Over the next few years, Simon wrote and produced for Cheers, It's Garry Shandling's Show and other programs, as well as writing the 1991 film The Super.

[6] Simon drew comics for The Stanford Daily,[12][13] a college newspaper,[4] but was denied admission to a drawing class for not being talented enough.

There he worked on several animated shows, including The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1979).

[21] Simon created, wrote and produced the short-lived sitcom Shaping Up in 1984, alongside Ken Estin; the show starred Leslie Nielsen as a gym owner and ran for five episodes on ABC.

[30] He assembled and led the initial team of writers, consisting of John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky.

[31][32][33] The cartoonist and writer Mimi Pond, who wrote the first broadcast episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989), claimed that she was not permitted to permanently join the show because Simon deliberately kept women out of the writing team.

"[5] Simon crafted much of the world of Springfield, and designed the models for many of the show's recurring characters, including Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum and Eddie and Lou,[6][33][37] as well as many of the one-time and guest-star roles, such as Bleeding Gums Murphy.

[39] Simon saw The Simpsons as a chance to solve "what [he] didn't like about the Saturday-morning cartoon shows [he had] worked on ... [he] wanted all the actors in a room together, not reading their lines separated from each other.

"[5] The Simpsons utilized a process of collaborative script re-writing by the show's whole writing staff; this meant the credited writer may not have been responsible for the majority of an episode's content.

[1] Therefore, he also told the staff that they had creative freedom to do whatever they wanted to make The Simpsons as good a show as possible, regardless of network or public opinion, because he thought it inevitably would not be renewed;[6][33][55] he elaborated in 2009 that "Really I was saying that to take the pressure off of everyone.

[1][30] While working on The Simpsons, he and Brooks had co-created the series Sibs (1991) and Phenom (1993) as part of a multi-series deal for ABC.

Simon did not want to work on either series,[6] both of which were poorly received and swiftly canceled, which put a strain on the pair's relationship.

[30][58][59][60] Simon left Gracie Films and The Simpsons in 1993; he commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," wished to pursue other projects, and that of "any show I've ever worked on, it turns me into a monster.

[4][16] From 1999 to some time in the early 2000s, Simon was President of e-Nexus Studios the once entertainment content arm of ZeniMax Media, Parent Company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.

[70] After leaving The Simpsons and The George Carlin Show, Simon sought to find a "life outside television," as working in the industry "made [him] crazy.

[6][72][73] Simon returned to television production work in 2012, serving as a consultant and director on the series Anger Management for half a day a week.

[76] An episode of 60 Minutes broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the grandest dog shelter in the country, a five star, [6 acres (0.024 km2; 0.0094 sq mi)] spread in Malibu, perhaps the most desirable real estate on the planet.

Here, among the waterfalls and the manicured grounds, The Sam Simon Foundation gives stray and abandoned dogs a new lease on life, literally.

[5] It also provides free veterinary surgeries to pets belonging to low-income families,[1] and trains dogs to help soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

[6][77] He also donated an undisclosed sum to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2012 for the purpose of purchasing another vessel for their fleet, the MY Sam Simon,[78] which was unveiled in December 2012.

[79] Simon was also a board member for Save the Children,[6][24] and hosted the largest annual fundraiser for PETA,[15] who named him an Honorary Director and their Norfolk, Virginia headquarters building after him.

[80][81] Simon has stated that animal rights charities have been his main target for donations, over other causes like human disease and environmental damage, because "your money can bring success" with visible results.

"[4][10] He began training and won six out of nine amateur fights; he was also a reserve contestant on the Fox series Celebrity Boxing.

"[10] Before the Klitschko fight, Simon calculated he had spent several hundred thousand dollars funding Brewster, paying him a large salary on top of match fees as well as letting him stay rent-free at one of his houses, and taking only a 10% cut of the match fees; however, he never intended boxing to be a substantial "source of revenue".

[15][84] His biggest win in terms of both field size and prize money was the $200 1,082-player No-Limit Hold'em $150,000 Guarantee at the 2010 Winnin O' The Green, where he won $57,308.

[24][89] Simon was married to actress and fellow poker player Jennifer Tilly from 1984 to 1991; they remained friends after their divorce.

[93] He lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in the restored Bailey House, designed by Richard Neutra.

[5] After his home was destroyed by a fire in 2007, Simon redesigned it to be environmentally friendly; much of the interior is constructed from recycled materials, while solar panels provide virtually its entire power needs.

[15] He had an extensive art collection; he owned paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, John Singer Sargent and one of the original casts of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker.

[1] He also had a sculpture by Robert Graham and works by Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren, Ed Ruscha and Richard Estes.