Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield

Twenty-five years after The Simpsons made their TV debut, the show's creator talks about Homer's odyssey—and his own

  • By Claudia De La Roca
  • Smithsonian magazine, May 2012, Subscribe
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Matt Groening The Simpsons
Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, was going to name the main character Matt but didn't think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so he changed the name to Bart. (The Simpsons™ and © 2009 TTCFFC All Rights Reserved)

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UPDATE: "The Simpsons" responded to this interview with a new chalkboard gag before the Sunday, April 15, episode proclaiming that "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours." Check it out.

Claudia De La Roca: So take us back to the Simpsons’ foundational moment. In 1987 you were waiting for a meeting with James Brooks and you started sketching. What were you thinking?

Matt Groening: I had been drawing my weekly comic strip, “Life in Hell,” for about five years when I got a call from Jim Brooks, who was developing “The Tracey Ullman Show” for the brand-new Fox network. He wanted me to come in and pitch an idea for doing little cartoons on that show. I soon realized that whatever I pitched would not be owned by me, but would be owned by Fox, so I decided to keep my rabbits in “Life in Hell” and come up with something new.

While I was waiting—I believe they kept me waiting for over an hour—I very quickly drew the Simpsons family. I basically drew my own family. My father’s name is Homer. My mother’s name is Margaret. I have a sister Lisa and another sister Maggie, so I drew all of them. I was going to name the main character Matt, but I didn’t think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so I changed the name to Bart.

Bart. Why?
Back in high school I wrote a novel about a character named Bart Simpson. I thought it was a very unusual name for a kid at the time. I had this idea of an angry father yelling “Bart,” and Bart sounds kind of like bark—like a barking dog. I thought it would sound funny. In my novel, Bart was the son of Homer Simpson. I took that name from a minor character in the novel The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West. Since Homer was my father’s name, and I thought Simpson was a funny name in that it had the word “simp” in it, which is short for “simpleton”—I just went with it.

Did your father contribute anything besides his first name?
My father was a really sharp cartoonist and filmmaker. He used to tape-record the family surreptitiously, either while we were driving around or at dinner, and in 1963 he and I made up a story about a brother and a sister, Lisa and Matt, having an adventure out in the woods with animals. I told it to my sister Lisa, and she in turn told it to my sister Maggie. My father recorded the telling of the story by Lisa to Maggie, and then he used it as the soundtrack to a movie. So the idea of dramatizing the family—Lisa, Maggie, Matt—I think was the inspiration for doing something kind of autobiographical with “The Simpsons.” There is an aspect of the psychodynamics of my family in which it makes sense that one of us grew up and made a cartoon out of the family and had it shown all over the world.

Any other commonalities between your father and Homer Simpson?
Only the love of ice cream. My dad didn’t even like doughnuts that much.

The name Homer has been wall-to-wall around you—your father, your son, Homer Simpson. What does the name mean to you?
My father was named after the poet Homer. My grandmother, his mother, was a voracious reader. She named one son Homer and another son Victor Hugo. It is this basic name, but I can’t separate the name Homer from The Iliad and The Odyssey and from Odysseus, even though Homer is the teller of the tale. I think of it as a very heroic name in that Homer, even though he is getting kicked in the butt by life, he is his own small hero.

OK, why do the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield? Isn’t that a little generic?
Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do.


UPDATE: "The Simpsons" responded to this interview with a new chalkboard gag before the Sunday, April 15, episode proclaiming that "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours." Check it out.

Claudia De La Roca: So take us back to the Simpsons’ foundational moment. In 1987 you were waiting for a meeting with James Brooks and you started sketching. What were you thinking?

Matt Groening: I had been drawing my weekly comic strip, “Life in Hell,” for about five years when I got a call from Jim Brooks, who was developing “The Tracey Ullman Show” for the brand-new Fox network. He wanted me to come in and pitch an idea for doing little cartoons on that show. I soon realized that whatever I pitched would not be owned by me, but would be owned by Fox, so I decided to keep my rabbits in “Life in Hell” and come up with something new.

While I was waiting—I believe they kept me waiting for over an hour—I very quickly drew the Simpsons family. I basically drew my own family. My father’s name is Homer. My mother’s name is Margaret. I have a sister Lisa and another sister Maggie, so I drew all of them. I was going to name the main character Matt, but I didn’t think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so I changed the name to Bart.

Bart. Why?
Back in high school I wrote a novel about a character named Bart Simpson. I thought it was a very unusual name for a kid at the time. I had this idea of an angry father yelling “Bart,” and Bart sounds kind of like bark—like a barking dog. I thought it would sound funny. In my novel, Bart was the son of Homer Simpson. I took that name from a minor character in the novel The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West. Since Homer was my father’s name, and I thought Simpson was a funny name in that it had the word “simp” in it, which is short for “simpleton”—I just went with it.

Did your father contribute anything besides his first name?
My father was a really sharp cartoonist and filmmaker. He used to tape-record the family surreptitiously, either while we were driving around or at dinner, and in 1963 he and I made up a story about a brother and a sister, Lisa and Matt, having an adventure out in the woods with animals. I told it to my sister Lisa, and she in turn told it to my sister Maggie. My father recorded the telling of the story by Lisa to Maggie, and then he used it as the soundtrack to a movie. So the idea of dramatizing the family—Lisa, Maggie, Matt—I think was the inspiration for doing something kind of autobiographical with “The Simpsons.” There is an aspect of the psychodynamics of my family in which it makes sense that one of us grew up and made a cartoon out of the family and had it shown all over the world.

Any other commonalities between your father and Homer Simpson?
Only the love of ice cream. My dad didn’t even like doughnuts that much.

