Emmy-Winning Simpsons Writer Dan McGrath Dies at 61
Image Courtesy of Animation Magazine
By Luis Zonenberg
This is the season for both merriment and grieving as we now mourn the loss of another underappreciated figure in the film industry. One of the Emmy-winning writers of The Simpsons series, Dan McGrath, has tragically passed away at the age of 61. McGrath worked primarily on adult animated TV shows, even gaining a Writer’s Guild nomination for his work on King of the Hill. I felt it best to look back on McGrath’s life and see how his work captured the hearts and minds of both critics and audiences alike.
McGrath was born on July 20, 1964, and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Gerard McGrath was an electrician and machinist while his mother, Eleanor McGrath, was a homemaker. McGrath was of Irish, Hungarian and Scandinavian descent, attending Regis High School during his formative years. He later attended Harvard University, where he studied Chinese and Japanese history and politics.
While McGrath ultimately failed all his Japanese-language courses, he found success serving as a writer, editor and cartoonist at the Harvard Lampoon. He was elected to be Vice President of the Magazine twice and even gained recognition as a renowned stage director. McGrath also designed computer games for MIT while at Harvard and even co-founded the avant-garde theater company the Kronauer Group, which ultimately transformed into the Cornerstone Theater Company.
McGrath graduated from Harvard with honors in 1987, working in hospitals and emergency rooms for a number of years before moving to Hollywood. He first gained work there as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live in 1991, frequently collaborating with Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. He contributed to over 24 episodes for the show, including a Mother’s Day special which aired in 1992.
McGrath then joined the writing staff of The Simpsons, contributing to two Treehouse of Horror segments, “The Devil and Homer Simpson” and “Time and Punishment”. McGrath also wrote the episode, “Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood,” for the show’s fifth season and even penned the opening episode for the show’s sixth season, “Bart of Darkness.” He served as writer on the show for two years before he was fired, but later got re-hired and served as a producer for the show from 1996-1998. In 1997, McGrath received an Emmy for his work on the episode, “Homer’s Phobia” which guest-starred filmmaker John Waters.
McGrath was later fired from the show again but gained work as a producer for King of the Hill in 2002. He also made equal contributions as a writer, penning 11 episodes in total. His most notable episodes are “The Minh Who Knew Too Much” and “Full Metal Dust Jacket.”His work on the show garnered him a Writer’s Guild nomination and would ultimately leave the show in 2010.
He quickly found work again though as a story editor for the Disney XD show, Gravity Falls. McGrath was credited as a writer for 15 total episodes throughout the latter series run.
McGrath tragically passed away from a stroke on November 14, 2025. McGrath is survived by his wife, Caroline; his mother, Eleanor; his sister, Gail; his brothers Peter and Michael; his nephew Dillon and his nieces, Kylie and Emma.
“We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday,” Gail wrote in a Facebook post. “He was a special man, one of a kind. An incredible son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken.”
McGrath was an underappreciated talent in the TV industry, whose unique writing talents will be sorely missed as the world mourns his loss with his beloved family.
