George Meyer
Encyclopedia
George A. Meyer is an America
n 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 attempted to make money through dog racing but failed after two months. After a series of short-term jobs he was hired in 1981 by David Letterman
, on the advice of two of Meyer's Harvard Lampoon cowriters, to join the writing team of his show Late Night with David Letterman
.
Meyer left after two seasons and went on to write for The New Show
, Not Necessarily the News
and Saturday Night Live
. Tired of life in New York
, Meyer moved to Boulder, Colorado
where he wrote a screenplay for a film for Letterman to star in. The project fell through and Meyer then founded the humor zine Army Man
which garnered a strong following, although Meyer ended it after three issues. The producer Sam Simon
was a fan and he hired Meyer to write for the animated sitcom The Simpsons
in 1989. There, he led the group script rewrite sessions and has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap[ing]...the comedic sensibility" of the show. He has held a number of positions on the show and also cowrote The Simpsons Movie
. Meyer is in a relationship with the writer Maria Semple
and the two have a daughter.
, United States in 1956, Meyer grew up in Tucson, Arizona
. He is the eldest of eight children in a Roman Catholic family of German ancestry. His parents both worked in the real estate business. Meyer has made jokes about his somewhat unhappy childhood, stating that one common argument in his household was "which family member ruined a holiday", while his sister noted Meyer was frequently blamed for the family's problems. Due to its size, family activities were limited so Meyer watched lots of television and read Mad magazine
. He was an Eagle Scout
and an altar boy and wrote for the student newspaper.
Meyer attended Harvard University
where he served as president of the Harvard Lampoon
. The fact that people took humor "very seriously" at the Lampoon "changed [Meyer's] life". In 1977, he and several other Lampoon staffers wrote The Harvard Lampoon Big Book of College Life (ISBN 0385134460), a volume commissioned by Doubleday. Aside from the Lampoon, his grades at Harvard were average and he suffered several bouts of depression. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry and was accepted into medical school, but decided not to enroll.
Meyer commented on his Roman Catholic upbringing in a 2000 New Yorker profile:
, planning to "scientifically" win a fortune through dog racing. However, he ran out of money after two weeks. He then worked in a variety of jobs including as a substitute teacher, a laboratory research assistant and a salesman in a clothing store and also won $2000 on the game show Jeopardy!
. In 1981, he was given a job by David Letterman
as a member of the writing staff on Letterman's new late night show
and moved to New York
, having been recommended by fellow Lampoon writers Tom Gammill and Max Pross. Letterman noted: "Everything in his submission, down to the last little detail, was so beautifully honed." Meyer wrote several recurring gags for the show, including "Crushing Things With A Steamroller".
Two seasons later, Meyer left to write for The New Show
; with that show's cancellation after two months he moved on to Not Necessarily the News
and then Saturday Night Live
. Meyer's work was not well regarded among the SNL writers and producers. He said: "My stuff wasn't very popular at Saturday Night. It was regarded as really fringey, and a lot of times my sketches would get cut. Sometimes they would get cut after dress rehearsal
, and I would have the horrible experience of looking out and seeing a painter carefully touching up my set and getting it all ready to be smashed to pieces and sent to a landfill in Brooklyn. It was just a mismatch, although I didn't realize it at the time." He left the show in 1987.
Meyer moved to Boulder, Colorado
because he "just wanted to get as far from the New York environment as [he] could." There, he wrote a film script for Letterman; the project was dropped due to the success of Letterman's show, although several of its jokes were later used in The Simpsons when no other ideas could be found. He founded the humor zine
Army Man
; he wrote the eight-page first issue almost wholly by himself, publishing just 200 copies which he gave to his friends. Meyer had been disappointed by the decline of the National Lampoon and felt that there was no longer a magazine which has the sole purpose of being funny. By starting Army Man he "tried to make something that had no agenda other than to make you laugh." He claimed that "[he] didn't know what [he] was doing," and reprinted material without obtaining permission, including a review of Cannonball Run II
. He added: "I like to think that Army Man was somewhere between a real publication and a very irresponsible, lawbreaking zine." Army Man gained a strong following and was listed on Rolling Stones "Hot List" in 1989. Meyer noted: "The only rule was that the stuff had to be funny and pretty short. To me, the quintessential Army Man joke was one of John Swartzwelder
's: 'They can kill the Kennedys. Why can't they make a cup of coffee that tastes good?' It's a horrifying idea juxtaposed with something really banal-and yet there's a kind of logic to it. It's illuminating because it's kind of how Americans see things: Life's a big jumble, but somehow it leads to something I can consume. I love that." Meyer suspended publication with the third issue, after offers to take the magazine national made him fear that it would lose its best qualities. According to The Believer
: "In comedy circles, [Army Man has] taken on almost mythological proportions."
