Al Jean

Jean at Comic Con 2007.

Al Jean (b. January 9, 1961 Farmington Hills, Michigan) is a television comedy writer best known for his work on The Simpsons.

During his youth, Jean worked in his father's hardware store in Michigan. He graduated from Harrison High School and attended Harvard University,^[1] where he majored in mathematics and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Prior to attending Harrison, Al Jean attended Roeper City & Country School, a school for gifted children in Bloomfield Hills, MI. A few of the students are said to have been inspiration for Simpson characters. ^{[citation needed]}

He has written for National Lampoon magazine, The Tonight Show, ALF and The PJs. In 1994, along with Mike Reiss, he created the prime time animated show The Critic, which was cancelled on both ABC and FOX, before finding some success in reruns on Comedy Central. He was show runner for Seasons 3 and 4 of The Simpsons, along with Mike Reiss. Jean is also the creator of the web series "Jesus and His brothers" on Icebox.com.^{[citation needed]}

Jean has been executive producer on The Simpsons since 2001. The show's eighteenth season, currently airing, is his sixth season as solo executive producer (eighth total).

Based on comments Jean made during commentary tracks on The Simpsons Season 3 DVD, some fans believe that he is critical of the Fox cartoon show Family Guy. Jean became slightly more blunt on a season 9 commentary when he implied that Family Guy's opening theme had been taken from a joke in the Simpsons episode, "Lisa's Sax". In the credits of "Treehouse of Horror XVI", where names are usually changed or given nicknames to become scary or Halloween-related, Jean's name is written as Al "Family Guy" Jean.

Jean has been prominent in The Simpsons DVD commentaries, being part of the commentaries for almost every episode he executive produced or collaborated on. He also confirmed his father NOT having a striking resemblance to Homer Simpson on the DVD commentary for episode Lisa's Sax in season 9.

Credited episodes

• "There's No Disgrace Like Home" – with Mike Reiss.
• "Moaning Lisa" – with Mike Reiss.
• "The Telltale Head" – with Matt Groening, Mike Reiss and Sam Simon.
• "The Way We Was" – with Mike Reiss and Sam Simon.
• "Stark Raving Dad" – with Mike Reiss.
• "Treehouse of Horror II" – contributor.
• "Lisa's Pony" – with Mike Reiss.
• "Treehouse of Horror III" (Clown Without Pity) – with Mike Reiss.
• "'Round Springfield" – story with Mike Reiss; teleplay by Joshua Sternin & Jeffrey Ventimillia.
• "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" – with Mike Reiss.
• "Lisa's Sax"
• "Mom and Pop Art"
• "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"
• "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder"
• "HOMR"
• "Day of the Jackanapes"
• "Children of a Lesser Clod"

References

1. ^ [1] SNPP.

External links

• Al Jean at the Internet Movie Database
• Washington Post - A Q&A with Al Jean

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