Ian Maxtone-Graham
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Ian Maxtone-Graham is an American
television writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and producer. He has formerly written for ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (1992–1995) and ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' (1995–2012), as well as serving as a co-
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
and consulting producer for the latter from its seventh to its twenty-fourth seasons.


Early years

Maxtone-Graham is the son of maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham. He is the great-nephew of Jan Struther, the writer of
Mrs. Miniver ''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming Britis ...
. He attended Trinity School and
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
. An enthusiastic swimmer, his first job after college was as a diver with an underwater research team. After struggling to establish a career in journalism, he penned material for the television show '' Not Necessarily the News'' and the magazines '' National Lampoon'' and '' Army Man''. His work in ''Army Man'', an offbeat magazine published by future ''Simpsons'' colleague
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an United States, American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he served as a scriptwriter and gag writer (for which he is credited as a producer) and led the show's commu ...
, brought him to the attention of
Jack Handey Jack Handey (born February 25, 1949) is an American humorist. He is best known for his "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey", a large body of Surrealism, surrealistic one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts, and ...
, who suggested he work for ''Saturday Night Live''.


''Saturday Night Live''

While working for ''Saturday Night Live'', Maxtone-Graham co-wrote " The Chanukah Song" with
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
and, according to the DVD commentary for the ''SNL'' clip show "The Best of
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
", also wrote the controversial "Canteen Boy" sketch in which Canteen Boy is sexually molested by his scoutmaster, Mr. Armstrong (played by episode host Alec Baldwin). According to the memoir of Jay Mohr, Maxtone-Graham threatened to quit and sue the show during the 1993–94 season after a fistfight with
Norm Macdonald Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...
: the lawsuit never came to fruition. During all-night ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' writing sessions,
Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its ...
often stole underwear and socks from a cache of fresh clothes Maxtone-Graham kept in his office, and wore them in lieu of her own clothes.


''The Simpsons''

Maxtone-Graham has become somewhat infamous among ''The Simpsons'' fans for a 1998 interview with ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', in which he admitted that he had "barely" seen ''The Simpsons'' before being hired, ridiculed "the beetle-browed people on the internet" for their criticism of the show, and dismissed women as being unsuitable to be writers on the show. Although he upset many fans with his comments, Maxtone-Graham has won six
Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for his work on ''The Simpsons'', and received an
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
for writing " The Seemingly Neverending Story". One of the episodes written by Maxtone-Graham is " E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", in which
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
grows a tomato-tobacco hybrid called " tomacco". Notably, it inspired an Oregon man to make his own version of tomacco by grafting a tomato stem with a tobacco root. He eventually gave some to Maxtone-Graham, who ate it. At , Maxtone-Graham inspired a character on ''The Simpsons'': "Very Tall Man", who first appeared in " 22 Short Films About Springfield".


Writing credits

Maxtone-Graham has been credited as writing the following episodes of ''The Simpsons'': *" Burns, Baby Burns" (1996) *" The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" (1997) *" The Trouble with Trillions" (1998) *" Trash of the Titans" (200th episode, won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program For Programming less than One Hour) (1998) *" Lisa Gets an 'A' (1998) *" E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" (1999) *" Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" (2000) *" Tennis the Menace" (2001) *" The Blunder Years" (2001) *" Large Marge" (2002) *" Dude, Where's My Ranch?" (2003) *" Catch 'Em If You Can" (2004) *" The Heartbroke Kid" (2005) *" The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" (won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program For Programming less than One Hour and
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
for "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production") (2006) *" 24 Minutes" (with Billy Kimball, won Annie Award for "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production") (2007) *" Dangerous Curves" (with Billy Kimball) (2008) *" Gone Maggie Gone" (with Billy Kimball, nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program For Programming less than One Hour) (2009) *" The Color Yellow" (with Billy Kimball) (2010) *" The Scorpion's Tale" (with Billy Kimball) (2011) *" How I Wet Your Mother" (with Billy Kimball) (2012) *" Dark Knight Court" (with Billy Kimball) (2013) *" The Yellow Badge of Cowardge" (with Billy Kimball) (2014) Maxtone-Graham also co-wrote the screenplays for ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' created by Matt Groening. The film was directed by series veteran David Silverman (animator) ...
'' (2007) and '' Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe'' (2022).


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxtone-Graham, Ian Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American comedy writers American male screenwriters American male television writers American people of Scottish descent American television producers American television writers Annie Award winners Brown University alumni Primetime Emmy Award winners Trinity School (New York City) alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners