Sam Simon

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Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American filmmaker, writer, animal rights lawyer, and philanthropist who co-developed The Simpsons. Simon started out as a newspaper cartoonist at Stanford University, and after graduating, he became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios.

Simon wrote a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was later released, and later became the series' showrunner.

Simon wrote and produced for Cheers, It's Garry Shandling's Show and other publications, as well as writing the 1991 film The Super. Simon created The Simpsons, an animated sitcom, with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.

Simon assembled the show's first writing staff, 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, settling a compensation split that saw him receive tens of millions of dollars from the show's proceeds each year.

Simon co-created The George Carlin Exhibition in the first year, before being a producer on shows such as The Drew Carey Show.

Simon was named nine Primetime Emmy Awards for his television appearances. In his later years, Simon moved to fields outside of television.

He appeared on Howard Stern's radio shows, supervised boxer Lamon Brewster, and aided him in obtaining the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship in 2004, being a regular poker player and six-time finisher at the World Series of Poker.

Simon founded the Sam Simon Foundation, which is a mobile veterinary clinic that travels into low-income communities, providing free surgeries for cats and dogs several days a week, as well as a program that rescues and trains shelter dogs.

The MY Sam Simon, a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel, was also funded by him.

Simon was engaged at the time of his suicide, having previously married, including to actress Jennifer Tilly.

Simon was "probably the Renaissance man of the baffling, uncertain age we live in," CBS writer Daniel Schorn wrote in an online article. "Simon was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer in 2012 and was given only three to six months to live."

Simon died on March 8, 2015.

He bequeathed his $100 million estate to several charities that he actively supported during his lifetime.

Early life

Samuel Michael Simon was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, on June 6, 1955. He grew up in Beverly Hills and Malibu. Simon's family grew up in the shadow of Groucho Marx. Simon's father, who was of Estonian-Jewish origins, was a cheap clothing maker. Simon's childhood has been described as "comfortable" and "privileged" by some. Despite the fact that Simon's parents wanted him to become a lawyer, he was involved in art from a young age, appearing on television local art shows as early as five years old. Walt Disney once told him that he would one day work at his studio.

Simon was a football player on the football team and served as a cartoonist for the school newspaper in Beverly Hills. In his senior yearbook, he was rated "Most Humorous" and "Most Talented." He later attended Stanford University, graduating in 1977. Simon did not want to attend college, but Stanford convinced him not to apply due to his high school accomplishments and football expertise; Simon left the football team after one day. Simon drew comics for The Stanford Daily, a college newspaper, but was refused admission to a drawing class for not being able to be a good enough performer. "You'd be taking the space of a student who has talent," he told Stanford's alumni magazine. Simon trained in psychology but did not concentrate on academics, but not on academics.

Personal life

Simon was married to actress Jennifer Tilly from 1984 to 1991; the two remained friends after their divorce. In 2000, Playboy Playmate Jami Ferrell married, and the engagement lasted three weeks. In 2011, Simon was introduced to Jenna Stewart, a pastry and caterer. He began dating Kate Porter, a make-up artist, in 2012; they were together until his death.

Simon became a vegetarian at the age of 19, and he converted to veganism after joining People for Animal Rights around 2000. He had three dogs.

Richard Neutra's restored Bailey House lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. Simon rebuilt his house to be eco friendly after a fire in 2007; a majority of the interior is made from recycled materials; solar panels provide virtually all of the household's electricity needs. The building has been given a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold award from the Department of Energy and Environment. He had an extensive art collection; he owned paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, John Singer Sargent, and one of the original casts of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker. He had a sculpture by Robert Graham and drawings by Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren, Ed Ruscha, and Richard Estes.

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Career

Simon's first job, while still at Stanford, was as a newspaper sports cartoonist for The San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Examiner. He began as a writer and then a writer at Filmation Studios after graduating. He appeared on several animated films, including The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1979). Simon is remembering Filmation as approving his work because he was "self-taught and unsupervised," but Simon finds that the bulk of the studio's output was "awful." Simon submitted a spec script for the series Taxi, which premiered in 1981 during its third season, on the suggestion of Filmation producer Lou Scheimer, who was impressed by Simon's writing skills. In 1983, Simon was hired as a writer but soon became showrunner for its fifth and final season. Simon Williams wrote five episodes on Cheers from seasons one to three (1982–1985), including "Endless Slumper," "Battle of the Ex's," "Cheerio Cheers," and "The Bartender's Tale." In 1984, Simon created, wrote, and produced Shaping Up, a short-lived sitcom starring Ken Estin; the film starred Leslie Nielsen as a gym owner and ran for five episodes on ABC; it was also available 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), as well as the 1991 film The Super.