The name Homer has been wall-to-wall around you—your father, your son, Homer Simpson. What does the name mean to you?
My father was named after the poet Homer. My grandmother, his mother, was a voracious reader. She named one son Homer and another son Victor Hugo. It is this basic name, but I can’t separate the name Homer from The Iliad and The Odyssey and from Odysseus, even though Homer is the teller of the tale. I think of it as a very heroic name in that Homer, even though he is getting kicked in the butt by life, he is his own small hero.

OK, why do the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield? Isn’t that a little generic?
Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do.

You’ve never said it was named after Springfield, Oregon, before, have you?
I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, “Yup, that’s right.”

You’re on record as loving your hometown. Is it all love or is there a little love-hate?
I loved growing up in Portland, but I also took it for granted. Now, I look back and realize how idyllic a place it was. My family lived on a long, windy road on a little dead-end street called Evergreen Terrace—also the name of the street the Simpsons live on—and in order to visit any friends I had to walk at least a mile through the woods to get to their house.

But when I say idyllic, I mean the external circumstances of my childhood were pretty pleasant. That does not take into account that I was bored out of mind from the first day of first grade. Also, I was bullied. If you use certain words that can only be gotten by reading a book or two, that somehow enrages a certain kind of lug. When I was in fourth grade, these older kids surrounded me one day, and they told me they were going to beat me up after school. Knowing I was going to get beat up, I smashed one kid in the face as hard as I could, and then I got beaten up. The next day, all the kids were brought in to the school office, and they all had to apologize to me, and I just hated their guts.

Would you like to call them out by name now?
No. But maybe they are characters named after themselves on “The Simpsons.”

What did “home” mean to you growing up?
Home growing up meant certain rituals that seem to be lost these days, which is about a family being in the same place at the same time. At dinner we all sat down for dinner together. Unless I committed some type of infraction, and then I had to eat at the top of the basement stairs.

What do you think of Portland then and Portland now?
One thing that hasn’t changed is that people in Portland are in complete denial about how much it rains there.

Do you plan on moving back someday?
Yes. The only reason to live in Los Angeles, where I’ve been since the late ’70s, is if you have something to do with the entertainment industry. Everything you can experience in Los Angeles, you can have a much better version of in Portland—including, very basically, the air you breathe.

Does your mom still live in your childhood home? If not, when was the last time you visited it?
I visited my childhood home about two years ago. I was snapping a picture of it, and the owner came out and invited me in. It was pretty much as I remember it, except what was incredibly spacious to a little toddler now seemed so much smaller. The guy let me go down to my favorite place of terror, which was the basement. My father had a place where he developed film called “the dark room,” but to me that was all it was—the dark room. It was the scariest place in the house, and it gave me a lot of nightmares. I had to go back down and look at the dark room, and I realized that it was just a dusty—dark—cobwebbed little room in the corner of the basement.

What did your father do before he became a filmmaker?
He grew up on a Mennonite farm in Kansas, speaking only German until he went to school. My father then ended up as a bomber pilot flying a B-17 during World War II. After the war, he was a surfer, filmmaker and ardent amateur basketball player. He perfected a basketball shot that he could shoot—without looking—over his head and consistently make from the top of the key. He made that shot for 30 years.

What did he think of “The Simpsons”?
My father was very worried that I was going to starve in Hollywood. He didn’t like Hollywood and thought nothing good came out of a committee. He loved the show. He was really pleased with it. The only thing he said was that Homer could never, ever be mean to Marge. He said that was a rule, which corresponds with the way he treated my mother. He was very nice to her. I thought that was a good note. I don’t know if that is a rule that has ever been articulated to people who work on the show, but everyone just gets it.

Early on your focus shifted from Bart to Homer. When and why? Did it have anything to do with your own aging?
When the first 50 short cartoons were on “The Tracey Ullman Show,” the focus was on the relationship between Bart and Homer. The way I wrote them were Homer being angry and Bart being clueless little jerk, just driven in some weird way to cause trouble. I knew from the moment we decided to turn the shorts into a TV show that Homer was going to be the star. There are more consequences to him being an idiot.

Was anything affected by the writers’ aging?
The writers on the show have been there for years. It’s an addictive place to work, because if you’re interested in writing comedy, writing for “The Simpsons,” which has no notes from the network, and doesn’t have the constraints of a live action show—it’s just a great playground for comedy writers. Whatever they want to write about, the animators can draw it.

Has your son Homer ever created something with you as a character?
Will—he’s Homer only in legal documents—and his brother, Abe, have not done anything to me yet. That’s a ticking time bomb.

Would you be open to that?
Of course, turnabout is fair play. That would be great.

It has been famously said that you can’t go home again, but is “The Simpsons” a way for you to go home again, over and over?
I very early on named a lot of characters after streets in Portland. I thought it would be amusing for people in Portland to be driving past the alphabetically laid-out streets. There’s Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, mostly in Northwest Portland. My goal was to name every character after streets in Portland, but we were in a hurry so I dropped that idea.

In another way, is the show a way for you to never leave home?
There is that element for me, that means nothing to anyone else, but the fact that the characters are named after my own family, and Evergreen Terrace, and things like that—that’s just a treat for my family and me.

What kind of home have you created on “The Simpsons”?
As a cartoonist I feel like I’m the jester working with a lot of really smart writers and really talented animators. I think I make it safe for everyone else to be goofy because I’m willing to pitch the dumbest ideas.

So you make everyone else feel comfortable?
I think I make people feel comfortable because I’m willing to be a fool.

So does that make you the number-one fool?
(Laughs) No, I wouldn’t say that. There are plenty of fools. I just admit it.

How typical is the Simpsons’ home of an American home? How has it changed?
I think what’s different is that Marge doesn’t work. She’s a stay-at-home mother and housewife, and for the most parts these days both parents work. So I think that’s a little bit of a throwback. Very early on we had the Simpsons always struggling for money, and as the show has gone on over the years we’ve tried to come up with more surprising and inventive plots. We’ve pretty much lost that struggling for money that we started with just in order to do whatever crazy high jinks we could think of. I kind of miss that.

