Reclusive legendary The Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder speaks out in his first-ever interview

The New Yorker

In an interview with The New Yorker, Swartzwelder, who at age 72 is deemed one of the greatest comedy minds of all time, discussed his work on one rocky season of SNL, getting rejected from Late Night with David Letterman and his time on The Simpsons writing 59 episodes. "I know some people think of us as gods, and maybe we are. I’m not saying we’re not gods," he said of writing for The Simpsons, which he left 20 years ago. "But we never got a big head about it, because we knew we could be replaced by other gods in about two seconds, anytime, probably for less money. The original group was very good, though, and credit goes to Sam Simon. Assembling a writing staff for a new show is difficult to do, because you’ve got to find people who are great at their jobs but who can’t find work anywhere, which is an unusual combination. Finding those people was, in my opinion, one of Sam’s great talents." Despite writing the most episodes of any Simpsons writer, Swartzwelder has never really spoken about his experience. Asked if The Simpsons writers tried to write for both adults and kids, Swartzwelder said: "Neither. We just tried to make ourselves, and each other, laugh. Comedy writers. That was the audience. Luckily, a lot of other people, both kids and adults, liked the same jokes we liked." ALSO: The Simpsons previews its Star Wars Day short film The Force Awakens From Its Nap.