The revered and famously reclusive Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder granted his first major interview after leaving the show almost twenty years ago. In an exclusive interview published today by the New Yorker, Swartzwelder gave an inside look into his early career and his time writing on the iconic animated Fox sitcom.
Swartzwelder is known to have penned some of the Simpsons’ best episodes, writing 59 in his entire career – more than any by a single staff writer in the show’s history. He is commonly deemed “one of the greatest comedy minds of all time,” his work influencing a generation of comedy writers.
In the interview, the writer recalled his application to work at Late Night With David Letterman in 1983. “I submitted two or three pages of jokes to him, with a cover letter, complete with name, address, and phone number. All this was stuffed into a regular letter-sized envelope, which...
Swartzwelder is known to have penned some of the Simpsons’ best episodes, writing 59 in his entire career – more than any by a single staff writer in the show’s history. He is commonly deemed “one of the greatest comedy minds of all time,” his work influencing a generation of comedy writers.
In the interview, the writer recalled his application to work at Late Night With David Letterman in 1983. “I submitted two or three pages of jokes to him, with a cover letter, complete with name, address, and phone number. All this was stuffed into a regular letter-sized envelope, which...
- 5/2/2021
- by Brandon Choe
- Deadline Film + TV
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