You’ve spoken of the “the contradictions not acknowledged” in the sitcoms you watched as a kid. What were those contradictions between TV life and life under your roof?
In TV in the ’50s and ’60s everyone seemed very repressed. Children were unnaturally polite. My favorite character was Eddie Haskell in “Leave It to Beaver. He was so polite but blatantly false in his pretending to be nice to adults—that appealed to me. In the ’70s, and from then on, sitcom banter got so mean and sour that I was baffled. I always thought that half the time someone would say something in a sitcom, and it seemed like the spouse’s response should be, “I want a divorce.” That was the logical reply.

But no one got a divorce back then.
I’m just saying I didn’t like the bland dialogue of most of the ’50s and ’60s, and I also didn’t like the sour arguing that passed for comedy in the ’70s and ’80s. So “The Simpsons” is sort of somewhere in between.

Beyond the topography of Portland and the names of your family members, did you borrow the sensibility of your hometown or your coming-of-age years for The Simpsons?
People in Portland, and generally in the Northwest, think of themselves as independent. Oregon has no sales tax, no major military installations. Portland has turned into an incredibly friendly community with great food, great architecture, great city planning and a lot of beauty. The biggest park in the United States within the city limits is in Portland.

Have you seen “Portlandia”? What do you think of it?
If you would have told me back when I was growing up that there would be a hip comedy show based on hipster life in Portland Oregon, I wouldn’t have believed it. I think it’s a very funny show. It’s very sweet.

How often do you go back to Portland?
I go back to Portland a few times a year. My first stop is always Powell’s Books. It’s the biggest bookstore that I know of. And then I visit my family.


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Comments (120)

THose of us that have or do live in springfield oregon and we said it was our springfield have been right. and not only is this a great honor to out town but we also have a great town in general.

Posted by Nikki on October 4,2012 | 03:48 AM

In ''Mobile Homer'' Homer was pumping his own gas, which you can't do in Oregon.

Posted by Daniel on July 29,2012 | 07:50 AM

Disco Stu doesn't submit comments.

Posted by Martin on May 16,2012 | 02:31 AM

i am the biggest simpsons fan ever :]

Posted by Aaron Doiron on May 6,2012 | 05:32 PM

Call it biased but I loved this interview, it really cleared up some things for me, mostly the location of Springfield and the names of the characters, and my opinion is that Matt Groning and his team have created a timeless classic here that, as Fat Tony would say "cracks me so consistently, up." And, to all the people who think th Simpsons have lost their edge and "These days are nothing more than Matt Groening's retirement fund" let me just say: I pity you poor souls who don't derive pleasure from Homer's idiotic schemes, Marge's stereotypical TV-momming, Bart's extreme tendency to create havoc, Lisa's insightful thinking always being ignored, and Maggie's occasional strokes of baby genius. This ONE cartoon, I think is a whole lot more than just "stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh" as Homer Simpson would say. PS I am well aware that I sound like Smithers grovelling to Mr. Burns, so don't bother pointing that out.

Posted by Isabella A. on May 6,2012 | 06:23 AM

hey MATT GROENTNING im a fan n.1 of the simpsons i drew a pic of darcy and bart kissing and bart and greta in the simpsons tabale plese give me a email or call me but i live in brasil capatal

Posted by luke lucio on May 1,2012 | 08:29 PM

It's In Oregon! Matt Please Tell Me It's Right Or Wrong.

Posted by Miles on April 30,2012 | 06:38 PM

Well, I HAVE SEEN EVERY "The Simpson's" Episode, to date...Go Ahead Try And Stump Me.

Posted by on April 28,2012 | 01:10 PM

What an absurd comment from Groening: "Everything you can experience in Los Angeles, you can have a much better version of in Portland..." Portland's fine with me -- I love visiting. But Matt, please tell me where in Portland I can find the symphony that's better than the L.A. Philharmonic; or all of the museums that are better than the Getty, LACMA, the Norton Simon, the Japanese American, the Huntington, etc.; or a jazz club better than Catalina's or the Jazz Bakery; or the ocean 20 minutes away; or the desert 40 minutes away; or the finest of every type of ethnic food imaginable; or more cultures and languages than anywhere else in the world; or better universities than UCLA and USC; or better baseball than the Dodgers and Angels; or better live performances than at the Music Center, Pasadena Playhouse, and hundreds of small playhouses; or venues better than the Hollywood Bowl, the Ford Theater, or the Greek Theatre. Anytime you are ready to leave, I can drive you to the airport. You'll be leaving more room for those of us who understand Los Angeles; and there will be one less person who thinks L.A. is nothing more than a place to make a buck by turning out low-grade "entertainment."

Posted by Charles Soter on April 24,2012 | 11:37 PM

I agree with Cory... On his post of April the 15. I grew up in Kennewick, Wa.. Also know as the Tri-Cities because there are three cites next to each other you have know that by pretty much being a Local. It doesn't say Tri-Cities on a map... Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, is what it say on a map. Hanford a nuclar site just a little ways north back in world war 2 was very top secret and played a key role in world war 2.... If you look to the south of Kennewick.. There is a hill with one house on it... Its old and a Mansion. Hum could this possible be a coincidence... I'm going to laugh if it isn't growing up I always felt there was something really odd and too close to home feeling about the Simpsons.... I guess we will see if Matt ever reveals the truth...

Posted by Matthew Pearson on April 16,2012 | 01:42 AM

I could have sworn I read somewhere that Matt was born in Springfield, OR and grew up in Portland, so I always assumed is was Springfield. As for the nuclear power plant, there is also the Hanford site a few hours up the Columbia River in Washington. Portland has always been worried that the large amount of waste has polluted the Columbia River (which runs next to Portland)Hence the 3-eyed fishes? Just another theory in the mysteries of Springfield.

