Name: | Richard Appel |
Occupation: | Screenwriter |
Gender: | Male |
Birth Day: | May 21, 1963 |
Age: | 57 |
Birth Place: | New York City, United States |
Zodiac Sign: | Gemini |
Richard Appel
Brief Info
A New York-born screenwriter and producer, he is best known as the head writer on The Simpsons and the executive producer of King of The Hill. His other credits include Family Guy, The Bernie Mac Show, and Family Guy.
Trivia
Family Members
# | Name | Relationship | Net Worth | Salary | Age | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Mona Simpson | $5 Million – $10 Million (Approx.) | N/A | 63 | Novelist |
Physique
Height | Weight | Hair Colour | Eye Colour | Blood Type | Tattoo(s) |
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N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Before Fame
He attended Harvard University and worked for a lawyer as a time before beginning his writing career. He began his work with The Simpsons in 1994.
Biography
Biography Timeline
Appel lived in California while his parents taught at Stanford University before the family moved to Wilmette, Illinois, where Appel went to North Shore Country Day School. While there, he co-wrote and co-edited his senior yearbook with writer and poet Philip Brooks. After leaving NSCDS, he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, alongside Conan O’Brien and Greg Daniels, both of whom he beat for the chance to give the comic graduation speech, the Ivy Oration. Tad Friend noted: “Everyone thought it would be Conan automatically, but Rich’s speech was funny and self-deprecating, in a way that was both silly and profound.” After graduation in 1985 with a degree in history and literature, Appel attended Harvard Law School rather than moving into comedy, because the idea of following his mother and grandfathers into the legal profession “appealed” to him.
Appel still had dreams of becoming a comedy writer despite the security working as a lawyer offered him, but only in 1993, after his wife became pregnant, was Appel “reminde[d] that this was [his] life and [he] could shape it.” Three months later he had retained an agent, had written and submitted two spec-scripts, and had moved to California.
In 1993 he married novelist Mona Simpson, the sister of Apple founder Steve Jobs. They have two children. Appel and Simpson have since divorced.
When starting out as a comedy writer, Appel recalled: “One reason I caught up to my contemporaries is that when I started to send out my scripts, the idea that I’d been on the Lampoon, even 8 or 10 years before, was a credential I could use.” Appel got his first television job when David Mirkin hired him for the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1994, initially on a ten-week contract, and served as a writer and producer there for four years. There, he wrote seven episodes, often employing the use of “joke sequences, a narrative approach to humor that eschews the quick laugh in favor of something that develops over time.”
Daniels hired Appel as executive producer and showrunner on King of the Hill in 1997, leading the show’s writing process and overseeing all aspects of the show. Daniels noted: “It was essential that Rich was a good writer who could deal with people, who could help manage the business in the room. But equally important was the fact that he was someone I could trust, who had a similar sense of taste and values.” He stayed until 2001. For his work on The Simpsons and King of the Hill, Appel won three Primetime Emmy Awards. Appel created the short-lived series A.U.S.A., which aired in 2003, which he based on his own experiences as an assistant U.S. attorney.
He conceived it in 2001 and NBC ordered 13 episodes the following year; the show’s original pilot used a single-camera setup but NBC executives felt it would have more appeal as a multiple-camera setup, so it was re-shot. Appel noted of the show: “There’s a sense sometimes in Hollywood that writers and producers who come from animated shows maybe have something to prove to justify their credibility as live-action show-runners or writers. My own experience has been fortunate. I haven’t felt that. But I know it exists.” The show was not acclaimed: Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger said it was “too cartoonish to work.”
Appel then wrote and worked as a co-executive producer on The Bernie Mac Show and Kitchen Confidential, and appeared as Josh in the 2004 film I ♥ Huckabees. In 2006, he produced a pilot called My Ex Life about two divorcing couples for CBS, which was directed by Kelsey Grammer.
In 2008, he served as a co-executive producer on Family Guy and executive producer on American Dad! from 2008 until 2009. Appel wrote the Family Guy seventh season episode “Family Gay”. Appel co-created, alongside Mike Henry and Seth MacFarlane, the Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, which they began discussing in 2007 and which premiered September 27, 2009.
He and Henry serve as the show’s executive producers and showrunners, handling the day-to-day operations, with limited involvement from MacFarlane. Henry and Appel conceived the show as “more of a family show, a sweeter show” than Family Guy. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. It was extended to a full second season.
Appel signed a new three-year, seven figure deal with Fox to continue serving as showrunner on The Cleveland Show in 2010. Fox chairman Gary Newman commented: “What is special about him is his incredible leadership ability. He is a terrific showrunner, and he really sets the tone on a show that is exactly what you’re looking for.”
🎂 Upcoming Birthday
Currently, Richard Appel is 59 years, 0 months and 2 days old. Richard Appel will celebrate 60th birthday on a Sunday 21st of May 2023.
Find out about Richard Appel birthday activities in timeline view here.
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