Steve Tompkins is an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and wrote for the

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate Humor magazine, humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven ...

; he graduated in 1988. He has worked on such television shows such as ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' was an American primetime adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers ...

'', ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...

'', '' Entourage'', ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Berni ...

'' and ''

The Knights of Prosperity ''The Knights of Prosperity'' is an American comedy series that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. It was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, who also created the NBC comedy-drama '' Ed''. The show follow ...

''. He was also with ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', for its seventh and eighth seasons; after leaving he co-created ''

The PJs ''The PJs'' is an American adult animated stop-motion black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins. It portrayed life in an urban public housing project, modeled after the Cabrini–Green housing projects in Chica ...

'', with

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspo ...

and

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

. He was also the executive producer on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

animated series ''

Fanboy & Chum Chum ''Fanboy & Chum Chum'' is an American computer-animated television series created by Eric Robles for Nickelodeon. It is based on ''Fanboy'', an animated short created by Robles for Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Frederator Studios, which was b ...

'' (with

Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...

) and also voiced the character Janitor Poopatine.

Writing credits

''The Simpsons'' episodes

He worked on the following episodes: *" Treehouse of Horror 6" ("Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace") *"

22 Short Films About Springfield "22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1996.. It was written by ...

" (contributor) *" The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" ("Simpsons Family Smile-Time Variety Hour" segment) *"

A Milhouse Divided "A Milhouse Divided" is the sixth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on December 1, 1996. In the episode, Milhouse's parents Kirk ...

" (the only full episode of ''The Simpsons'' Tompkins has written)

Josh Weinstein Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weins ...

and

Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series '' The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans ...

said that, with the exception of

George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap ng... the comedic sensibility ...

, Tompkins had contributed more to seasons seven and eight than anyone else on the Simpsons staff. Tompkins wrote the sequence in " Homer's Phobia" where Homer takes Bart to a steel mill that turns out to be a gay dance club. He first pitched that Homer and Bart would encounter

longshoremen A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

, but it was too much work to animate the

lading Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tr ...

of ships, so a steel mill was used instead. Tompkins also wrote a different third act for the episode which was replaced in the final cut. Instead of Homer, Bart, Barney and Moe going deer hunting and ending up at "Santa's Village" they would go back to the steel mill. There, Homer would attempt to prove his heterosexuality by having a human

tractor pulling Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farth ...

contest with some of the steel mill workers. It was decided that it "didn't really service the story" and was dropped.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American television writers American male television writers American male voice actors The Harvard Lampoon alumni {{simpsons-stub