Tributes have poured in for Dan McGrath, the Emmy-winning comedy writer behind The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Mission Hill, who passed away on November 14 at the age of 61 following a stroke.
"We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday," his sister Gail McGrath Garabadian wrote on Facebook. "He was a special man, one of a kind. An incredible son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken."
Friends and colleagues remembered McGrath as a brilliant, kind, and groundbreaking artist. "Feeling hard the loss of Dan McGrath -- a brilliant artist, who I so admired," a friend shared on Facebook. "R.I.P. Danny, we're better for having known you."
Others recalled his work on iconic episodes like "Homer's Phobia" (which won an Emmy in 1997 and was praised by GLAAD for its anti-homophobia message), Time and Punishment, and Bart of Darkness, as well as his contributions to Gravity Falls, The PJs, and Muppets Tonight.
"A true genius, always kind, and pushing the envelope," said a colleague. McGrath's work on Mission Hill's Gus & Wallyepisode remains celebrated for its LGBT representation.
McGrath began his career at Harvard University, writing for The Harvard Lampoon, and earned an Emmy nomination for Saturday Night Live in 1992.
He accumulated over 50 writing credits on The Simpsons and more than 20 as a producer, despite claiming he was fired twice from the show.