One reader was Sam Simon
, a producer of the animated sitcom The Simpsons
. In 1989, Simon hired Meyer as part of the show's writing staff along with Army Man contributors Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti
. Meyer often played an active role in the show's extensive group script rewriting sessions in the "rewrite room" a role he performed more than solo script work; indeed he has only been credited for writing twelve episodes. A. O. Scott described him as the "guru" of the room. In the room, according to Mike Reiss
, writers would "involuntarily glance at Meyer for approval when they pitch lines of their own". By 1995, Meyer became tired of the show's lengthy writing schedule and decided to leave after the sixth season
to work on a film or TV pilot script. He soon returned, however, as a consultant and later as a part of the writing staff again and an executive producer. In 2004 he noted: "It's hard to leave The Simpsons. Every once in a while I get romantic notions that I should be doing something much more subterranean. Something like Army Man, or maybe guerrilla filmmaking." He has attempted several TV projects that were not picked up. He left the show in 2004, and received his final producer credits in season 16
. Meyer returned to co-write the 2007 film adaptation of the show, The Simpsons Movie
.
Meyer has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap[ing]...the comedic sensibility" of The Simpsons; in 2000, Mike Scully
, the show runner
for the series at the time, called him "the best comedy writer in Hollywood." Scully said he was "the main reason" why The Simpsons [was] still so good after all these years." Vitti has said Meyer's "fingerprints are on nearly every script" and he "exerts as much influence on the show as anyone can without being one of the creators," while recounting how "a show that you have the writer's credit for will run, and the next day people will come up to you and tell you how great it was. Then they'll mention their two favorite lines, and both of them will be George's." Bill Oakley
noted Meyer has "he's been there since the beginning adding thousands of jokes and plot twists, etc., that everyone considers classic and brilliant.
Meyer has a "deep suspicion of social institutions and tradition in general," which has affected the writing of his own episodes of The Simpsons such as "Homer the Heretic
", "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington
" and "Bart vs. Thanksgiving
". For his work on The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman, Meyer has won and received multiple Primetime Emmy Award
nominations, including the award for Outstanding Writing In A Variety Or Music Program
in 1989.
. They lived together during the 1990s and broke up in 1999, but later got back together. Their child, named Poppy Valentina after Valentina Tereshkova
, was born in 2003; being a father gave Meyer a "sense of hopefulness". They live in Seattle. Although raised a Catholic, Meyer hated it and later became agnostic. While working at The Simpsons he became an atheist, taking the advice of fellow writer Mike Reiss. He is a vegetarian, gambler, collector of space program memorabilia, practices yoga and lived in the Santa Monica
mountains. Meyer is a fan of the Grateful Dead
with Jerry Garcia
being the "closest thing in Meyer's life to a spiritual figure." His sister Ann is married to Jon Vitti
.
Meyer has a strong interest in the environment and notes that "the only organization that I really care about these days" is Conservation International
. In 2005, Meyer cowrote the TBS special Earth To America
. The same year, a newly discovered species of moss frogs
from Sri Lanka
was named Philautus poppiae
after Meyer's daughter Poppy, a tribute to he and Semple's dedication to the Global Amphibian Assessment.
In 2006 he wrote a comic, cautionary opinion piece about the environment for BBC News
. It begins:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n 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...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Raised in Tucson, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer attempted to make money through dog racing but failed after two months. After a series of short-term jobs he was hired in 1981 by David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, on the advice of two of Meyer's Harvard Lampoon cowriters, to join the writing team of his show Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
.
Meyer left after two seasons and went on to write for The New Show
The New Show
The New Show was a NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to SNL...
, Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
and Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Tired of life in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Meyer moved to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
where he wrote a screenplay for a film for Letterman to star in. The project fell through and Meyer then founded the humor zine Army Man
Army Man (magazine)
Army Man was a short-lived comedy magazine published in the late 1980s by George Meyer, the acclaimed writer for The Simpsons....
which garnered a strong following, although Meyer ended it after three issues. The producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
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...
was a fan and he hired Meyer to write for the animated sitcom 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...
in 1989. There, he led the group script rewrite sessions and has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap[ing]...the comedic sensibility" of the show. He has held a number of positions on the show and also cowrote The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
. Meyer is in a relationship with the writer Maria Semple
Maria Semple
Maria Semple is an American novelist and screenwriter. She is the author of This One is Mine. .Her television credits include Beverly Hills, 90210, Mad About You, Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, Suddenly Susan and Ellen.-Early life:Semple was born in Santa Monica, California on May 21...
and the two have a daughter.
Early life and education
Born in PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States in 1956, Meyer grew up in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. He is the eldest of eight children in a Roman Catholic family of German ancestry. His parents both worked in the real estate business. Meyer has made jokes about his somewhat unhappy childhood, stating that one common argument in his household was "which family member ruined a holiday", while his sister noted Meyer was frequently blamed for the family's problems. Due to its size, family activities were limited so Meyer watched lots of television and read Mad magazine
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
. He was an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
and an altar boy and wrote for the student newspaper.
Meyer attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he served as president of the Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
. The fact that people took humor "very seriously" at the Lampoon "changed [Meyer's] life". In 1977, he and several other Lampoon staffers wrote The Harvard Lampoon Big Book of College Life (ISBN 0385134460), a volume commissioned by Doubleday. Aside from the Lampoon, his grades at Harvard were average and he suffered several bouts of depression. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry and was accepted into medical school, but decided not to enroll.
Meyer commented on his Roman Catholic upbringing in a 2000 New Yorker profile:
- "People talk about how horrible it is to be brought up Catholic, and it's all true. The main thing was that there was no sense of proportion. I would chew a piece of gum at school, and the nun would say, 'JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is very angry with you about that,' and on the wall behind her would be a dying, bleeding guy on a cross. That's a horrifying image to throw at a little kid. You really could almost think that your talking in line, say, was on a par with killing Jesus."
Career
After college, Meyer moved to Denver, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, planning to "scientifically" win a fortune through dog racing. However, he ran out of money after two weeks. He then worked in a variety of jobs including as a substitute teacher, a laboratory research assistant and a salesman in a clothing store and also won $2000 on the game show Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
. In 1981, he was given a job by David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
as a member of the writing staff on Letterman's new late night show
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
and moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, having been recommended by fellow Lampoon writers Tom Gammill and Max Pross. Letterman noted: "Everything in his submission, down to the last little detail, was so beautifully honed." Meyer wrote several recurring gags for the show, including "Crushing Things With A Steamroller".
Two seasons later, Meyer left to write for The New Show
The New Show
The New Show was a NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to SNL...
; with that show's cancellation after two months he moved on to Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
and then Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Meyer's work was not well regarded among the SNL writers and producers. He said: "My stuff wasn't very popular at Saturday Night. It was regarded as really fringey, and a lot of times my sketches would get cut. Sometimes they would get cut after dress rehearsal
Technical rehearsal
The technical rehearsal or tech rehearsal is a rehearsal that focuses on the technological aspects of the performance, in theatrical, musical, and filmed entertainment.-Types of tech rehearsals:...
, and I would have the horrible experience of looking out and seeing a painter carefully touching up my set and getting it all ready to be smashed to pieces and sent to a landfill in Brooklyn. It was just a mismatch, although I didn't realize it at the time." He left the show in 1987.
Meyer moved to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
because he "just wanted to get as far from the New York environment as [he] could." There, he wrote a film script for Letterman; the project was dropped due to the success of Letterman's show, although several of its jokes were later used in The Simpsons when no other ideas could be found. He founded the humor zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
Army Man
Army Man (magazine)
Army Man was a short-lived comedy magazine published in the late 1980s by George Meyer, the acclaimed writer for The Simpsons....
; he wrote the eight-page first issue almost wholly by himself, publishing just 200 copies which he gave to his friends. Meyer had been disappointed by the decline of the National Lampoon and felt that there was no longer a magazine which has the sole purpose of being funny. By starting Army Man he "tried to make something that had no agenda other than to make you laugh." He claimed that "[he] didn't know what [he] was doing," and reprinted material without obtaining permission, including a review of Cannonball Run II
Cannonball Run II
See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Run II comedy film featuring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest...
. He added: "I like to think that Army Man was somewhere between a real publication and a very irresponsible, lawbreaking zine." Army Man gained a strong following and was listed on Rolling Stones "Hot List" in 1989. Meyer noted: "The only rule was that the stuff had to be funny and pretty short. To me, the quintessential Army Man joke was one 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...
