Sam Simon, who cocreated and executive produced The Simpsons, has died. He was 59.
The industry veteran was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer in 2012.
In addition to working on the long-running Fox animated comedy, Simon was a producer and writer for Taxi, Cheers and The Tracey Ullman Show, among others.
Simon stopped working on The Simpsons in 1993 but negotiated a deal to maintain producing credits as well as royalties that generated millions of dollars a year.
He gave much of his fortune to philanthropic organizations, including PETA, Save the Children and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He also founded the Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues dogs and trains them to work with the disabled and veterans.
The news of his death was announced Monday by his foundation on Facebook.
“It is with much sadness that we must let you know that Sam Simon has passed over,” the foundation said. “We all miss him, and in his honor, we will continue bringing his vision to light through our work at The Sam Simon Foundation. We take comfort in knowing how many greetings he is receiving across that Rainbow Bridge. We love you Sam!”
Simpsons producer and writer Al Jean responded to the news on his Twitter: “.@thesimpsons #everysimpsonsever Just heard terrible news of death of @simonsam. A great man; I owe him everything.”
