Biography for
Seth MacFarlane More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

26 October 1973, Kent, Connecticut, USA

Birth Name

Seth Woodbury MacFarlane

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Seth MacFarlane was born in the small New England town of Kent, Connecticut where he lived with his father (Ron), mother (Perry) and sister ('Rachael MacFarlane' )qv_). He attended and studied animation at the Rhode Island School of Design and, after he graduated, he was hired by Hanna-Barbera Productions (Now called Cartoon Network Studios) working as an animator and writer on the TV series "Johnny Bravo" (1997) and "Cow and Chicken" (1997). He also worked for Walt Disney Animation as a writer on the TV series "Jungle Cubs" (1996). He created The Life of Larry (1995) which was originally supposed to be used as an in-between on "MADtv" (1995). Unfortunately the deal fell through but, a few months later, executives at FOX called him into their offices and gave him $50,000 to create a pilot for what would eventually become "Family Guy" (1999). On September 11, 2001, he was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 after being a keynote speaker at his alma-mater in Rhode Island. Due to a mix-up by his travel agent, he was told that his flight was scheduled to depart at 8:15am but it really departed at 7:45am and he had arrived at Boston Logan Airport a few minutes after boarding was stopped on his flight and he was told he would have to wait for the next flight. At 8:45am, one hour after the departure of American Airlines Flight 11, it was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into One World Trade Center (North Tower) in New York City killing all on-board. He was able to contact his parents within 20 minutes of Flight 11 striking the first tower to tell them he was okay. He said that he thanked his travel agent for screwing up the departure time or he would have been on board.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Trade Mark

Often references musicals and Broadway musical numbers.

Frequently (and effectively) uses cutaways.

New-England based humor.

Frequently makes the foil of the main character an animal, usually the family pet.

Always refers to "The Electric Company" (1971) when the phrase "electric company" is spoken.

His recognizable voice

Frequently mocks Neo-Conservatives.

Always hires Walter Murphy to write the theme music to his shows.

Trivia

Brother of Rachael MacFarlane

Cousin Tim Mercer has a punk-pop band in Brooklyn, New York.

The name of his production company, Fuzzy Door, comes from the name of his apartment when he attended Rhode Island School of Design ("RISD"). The door to the house was covered in fur.

Based the voice of Peter Griffin mostly from a loud mouthed security guard that worked on the campus where he attended college.

Big Rex Harrison fan

Based his Stewie Griffin voice from Rex Harrison's portrayal of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964).

Was given voice training by a 90-year-old couple who also trained Frank Sinatra.

Is a skilled pianist

Has Scottish ancestry.

Once lived in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

His ancestors William Brewster and wife Mary were Mayflower passengers.

Loves golf.

Is an avid fan of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek". His favorite film in the "Star Wars" saga is Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and his favorite TV series in the "Star Trek" franchise is "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987).

Is a devoted supporter of the Democratic Party. Ironically, his shows air on the FOX network, which is largely a Republican-supporting channel.

Lives in Los Angeles.

Was supposed to board the first plane which crashed into the Twin Towers on September 11th, but he missed his flight by one minute.

He constantly references the movie Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels in both "Family Guy" (1999) and "American Dad!" (2005).

Graduate of Kent School, the same high school which Ted Danson, Treat Williams, Peter Farrelly and Sebastian Siegel attended.

Is good friends with Butch Hartman, creator of "The Fairly OddParents" (2001) and "Danny Phantom" (2004).

He's a fan and personal friend of Keith Olbermann.

Was voted as the "Smartest Man on TV" by Entertainment Weekly, the magazine that initially criticized "Family Guy" (1999), but had recently been more receptive to the show.

He considered working for the Walt Disney Company after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, but decided against it due to criticism from religious welfare groups. Instead he worked for Hanna-Barbara after the studio received his thesis film, The Life of Larry (1995), which was sent to them by Seth's professor at the RISD.

He is a distant cousin of former "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) actress Denise Crosby.

With the cancellation of "King of the Hill" (1997) and the debut of "The Cleveland Show" (2009) on Fox, MacFarlane is now the co-creator and producer of three of the four animated shows that comprise Fox's "Animation Domination" on Sunday nights. ("Family Guy" (1999), "American Dad!" (2005) and "The Cleveland Show" (2009).) The fourth of course being "The Simpsons" (1989).

Personal Quotes

Brian (from "Family Guy" (1999)) is the only character I can do without having to do another character or voice.

Salary

"Family Guy" (1999)

$50,000 per episode

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