The Simpsons (franchise) In 2008, $750 million worth of "The Simpsons" merchandise was purchased worldwide. Peter Byrne, Fox executive vice-president of licensing and merchandising, called "The Simpsons" "without doubt the biggest licensing entity that Fox has had, full stop, I would say from either TV or film." Matt Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Brooks, the producer of the sketch comedy program "The Tracey Ullman Show", wanted to use a series of animated cartoons as bumpers between sketches. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended
The Front (The Simpsons) Harvard alumnus who resembles "Simpsons" writer Jon Vitti. At the awards ceremony, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is shown in the audience. Lisa is also seen reading a book titled "How to Get Rich Writing Cartoons" by John Swartzwelder, a "Simpsons" writer credited with nearly sixty episodes of the show. The credits at the end of Bart and Lisa's "Itchy & Scratchy" episode (shown in very small print) are a copy of the credits at the end of "The Simpsons". At the Annual Cartoon Awards, the clip from the nominated "The Ren & Stimpy Show" is merely a black screen