---
name: "John Swartzwelder"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-swartzwelder"
fi1m_id: "john-swartzwelder"
imdb_id: "nm0841990"
tmdb_id: 963556
wikidata_id: "Q657901"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "8 February 1949"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-01T20:02:52.371919+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Swartzwelder

## Identity

John Swartzwelder

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-swartzwelder
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-swartzwelder
- **IMDb ID:** nm0841990
- **TMDB ID:** 963556
- **Wikidata ID:** Q657901
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Swartzwelder, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q657901, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841990/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/963556

Writer. Born 8 February 1949 in Seattle, Washington, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 8 February 1949, Seattle, Washington, USA
- **Active:** 1989–2007
- **Frequently works with:** [Al Jean](https://film.one/person/al-jean.md), [Dan Castellaneta](https://film.one/person/dan-castellaneta.md), [David Mirkin](https://film.one/person/david-mirkin.md), [David Silverman](https://film.one/person/david-silverman.md), [George Meyer](https://film.one/person/george-meyer.md), [Hank Azaria](https://film.one/person/hank-azaria.md), [Ian Maxtone-Graham](https://film.one/person/ian-maxtone-graham.md), [James L. Brooks](https://film.one/person/james-l-brooks.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 88 (1), 2000s 70 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Swartzwelder, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q657901, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841990/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/963556

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Simpsons*](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md) (88), [*The Simpsons Movie*](https://film.one/film/the-simpsons-movie.md) (70)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist. Born in Seattle, Washington, on 8 February 1949, he began his career working in advertising in Chicago. He later wrote for Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s and contributed to George Meyer's Army Man magazine.

Swartzwelder joined the original writing team of the animated series The Simpsons in 1989. He wrote 59 episodes of the show, more than any other writer, and worked as a producer until 2003. He also contributed to the screenplay of The Simpsons Movie (2007). After leaving the series, he began writing self-published absurdist novels, including the Frank Burly detective series.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, johnswartzwelder.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Simpsons Movie* (2007), Fi1m 70, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-simpsons-movie.md)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), Fi1m 88, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)

## Complete filmography (4)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Simpsons Movie* (2007), Screenplay — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-simpsons-movie.md)
- *Pistol Pete* (1996), Writer, Executive Producer
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, Writer, Producer, Story Editor — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Women in Prison* (1987), series, Writer

## Gallery

- ![John Swartzwelder](https://film.one/media/person/61854/gallery-14f3d57af858.jpg) John Swartzwelder — Johnswartzwelder.jpg: Bill Oakley
Brightness and sharpness enhancements only: Ubcule (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/John_Swartzwelder_Brighter_Sharper.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![The Simpsons writing staff photo, c. 1992. (L to R) (back row) Mike Mendel, Colin ABV Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oa](https://film.one/media/person/61854/gallery-4d66aae5019d.jpg) The Simpsons writing staff photo, c. 1992. (L to R) (back row) Mike Mendel, Colin ABV Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oa — Bill Oakley, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Simpsons_writers2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![John Swartzwelder](https://film.one/media/person/61854/gallery-d2a7eb046282.jpg) John Swartzwelder — Image via TMDB
- ![John Swartzwelder](https://film.one/media/person/61854/gallery-c8b6f366583c.jpg) John Swartzwelder — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-swartzwelder