Posted by Cory on April 15,2012 | 12:31 AM

i want to have all the simpsons episodes because i love it!

Posted by thomas on April 14,2012 | 09:18 PM

So now he's backpedaling and is saying NOT Springfield OR. This guy's about as big a flip flopper as any Tom Dick or Harry politician. Loser! Make up your mind.

Posted by Shelbyville Native on April 13,2012 | 03:23 PM

Matt - the episode where Homer & Bart pretend to have Leporasy & end up in the colony in Hawaii will forever be in my mind & a favorite "war story", especially when the terrible twosome are sat sunning themselves & a light aircraft takes off from the nearby airfield, how true that is as I borrowed an PA-28 from Mauii & did a touch & go there on a flight around those magnificent islands 2 weeks after 9/11, I still wonder if that was my wife & I in the plane........

Posted by John on April 13,2012 | 09:04 AM

"...over the years we’ve tried to come up with more surprising and inventive plots." Sadly you have failed. I think these days The Simpsons exsists as nothing more than the source for Groening's retirement fund.

Posted by Zap B. on April 13,2012 | 09:03 AM

Very intresting! love u matt

Posted by reza on April 12,2012 | 09:48 AM

Great newsworthy article. Lots of basic facts that intrigued me - a Simpsons fan.

Posted by Kent on April 12,2012 | 05:31 AM

please make more simpson movies it is awesome and cool i'm gonna whath it for ever.

Posted by matthew on April 12,2012 | 04:07 AM

Can anyone explain this? Behind the Laughter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. "Northern Kentucky" The episode refers to the long-running joke of Springfield's unknown and unidentifiable location. The original version of Forbes' line at the end, "The future looks brighter than ever for this Northern Kentucky family," was changed multiple times.[2 Scully said the writers did not want to "pin it down for the fans," and with knowledge that the episode would rerun twice, had Forbes record several alternate locations, which were indeed seen on Fox reruns. Thanks to all, Cathy H. v

Posted by Catheryn Honan on April 11,2012 | 02:42 AM

Just want to say what a fan of Matt Groening I am. I saw the first episode of the Simpsons as it would later air on Tracy Ullman back in whenever at a small convention in Irvine which is also where Steve Jobs premiered the Lisa. I felt like a cartoon character myself, getting my socks knocked off twice in one day.

Posted by Joyce Melton on April 11,2012 | 02:11 AM

Matt has always used a lot of direct and indirect references to areas in and around Oregon throughout his comics and TV shows for decades. I guess I could imagine most people who don't live in the area to not catch the references. My favorite, though, is when Bender calls Eugene, Oregon the largest hobo village he's seen. (youtube vid HpjcY4vENCY)

Posted by Fill on April 11,2012 | 06:45 PM

In response to: Is there a Shelbyville near Springfield Oregon? No, there is not. Although, there is a town called Eugene, Oregon (Which many people have heard of now because of UO's football team) and it is just like Shelbyville. Everyone from Eugene looks down on people from Springfield and the city as a whole. The schools, malls, stores, and parks are all nicer in Eugene (Just like Shelbyville if I remember correctly). Also, There is a statue when you come in to Springfield that looks just like the Jebediah Springfield statue on 'The Simpsons'

Posted by Springfield Native on April 11,2012 | 06:02 PM

Let´s just say "worst episode ever"

Posted by Søren Nellemann on April 11,2012 | 04:34 PM

How is this even "news"? Anyone who lives or has been through the Pearl District of downtown Portland (OR) knows the Street Names are what Matt used to name characters (e.g. Flanders). Is it really a mystery that he chose a city of Oregon as well?

Posted by Nick on April 11,2012 | 04:13 PM

Um I hate to disagree with such discerning sources as the creator himself and such an esteemed establishment as the Smithsonian... however the proof is in the pudding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC3m3wID-MI

Posted by Kris Rand on April 11,2012 | 03:43 PM

Its 2012, The Simpsons has been irrelevant since about 2001. Sorry to disappoint you guys.

Posted by Keaton on April 11,2012 | 03:38 PM

Anybody remember the episode when homer found some weed in the attic and smoked it.Too funny...

Posted by Tony on April 11,2012 | 03:34 PM

Eugene is right next to Springfield. If they used 'eugene and springfield', it would have been more obvious. I do know that some of the politics between eugene and springfield seem to show up in the show a month or two later.

Posted by roger on April 11,2012 | 03:04 PM

Well ive been a huge fan of the simpsons 4 a long time now i never new where springfield was taken after ,,never really cared but i recently moved to a small town in southern ontario named exeter .i heard from many of the locals that went to highschool here and they all said the same thing ,, matt groening came to there school in the 90's and said that he lived there when he was younger and that this town was the town he renamed springfield..not a 100% but im goin with Exeter ontario

Posted by james h on April 11,2012 | 02:14 PM

LIES! He once said Bart is "brat" misspelled and that he created the characters on the fly.

Posted by Ron Jon on April 11,2012 | 12:42 PM

I always thought it might have been Springfield IL because Shelbyville is the next major midwestern town to it directly to the East. Is there a Shelbyville near Springfield Oregon? The only flaw in my napping though is that there isn't an ocean near Springfield. Lake Michigan is almost 200 miles to the north.

Posted by John on April 11,2012 | 12:42 PM

Somebody ask him why The Simpson changed that much

Posted by roro on April 11,2012 | 12:41 PM

Doh!

Posted by harrison on April 11,2012 | 12:22 PM

Great Interview.. I LOVE The Simpsons!! I have been watching from episode 1. I also have every VHS/DVD The Simpsons have ever put out, memorbilia and whatever I can get my hands on. Would have never picked Oregon. I alwasy thought it was in the central USA. BEST SHOW EVER!!! Thank you Matt Groening and everyone who does the voices and the writing. The show is AWSOME and NEVER take it off the air. THE SIMPSONS RULE THE WORLD!!!!!

Posted by Christine Hirsch on April 11,2012 | 12:00 PM

Please, no more ... simpsons are predictably tired. Please, bring back Futurama, mainstream! Move over and make way for the future and throw out the simpson cookie cutter.

Posted by No more on April 11,2012 | 11:55 AM

Why so serious? It's OK. Everything you do, in my book, is right. Thank you for Homes, the Simps et al! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Posted by Nora Glenn on April 11,2012 | 11:36 AM

Great article, SI! Someone named Bob posted an equally great comment about simply enjoying the show, and who cares if the Simpsons' Springfield is "your" city or not. I sure don't. I just like the show, and it's still funny. You know, I never overtly noticed that Homer's never mean to Marge. In that way, it's different from "Married, With Children", where Al and Peg Bundy continually trade barbs, but still do love each other. Matter of fact, Marge steadfastly backs Homer and is reluctant to say anything "bad" about him. Likewise, Homer will defend Marge--including her honor--to his death. And they're both still kinda hot for each other! All that is part of what makes the show pretty darned cool.

Posted by Sum Yung Gai on April 11,2012 | 10:15 AM

Thank you so much Matt! I love the Simpsons so much! I've watched every episode 4 times sometimes more! <3 Can't wait for more episodes!

Posted by Sarina Powell on April 11,2012 | 09:37 AM

who cares where it is just make more eps! i heard theres gonna be a season 24 soon! cant wait!

Posted by will on April 11,2012 | 07:00 AM

He didnt say the town IS Springfield, Oregon. He said he named the town AFTER Springfield, Oregon.

Posted by Grant on April 11,2012 | 06:27 AM

Those people rejecting Oregon because there is no nuclear power plant don't know the history. I worked at Trojan nuclear power plant in the 80's, northwest of Portland by an hour. It was decommissioned in the late 80's, and the cooling tower was imploded a few years ago, but it was very much part of Portland culture in the time that matt was growing up.

Posted by adam on April 11,2012 | 05:35 AM

I started watching the Simpsons when I was a kid. I always knew the show was based off the West Coast! I can't wait to tell people,"I told you so"! I never thought Oregon. I always tried to figure it out based on the weather. Not very many places have Tonado's, Hurricanes, Earth Quakes, Floods, etc. I still watch the show everyday! Eventhough I have seen every episode a million times:) I also collect Simpson memberbilla. I use to have an entire wall in my living room dedicated to the Simpsons. Thank you!

Posted by Tori on April 11,2012 | 04:53 AM

That was a really interesting interview. Learnt a lot of things that I never even suspected!

Posted by ET on April 11,2012 | 03:21 AM

Eugene, Oregon is a lovely university town about an hour and a half from the Pacific coast, and Springfield is its smaller industrialized neighbor, full of pickups and flannel shirts. The Simpsons' TV hometown is an accurate reflection of Springfield, Oregon. The nuclear plant was inspired by a huge political flap in Washington State. The burning tires are a reference to the Kingsford charcoal briquette factory or, more likely, the old logging debris burners. I'm with Diane. It's Springfield, Oregon. Thanks to the world wide popularity of the Simpsons, there's an international hip clothing store chain named Springfield, for Springfield, Oregon. Giggle, giggle. Thanks, Matt.

Posted by Sue Miller on April 10,2012 | 01:56 AM

Can anyone explain this? Behind the Laughter From Wikipedia "Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. "Northern Kentucky" The episode refers to the long-running joke of Springfield's unknown and unidentifiable location. The original version of Forbes' line at the end, "The future looks brighter than ever for this Northern Kentucky family," was changed multiple times. Scully (writer) said the writers did not want to "pin it down for the fans," and with knowledge that the episode would rerun twice, had Forbes (writer) record several alternate locations, which were indeed seen on Fox reruns. Thanks to all ... Cathy H.

Posted by Catheryn Honan on April 10,2012 | 01:21 AM

Why would they think Springfield is in Illinois? Probably because there is a rather large sign on the interstate as you enter Springfield, IL with a picture of Homer Simpson saying something about welcoming you to his town.... But really, who cares where it is? Sure, Groening says that the original inspiration comes from Springfield, Oregon, but he also basically says it's about anywhere. It's everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Big city, small town, it's Springfield USA. He wants you to think of your hometown. He even said that. Why must one complain that it is not where you thought? Just enjoy the show.

Posted by Bob on April 10,2012 | 01:17 AM

The Simpsons' Springfield is inspired by the one in Oregon and the whole show references Portland throughout its whole run....by the way, Matt Groening attended Lincoln High School, not Beaverton and he also attended Ainsworth Elementary which is in the West Hills area of Portland. Why are people arguing that HE is incorrect about what HE created?

Posted by Ed on April 10,2012 | 01:13 AM

Thank you Matt Groening for The Simpsons. Thank you to all your writers and cartoonists too. I freaking Love love The Simpsons.

Posted by Jessica Lovel on April 10,2012 | 01:01 AM

Sweet!? I knew it!! That's What's Up!! Love the Simpsons! Hilarious!! :-)

Posted by Sara Park on April 10,2012 | 01:01 AM

The Simpsons hasn't been good since about 2003, so it might be a good idea to re-think some of that comic license. Some of the writers may have been there for a long time, but it's clear that not all of them have. These days, The Simpsons is more about self-indulgent writers than the actually story line. The show looks like people who grew up watching it are now living their dream of writing what were always crappy concepts, but somehow funny in their own mind. It's like, OMG, it would be so funny if Homer did this, or if we totally re-tooled the opening with all these different things. Then the person ended up actually being a writer and now the show sucks.

