{{Infobox_Person 
| name        = Matt Groening
| image       = Matt Groening.jpg
| image_size  = 200px
| caption     = Matt Groening, 2005
| birth_date  = 
| birth_place = Portland, U.S.
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| known_for   = ''The Simpsons''<br/> ''Futurama''<br/> ''Life in Hell''<br/> Bongo Comics
| occupation  = Cartoonist
| religion    = Agnostic
| spouse      = Deborah Caplan (1986–1999)
| children    = Homer, Abe
| website     = [http://www.mattgroening.com MattGroening.com]
| footnotes   =  
}}

'''Matthew Abram Groening''' ( ''<small>GRAY</small>-ning'') (born Portland, ''Wet'' magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.
 
''Life in Hell'' caught the attention of FOX variety show ''the Simpsons and named the members after his own parents and sisters &mdash; while Bart was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: ''The Simpsons'', which has since aired over 400 episodes in 19 seasons. In 1997, Groening got together with David X. Cohen and developed ''Futurama'', an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999. After four years on the air, the show was cancelled by Fox in 2003, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes from 4 Direct-to-DVD Movies to be aired in 2008.

Groening has won 10 British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on ''Life in Hell''.

==Early life==
Groening was born on Portland, middle child of five children. His mother, Margaret Wiggum,<ref></ref> was once a teacher, and his father, Homer Philip Groening, was a filmmaker, advertiser, writer and cartoonist.<ref name="prodigy"></ref> Homer, born in Main Centre, Hillsboro, Kansas before moving to Albany College (now known as Lewis and Clark College) in Oregon in 1930.<ref name="tabor"></ref>

From 1972<ref name="tcj"></ref> to 1977, Groening attended Olympia, Disney animated film ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' as what got him into cartoons.<ref></ref>

==Career==
In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to ghostwriting for a retired Western director.<ref name="salon"></ref><ref name="avclub"></ref>

thumb|right|Cover of ''Life In Hell'' No. 4, published in 1978.

Groening described life in Los Angeles to his friends in the form of a self-published Walter Kaufmann's book ''Critique of Religion and Philosophy''.<ref name="mygeneration"></ref> Groening distributed the comic book in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a ''Wet'' magazine in 1978.<ref name=mygeneration/> The strip, entitled "Forbidden Words," appeared in the September/October issue of that year.<ref name="latimesmag"/><ref name="wet"></ref>

Groening gained employment at the ''Los Angeles Reader'', a newly formed alternative newspaper, delivering papers,<ref name=tcj/> typesetting, editing and answering phones.<ref name=metroactive/> He showed his cartoons to the editor, James Vowell, who was impressed and eventually gave him a spot in the paper.<ref name=tcj/> ''Life in Hell'' made its official debut as a comic strip in the ''Reader'' on April 25, 1980.<ref name="latimesmag"/><ref name="aan"></ref>

Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead.<ref name="laweekly"/> In an effort to add more music to the column, he "just made stuff up,"<ref name="playboy"/> concocting and reviewing fictional bands and non-existent records. In the following week's column, he would confess to fabricating everything in the previous column and swear that everything in the new column was true. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column.<ref name="royale"></ref>

''Life in Hell'' became popular almost immediately.<ref name="vanityfair"></ref> In November 1984, Deborah Caplan, Groening's then-girlfriend and co-worker at the ''Reader'', offered to publish "Love is Hell", a series of relationship-themed ''Life in Hell'' strips, in book form.<ref name="loveishell"></ref> Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. ''Work is Hell'' soon followed, also published by Caplan.<ref name=tcj /> 

Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled John Callahan, but now only syndicates ''Life in Hell''.<ref name=tcj/> ''Life in Hell'' is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers and has been anthologized in a series of books, including ''School is Hell'', ''Childhood is Hell'', ''The Big Book of Hell'' and ''The Huge Book of Hell''.<ref name=officialsite/> Groening has stated that he will "never give up the comic strip. It's my foundation."<ref name="tvhost"></ref>

===''The Simpsons''===
thumb|250px|left|An early drawing of the Simpsons by Matt Groening, circa 1987.

''producer and FOX variety show ''the Simpsons.<ref name=nytimes></ref>  He allegedly designed the five members of the family in only ten minutes.<ref></ref>

right|thumb|200px|Groening on the ''Simpsons'' panel at [[Comic Con|Comic Con International in San Diego.]]
Groening animated by a team including directors on the series.<ref name="silverman"></ref> The shorts premiered on ''The Tracey Ullman'' show on April 19, 1987. 

