He was born to Homer and Marge Groening (née Wiggum). His two siblings are named Maggie and Lisa, and his grandfather was Abram A. Groening.

This familial connection serves as a subtle tribute to the creator’s family.

Big supporter of animal charities before he died. He used to be on Stern a bunch. Seemed like a really good dude

And jennifer tilly gets a 30% piece because she slept with him.

A King among men.

Sam 'Sayonara' Simon

He’s the reason Jennifer Tilly owns a piece of The Simpsons!

They'll never stop the Simpon Have no fears there'll be stories for years

Yup, it was a comic that was appearing in the Village Voice which had spawned books, t-shirts and other merch.   

He was worried that if he pitched the characters, he'd lose the rights and the income, so he pitched his own family.  

Groening makes about $20MM per year from The Simpsons, so it seems to have worked out. 

They started as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. My dad was working on the show at the time and from how he tells it, it was very low key and low committal animated sketch. Nobody really expected it to go anywhere. My dad has original drawings of the full family by Groening before the sketch aired but he somehow lost the sketch of Bart.  

Same goes for the South Park creators. Randy, Sharon, Gerald and Sheila are the names of the creators’ parents

“The character Bart was not named after a real person but is an anagram of “brat,” chosen by Groening to avoid naming a character after himself.”—Perplexity

I love this because i can hear Homer's voice coming up with the "characters"

Saying he was pitching one of his strips isn't wrong, but it's not quite right either. The original comic strip was Life in Hell. James Brooks of Gracie Films contacted him to develop Life in Hell into what would become The Tracy Ulman Show.

He didn't want his strip to be linked to the possible failure of the show. Not that the rights weren't an issue, but any particular concern could be negotiated as part of a contract. Or at least in theory. The studio could always reject the terms or just walk away.

Whatever rights Groening ultimately needed to give to the studios still must be devastating to him decades later. I know I would have lost the will to live if I was in his shoes. The only solice he has is the daily armored truck delivery of his royalties and residuals.

If you head up into North Portland you’ll find Van Houten Ave up by St Johns. The Simpsons names are a love letter to Portland.

It is Springfield, OR… but really it’s an amalgamation of Springfield, Portland, and all over where Groening had lived (particularly the PNW).

TIL Lisa's ex-husband is the creator of Hey Arnold

Also, while the basis of the show is Groenings, but Sam Simon added all the details we all know and love.

My girlfriend, a huge Simpsons fan(!) told me that Matt Groening was born in Portland OR (where I/we currently reside) and calls out all of the local references when she sees them.

I had no fucking idea.

Her father, now passed, used to buy her every season (on the media of the time) because she loved it all so dearly. I never got to meet that man. For this, I will always be a little hollow.

We share Bob’s Burgers in common now and it’s definitely alright.

Yeah, I believe Matt once mentioned that Bart is based on him because he was a brat.

I wonder if stupid sexy Flanders was his neighbor too?

I also read that he let the other writers name grandpa. They went with Abe, which was his grandfather's name. It wasn't intentional either

Even more, Burnside, Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, Quimby, Terwilliger, etc. are all street names in Portland, OR where Matt is from.

Laughed loads more than I should have at this!

Oooohhh, i get it.

Futurama too

I was hoping somebody would post this.

But, but...it’s pronounced “Graining.” Mm-hai.

Mark got off easy.

If you think this made up type in Matt Groening

No Bort Groening?

Who the hell is Margaret Groening??

Homer? Who is Homer?

My name is Guy lncognito.

They're referencing a Simpsons clip.

Homer: "Who the hell is Margaret Simpson?"

Registry Officer: "Uh your youngest daughter"

Wait until you find out that Matt Groening's mother's maiden name was... Wiggum.

Almost every writer’s room for television over the past 30 years has been filled with Simpsons fans

We wouldn't have TV cartoon shows targeted for adults if it wasn't for the Simpsons.

______

On other subject I always felt like it acted as a detractor for Nuclear Energy, and it spearheaded a lot of that movements.

Mega.

It legitimised animated sitcoms, to the point King of the Hill, Family Guy and more could grow and it was a cultural phenomenon. To add, the controversy of some parts at the time allowed for more chances to be taken with other animated comedies as these shows grew, too.

Nothing more popular than The Simpsons in the early 90s on TV, even Baywatch wasn't quite there yet, and when you get an (at the time) hot hot popstar like Michael Jackson not only being sneaky with his name to get into an episode and duck contract issues, but also help create a huge pop hit, you know you're top shelf in every way.

Granted, I was 10 when The Simpsons landed, so there was 'adult tv' I wasn't exposed to. I know things like Miami Vice were huge, but that was both dwindling and wrapping up at that point, plus as a 10 year old, I really wasn't into it then, lol. The Simpsons on the other hand...

Probably the most influential thing on TV ever for me personally TBH.

The Fox Network might not still be around. They had a modest hit with The Tracey Ullman Show and Married…With Children.

We wouldn't have family guy...