Posted by Branson on April 10,2012 | 12:41 AM

The Springfield in the Simpson's is based on the one in Oregon but with all the information they say in the shows, it's gotta be in Illinois! Firt, in the shows, Springfield is beetween two 'big' cities: St-Louis and Peoria. And in one of the shows, Bart and Homer are on a top of a mountain and Homer talks about three close states: Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana... who are the neighboor states. ( sorry for my english, i'M from the french canada.

Posted by Ti-Gui on April 10,2012 | 12:27 AM

The writers of the Simpsons effectively ended all discussion of Springfield's "real" location when the family stopped at "five corners" en route to Itchy & Scratchy Land. "Haven't we stood in five different states long enough?" End of story. HOWEVER: Matt Groening is certainly entitled to reveal the town's namesake. Which he now has done.

Posted by Casey on April 10,2012 | 11:56 PM

Springfield is nowhere. It's wherever it needs to be. Say theyre doing an episode about skiing, well badabing badaboom its next to a mountain! They wanna go to the beach? Boom the beach is in walking distance. Say they wanna go to vegas. Hey its only a short drive for um. And new york? around the corner!

Posted by o.o on April 10,2012 | 11:38 PM

This is not news to anyone who follows the show. In a 2002 article in the Portland Tribune, also in a 2007 article to Eugene TV station KVAL and in the Amtrak 2010 guide to the Coast Starlight, Springfield Oregon was mentioned. It's just making news since he told national media, but local Oregon media has been aware of this fact for quite some time.

Posted by calwatch on April 10,2012 | 11:31 PM

Forest Park, Portland's largest park, is 4.7 times smaller than Franklin Mountains State Park, which is entirely encompassed by the city limits of El Paso, Texas. Take that, Portland and Matt Groening's off-the-cuff factual error! That's also probably the only thing El Paso has on Portland.

Posted by Gareth on April 10,2012 | 11:28 PM

Ive always known ot was Oregon. My Friend went to Beaverton High, (where Matt went to highschool) and the old gym teacher was the influence of Mr Burns. Also, Quimby, Flanders, Kearney, these characters are named after streets in NW Portland, an area Matt was particularly fond of. The only BIG difference is, there is no nuclear plant. THere are tons of clues pointing to oregon over the years though, im just glad its settled now.

Posted by Anthony on April 10,2012 | 11:13 PM

Ive always known ot was Oregon. My Friend went to Beaverton High, (where Matt went to highschool) and the old gym teacher was the influence of Mr Burns. Also, Quimby, Flanders, Kearney, these characters are named after streets in NW Portland, an area Matt was particularly fond of. The only BIG difference is, there is no nuclear plant. THere are tons of clues pointing to oregon over the years though, im just glad its settled now.

Posted by Anthony on April 10,2012 | 11:13 PM

Find which Springfield has a nuclear power plant and a raging tire fire haha.

Posted by briarpatch1337 on April 10,2012 | 11:05 PM

I work with Matt and he just finished stressing to those of us working as we finished up the current episode that Springfield should be thought of as "Anytown, USA" because, as he said in the interview, he thought the Springfield of "Father Knows Best" was "his" Springfield, a neighboring town from his childhood. He wants viewers of THE SIMPSONS to think of "Springfield" as "their" Springfield, i.e. their favorite town-next-door. simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com

Posted by Chris Ledesma on April 10,2012 | 11:04 PM

The place in the cartoon isn't real, obviously. It is clearly based on Portland, Oregon though. How anyone can deny that is beyond me.

Posted by Steve on April 10,2012 | 10:29 PM

These comments are ridiculous. I can remember certain references to things like Springfield being on "the eastern seaboard", but the point is that the inspiration for the town is Springfield, Oregon. There are quite a few parallels between the show's version of Springfield and the real Springfield, Oregon: Moe's (Max's, in Eugene), Jedediah Springfield (Eugene Skinner, for whom Eugene is named), the small size and negative reputation of the town, its rivalry with Shelbyville (the real-life Eugene)... As a native of Eugene, we in the area have known this for YEARS. The fact that the creators of the show have on occasion intentionally added certain details suggesting it's some other Springfield is irrelevant; the point is that the major inspiration for the town is Springfield, Oregon. It kind of became a thing that nobody knew where the "real" Springfield was; it stands in for any small town in America. But the parallels are pretty unmistakable, especially given that Groening is from Portland.

Posted by Katelyn on April 10,2012 | 10:19 PM

Get over it people. It's Springfield, Oregon, and the man himself has verified it. All of us who have lived in Springfield, Oregon have known it all along. Cry yourselves to sleep. Oregon wins.

Posted by Diane on April 10,2012 | 10:11 PM

Springfield is not in any particular state. Matt may as well have chosen "Jackson." The residents and populations near Springfield have such diverse accents that it's obvious the town is not one place. For instance, Mayor Joseph "Joe" Quimby talks like a Kennedy from Massachusetts whereas there are hillbillies who talk like they're from Tennessee or Kentucky. Trying to figure out "where" this fictional town is is ridiculous.

Posted by Rufus T. Firefly on April 10,2012 | 10:08 PM

Why do you people think Illinois there is many episodes that they drive to the ocean last time I looked at a map the ocean is pretty far from Illinois? I realize it's a an animated show, but it's still fun to argue about it.

Posted by Willy on April 10,2012 | 10:08 PM

Aww...I dont care which Springfield it is just kip producing more of "The Simpsons".....Love the show

Posted by Jmane on April 10,2012 | 10:02 PM

Everyone google map springfield, Oregon, it's not next to Portland..... it's next to Eugene. WTF?

Posted by jack on April 10,2012 | 09:59 PM

I think they should have left us guessing,it kept the show interesting not knowing and looking for clues.My son even turned the station so he could not hear the announcement!

Posted by Patty O on April 10,2012 | 09:58 PM

...I can't believe you idiots are arguing with an interview with the CREATOR OF THE SIMPSONS. It's hysterical that people think they know more than the guy who MADE THEM.