Although ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' was not a big hit,<ref name=vanityfair/> the popularity of the shorts led to a half-hour series quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, to the surprise of many. Groening said: "Nobody thought ''The Simpsons'' was going to be a big hit. It sneaked up on everybody."<ref name="laweekly"/>

''The Simpsons'' was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked with on previous projects. Groening and Simon, however, did not get along<ref name=vanityfair/> and were often in conflict over the show;<ref name=latimesmag/> Groening once described their relationship as "very contentious."<ref name="nytimes"/> Simon eventually left the show in 1993 over creative differences.<ref name="ew"></ref>

Although Groening has pitched a number of Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield.<ref name=shortfilms></ref>

In 1995, Groening got into a major disagreement with Brooks and other ''Simpsons'' producers over "crossover episode with ''The Critic'', an animated show also produced by Brooks and staffed with many former ''Simpsons'' crew members. Groening claimed that he feared viewers would "see it as nothing but a pathetic attempt to advertise ''The Critic'' at the expense of ''The Simpsons''," and was concerned about the possible implication that he had created or produced ''The Critic''.<ref name="flux"></ref> He requested his name be taken off the episode.<ref name="latimes"></ref>

Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "executive producer and creative consultant.

'''Matthew Abram Groening''' este un desenator american (''Life in Hell'') şi creatorul serialelor de desene animate premiate cu Emmy The Simpsons şi Futurama.

== Primii ani ==

Groening s-a născut pe 15 februarie 1954<ref>. Retrieved on February 7, 2007</ref> în Portland, Oregon<ref name="oregonian"></ref>. Numele său de familie se pronunţă 'greɪnɪŋ' (rimează cu ''raining'').

A crescut în Portland,<ref name=officialsite>[http://www.thesimpsons.com/actors/index.htm Matt Groening's Simpsons profile] ''thesimpsons.com''. Retrieved on March 4, 2007</ref> al treilea din cinci copii. Mama sa, Margaret Ruth Wiggum, fusese cândva profesoară, şi tatăl său, Homer Philip Groening, a fost producător de filme, advertiser, scenarist şi desenator<ref name="prodigy"></ref>. Homer, născut în Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, a crescut într-o familie menonită<ref name="menno"></ref>. Bunicul lui Matt, Abram Groening, a fost profesor la Tabor College, un colegiu de arte liberale a Frăţiei Menonite din Hillsboro, Kansas, înainte să se transfere la Albany College (acum cunoscut ca Lewis and Clark College) din Oregon, în 1930<ref name="tabor"></ref>. 

Din 1972<ref name="tcj"></ref> până în 1977, Groening a studiat la The Evergreen State College din Olympia, Washington,<ref name="evergreen"></ref>, o şcoală progresistă pe care el a descris-o ca fiind „''un colegiu de hippies, fără note şi asistenţă obligatorie, care i-a atras pe toţi ciudaţii din nord-vest''”<ref name="laweekly"></ref>. A lucrat ca editor la ziarul campusului, ''The Cooper Point Journal'', pentru care a scris de asemenea articole şi a creat desene animate<ref name=tcj/>. S-a împrietenit cu desenatoarea Lynda Barry după ce a descoperit că îi scrisese o scrisoare de admiraţie lui Joseph Heller, unul din autorii preferaţi ai lui Groening, şi primise un răspuns<ref name="cartoon"></ref>. Groening a afirmat despre Barry că a fost „''probabil cea mai importantă sursă de inspiraţie pentru mine''”<ref name="motherjones"></ref>.   

==Cariera==
În 1977, la vârsta de 23 de ani, Groening s-a mutat în Los Angeles pentru a deveni scriitor. A trecut prin ceea ce el a numit „''o serie de slujbe jalnice''”, inclusiv un actor extra în filmul ''When Everyday Was The Fourth of July'',<ref name="playboy"></ref>, ospătar<ref name="latimesmag"></ref>, spălător de vase la un azil de bătrâni, şi şoferul unui regizor de westernuri retras din activitate<ref name="salon"></ref><ref name="avclub"></ref>.   

