Bill Oakley

Infobox Writer


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name = Bill Oakley
caption = Bill Oakley in 2008
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birthdate = 1966
birthplace = United States
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occupation = Television writer
nationality = American
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Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American television writer, best known for his work on "The Simpsons". Along with his writing partner Josh Weinstein, Oakley was the executive producer and showrunner during the seventh and eighth seasons. Before serving as the show's executive producers, the pair were hired onto the writing staff during the fourth season. Together, the two wrote episodes such as "Who Shot Mr. Burns?". After leaving "The Simpsons", Oakley and Weinstein created "Mission Hill", "The Mullets", and served as consulting producers on "Futurama".

He was born and raised in Union Bridge, Maryland, and attended St. Albans School, where he and Weinstein created cartoons for the school newspaper. He later attended Harvard University, where he was vice-president and editor of the Harvard Lampoon. His Lampoon classmates included "Futurama" creator David X. Cohen, "Newsradio" creator Paul Simms, as well as Richard Appel, Greg Daniels, Dan Greaney, Dan McGrath, Steve Young, Steve Tompkins, and his future wife Rachel Pulido, all of whom wrote for "The Simpsons" under the supervision of Oakley and Weinstein. He remains active in "Harvard Lampoon" affairs and currently serves on the five-member Board of Graduate Trustees, along with James Murdoch.

Oakley and his wife Rachel Pulido (who also wrote for "Mission Hill") have two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, and a son named James, who participated in two "The Simpsons" DVD commentaries while still an infant.

Oakley and Weinstein have written and produced several television pilots (both comedies and dramas), information about which can be found at the IMDB link below. They have also written several feature films, including "The Optimist" for New Line Cinema, which is slated to star Seann William Scott.

Along with Weinstein, Oakley was to serve as an executive producer on the upcoming Fox television series "Class Dismissed", slated for debut in Spring of 2009. [cite news|url=http://www.variety.com/VR1117985483.html |title=Fox greenlights 'Fringe'|author=Cynthia Littleton and Michael Schneider|accessdate=2008-05-15|date=2008-05-11|publisher="Variety"] In May 2008 he left the show over a contract dispute with Sony Pictures with producers. [cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a112576/sit-down-shut-up-loses-showrunner.html|title='Sit Down, Shut Up' loses showrunner|accessdate=2008-07-19|date=2008-07-19|work=Digital Spy|author=Dave West]

Oakley is an avid surfer and snowboarder who frequents Southern California's Snow Summit during winter months. Fact|date=July 2008

Writing credits

"The Simpsons" episodes

Oakley has written the following episodes of "The Simpsons" with Josh Weinstein:

*"Marge Gets a Job"
*"Marge in Chains"
*"Treehouse of Horror IV" ("Terror at 5½ Feet" segment)
*"$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)"
*"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"
*"Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"
*"Lady Bouvier's Lover"
*"Sideshow Bob Roberts"
*"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy"
*"Bart vs. Australia"
*"Who Shot Mr. Burns" (parts 1 & 2)
*"22 Short Films About Springfield"-Contributor

Mission Hill episodes

Oakley co-wrote the following episode with Josh Weinstein:

*"Pilot"

Television Pilots

* [http://www.filmstew.com/showArticle.aspx?ContentID=12141 "22 Birthdays"] with Doug Liman
* [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcpilotcasting-markvalleyzacharylevi,0,170842.story "Business Class"] with Mark Valley

Feature Films

* [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000473866 "Ruprecht"]
* [http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1017198,00.html "The Optimist"]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0643009|name=Bill Oakley
* [http://www.tvdads.com/tvdoakl.shtml Interview with Bill and Josh at TVDads.com]
* [http://www.morphizm.com/features/adult_billjosh.html Interview with Bill and Josh at Morphizm.com]
* [http://www.onthemedia.org/yore/transcripts/transcripts_102502_network.html Interview with Bill and Josh on NPR's "On the Media"]