Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (born October 26, 1973) is the creator of the animated television series Family Guy and American Dad. Family Guy season 4 and American Dad season 1 are set to air May 1st, 2005.
Early career
Born in Kent, Connecticut, MacFarlane received his diploma at Kent School and then attended and studied animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. While in college, he created a short film entitled The Life of Larry , an early ancestor of Family Guy. After graduation, he was hired by Hanna-Barbera Productions and later worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoon series, which included the shows Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken. He was also a writer for the animated series Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and created Larry & Steve , a short cartoon that was on Cartoon Network's What-A-Cartoon! show.
Family Guy
MacFarlane's first individual undertaking, Family Guy, is an animated comedy which follows the life of the Griffin family. Peter Griffin, the father, is a loud, obnoxious, sexist, inconsiderate, yet loveable oaf. Peter's wife, Lois Griffin, is a kind, calm, level-headed housewife who teaches piano lessons out of the house part-time while tending to their children. Chris Griffin is the eldest son, who is a little lacking in intelligence. Meg Griffin is the only daughter of the family who craves social interaction and for the rest of her family to give her respect. Brian Griffin is by far the most eloquent member of the household--even though he is a talking dog--and tends to drink a bit much. And finally there is Stewie Griffin, a talking infant bent on world domination and the destruction of all who oppose him, including his mother, Lois. On the show, MacFarlane provides the voices of Peter, Brian, Stewie, and Glen Quagmire.
Family Guy first aired in 1999 after the Super Bowl on FOX. Nielsen ratings for the pilot episode were excellent and Family Guy's future looked optimistic. However, after three seasons and 50 episodes, FOX removed Family Guy from broadcasting. A huge undertaking by Family Guy's loyal fanbase worked to bring Family Guy back to life, and, combined with record DVD sales of the three aired seasons and Family Guy doing very well on Adult Swim, Family Guy will be returning to FOX in 2005.
American Dad
American Dad is MacFarlane's latest undertaking and will air in early 2005. It will focus on Stan Smith, a CIA agent convinced that terrorists are everywhere, even in his own household. He has a loving wife and two children, along with two unusual houseguests: Roger, the Alien who Stan rescued from Area 51, and Klaus the goldfish with the brain of a German man implanted into him. MacFarlane has said that his discontent towards George W. Bush's presidency was a motivating factor in the development and plot of the show.
September 11, 2001 experience
On September 11, 2001 MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 after being a keynote speaker at his alma-mater in Rhode Island. His travel agent gave him the wrong flight time, and he arrived at Boston Logan Airport a few minutes after boarding was finished. He was told he would have to wait for the next flight. At 8:45am one hour after the departure of American Airlines Flight 11, it was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
In an interview in USA Today a few days after the attacks he said that he was unable to get in touch with his office or his family in Los Angeles. He ended up driving half way across the country before he finally was able to contact his office and parents to tell them that he was all right.
External links
Last updated: 08-20-2005 16:20:17
