Steve Tompkins is an American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and wrote for the

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduate ...

; he graduated in 1988. He has worked on such television shows such as ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...

'', ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

'', ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001, to April 14, 2006. The series featured Ber ...

'' and ''

The Knights of Prosperity ''The Knights of Prosperity'' is an American sitcom that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. It was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, who also created the NBC comedy-drama '' Ed''. The show follows a gro ...

''. He was also with ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', for its seventh and eighth seasons; after leaving he co-created ''

The PJs ''The PJs'' is an American adult stop motion-animated black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins for Fox. It portrays life in an urban public housing project. The series starred Eddie Murphy, and it was produced by ...

'', with

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry Wilmore III (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2014, and hosted ''The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore'' in 2 ...

and

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

. He was also the executive producer on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated series ''

Fanboy & Chum Chum ''Fanboy & Chum Chum'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Eric Robles for Nickelodeon. It is based on ''Fanboy'', an animated short created by Robles for Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Frederator Studios, that was bro ...

'' (with

Fred Seibert Frederick G. Seibert is an American television producer and media proprietor. Seibert began his professional career as a jazz and blues record producer and audio engineer in the 1970s. He co-founded the record label Oblivion Records by 1972 an ...

) and also voiced the character Janitor Poopatine.

Writing credits

''The Simpsons'' episodes

He worked on the following episodes: *" Treehouse of Horror VI" ("Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace") *" 22 Short Films About Springfield" (contributor) *"

The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the The Simpsons season 8, eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox netwo ...

" ("Simpsons Family Smile-Time Variety Hour" segment) *"

A Milhouse Divided "A Milhouse Divided" is the sixth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on December 1, 1996. In the episode, Milhouse's parents, Ki ...

" (the only full episode of ''The Simpsons'' Tompkins has written)

Josh Weinstein Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weins ...

and

Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans Sc ...

said that, with the exception of

George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an United States, American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he served as a scriptwriter and gag writer (for which he is credited as a producer) and led the show's commu ...

, Tompkins had contributed more to seasons seven and eight than anyone else on the Simpsons staff. Tompkins wrote the sequence in "

Homer's Phobia "Homer's Phobia" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 1997. In the episode, Homer dissociates himself ...

" where Homer takes Bart to a steel mill that turns out to be a gay dance club. He first pitched that Homer and Bart would encounter

longshoremen A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockworke ...

, but it was too much work to animate the lading of ships, so a steel mill was used instead. Tompkins also wrote a different third act for the episode which was replaced in the final cut. Instead of Homer, Bart, Barney and Moe going deer hunting and ending up at "Santa's Village" they would go back to the steel mill. There, Homer would attempt to prove his heterosexuality by having a human

tractor pulling Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farth ...

contest with some of the steel mill workers. It was decided that it "didn't really service the story" and was dropped.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American television writers American male television writers American male voice actors The Harvard Lampoon alumni {{simpsons-stub