‘The Simpsons’ Favorite Dies After Suffering Stroke: Dan McGrath Was 61

Emmy winner Dan McGrath has died. He was 61.

The writer and producer, who is best known for his time on The Simpsons and King of The Hill, died last Friday at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, NYC after suffering a stroke. His sister Gail Garabadian confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.

McGrath began his career by writing for The Harvard Lampoon in 1991 before joining Saturday Night Live in 1992 for two seasons, where he shared an Emmy nomination with his castmates.

After his time on SNL, he began writing and producing several episodes of The Simpsons from the series’ heyday.

Over 70 episodes of The Simpsons have a credit with his name attached, including notable episodes like “Bart of Darkness,” early “Treehouse of Horror” installments, “The Devil and Homer Simpson,” “Time and Punishment,” “Boy-Scoutz ’n the Hood” and “Homer’s Phobia,” which won him an Emmy in 1997.

After being fired from the series (twice, he claims,) McGrath began working on King of the Hill, where he wrote 11 episodes and produced 28 more.

In a series of tweets, his former co-worker Bill Oakley posted a tribute to McGrath on Twitter/X. Oakley is the original creator of Mission Hill, which ran on TV in the early 2000s.

“R.I.P. today to Dan McGrath, great person and super-talented writer at The Simpsons, SNL, King of the Hill, and Mission Hill, where he was right-hand man to @Joshstrangehill and me — and responsible for the incredible Gus & Wally episode,” Oakley wrote.

Later on, he tweeted a link to another publication’s obituary, saying, “R.I.P. Dan. He would have laughed heartily at the huge errors in this obituary.”

R.I.P. Dan. He would have laughed heartily at the huge errors in this obituary. https://t.co/8xuWLSUkkK

— BILL OAKLEY (@thatbilloakley) November 16, 2025