John Frink
| John Frink | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Frink May 5, 1964 Whitesboro, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Writer, producer |
John Frink (born May 5, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne started their career in television writing for the short-lived sitcom Hope and Gloria. They wrote their first episode of The Simpsons in 2000, and Frink still works on the show as a writer and executive producer.
Early life and career
Frink was born in 1964 in Whitesboro, New York. A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, he holds a degree in creative writing. Frink began his career as a writer for several sitcoms together with his writing partner at the time, Don Payne.[1][2] The two met at UCLA, where Frink was the boss of the Media Laboratory in which Payne worked. Payne has said to the website TheFutonCritic.com that "one day we were both trying to write individually so I said, 'why don't we pool our resources and write together and see what happens?'"[3] In 2006, Payne told the Los Angeles Times that "I hooked up with a writing partner, John Frink, out of college. I wanted to do films. He wanted to do television."[2] The pair reached the agreement that they would pursue a career in the medium that they first got a job offer in—whether it be film or television. They eventually ended up writing for television sitcoms such as Hope and Gloria (1995–1996) and The Brian Benben Show (1998).[2] These sitcoms were short-lived and Payne has deemed them as failures.[1]
Further career
Frink and Payne joined the writing staff of the animated sitcom The Simpsons in 2000 with the season twelve episode "Insane Clown Poppy", which they co-wrote.[1] "Treehouse of Horror XI", another 2000 episode they wrote, was broadcast earlier than "Insane Clown Poppy", but was produced after.[1] Payne said in an interview with TV Squad in 2006 that "My partner and I were actually working on one of a long string of failed sitcoms (and most sitcoms are failed sitcoms!) On the day a show is officially cancelled, it's kind of a tradition for the writing staff to go out to a restaurant, eat a nice meal, and drown their sorrows. On the way there, a writer named Jace Richdale (who had also worked on The Simpsons) told my partner and me that The Simpsons was looking for some writers. He wanted to know if we'd be interested in it, because he would recommend us. My jaw literally dropped. So he contacted the show-runner, a guy named Mike Scully, who read our spec script and met with us, then hired us on."[1]
After a few years of working on The Simpsons together, Frink and Payne's writing partnership ended.[1][2] They both continued to work on the show, though, and Payne has described their split-up as amicable.[3] The first episode Frink wrote on his own was season fifteen's "Bart-Mangled Banner" (2004). Since the twenty-first season of The Simpsons (2009–2010), he has been credited as an executive producer.
The Simpsons character Professor Frink, a The Nutty Professor-esque scientist, was named after Frink, although the character was introduced before he was hired as a writer on the show.[4][5]
Awards
Frink has won several awards for his work on The Simpsons. He has also received several award nominations.
| Year | Award | Category | Series | Notes | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As producer | Won | [6] |
| 2001 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As producer | Won | [6] |
| 2002 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As supervising producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2003 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Won | [6] |
| 2003 | Writers Guild of America Award | Animation | The Simpsons | For the episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants" | Nominated | [7] |
| 2004 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2005 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Won | [6] |
| 2006 | Writers Guild of America Award | Animation | The Simpsons | For the episode "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" | Nominated | [8] |
| 2007 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2007 | Writers Guild of America Award | Animation | The Simpsons | For the episode "The Italian Bob" | Won | [9] |
| 2008 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Won | [6] |
| 2008 | Writers Guild of America Award | Animation | The Simpsons | For the episode "Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!" | Nominated | [10] |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2009 | Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy series | The Simpsons | As a member of the writing staff | Nominated | [11] |
| 2010 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As co-executive producer | Nominated | [6] |
| 2010 | Writers Guild of America Award | Animation | The Simpsons | For the episode "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" | Nominated | [12] |
| 2010 | Annie Award | Writing in a Television Production | The Simpsons | For the episode "Stealing First Base" | Nominated | [13] |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) | The Simpsons | As executive producer and writer of the episode "Angry Dad: The Movie" | Nominated | [6] |
Credits
| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Hope and Gloria | Writer | Co-wrote the episode "A Fine ROM-ance" |
| 1995 | Pride & Joy | Writer | Co-wrote the episode "Brenda's Secret" |
| 1995–1996 | Can't Hurry Love | Writer | Co-wrote the episodes "Annie Get Your Armoire", "Glove Story", and "Valentine's Day Massacred" |
| 1997 | Men Behaving Badly | Writer | Co-wrote the episodes "Wet Nurse" and "Playing Doctor" |
| 1997 | Veronica's Closet | Co-producer | Co-produced the episode "Veronica's First Thanksgiving" |
| 1998 | The Brian Benben Show | Writer and producer | Co-wrote the episode "House of Blues" |
| 2000–present | The Simpsons | Writer and producer | For a list of episodes written, see below |
| 2007 | The Simpsons Movie | Consultant writer |
The Simpsons episodes
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Weinberg, Scott (2006-05-09). "Don Payne: The TV Squad Interview". TV Squad. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- 1 2 3 4 King, Susan (2006-07-20). "A dream finally takes flight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- 1 2 Sullivan, Brian Ford (2007-01-23). "Interview: 'The Simpsons' Co-Executive Producer Don Payne". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ↑ Rhodes, Joe (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.
- ↑ Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Kogen, Jay; Silverman, David; Wolodarsky, Wallace (2002). Commentary for "Old Money", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ↑ "55th Annual Writers Guild Awards Nominees Announced for Television and Radio". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ↑ "2006 Writers Guild Awards Television and Radio Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ↑ "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ↑ "2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ↑ "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ↑ "2010 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ↑ "38th Annual Annie Nominations". Annie Awards. Retrieved 2010-12-06.