McGrath also lent his talents to comedy institutions like &34;Saturday Night Live&34; and &34;King of the Hill&34; over the course of his twodecade career. Dan McGrath, Emmywinning writer for The Simpsons, dies at 61 McGrath also lent his talents to comedy institutions like &34;Saturday Night Live&34; and &34;King of the Hill&34; over the course of his twodecade career. By Ryan Coleman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RyanColemanauthorphoto0081ce8f0254478080f35972c433877b.jpg) Ryan Coleman Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

McGrath also lent his talents to comedy institutions like "Saturday Night Live" and "King of the Hill" over the course of his two-decade career.

Dan McGrath, Emmy-winning writer for The Simpsons, dies at 61

McGrath also lent his talents to comedy institutions like "Saturday Night Live" and "King of the Hill" over the course of his two-decade career.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

November 16, 2025 10:05 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

'The Simpsons'. Credit:

Dan McGrath, a comedy writer on legendary series like *Saturday Night Live* and *King of the Hill* who won an Emmy for his work on *The Simpsons*, died on Nov. 14. He was 61.

McGrath's sister, Gail McGrath Garabadian, shared the news of her brother's passing in a Saturday Facebook post.

"We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday," she wrote. "He was a special man, one of a kind. An incredible son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken."

Daniel McGrath, via his family.

mclaughlinandsons

McGrath was born in Brooklyn in 1964 to Gerard and Eleanor McGrath. A graduate of the prestigious and Jesuit Regis High School in Manhattan, McGrath matriculated to Harvard, where he became vice president of the famed humor publication *The Harvard Lampoon*.

His first big job out of college was writing for *Saturday Night Live*. The* Lampoon* to Studio 8H pipeline famously supplied the long-running sketch comedy program with some of its most enduring talents, including Conan O'Brien, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Greg Daniels.

McGrath provided additional sketches for several episodes of *SNL*'s 16th season, including episodes hosted by Catherine O'Hara, Steven Seagal, and George Wendt. He became a core part of the season 17 writing staff alongside famed *SNL *scribes Jim Downey, Herb Sargent, and Al Franken, who would go on to serve in the United States Senate.**

Catherine O'Hara on 'SNL' in 1991.

Alan Singer/NBC

McGrath jumped from live-action to animation when he got the offer to board *The Simpsons *in 1992 as a story editor. He remained at the program from season 4 through season 6, rising through the ranks of that latter season to serve as an executive story consultant and write two episodes, including the fifth installment in the famed "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween series.

In McGrath's "Treehouse of Horror" segment, "Time and Punishment" (co-written by Daniels), Homer accidentally invents a time machine out of his junky toaster. Despite dim memories of the dangers of the butterfly effect, he swats a mosquito, resulting in an altered present in which friendly neighbor Ned Flanders has become a fascist dictator.**

Celebrity deaths 2025: Remembering the stars who've died this year

'The Simpsons' gets sequel movie 20 years later: 'Homer's coming back for seconds'

He earned an Emmy for his work on the fourth season of *The Simpsons*, which includes beloved episode "I Love Lisa," in which Lisa is forced to reject poor Ralph Wiggum on live television after he mistakes her pity-motivated Valentine's card for a sign of genuine ardor.

McGrath went on to *Muppets Tonight *and *King of the Hill*, writing episodes across a six-season span from 2003-2009. *The Simpsons *clearly* *unlocked McGrath's aptitude for writing for animation, as he also wrote episodes of the animated comedy series *The PJs*, *Sammy*, and *Mission Hill*.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

His official obituary via McLaughlin & Sons Funeral Home notes that he is "survived by his mother, Eleanor; his brother Michael and wife Caroline; his brother Peter; his sister, Gail; his nephew Dillon and his nieces Kylie and Emma."

In lieu of flowers, the McGrath family requests that fans and loved ones donate to his alma mater, Regis High School.

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW TV"

Read More

---

Source: TV

Published: November 19, 2025 at 01:38PM on Source: MARIO MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle