The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
The Force For Cultural Event productions presents This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS) with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Canada Council For The Arts.
“Best. 20. Years. Ever”, a year-long worldwide celebration of the longest-running comedy in television history, The Simpsons, kicked off on January 14, 2009. The official tributes to the show’s iconic characters and award-winning subversive humour all seem to raise a niggling question: just what are they trying to hide? To launch The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History (Greystone Books), journalist John Ortved will discuss the remarkable story behind the first family of television comedy with celebrated author, film critic, and broadcaster Richard Crouse. Special musical guests Henri Faberge and The Adorables will perform a live set. Marc Glassman, Executive Director of This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS), will host the evening.
– A TINARS event presented by the Force for Cultural Events Production, Douglas & McIntyre, Greystone Books, Gladstone Hotel, NOW Magazine, and Take Five On CIUT.
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History is the story of TV’s longest-running sitcom and the characters that created it, marking twenty years on the air.
The Simpsons will celebrate its twentieth anniversary this fall. No other TV show has had the enduring popularity or cultural influence that The Simpsons has. When it premiered in 1989, the enthusiastic reaction to its subversive humor was instantaneous. It is one of the most astounding successes in TV history.
John Ortved’s unauthorized history—the first ever to look behind the scenes of this pop culture phenomenon—tells how the series grew from a controversial cult favourite to a mainstream powerhouse thanks to a group of intense, thoughtful, and creative people who came together to make something unique in the history of American culture. The writers, animators, producers, and network executives—as much a dysfunctional but loving family as the show’s stars themselves—are all here. It’s an intriguing yet hilarious tale full of betrayal, ambition, and love. More than an amusing narrative of the making of The Simpsons, this is an intimate look at the characters behind this cultural juggernaut—their creativity, intelligence, hubris, ego, and passion. The result is a book that is as amusing, dramatic, and compelling as the show itself.
John Ortved is a freelance journalist and author. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, New York, Interview and other magazines and newspapers. Ortved splits his time between New York and Toronto, ON. The Simpsons is his first book. Ortved maintains the website, artisdumb.org, the internet’s only site devoted to news about bars.
Richard Crouse is the host of the show, Richard Crouse’s Movie Show on the E! Channel and has a regular movie review segment on CTV’s Canada AM. Crouse often appears on CBC radio as a musical trivia expert. He has written several books on the music and movie industries, such as the bestseller Son Of The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen.
Henri Faberge and the Adorables: The influential music blog All Music characterized the inaugural, self-titled album by Toronto’s indie-pop sensation, Henri Faberge And The Adorables as “a very promising debut”.
Contacts
John Ortved: Corina Eberle, corinae@dmpibooks.com, (416) 537-2501 ext. 225
This Is Not A Reading Series: Chris Reed, coordinator@tinars.ca
