey Ullman Show in 1990. He also won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for The Simpsons in 1996.
Personal life
Simon is engaged to chef and caterer Jenna Stewart. He was married to actress Jennifer TillyJennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
from 1984 to 1991 and remains friends with her. He later married Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
Playmate Jami Ferrell, and the marriage lasted three weeks. He lives in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in the restored Bailey House, built by Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
. After being destroyed by a fire in 2007, Simon redesigned his home to be environmentally friendly; much of the interior is constructed from recycled materials while solar panels provide virtually its entire power needs. The building has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Gold certificate. Simon has three dogs, supports the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and is a vegan. He has an extensive art collection; he owns paintings by Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
and one of the original casts of Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
's The Thinker
The Thinker
The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose first cast, of 1902, is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris; there are some twenty other original castings as well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous castings. It depicts a man in sober meditation battling with a...
. He also has a sculpture by Robert Graham
Robert Graham (sculptor)
Robert Graham was a sculptor based in the state of California in the United States. His monumental bronzes commemorate the human figure and are featured in public places across America.-Biography:...
and works by Alberto Vargas
Alberto Vargas
Alberto Vargas was a noted Peruvian painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists...
, Gil Elvgren
Gil Elvgren
Gil Elvgren , born Gillette Elvgren, was an American painter of pin-up girls, advertising and illustration. Elvgren was one of the more important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century. Today he is best known for his pin-up paintings for Brown & Bigelow...
, Ed Ruscha and Richard Estes
Richard Estes
Richard Estes is an American artist, best known for his photorealist paintings. The paintings generally consist of reflective, clean, and inanimate city and geometric landscapes. He is regarded as one of the founders of the international photo-realist movement of the late 1960s, with such painters...
.
Credits
| Year | Title | Medium | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle is an updated version of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle cartoons from the 1940s. The television series was produced by Filmation, and aired from 1979 to 1981 on CBS with over 32 episodes produced... |
TV series | Storyboard artist | |
| 1979 | Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985... |
TV series | Storyboard artist | |
| 1981 | Best of the West Best of the West Best of the West is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982.-Synopsis:The Old West spoof featured the misadventures of Sam Best, a Civil War veteran who becomes a marshal in Copper Creek after accidentally scaring off an incompetent gunfighter called the Calico... |
TV series | Writer | |
| 1982 | Barney Miller Barney Miller Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker... |
TV series | Writer | |
| 1981-1983 | Taxi Taxi (TV series) Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher... |
TV series | Executive story editor, showrunner, producer, writer | |
| 1982-1985 | Cheers Cheers Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles... |
TV series | Producer, writer | |
| 1984 | Shaping Up Shaping Up Shaping Up is a short-lived American sitcom created by writer-producers Sam Simon and Ken Estin, which ran for five weeks on ABC.-Synopsis:... |
TV series | Creator, executive producer, writer | |
| 1987-1988 | It's Garry Shandling's Show It's Garry Shandling's Show It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience... |
TV series | Creative consultant, writer | |
| 1987-1989 | The Tracey Ullman Show The Tracey Ullman Show The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts... |
TV series | Executive producer, writer | |
| 1989-present | The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
TV series | Character designer, co-creator, creative consultant, creative supervisor, developer, executive producer, showrunner, writer | Left in 1993 but remains credited as executive producer |
| 1991 | Sibs Sibs Sibs was an American sitcom broadcast by ABC as part of its 1991-92 prime time lineup.Sibs starred veteran actress Marsha Mason as Nora Rusico, a successful accountant and Alex Rocco as her longsuffering husband, Howie. The source of most of Howie's suffering was his wife's younger sisters , Audie... |
TV series | Creator, writer | |
| 1991 | The Super The Super The Super is a 1991 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci as a New York slum landlord sentenced to live in one of his own buildings until it is brought up to code... |
Feature film | Writer | |
| 1993 | Phenom Phenom (TV series) Phenom is an American sitcom about a tennis wunderkind that aired on ABC from September 14, 1993 to May 10, 1994. The series stars Angela Goethals, Judith Light, and William Devane.-Synopsis:... |
TV series | Creator, writer | |
| 1994-1995 | The George Carlin Show The George Carlin Show The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by veteran TV producer Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.-Synopsis:... |
TV series | Co-creator, director, executive producer, showrunner, writer | |
| 1996 | Men Behaving Badly Men Behaving Badly (U.S. TV series) Men Behaving Badly is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996 to 1997. It was based on the earlier British sitcom of the same name.... |
TV series | Director | |
| 1996 | Bless This House Bless This House (US TV series) Bless This House was an American CBS sitcom which starred Andrew Dice Clay and Cathy Moriarty.-Cast:* Andrew Dice Clay as Burt Clayton* Cathy Moriarty as Alice Clayton* Raegan Kotz as Danny Clayton* Sam Gifaldi as Sean Clayton* Molly Price as Phyllis... |
TV series | Creative consultant | |
| 1997 | Friends Friends Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
TV series | Director | |
| 1998-2003 | The Drew Carey Show The Drew Carey Show The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor.... |
TV series | Consulting producer, director, writer | |
| 1999 | The Norm Show The Norm Show The Norm Show is an American television sitcom that ran from 1999 through 2001 on the ABC television network.-Synopsis:... |
TV series | Director | |
| 2000 | The Michael Richards Show The Michael Richards Show The Michael Richards Show is a sitcom that debuted on NBC in 2000. The show starred Michael Richards as reality-challenged but successful private detective Vic Nardozza who gets the job done despite his unconventional methods.- History :... |
TV series | Director | |
| 2000 | American Adventure | TV film | Executive producer | |
| 2001 | Rock & Roll Back to School Special | TV film | Consulting producer, writer | |
| 2001 | House of Cards | TV film | Executive producer, writer | |
| 2009 | Sam's Game Sam's Game Sam's Game is a celebrity poker program currently airing on Playboy TV. It features a lineup of comedians, Playmates, and professional Texas Hold 'Em players and is hosted by Simpsons co-creator, Sam Simon.-Format:... |
Reality TV series | Creator, executive producer, host |
External links
- Sam Simon's Foundation
- Sam Simon at the World Series of PokerWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
- Sam Simon at Bluff MagazineBluff MagazineBluff Magazine is an American magazine specializing in the game of poker. Separate editions are also published for Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Australasia....
- Sam Simon at Card PlayerCard PlayerCard Player magazine is an industry publication and web portal specializing in poker media, poker strategy and poker tournament coverage. The magazine was founded in 1988 by June Field. In 1998 it was bought by Barry Shulman, who is the current publisher and CEO...
- Sam Simon at the Mob Poker DatabaseThe Hendon MobThe Hendon Mob are a group of four professional poker players from London, England:* Joe Beevers* Barny Boatman* Ross Boatman* Ram VaswaniThe name of the group was first publicised by the Evening Standard newspaper in September 2000....