…genius TV writer/producer Sam Simon, who last worked on The Simpsons in 1993. “Sam is still an executive producer of the show; he just doesn’t have to do anything for his piece of The Simpsons, which provides him with $20 to $30 million a year to this day.”
Not for nothing, Sam is responsible for writing/exec-producing episodes in some of the show’s best years (seasons 1-5), so it’s not like he didn’t do anything to earn it. Even better than making $20 mill a year for doing nothing is that his ex-wife, Jennifer Tilly, has made an estimated nine figures over the years just for divorcing the guy (according to Sam on Howard Stern). Yeah. Like over $100 million. Not a typo.
This and much, much more in the fascinating The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved. And this from a guy who is most certainly not a fanboy. I’m only halfway through and I’m already amazed at all the backstabbing and horribleness that went on behind the scenes.
That book sounds like an amazing read. I used to be a die hard Simpsons fan, but fell off the wagon somewhere around season 14. And even then I thought I had stayed loyal to the show for a couple of seasons too long. I only held on that long because, well, I was raised on the show. When it first aired, Bart and I were both in 4th grade. We sort of grew up together. I had been a fan of the sketches on the Tracy Ullman Show for years before The Simpsons became it’s own entity. I had so much Simpsons merchandise that in 5th grade I actually owned a book ABOUT all the Simpsons merchandise that was out there. I was once the king of Simpsons’ quotes. I wrote an episode for one of my screenwriting classes in film school (obviously it was never made into an actual episode, but I did notice a lot of the ideas I came up with in future episodes). I took a class called “The Simpsons and Philosophy” in college. It ruled my life. I still credit them for nurturing and developing the sense of humor that I have today.
However, I have never had a lot of knowledge about what went on behind the scenes at the show. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, I just didn’t ever seek it out. It looks like The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved is going to change that. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book…