Simon co-created The Simpsons, the Fox network's animated cartoon series, which premiered on the Fox network in 1989 and has remained on air ever since. The series is regarded as one of the best television series of all time, with Time magazine naming it as the twentieth century's best series on the planet. The series's basic idea was born as a result of a string of short cartoons airing in 1987 as part of The Tracey Ullman Exhibition, in which Simon was a writer and executive producer alongside James L. Brooks, with whom Simon had worked on Taxi. Two years ago, the cartoons were turned into a complete series. Simon spent four seasons as executive producer and showrunner for The Simpsons (conceived the show and the five main characters) and Brooks as executive producer and showrunner for the first (1989-1990) and second (1990-1991) seasons, as well as being creative supervisor for the first four seasons. John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen, and Wallace Wolodarsky formed and led the initial team of writers, which included John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Al Jean, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen, and Wallace Wolodarsky. Mimi Pond, a cartoonist and writer who wrote the first broadcast episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989), said she was refused to remain on the show permanently because Simon intentionally kept women out of the writing team.

Simon has been credited with "developing [the show's] sensibility." Brad Bird, the show's director, has referred to him as "the unsung hero" of the film, while Vitti has stated that to "leave out Sam Simon" of The Simpsons' history because "he was the guy we wrote for." Simon "the true creative power behind The Simpsons," writer Ken Levine called him. On Sam's watch, the tone, the story, and the sense of humour were all developed. Simon "brought a certain degree of honesty to the characters" and made them "three-dimensional," Levine says, adding that his "comedy is all about character, not just a string of gags." The characters in The Simpsons are motivated by their emotions and their inability.

'What are they thinking?

That is Sam's contribution.' The stories came from the characters. Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum, and Lou, as well as several of the show's regular characters such as Bleeding Gums Murphy, created much of the world of Springfield and modeled many of the show's recurring characters, including Mr. Burns, Mr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum and Lou. Waylon Smithers should be gay, but that this shouldn't have too much attention paid to it; Smithers' sexuality became one of the show's longest-running gags. Simon saw The Simpsons as a way to figure out "what [he] didn't like about the Saturday-morning cartoon shows [he] worked on [he] wanted all the actors in a room together, not learning their lines separately from each other]. The Simpsons must have been a hit radio show. It's fine if you just listen to the sound track."

The Simpsons used a process of collaborative script re-writing by the show's entire writing staff; this meant the credited writer would not have been responsible for the majority of an episode's content. Nonetheless, Simon was involved in the co-writing of the season one "The Telltale Head," "The Crepes of Wrath," and the season finale "Some Enchanted Evening." "Any Enchanted Evening" was supposed to be the show's premiere but it was postponed due to poor animation. The Raven was adapted by Edgar Allan Poe for the third segment of the season two film "Teehouse of Horrors." Groening was worried about "The Raven" because it did not have many gags and that it would be "the worst, most pretentious thing [they] had] ever done" on the program. Nonetheless, the segment has been praised on several occasions as one of the best Treehouse of Horror tales in the show's history. The segment was described as "one of the most refined Simpsons pop references ever" by Ryan J. Budke of TV Squad, who knows "people who find this to be both hilarious and genius." Simon co-wrote the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" with Swartzwelder, which Swartzwelder's Tom Shales has referred to as "a bull's-eye political satire." "The Way We Were" was his last episode, which he co-wrote for season two, alongside Jean and Reiss. Simon remained on the writing staff for seasons three (1991–1992) and four (1992–1993), although Reiss and Jean took over as showrunners. He co-wrote "Treehouse of Horror II" and conceived the story for the Sideshow Bob episode "Black Widower," with mystery author Thomas Chastain, in the hopes of creating a complete mystery story; Vitti wrote the episode's teleplay. Simon was also instrumental in the episode "Stark Raving Dad" pitching the episode "Homer at the Bat" and introducing "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk"'s "Land of Chocolate" sequence. Simon's last writing credit was for the "Dial 'Zombies" segment of "Treehouse of Horror III."

