Matt Groening

A native of Portland, Oregon, Matt Groening (last name rhymes with “raining”) graduated in 1977 from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After graduation, Groening moved to Los Angeles where he began to write the venerable weekly cartoon strip “Life in Hell.”

In 1987, Groening ventured into animation when the Simpson family first appeared as a short segment on The Tracey Ullman Show. In January 1990, The Simpsons became a regular, half-hour series. A hit in its first season, the show entered its 20th year as a regularly scheduled half-hour series in 2009, making it the longest-running comedy in the history of American prime-time television.

In 1993 Groening formed Bongo Comics Group to publish Simpson-related comic books; in 1995 he founded Zongo Comics.

Groening is also the creator and executive producer of the sci-fi animated television-hit series Futurama. His books, guides, and other publications based on The Simpsons, “Life in Hell,” and Futurama are numerous. The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007, was a number-one hit at the box office.

Groening’s original artwork appears on the five stamps issued in 2009 as The Simpsons. He also designed the typeface used for the stamp booklet title.