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Finding Aid for the George Meyer Simpsons script files, 1990-2004
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Description
Writer and producer George Meyer is well known for his work on the long-running animated television comedy The Simpsons. The collection consist of Meyer's scripts files for the The Simpsons (seasons two through six) which may include story notes, outlines, and/or drafts of scripts.
Background
George Meyer was born in Pennsylvania in 1957 and grew up in Tuscon, AZ. After graduating from Harvard in 1978, he applied to medical school, was accepted, but never enrolled. Midway through his sophomore year at Harvard, he joined the writing staff of the Lampoon where he established many long-term relationships. In 1981, he started writing for the David Letterman Show and is credited with a stunt that was the basis for many subsequent Letterman routines: squashing things with a steam roller. He also wrote segments in which Letterman would demonstrate a variety of strange gadgets, which were presented as new products but had actually been conceived by Meyer. Meyer left Letterman after about two years to take a job with New Show, Lorne Michaels's successor to Saturday Night Live. The show was cancelled after just two and a half months taking Meyer to Not Necessarily the News, and then to Saturday Night Live. Meyer also published a small, offbeat humor magazine called Army Man. The first issue (there would eventually be three) was written almost entirely by him and included eight typed pages; he printed two hundred copies, which he gave away to friends. The magazine attracted a loyal following and made Rolling Stone's Hot List in 1989.
Extent
78 boxes (38.5 linear ft)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.