David Silverman (born on 15 March 1957 in New York City, New York) is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie. Silverman was involved with the series from the very beginning, where he animated all of the original Simpsons Tracy Ullman shorts and went on to serve as director of animation for several years. He was also the co-director of Monsters, Inc. for Pixar Animation Studios.

Early career

Started his education at the University of Maryland, College Park for two years, focusing on art. Then he attended UCLA and majored in animation.

Early in his career with The Simpsons, he was a subject on the December 26, 1990 episode (#83) of To Tell the Truth.

The Simpsons

Silverman is largely credited with creating most of the "rules" for drawing The Simpsons. He appeared during the end credits of the Simpsons episode "Goo Goo Gai Pan" giving a quick method of drawing Bart, and is a frequent participant on the Simpsons DVD audio commentaries. A cartoon rendering of him can be seen in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", where he is the animator who draws Poochie (along with renderings of other Simpsons staffers). He was once credited as Pound Foolish as the director of the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".

Silverman is also the director of the The Simpsons Movie, which was released July 27, 2007. He originally left The Simpsons to direct The Road to El Dorado. Some of his other film work includes Monsters, Inc.. He is currently a consulting producer and occasional director.

The Simpsons episodes directed by Silverman

• "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
• "Bart the Genius"
• "Bart the General"
• "Life on the Fast Lane"
• "Some Enchanted Evening"
• "Bart Gets an F"
• "Treehouse of Horror" (The Raven segment only)
• "Bart vs. Thanksgiving"
• "The Way We Was"
• "Old Money"
• "Blood Feud"
• "Black Widower"
• "Homer's Triple Bypass"
• "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
• "Treehouse of Horror IV"
• "Another Simpsons Clip Show"
• "Homie the Clown"
• "Mother Simpson"
• "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" (as Pound Foolish)
• "Treehouse of Horror XIII"
• "Treehouse of Horror XV"
• "Treehouse of Horror XVI"
• "Treehouse of Horror XVII" (with Matthew Faughnan)

Style

Silverman's direction and animation is known for its energy, sharp timing, adventurous use of design elements and often complex acting, involving expressions and poses which are often quixotic, emotionally specific or highly exaggerated. It frequently recalls the works of Ward Kimball, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones. His most prolific period of work on The Simpsons can be roughly categorized as beginning with the "Tracy Ullman" episodes and ending in or around season eight of the series, for which he animated Homer's psychedelic dream in "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)". Other representative examples of Silverman's work on "The Simpsons" include the Homer's histrionic, spasmodic heart attack in "Homer's Triple Bypass", Krusty the Klown's fit of heated frustration at the horse he bets on in "Krusty Gets Kancelled", Homer's demented hysterics over the iconic painting of poker-playing canines in "Treehouse of Horror IV" and subsequent turn as an even-more-deranged appropriation of Jack Nicholson's character from "The Shining" in "Treehouse of Horror V", and Homer's archetypically cartoonish reaction to Bart's prescription of Focusyn in "Brother's Little Helper".

Klutter

Silverman worked with Savage Steve Holland to create Klutter! for Fox Kids. It was produced by Fox Kids Company, Savage Studios Ltd, and Film Roman. It was part of Eek! Stravaganza in the fourth season of the 1995-96 season. It lasted a year with 8 episodes from September 9, 1995 to April 14, 1996.

Campus tours

Silverman has toured many college campuses, speaking about his experiences as an animator and longtime Simpsons director and producer. He describes his early experiences in the animation field, working on shows such as Turbo Teen and Mister T. He goes on to say that at the point he considered leaving animation to devote his time to cartoon illustration, he took a job animating on The Tracey Ullman Show. He has pointed out that he and his fellow animators Wes Archer and Bill Kopp first started animating The Simpsons shorts on March 23, 1987.

Silverman then elaborates on Simpsons production, the evolution of the show and its characters, and various show facts and trivia. He may show animatics, deleted scenes, and favorite scenes and sequences, while giving background information. He closes by hand-drawing character sketches before the audience.

Music

Silverman plays the tuba and has performed at events like Burning Man and on June 23, 2006, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he played a flaming sousaphone. Silverman was a member of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band Sousaphone Section in the early 1980s.

References

External links

• David Silverman 2007 Video interview with InterviewingHollywood.com
• 0798899 David Silverman at the Internet Movie Database
• An interview with David Silverman
• David Silverman - Speaker Profile on APBSpeakers.com
• The Simpsons Archive interview
• Video interview, Treehouse Of Horror XVII
• David Silverman presentation at the PICNIC07 conference in Amsterdam, September 2007