Film & TV / Comedy
Al Jean
born 1961 · television writer, producer
Longtime showrunner of The Simpsons, born in Detroit and raised in Farmington Hills, where he graduated from Harrison High School.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 65- Birth name
- Alfred Ernest Jean III
- Detroit years
- 1961–1977
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Al Jean was born in Detroit and grew up in Farmington Hills, where he graduated from Harrison High School. A precocious student, he went on to Harvard University, graduating in 1981, and there he met his longtime writing partner Mike Reiss. The pair wrote for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, ALF and It's Garry Shandling's Show before joining the original writing staff of The Simpsons in 1989. They ran the show during its third and fourth seasons, then created the animated series The Critic. Jean returned full time to The Simpsons in 1998 and became its sole showrunner in 2001, a post he held, later jointly with Matt Selman, for more than two decades. He was also a writer and producer of The Simpsons Movie (2007). His old high school closed in 2019 and is now a city community center.
Highlights
- Member of The Simpsons' original writing staff (1989)
- Showrunner of The Simpsons for seasons 3–4 and from season 13 onward
- Co-creator of The Critic (1994–1995)
- Writer and producer of The Simpsons Movie (2007)
- Multiple Primetime Emmy Awards for The Simpsons
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1970s
Harrison High School (now The Hawk community center)
Closed · 1970–2019
Jean graduated from this public high school, which opened in 1970 and closed in 2019; the city reopened the building as The Hawk community center.