Simon and Groening's relationship became "very personal" after they first worked together, according to Groening. Simon never expected the show to be a success, often saying, "We're thirteen and out"—implying that the show will be cancelled after the first season's thirteen episodes. Hence, he told the employees that they had creative rights to make The Simpsons as good a show as possible, regardless of network or public opinion; he also said in 2009 that "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 if the show was a success or not, as Simon's career would continue, but not so much. Groening described Simon as "brilliantly funny and one of the best writers I've ever worked with," but it was also unbalanced and unbalanced. According to John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored History, Simon resented the show's coverage, particularly the praise for the show's writing; Simon felt that Groening's presence was limited and that he should have been recognized for the performance; Groening's fame was emphasized later, particularly because of the show's optimistic tone.

Simon was also at odds with Brooks and production company Gracie Films, as well as Groening. Sibs (1991) and Phenom (1993), a Simpsons joint venture for ABC, were co-created by he and Brooks while on The Simpsons. Simon did not want to work on either series, both of which were poorly received and quickly cancelled, putting the pair's friendship in jeopardy.

Simon left Gracie Films and The Simpsons in 1993; he said he "wasn't enjoying it anymore" and wanted to pursue other projects; "any show I've ever worked on" turns me into a monster. I'm going mad. "I hate myself." Despite not having been on the show since 1993, he negotiated an agreement that saw him receive a share of the show's earnings every year, particularly from home media and an executive producer credit. The contract shows that he made more than $10 million per year from the Simpsons than ever; later told Stanford Magazine that "tens of millions" was a closer estimate. "I felt I was underpaid while I was there," Simon said. I thought I wasn't getting enough credit for it. Now, I'd say it's completely opposite. It deserves too much praise. The money is ridiculous, and it is ridiculous."

Simon co-created the sitcom The George Carlin Show for Fox in January 1994 with comedian George Carlin. It aired for 27 episodes before being cancelled in December 1995. Simon was showrunner during the showrunner's tenure and produced several episodes. After deciding that it would not be "typically sitcomy," Simon persuaded Carlin to perform the role. Carlin envisioned the performance as if Carlin's life would have been like if he had never become a comedian; Carlin played a heavy drinker in New York taxi driver. "People couldn't see how smart it was because of the low times," Simon said. This show has a certain charm to it. It's classy, according to those who like it. They have no idea how vulgar it is." Carlin wrote a scathing review of Simon's friendship. "Averagely check mental stability of your creative partner before going to bed," Carlin said on his own website. Loved the actors and loved the crew. Had a blast. I can't wait to get the fuck out of there." Carlin's last book, published in 2009, he recalled: "I had a fantastic time." I never laughed so much, so often, as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, and Tony Starke. On that stage, there was a strange, sharp sense of humor... Sam Simon was still the biggest issue, though, was that he was a fucking horrible person to be around. Very funny, exceptionally gifted, and insightful, but an unhappy person who treated others poorly." Simon referred to himself as "combative" and that the majority of people think he has a "poor attitude."

Simon began as a director in the late 1990s. In 1996, he directed the American version of "The One Without a Ski Trip" on the Friends season three episode "The One Without the Ski Trip" on the Friends website, as well as many episodes of The Norm Show (1999) and The Michael Richards Show (2000). He worked as a consultant producer and producer on The Drew Carey Show from 1998 to 2003, and he produced the show's series finale. In 1996, he became a creative advisor on Bless This House.

Simon was President of e-Nexus Studios, the company's once-enterernational game developer Bethesda Softworks' game business arm. Simon became President of ZeniMax Productions, the company's other subsidiary of ZeniMax, after E-Nexus was decommissioned.

Simon wanted to find a "life outside of television" after leaving The Simpsons and The George Carlin Show as a "job [him] mad." Simon ended his television career by saying that it's in some ways the best job in the world." You make a product that is given away, and all it does is make people smile. Nobody gets hurt, there is no injury, and it's easy to become wealthy." Simon resigned from full-time television work, but he did remain active in the media, frequently contributing as a writer and a contributor to Howard Stern's radio shows. In 2006, he wrote and directed "The Bitter Half" on Stern's Howard 101. Simon had his own show on Radioio. Simon returned to television production in 2012, first appearing as an advisor and producer on the program Anger Management for half a day a week.