Posted by Vee on April 10,2012 | 09:55 PM

How can you argue that Springfield is in Illinois when THE CREATOR of the show, town, and characters, tells you otherwise? Civic pride aside, that is just dumb. Thats like telling George Lucas when "Star Wars" took place. He made it up, so it is whatever he say it is.

Posted by Chris on April 10,2012 | 09:39 PM

It's been obvious from the start that it's Oregon, or at least somewhere in the west. Whenever they go outside of town, the terrain looks like a Road Runner cartoon. Given that Groening grew up in Oregon, there really was never much doubt.

Posted by Mike S on April 10,2012 | 09:29 PM

Yeah, I had always thought Ohio. As in Marge saying on the phone when ordering the game piece from Vincent Price: "Springfield, O-hiya, Maude!" to Flander's wife. I guess O-regon would make more sense though. They do have a Squidport after all. Heh.

Posted by Karin on April 10,2012 | 09:26 PM

Wow...a few logical ppl and a whole lot of dummies. It doesn't exist...it can't exist. There's 4 seasons including snowy winters. Yet theres a gorge, desert, mountains, beach/shore, and is within 1 nights drive of both NYC & Vegas.

Posted by Schultz on April 10,2012 | 09:25 PM

I'm pretty sure it IS Spingfield, IL because in some of the episodes in the past they have had "rival battles" with Shelbyville. I can only think of one state with a Springfield and Shelbyville near each other, Illinois.

Posted by Matthew on April 10,2012 | 09:25 PM

in the episode where it said it bordered 3 states, the 3 states, which i dont remember, were VERY far apart. like ohio, new mexico and montana or sometihng like that. in the episode where the mail said IL, that is wrong also. nowhere in the show have they said an actual state, and of they said something, it was very obscure, to where it couldnt point to one exact state. they did a very good job hiding this fact.

Posted by me on April 10,2012 | 09:25 PM

I think it's great that these two answers were given in direct succession; how much self-awareness do you think he had here? Q: "What do you think of Portland then and Portland now?" A: "One thing that hasn’t changed is that people in Portland are in complete denial about how much it rains there." Q: "Do you plan on moving back someday?" A: "Yes. The only reason to live in Los Angeles, where I’ve been since the late ’70s, is if you have something to do with the entertainment industry. Everything you can experience in Los Angeles, you can have a much better version of in Portland..."

Posted by theorist on April 10,2012 | 09:15 PM

Matt went to Evergreen State. He went back there several years ago and delivered the commencemnt speech at graduation.

Posted by Paul on April 10,2012 | 09:07 PM

I knew it was in oregon but I was never so sure.i myself live in oregon and am so happy to have my favoiret family "live" in springfield oregon. :-)

Posted by belen on April 10,2012 | 08:46 PM

i'm from colombia and a man from portland said to me months ago ago that the reason that homer drinks alot bear was 'cause in oregon there are a lot bear companys and that "los Simpson were from oregon, now i bilieve.

Posted by Eduardo on April 10,2012 | 08:43 PM

haha I always thought they were referencing springfield, illinois. Us Cali kids had no idea!

Posted by Steven on April 10,2012 | 08:27 PM

Wow!!!!!!!! I always thought It was Springfield, IL!!! lol thats sooo cool!!

Posted by Theresa on April 10,2012 | 08:16 PM

I would have sworn that Marge Simpson mentioned once that they lived in Springfield, Missouri or Mississippi.

Posted by Bea Mused on April 10,2012 | 08:11 PM

wow........ WORST COMMENT THREAD EVERRR!!! "ya but, in episode 122 Spock tells Dr. Bones that he was 'illogical' but based on the paramaters of the tricorder and Capt. Kirk's juxtaposition betwixt tribbles and Ricardo Montalabon i think Spock's accusation is an obvious paradoxical misnomer, and furthermore......" watch the cartoon, try not to analyze the cryptic geographical innuendo too much.... oh, and set your phasers to "get a friggin life!" i'm calling a level 12 MARTIN PRINCE foul on each and every one of you!!

Posted by Dillitz on April 10,2012 | 08:11 PM

Anyone who has lived in Springfield or Eugene, OR, knows where the real Springfield of The Simpsons is located. Btw, Moe's Tavern was modeled after Max's Tavern in Eugene.

Posted by Erik on April 10,2012 | 07:59 PM

If you watch one of the episodes closely...you'll see that the location of Springfield as it relates to "The Simpsons", is in Illinois. I forget what episode it is and what season it is in but the Simpsons get a piece of mail addressed to them and on it is their address. The end of that address clearly says Springfield, IL. I would have to agree with the previous comment. The inspiration for Springfield may be in OR but the true Springfield is in IL. I am such a huge fan of the show. I've been watching it eversince I was a little kid. It will be a sad day when FOX decides to not run it on their network it anymore. Thanks.

Posted by Ivan on April 10,2012 | 07:57 PM

There was a reference a few years back indicating it was a Springfield bordering three Northeast states and also naming some of them. There is no way that Oregan is accurate especially since Ohio was named during that episode.

Posted by Joshua Smith on April 10,2012 | 07:46 PM

aww but so many towns of ny come up in the show, superintentent chalmers is from central ny, cortland. and the old movie grandpa simpson was competing with utica. oh well good for oregon.

Posted by ron peppard on April 10,2012 | 07:46 PM

It's not Shelbyville's fault they're better.

Posted by Chris on April 10,2012 | 07:41 PM

As a Shelbyvillian this comes as no surprise. It's just nice to hear. Maybe Groening thought of the concept soaking in Terwilliger Hot Springs, maybe while visiting Burns, Or or perhaps in Selma Or. It's been enjoyable to spot local geographic features such as the 3 sisters and Skinners butte. Thanx Matt Jon DiPalma Eugene, Or

Posted by Jonathan DiPalma on April 10,2012 | 07:31 PM

There was an episode of The Simpsons that was a play on "Behind the Music." In that episode towards the end, weren't the Simpsons referred to as "this Northern Kentucky family?"