's: 'They can kill the Kennedys. Why can't they make a cup of coffee that tastes good?' It's a horrifying idea juxtaposed with something really banal-and yet there's a kind of logic to it. It's illuminating because it's kind of how Americans see things: Life's a big jumble, but somehow it leads to something I can consume. I love that." Meyer suspended publication with the third issue, after offers to take the magazine national made him fear that it would lose its best qualities. According to The Believer
The Believer (magazine)
The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...
: "In comedy circles, [Army Man has] taken on almost mythological proportions."
Sam Simon
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...
, a producer of the animated sitcom 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...
. In 1989, Simon hired Meyer as part of the show's writing staff along with Army Man contributors Swartzwelder and 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...
. Meyer often played an active role in the show's extensive group script rewriting sessions in the "rewrite room" a role he performed more than solo script work; indeed he has only been credited for writing twelve episodes. A. O. Scott described him as the "guru" of the room. In the room, according to 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...
, writers would "involuntarily glance at Meyer for approval when they pitch lines of their own". By 1995, Meyer became tired of the show's lengthy writing schedule and decided to leave after the sixth season
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
to work on a film or TV pilot script. He soon returned, however, as a consultant and later as a part of the writing staff again and an executive producer. In 2004 he noted: "It's hard to leave The Simpsons. Every once in a while I get romantic notions that I should be doing something much more subterranean. Something like Army Man, or maybe guerrilla filmmaking." He has attempted several TV projects that were not picked up. He left the show in 2004, and received his final producer credits in season 16
The Simpsons (season 16)
The Simpsons 16th season began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 and contained 21 episodes, beginning with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 production line....
. Meyer returned to co-write the 2007 film adaptation of the show, The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
.
Meyer has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap[ing]...the comedic sensibility" of The Simpsons; in 2000, Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, the show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
for the series at the time, called him "the best comedy writer in Hollywood." Scully said he was "the main reason" why The Simpsons [was] still so good after all these years." Vitti has said Meyer's "fingerprints are on nearly every script" and he "exerts as much influence on the show as anyone can without being one of the creators," while recounting how "a show that you have the writer's credit for will run, and the next day people will come up to you and tell you how great it was. Then they'll mention their two favorite lines, and both of them will be George's." Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
noted Meyer has "he's been there since the beginning adding thousands of jokes and plot twists, etc., that everyone considers classic and brilliant.
Meyer has a "deep suspicion of social institutions and tradition in general," which has affected the writing of his own episodes of The Simpsons such as "Homer the Heretic
Homer the Heretic
"Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of God, who visits...
", "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington
Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is the second episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. In the episode, Lisa enters in an essay contest to write an essay about America's greatness. When she successfully wins it, she and...
" and "Bart vs. Thanksgiving
Bart vs. Thanksgiving
"Bart vs. Thanksgiving" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 22, 1990. In the episode, Lisa makes a table centerpiece for the Thanksgiving dinner, which Bart destroys. After he is sent to his room by his...
". For his work on The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman, Meyer has won and received multiple Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nominations, including the award for 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 1989.
Personal life
Meyer is in a relationship with the writer Maria SempleMaria Semple
Maria Semple is an American novelist and screenwriter. She is the author of This One is Mine. .Her television credits include Beverly Hills, 90210, Mad About You, Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, Suddenly Susan and Ellen.-Early life:Semple was born in Santa Monica, California on May 21...
. They lived together during the 1990s and broke up in 1999, but later got back together. Their child, named Poppy Valentina after Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a retired Soviet cosmonaut, and was the first woman in space. She was selected out of more than four hundred applicants, and then out of five finalists, to pilot Vostok 6 on the 16 June, 1963, becoming both the first woman and the first civilian to fly in...
, was born in 2003; being a father gave Meyer a "sense of hopefulness". They live in Seattle. Although raised a Catholic, Meyer hated it and later became agnostic. While working at The Simpsons he became an atheist, taking the advice of fellow writer Mike Reiss. He is a vegetarian, gambler, collector of space program memorabilia, practices yoga and lived in the Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
mountains. Meyer is a fan of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
with Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
being the "closest thing in Meyer's life to a spiritual figure." His sister Ann is married to 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...
.