Simon was a vocal campaigner for animal rights and veganism, and he described himself as a "animal lover." He joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the year 2000 (PETA). Starting in 2002, he self-funded The Sam Simon Foundation, which has a mobile clinic that provides free surgeries for cats and dogs, as well as rescuing and retraining shelter dogs that may otherwise be euthanized. An episode of 60 Minutes broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the best dog shelter in the country," a five-star [0.6 km2; 0.0094 sq mi)] spread in Malibu, perhaps the world's most desirable real estate. The Sam Simon Foundation gives stray and abandoned dogs a new lease on life among the waterfalls and manicured grounds.

The foundation aims to "rescue dogs" and "instruct" them to be service dogs, "to help] people with disabilities," particularly the deaf. It also provides free medical services to pets of low-income families, and it also trains dogs to help soldiers returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Simon said the money he used was "well spent just for the pleasure it gives me." Because many of the rescued dogs "have physical and psychological disorders," the training program has a 20% success rate, but the dogs that are unable to be trained are available for adoption. The foundation is non-profit, and does not accept public contributions. In 2011, Simon founded and self-funded The Sam Simon Foundation: Feeding Families. This is a food truck that provides vegan food to about 200 low-income families each week. He also gave the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society an undisclosed sum in 2012 for the purpose of purchasing another vessel for their fleet, the MY Sam Simon, which was announced in December 2012. Simon was also a board member for Save the Children and arranged the country's biggest annual fundraiser for PETA, who named him Honorary Director and their Norfolk, Virginia headquarters after him, as the Honorary Director and their Norfolk, Virginia headquarters building. Since "your money can bring success" with tangible results, Simon has stated that animal rights charities have been his top priority for donations over other causes, such as human disease and environmental destruction. Simon said in 2011 that there is "nothing [that gives him] more joy than] assisting others via his charities, and that the bulk of his fortune is lost.

Simon had been a long time fan of boxing, as well as attending fights with his grandfather, but his interest sparked further after hearing the 1990 heavyweight championship match between Evander Holyfield and James "Buster" Douglas, which he described as "the most exciting feeling I'd had in my life." He began training and gained six out of nine amateur contests; he was also a reserve contestant on Fox's series Celebrity Boxing. Simon was Lamon Brewster, the now-retired former World Boxing Organisation heavyweight champion, for eight years. He met Brewster in 1997 and began assisting him in advancing to the top of the WBO rankings. He considers leading Brewster to victory over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2004 to be one of his best moments of his career; Klitschko is the heavy favorite; it "eclipsed everything he's achieved in a glittering 26-year showbiz career." Simon estimated he had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on Brewster, as well as allowing him to stay rent-free at one of his homes, and only receiving a 10% share of the match fees; however, he never intended boxing to be a major "source of income." Simon briefly worked with heavyweight Steve Vukosa, but he resigned from boxing management soon after Brewster became the WBO Heavyweight Champion.

Simon was a regular poker player, and Texas hold'em in particular is a word that carries the 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 match with several "scholarly" players at writer David Steinberg's house, which prompted him to study the game and participate in numerous tournaments, but not to become a professional. He competed at World Series of Poker (WSOP) in six tournaments between 2007 and 2011, earning the most money in six tournaments. He finished 329th with $39,445. He finished 16th at the $1,000 7,048-player No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2007, winning $10,708 for the 20th year in 2009, his 20th winning $20,780 at the $10,000 2,500-player No-Player World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship, August 2009, and his fifth at the $10,000 8,876 tournament in 2011. At the 2009 Los Angeles Olympics, he also won the $300 438-player No-Limit Hold's $100,000 Guarantee. Wining $22,228 at the Poker Open. The $200 1,082-player No-Limit Hold's $150,000 Guarantee at the 2010 Winnin O' The Green, where he won $57,308. Simon's personal poker games with him and his celebrity friends have been described as "raucous and very amusing." Playboy TV produced Sam's Game, a televised version of a Las Vegas celebrity game that featured Simon as host and master of ceremonies; he produced the program. He appeared on a 2009 episode of High Stakes Poker.

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