Posted by James on April 10,2012 | 07:30 PM

Hey Frank, how about you don't be a sourpuss. I mean really, what was the point of your comment other than to wine about irrelevant things? I thought it was a good article, very interesting as a Simpsons' fan.

Posted by Corey on April 10,2012 | 07:26 PM

Frank, No one suggested the characters lived there... it is a fictional show... animated at that. Claudia no longer works for Matt and I am not sure why that would matter. This is an article about a fictional show.

Posted by Cob on April 10,2012 | 07:13 PM

You know, I would have guessed Springfield, Illinois. There is an actual Shelbyville very close buy to it. No gorges, well, unless you drain Lake Shelbyville.

Posted by Jon on April 10,2012 | 07:12 PM

WHERE DID MATT GO TO COLLEGE? WAS IT EVERGREEN IN WASHINGTON STATE NEAR OLYMPIA

Posted by WALTER LORD on April 10,2012 | 07:12 PM

Geez, Frank; Do you think it matters? It's a great informative article. You sound like Frank "Grimey" Grimes, the angry colleague of Homer. Lighten up!

Posted by Steve on April 10,2012 | 07:10 PM

What?!I thought it was in Illinois!!!!!

Posted by Tyler on April 10,2012 | 07:07 PM

I can only assume the bullies he won't call out, but are name-dropped in the show, are some combination of Dolph, Kearny, Jimbo and Nelson, yea?

Posted by Anne Noise on April 10,2012 | 07:06 PM

I would like to know if he ever plans on having the simpsons growing up so the show could continue for alot longer.....

Posted by Glen J on April 10,2012 | 07:06 PM

wow

Posted by whats gucci? on April 10,2012 | 07:04 PM

I always thought it was Springfield IL

Posted by Richard on April 10,2012 | 07:02 PM

Nice article. But title felt a little irrelevant since all of us oregonians already knew we were number one to Matt. As far as relating Shelbyville to Eugene,THAT IS HILARIOUS! Always knew duck country was bad.

Posted by Alex Asher on April 10,2012 | 06:53 PM

So good!

Posted by Amsa on April 10,2012 | 06:52 PM

matt has had a bigger impact on my life then any other entetainer i dont remember life without the simpsons their debut on tracy ullman happed when i was 1 and ive loved them since day 1

Posted by mike tiberious watson on April 10,2012 | 06:51 PM

I love how is dad loved the show and said theres only one rule that homer cant be mean to marge, which he has stuck with what a great man

Posted by Liam Harris on April 10,2012 | 06:49 PM

It was hinted in the Springshield episode when they gave out the phone number to call them instead of 911.

Posted by Mr. WalkenZ on April 10,2012 | 06:49 PM

Frank: inaccurate comment. "Real Springfield" doesn't equal the fictional town. Shall we move on?

Posted by C. Peter Roberts on April 10,2012 | 06:46 PM

Isnt he saying he got the idea to name it Springfield because he discovered he himself thought Springfield meant th eone next to him. It gave him the idea that everyone would own the name of the town. Sounds like he meant to say he named it because of that idea, not actually that Simpsons takes place in OR

Posted by OmerHay on April 10,2012 | 06:40 PM

Isnt he saying he got the idea to name it Springfield because he discovered he himself thought Springfield meant th eone next to him. It gave him the idea that everyone would own the name of the town. Sounds like he meant to say he named it because of that idea, not actually that Simpsons takes place in OR

Posted by OmerHay on April 10,2012 | 06:40 PM

Durring the behind the music episode the narrator said "This northern Kentucky family." So i always thought thats where they were from.

Posted by Paul Laface on April 10,2012 | 06:37 PM

Couldn't agree more that the title of the article (and the subsequent pickups on other sites) is misleading.

Posted by Johnny O on April 10,2012 | 06:15 PM

you should really edit things so that it actually makes sense to read, otherwise a great read

Posted by dustin on April 10,2012 | 06:15 PM

Not that big of a surprise for us in Oregon, we have always known that it was named after Springfield Oregon. There have been news stories for years talking about the similarities between the show and our city. Too many things on the show that are ture in life that are the same in Portland. I have lived in Portland my whole life and have watched The Simpsons since I was little and even as a child I could tell.

Posted by Rebecca on April 10,2012 | 06:11 PM

Lovely interview, I love the logic behind naming it Springfield. I grew up without one nearby so I always assumed it was in Illinois! Also, Powell's is seriously the best place on earth :)

Posted by casey on April 10,2012 | 06:00 PM

We've know this for years - when we see these Oregon clouds

Posted by Erna on April 10,2012 | 05:41 PM

"[S]houldn't it be disclosed that Claudia De La Roca works for Matt?" why? it's an arts interview, not the Pentagon Papers.

Posted by tomasz. on April 10,2012 | 05:39 PM

Erroneous. It was inspired by Springfield, OR...that doesn't mean its supposed to BE Springfield, OR.

Posted by Mark on April 10,2012 | 05:38 PM

But how would it be in Oregon? Remember that West Springfield was three times the size of Texas?

Posted by Austin on April 10,2012 | 05:37 PM

But, Springfield, IL is about 40 miles from Shelbyville, IL. Think about that.

Posted by Kerry on April 10,2012 | 05:20 PM

Great piece!

Posted by Jordan on April 10,2012 | 05:02 PM

Inaccurate title. Named after doesn't mean the same as the characters living there. Also, shouldn't it be disclosed that Claudia De La Roca works for Matt?

Posted by Frank on April 10,2012 | 04:42 PM

But, Springfield, OR is next to Eugene (aka Shelbyville, I knew it!)

Posted by Lisa on April 10,2012 | 04:00 PM



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