Groening şi-a descris viaţa în Los Angeles prietenilor sub forma unei reviste de benzi desenate intitulată „''Life in Hell''” („Viaţa în iad”), oarecum inspirată de un capitol intitulat „''How to Go to Hell''” („Cum să ajungi în iad”) din cartea filozofului Walter Kaufmann „''Critica religiei şi filozofiei''”<ref name="mygeneration"></ref>. Groening şi-a distribuit revista în secţiunea de cărţi a Licorice Pizza, un magazin de discuri în care lucra atunci. Şi-a vândut primul desen animat profesionist revistei avangardiste ''Wet'' în 1978<ref name=mygeneration/>. Desenul, intitulat „''Forbidden Words''” („Cuvinte interzise”), a apărut în numărul din septembrie/octombrie al revistei<ref name="latimesmag"/><ref name="wet"></ref>.

Groening a fost angajat la ''Los Angeles Reader'', un ziar alternativ recent creat, livrând ziare<ref name=tcj/>, corectând greşelile de ortografie, editând şi răspunzând la telefoane<ref name=metroactive/>. Şi-a arătat desenele editorului, James Vowell, care a fost impresionat şi i-a acordat o rubrică în ziar<ref name=tcj/>. ''Life in Hell'' şi-a făcut debutul oficial ca benzi desenate în ''Reader''ul din 25 aprilie 1980<ref name="latimesmag"/><ref name="aan"></ref>. 

Vowell i-a oferit lui Groening şi o rubrică semanală dedicată muzicii, în 1982. Cu toate acestea, articolele lui Groening erau rareori despre muzică, cel mai des despre „''diverse chestii entuziasmante, obsesii, frustrări şi probleme''”<ref name="laweekly"/>. În încercarea de a face mai multe referiri la muzică, a „''inventat pur şi simplu unele lucruri''”<ref name="playboy"/>, creând şi analizând albumele unor trupe imaginare. În articolul ce urma, recunoştea că în săptămâna precedentă inventase totul, şi jura că în articolul de faţă va scrie numai adevăruri. Până la urmă i s-a cerut să renunţe la rubrica de muzică<ref name="royale"></ref>.

''Life in Hell'' s-a bucurat de un succes aproape instantaneu.<ref name="vanityfair"></ref> În noiembrie 1984, Deborah Caplan, pe atunci prietena lui Groening şi colegă la ''Reader'', s-a oferit să-i publice ''Love is Hell'' („Dragostea e iad”), o serie de benzi desenate din ''Life in Hell'' dedicate relaţiilor, în formă de carte<ref name="loveishell"></ref>. Publicată o lună mai târziu, cartea s-a bucurat de succes în ''underground'', având vânzări de 22.000 de copii la primele două ediţii. La scurt timp după a urmat ''Work is Hell'' („Munca e iad”), publicată tot de Caplan<ref name=tcj /> . 

În curând, Caplan şi Groening aveau să părăsească ''Reader'' pentru a înfiinţa Life in Hell Co., care se ocupa de antologii ale ei, precum ''School is Hell'', ''Childhood is Hell'', ''The Big Book of Hell'' sau ''The Huge Book of Hell''.<ref name=officialsite/>

===The Simpsons===
''Life in Hell'' a atras atenţia producătorului de filme, scenaristului de la Hollywood şi fondatorului Gracie Films, James L. Brooks, care văzuse benzile desenate la recomandarea producătorului Polly Platt<ref name=vanityfair/><ref name="script"></ref>. În 1985, Brooks l-a contactat pe Groening pentru a-i propune să contribuie cu animaţia la un proiect viitor nedefinit,<ref name="prodigy"/>, care s-a dovedit a fi crearea unei serii de scurte skituri animate, numite ''bumpers'', pentru spectacolul de varietate de la FOX ''The Tracey Ullman Show''. Iniţial, Brooks i-a cerut lui Groening să adapteze personajele din ''Life in Hell'' pentru acel spectacol. Temându-se de pierderea drepturilor de autor, Groening a decis să creeze ceva nou, o familie de desene animate, familia Simpson<ref name=nytimes></ref>. S-a spus că i-a conturat pe cei cinci membri ai familiei în doar zece minute<ref></ref>.  

Groening s-a ocupat de scenariu pentru fiecare skit scurt (acum sunt cunoscute ca ''The Simpsons shorts''), iar de animaţie s-a ocupat o echipă care i-a inclus pe David Silverman şi Wes Archer, cei doi ajungând să-şi regizeze propriile seriale.<ref name="silverman"></ref> Skiturile scurte şi-au făcut debutul în cadrul ''The Tracey Ullman Show'', pe 19 aprilie 1987.