Seth MacFarlane is an American actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter comedian, producer, director and singer.
Yes, he is very talented.
He is best known as the creator of the animated sitcom Family Guy, co-creator of The Cleveland Show and American Dad, and director/screenwriter of the anticipated comedy, Ted.
But Mr. MacFarlane has a couple of secrets – well, not secrets, but one might say that he has lead a rather thrilling life thus far.
MacFarlane Worked for Cartoon Network
Solely based on his writing talent, Seth MacFarlane was one of few people hired to Cartoon Network where he served as Writer and animator.
He worked on some very popular series during his tenure at Cartoon Network. These included:
- Johnny Bravo
- Dexter’s Laboratory
- Cow and Chicken
- I am Weasel
He spent most of his time on the series Johnny Bravo, where he wrote a good amount of episodes. The process of script writing used for Johnny Bravo allowed MacFarlane to develop his own style.
MacFarlane was Suppose to Die on September 11th, 2001.
On September 10th, 2001, Seth MacFarlane was partying and drinking all night.
The next morning, he was 10 minutes late to his scheduled flight – the plane was hijacked by terrorists and flown into the North Tower of the World Trace Center 15 minutes after.
Before Peter and Brian Griffin there was…Larry and Steve?
MacFarlane originally created The Life of Larry as a thesis film in 1995, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. His professor at RISD submitted the cartoon to Hanna-Barbera, where he was hired a year later. Months later, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry called Larry and Steve, which featured the main character of his first film, the middle-aged Larry, and an intellectual dog named Steve.
So we have an intellectual dog that can talk and its middle-aged ditzy owner – sounds familiar.
Executives at Fox saw Larry and Steve and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters, to be called Family Guy. Peter Griffin, the father in Family Guy, was based on Larry. In addition, Steve would be the main inspiration behind the Griffin family dog Brian.
When asked about creating Family Guy, MacFarlane said:
“I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot.”
This seemed to pay off when Fox offered him $2 million per season.
MacFarlane is Bringing the Flintstones back
If you are a Flintstones fan, 2013 should be a pretty exciting year for you.
The historic return of the Flintstones will feature MacFarlane’s modern-day take on the lives of the Flintstones and the Rubbles, two hard-working middle-class families living in the dinosaur-era town of Bedrock.
The Flintstones will be co-produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Warner Bros. MacFarlane and Palladino serve as executive producers of the series and co-writers on the pilot. When asked about this project, MacFarlane stated:
“The very first cartoon character I drew at age two was Fred Flintstone,” said MacFarlane. “So it’s appropriate that events have come full circle, allowing me to produce the newest incarnation of this great franchise. Plus, I think America is finally ready for an animated sitcom about a fat, stupid guy with a wife who’s too good for him.”
Sources:
Youtube.com