David Silverman (animator)

David Silverman
A white male with a grey beard smiles at the viewer
Silverman at 2023 SPARKCG
Born (1957-03-15) March 15, 1957 (age 67)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
OccupationTelevision/film writer and director
Education
GenreComedy and fantasy

David Silverman (born March 15, 1957)[1] is an American animator who has directed numerous episodes of the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as its 2007 film adaptation. Silverman was involved with the series from the very beginning, animating all of the original short Simpsons cartoons that aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. He went on to serve as director of animation for several years. He also did the animation for the 2016 film The Edge of Seventeen, which was produced by Gracie Films.

Early life and career

Silverman was born to a Jewish family[2] on Long Island, New York.[3] His father, Joseph Silverman, was a chemical engineering professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, for over 30 years.[4][5] He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended the University of Maryland for two years,[3] focusing on art. He then attended UCLA and majored in animation.[6]

Early in his career with The Simpsons, he was a subject on the December 26, 1990, episode (#83) of To Tell the Truth.[7]

The Simpsons

Silverman is largely credited with creating most of the "rules" for drawing The Simpsons. He is frequently called upon to animate difficult or especially important scenes, becoming go-to in Season 2 when he animated the first of Homer's many "rants, freak-outs, and heart attacks".[8] 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"[9]

Silverman is also the director of The Simpsons Movie, which was released July 27, 2007. He originally left The Simpsons to direct additional sequences for The Road to El Dorado for DreamWorks Animation alongside Will Finn. Some of his other film work includes Monsters, Inc. for Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar, for which he was a co-director (alongside Lee Unkrich). He is currently a consulting producer and occasional director. He also worked on the animated films Ice Age, Robots, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

In 2012, Silverman directed the theatrical short The Longest Daycare starring Maggie Simpson, released in front of Ice Age: Continental Drift. The short was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He also directed the follow-up theatrical short Playdate with Destiny in 2020, released in front of Onward.

Episodes directed by Silverman

Episodes written by Silverman

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.[citation needed] It frequently recalls the works of Ward Kimball, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones.[citation needed] His most prolific period of work on The Simpsons can be roughly categorized as beginning with the "Tracey 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 Homer's histrionic, spasmodic heart attack in "Homer's Triple Bypass", 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 over-the-top sugar diatribe from "Lisa's Rival".

Filmography

Television

Year Title Director Writer Producer Storyboard
Artist 		Animator Other Notes
1984 Turbo Teen No No No No Yes No
1987–89 The Tracey Ullman Show Partial No No No Yes No Segment Director: "The Simpsons" Shorts
1989–1997, 2001–present The Simpsons Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Supervising Director (seasons 1–8, 16–17), Consulting Producer, Executive Consultant (season 9), Title Designer,
Character Layout Artist, Storyboards, Storyboard Consultant, Storyboard Revisions,
Main Title Designer, Background Designer, Additional Voices, Song Lyrics: "Spider-Pig"
1994–95 The Critic No No No No No Yes Visual Design
1995 Eek! The Cat No No Executive Yes No Yes Creator, Executive Producer, Voice of John Heap (Klutter! segment)
1997 Teen Angel No No No No No Yes Creative Consultant
2001 Rugrats No No No No Yes No
2014 Family Guy No No No No No Yes Special Thanks (Episode: "The Simpsons Guy")
2015 House of Lies No No No No No Yes Himself
2017 Party Legends No No No No Yes No
2018 Super Slackers[10] Yes Yes Executive No No No
2020–2022 Duncanville No No Consulting No No No
2022 Werewolf by Night No No No No No Yes Actor (The Flaming Tuba)

