Sam Simon, one of the co-creators of The Simpsons and a noted animal rights activist, died Sunday from colorectal cancer, his representatives said.
"It is with much sadness that we must let you know that Sam Simon has passed over," a Facebook post for The Sam Simon Foundation said Monday.
Simon, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012, donated millions of dollars to the animal rights group PETA, on whose executive committee he served.
Simon began his career in television in the late 1970s after taking a job animating Saturday morning cartoon shows after college. He was encouraged to send a draft script to the sitcom Taxi, after which he went to work for the show.
He subsequently worked on Cheers, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and The Tracey Ullman Show, where he first encountered short clips featuring an animated yellow family called the Simpsons.
He earned his fortune after co-creating the popular animated television show for Fox in 1989, along with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.
He served as executive producer and showrunner for the show's first two seasons, assembling its initial team of writers.
"In the beginning, I was skeptical it could be successful, but I was not skeptical it could be good," he told his alma mater, Stanford University, in 2011. "I was hoping for 13 episodes that my friends would like. It's a good lesson, isn't it? If you do something trying to make your friends laugh and that you can be proud of, you can also be successful."
"Time called it the best TV series of the 20th century," Simon said. "There weren't any TV series in the 19th century, so I assume that makes it the best of all time."
After falling out with Groening and Brooks, Simon left the show in 1993, but negotiated a deal that saw him still listed as a producer and earned him millions of dollars a year from the show's continued success.
He was frequently credited with helping to set the tone for the animated sitcom.
"Sam helped establish the tone and world of The Simpsons in the early years of this landmark series, and his contributions live on," FOX television said in a statement. "His philanthropy was well-known and a source of inspiration for many. We are deeply saddened by his passing."
"Sam brought a level of honesty to the characters," television writer Ken Levine told Stanford in 2011. "Is it too bizarre to say he made cartoon characters three-dimensional?"
"In The Simpsons, the characters are motivated by their emotions and their foibles. 'What are they thinking?' — that is Sam's contribution. The stories come from the characters."
Simon, a poker aficionado, also appeared several times on Howard Stern's radio show, frequently serving as the butt of jokes for the laconic host.
Upon receiving his cancer diagnosis, Simon said he would continue to give away his fortune.
"The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this," he told the Hollywood Reporter.
"We all miss him, and in his honor, we will continue bringing his vision to light through our work at The Sam Simon Foundation," his charity staff said. "We take comfort in knowing how many greetings he is receiving across that Rainbow Bridge."
The show's current executive producer, Al Jean, paid tribute to Simon on Twitter.
.@thesimpsons #everysimpsonsever Just heard terrible news of death of @simonsam. A great man; I owe him everything.
.@thesimpsons #everysimpsonsever If you would like to honor Sam's memory, do something nice for the next animal you meet. An enormous loss.
Fellow Simpsons co-creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks also paid tribute.
"We will miss Sam's phenomenal talents, sharp intelligence, and sly sense of humor," Groening said. "He is gone from our industry too soon."
"He was truly one of the great ones," said Brooks. "He found so much outside the work to give him pleasure and left so much behind for others."