Meyer has a strong interest in the environment and notes that "the only organization that I really care about these days" is Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
. In 2005, Meyer cowrote the TBS special Earth To America
Earth to America (TV special)
Earth to America was a 2-hour television special that aired on TBS on November 20, 2005. Hosted by Tom Hanks, the show used a comic approach to raise awareness of issues concerning the environment, mostly global warming...
. The same year, a newly discovered species of moss frogs
Rhacophoridae
Rhacophoridae is a family of frog species, which occur in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs"...
from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
was named Philautus poppiae
Philautus poppiae
Philautus poppiae is a species of frog in the Rhacophoridae family.It is endemic to Sri Lanka.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:...
after Meyer's daughter Poppy, a tribute to he and Semple's dedication to the Global Amphibian Assessment.
In 2006 he wrote a comic, cautionary opinion piece about the environment for BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. It begins:
- "Are you a hypocrite? Because I certainly am. I'm an animal lover who wears leather shoes; a vegetarian who can't resist smoked salmon. I badger my friends to see the Al Gore movieAn Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
, but I also fly on fuel-gulping jets. Great clouds of hypocrisy swirl around me. But even a fraud has feelings. And this summer, I'm feeling uneasy; I'm starting to think that our culture's frenzied and mindless assault on the last shreds of nature may not be the wisest course."
Credits
- Late Night with David LettermanLate Night with David LettermanLate Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
(1982–1984) — writer - Not Necessarily the NewsNot Necessarily the NewsNot Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
(1983–1986) — writer - The New ShowThe New ShowThe New Show was a NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to SNL...
(1984) — writer - Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(1985–1987) — writer - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe 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...
(1989–2004) — writer and producer- "The Crepes of WrathThe 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...
" (along with Sam SimonSam SimonSamuel "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...
, John SwartzwelderJohn SwartzwelderJohn 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...
and Jon VittiJon VittiJon 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...
) - "Bart vs. ThanksgivingBart vs. Thanksgiving"Bart vs. Thanksgiving" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 22, 1990. In the episode, Lisa makes a table centerpiece for the Thanksgiving dinner, which Bart destroys. After he is sent to his room by his...
" - "Blood Feud"
- "Mr. Lisa Goes to WashingtonMr. Lisa Goes to Washington"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is the second episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. In the episode, Lisa enters in an essay contest to write an essay about America's greatness. When she successfully wins it, she and...
" - "Treehouse of Horror IITreehouse 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...
" (contributor) - "Separate VocationsSeparate Vocations"Separate Vocations" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 27, 1992. In the episode, the Springfield Elementary School makes the students take career aptitude tests...
" - "Homer the HereticHomer the Heretic"Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of God, who visits...
" - "Bart's Inner ChildBart's Inner Child"Bart's Inner Child" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 1993. In the episode, Marge realizes that she is no fun because of her constant nagging and seeks help from self-help guru Brad Goodman, who then...
" - "Sunday, Cruddy SundaySunday, Cruddy Sunday"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
" (along with Tom MartinTom Martin (writer)Tom Martin is an American television writer. He grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills High School and Indio High School. He graduated from University of California, Irvine in 1987 with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While at UC Irvine he ran on the Track and Cross...
, Brian ScullyBrian ScullyBrian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
and Mike ScullyMike ScullyMike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
) - "Brother's Little HelperBrother's Little Helper"Brother's Little Helper" is the second episode of The Simpsons 11th season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. In the episode, Bart floods the school gymnasium, which prompts the school's principal Seymour Skinner to diagnose Bart with ADD...
" - "Behind the LaughterBehind the Laughter"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
" (along with Tim LongTim LongTim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
, Mike Scully, and Matt SelmanMatt SelmanMatthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
) - "The Parent RapThe Parent Rap“The Parent Rap” is the second episode and official premiere of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 2001. In the episode, Bart and his father, Homer, are sentenced by the cruel judge Constance Harm to be tethered to each...
" (along with Mike Scully)
- "The Crepes of Wrath
- Complete SavagesComplete SavagesComplete Savages is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker and executive produced by Mel Gibson...
(2004–2005) — producer - I ♥ Huckabees (2004) — Credited (along with Maria Semple) as "Formal Couple".
- Earth To AmericaEarth to America (TV special)Earth to America was a 2-hour television special that aired on TBS on November 20, 2005. Hosted by Tom Hanks, the show used a comic approach to raise awareness of issues concerning the environment, mostly global warming...
(2005) — cowriter - The Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
(2007) — cowriter