Biography
Sam Simon was an American television writer, producer and director. He studied at Stanford University, where he worked as a newspaper cartoonist, and after graduating became a storyboard artist and writer at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi (1978), which was produced, and later became the series' showrunner.
Simon wrote and produced for Cheers (1982) and other programmes before co-developing the animated series The Simpsons (1989) with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. He served as executive producer and showrunner for the first two seasons and creative supervisor for the first four, and is credited with shaping much of the show's early tone and sensibility. He left the series in 1993 but retained an executive producer credit. He also directed episodes of series including Friends (1994) and The Drew Carey Show (1995).
In later years Simon became known as an animal rights activist and philanthropist.