Feature films

Year Title Director Story Artist Animator Other Notes
1986 One Crazy Summer No No Yes No
1991 The Dark Backward No No No Yes Creator: "Blumps" concept
1993 RoboCop 3 No No No Yes Director: "Johnny Rehab" commercial
2000 The Road to El Dorado No No No Yes Additional Sequences Director
2001 Monsters, Inc. Co-Director No No Yes Additional Story Material, CDA
2002 Ice Age No No No Yes Story Consultant
2003 Confessions of a Burning Man[11] No No No Yes Additional Cinematographer; Documentary
Looney Tunes: Back in Action No No No Yes Animation Consultant
2005 Robots No Yes No No
2007 The Simpsons Movie Yes No No No
2014 Such Good People No No No Yes Personal Thanks
2015 Love No No No Yes Grateful Thanks
2016 The Edge of Seventeen No No Yes No
2021 Extinct Yes No No Yes Voices of Cyclops / Donut Store Clerk

Short films

Year Title Director Screenwriter Story Artist Animator Other Notes
1979 Tom Waits for No One No No No Yes No
1982 Luau No No No No Yes Special Thanks
The Strange Case of Mr. Donnybrook's Boredom[12] Yes No Yes Yes Yes Layout Artist, Ink Artist, Background Artist
1987 Propagandance No No No Assistant No
2002 Mike's New Car No No No No Yes Special Thanks
2011 Night of the Little Dead No No No No Yes Tuba Player
2012 The Longest Daycare Yes No Yes No No
2016 Bouncing Blunders No No No No Yes Special Thanks
Duhkha No No No No Yes
2020 Playdate with Destiny Yes Yes Yes No No
2021 The Force Awakens from Its Nap Yes No Yes No No
The Good, the Bart, and the Loki Yes No Yes No No
The Simpsons | Balenciaga Yes No Yes No No
Plusaversary Yes No Yes No No
Te Deseo Lo Mejor Yes No Yes No No
2022 When Billie Met Lisa Yes No Yes No No
Welcome to the Club Yes No Yes No No
The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in "Feliz Navidad" Yes No Yes No No
2023 Rogue Not Quite One Yes No Yes No No
2024 May the 12th Be with You Yes No Yes No No

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 where he voiced John Heap. It lasted eight 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.[13] 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 with the Transformational All Star Fire Conclave Marching Band and on June 23, 2006, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he played his flaming sousaphone.[14][15] Silverman was a member of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band Sousaphone Section in the early 1980s. He is currently a member of Los Trancos Woods Community Marching Band. In January 2009, Silverman joined the LA band Vaud and the Villains.

References

  1. ^ "David Silverman". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Tampa Jewish Federation "Jews in the News: Oscar Time!" retrieved March 19, 2017
  3. ^ a b Silverman, David. "Nominated for: Animated Short for "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare' "". 85th Academy Awards Nominee Questionnaire. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ^ "Clark School of Engineering Professor Joseph Silverman Remembered". A. James Clark School of Engineering.
  5. ^ @Tubatron (November 24, 2019). "On Nov 6, 2019, 1 day after his 97th birthday, Prof. Joe Silverman exchanged this life for the next. A good long life, nearly a century, my dad was in pretty decent health - he just ran out of time. So long dear ol' Dad & thanks for the laffs and love" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "TFTAN - UCLA School of The Theater, Film and Television Alumni Network". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  7. ^ To Tell The Truth: 1990-91 Episode Guide Archived February 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Du Vernay, Denise (February 14, 2012). "Best 'Simpsons' Moments: Castmembers Share Their Favorite Contributions to Celebrate the 500th Episode". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  9. ^ David Silverman at IMDb
  10. ^ Sokol, Tony (December 7, 2017). "Super Slackers: Exclusive Clip from Simpsons Animator's New Show on 420TV". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Vice, Jeff (January 7, 2004). "Film review: Confessions of a Burning Man". Deseret News. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  13. ^ The Simpsons Archive: David Silverman's Chat Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Flaming Tuba guy David Silverman on NBC Tonight Show 6/23 - Boing Boing Archived July 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ David Silverman on The Tonight Show

Further reading