John Joseph Swartzwelder Jr. (born February 8, 1949) is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons. Born in Seattle, Washington, Swartzwelder began his career working in advertising. He was later hired to work on comedy series Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s as a writer. He later contributed to fellow writer George Meyer's short–lived Army Man magazine, which led him to join the original writing team of The Simpsons, beginning in 1989.
He worked on The Simpsons as a writer and producer until 2003, and later contributed to The Simpsons Movie. He wrote the largest number of Simpsons episodes (59 full episodes, with contributions to several others) by a large margin After his retirement from the show, he began a career as a writer of self–publishing absurdit novels. He has written more than a dozens novels, the most recent of which, The Spy with No Pants, was published in December 2020.
Swartzwelder is revered among comedy fans and his colleagues. He is known for his reclusiveness, and gave his first-ever interview in 2021, in The New Yorker. Per Mike Sacks, "Swartzwelder's speciality on The Simpsons was conjuring dark characters from a strange, old America: banjo-playing hobos, cigarette-smoking ventriloquist dummies, nineteenth–century baseball players, rat–tailed carnival children, and pantsless, singing old–timers."
Early life[]
Swartzwelder was born in Seattle, Washington, on February 8, 1949, the son of Gloria Mae (Matthews) and John Joseph Swartzwelder, Sr. He attended high school in Renton, Washington.
Filmography[]
Television[]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–2003 | The Simpsons | Writer, 59 episodes, story writer, consultant, producer |
Film[]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Simpsons Movie | Writer | Additional credit for lyrics on "Spider Pig" and "Springfield Anthem" |