Richard Appel
Appel was born in New York City, New York and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard University. While at Harvard, he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon with Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels. He originally worked as a lawyer. He began a career in television writing in 1994. Appel married author Mona Simpson in 1993. They had two children together before divorcing.