{"id":22504,"date":"2015-03-11T04:10:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T10:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=22504"},"modified":"2015-03-11T04:10:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T10:10:50","slug":"sam-simon-simpsons-co-creator-dies-at-59","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/sam-simon-simpsons-co-creator-dies-at-59\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Simon, \u2018Simpsons\u2019 co-creator, dies at 59"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES (JTA) \u2014 Sam Simon, who co-created \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d one of the most successful shows in television history, has died.<\/p>\n

Simon died on Sunday of colorectal cancer. He was 59.<\/p>\n

Simon only spent four years writing for \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d but many of the early writers credit him with shaping the show\u2019s sensibility. The terms of his exit made him a wealthy man for the rest of his life, and he spent much of his later years focused on giving away his fortune.<\/p>\n

A Beverly Hills native, Simon\u2019s father, Arthur, owned what Simon called<\/a> \u201ca\u00a0shmatte\u00a0factory in downtown Los Angeles,\u201d making cheap clothing for department stores, and he grew up in a prosperous neighborhood. Simon said that at the age of 5, he walked in on his mother and Groucho Marx, who lived across the street, \u201cin a compromising position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon wrote for several successful shows, including \u201cTaxi\u201d and \u201cCheers,\u201d but he achieved his greatest fame for developing \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d in 1989, along with James Brooks and Matt Groenig, who created the original characters. Simon often said at the time that he only expected to last one season, and he often expressed awe at the show\u2019s success, still on air more than 25 years later.<\/p>\n

Simon left \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d in 1993 with a percentage of profits that in recent years, he said, amounted to \u201ctens of millions\u201d of dollars per year.<\/p>\n

He was an active philanthropist, donating to causes including wildlife conservation, shelters for stray animals and a program serving free vegan meals to the hungry. After he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012, he focused his energies on giving away all of his money.<\/p>\n

Simon also had a\u00a0stint managing the heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster, who won a heavyweight championship title in 2004.<\/p>\n

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