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Finding Aid for the George Meyer Simpsons script files, 1990-2004
313
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Title: George Meyer Simpsons script files,
Date (inclusive): 1990-2004
Collection number: 313
Creator: Meyer, George
Extent: 78 boxes (38.5 linear ft)
Abstract: 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.
Language: Finding aid is written in English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Performing Arts Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Performing
Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
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.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
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.
[Identification of item], George Meyer Simpsons script files (Collection 313). Performing Arts Special Collections, Charles
E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
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.
Meyer began writing for
The Simpsons in late 1989, a few months before the show's premiere, on Fox and went on to become an executive producer of the show. The
show, created by Matt Groening, started as a series of short vignettes featured on the FOX variety program
The Tracey Ullman Show starting in 1987.
The Simpsons is the longest-running cartoon on American prime-time network television, chronicling the animated adventures of Homer Simpson
and his family.
The collection consist of scripts files for the television program
The Simpsons, related directly to the career of George Meyer. The files may include story notes, outlines, and/or various drafts of scripts
for seasons two through six, written or co-authored by Meyer. Many of the scripts are annotated by Meyer and/or others.
Among the many credited writers documented in the collection are Al Jean, Mike Scully, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti. In
cases where the working title and final title for a specific episode varied, the processor attempted to include the episode
air title in the notes field. In addition to the script files, there is a photocopied version of
The Simpsons character design guidelines including drawings of characters, situations, objects and logos, among other things; and
The Simpsons Episode Guide and Storylines reference for seasons 1-9 which includes a general character fact sheet and synopses of each
episode along with a character cast list.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by script title.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Meyer, George -- Archives.
Television writers -- United States -- Archival resources.
Simpsons (Television program)
Television scripts.