Co-creator of The Simpsons Sam Simon Loses his Battle with Cancer

Sam Simon, a nine-time Emmy award winner, co- creator of The Simpsons, and a well-known poker player, died on Sunday in his apartment in LA after a long battle with cancer.

In late 2012, Simon was diagnosed with colon cancer which later metastasized on other organs. At the time he was given only three to six months to live so Sam donated nearly $100m to charity and put much of his fortune into the Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues dogs and trains them to assist Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

He also joined PETA after he learned of his illness and spent the rest of his life helping and rescuing mistreated animals.

Simon apparently had a good heart but he also had numerous talents and interests, one of them being poker. He accumulated $358,655 in lifetime live tournament winnings and was a regular on the poker circuit. Sam often competed at the World Series of Poker, finishing in the money in six events. His biggest single score came in 2010 in the Winnin’ o’ The Green event where he won $57,308.

He also produced and hosted a celebrity poker program called Sam’s Game in 2009 that aired on Playboy TV. Sam’s Game featured numerous poker players, actresses and comedians playing poker while women in Playboy bunny costumes served as card dealers and cocktail waitresses.

Simon used to be married to actress and a professional poker player Jennifer Tilly, who won the 2005 World Series of Poker Ladies Event bracelet and has collected nearly $1 milion in live tournament earnings. Even though the pair divorced, they remained good friends over the years. Sam was also married to Jami Ferrel, who worked as a model, but the marriage came to an end after only three weeks.

Goodbye Sam. pic.twitter.com/fvt0Is0AlP
— Jennifer Tilly (@Jtillathekilla2) March 9, 2015

Simon was born in June 1955 in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Beverly Hills. He worked for a number of television shows, including NBC’s Taxi and Cheers before he became co-creator of The Simpsons, the longest running animated series in TV history.

Simon left The Simpsons' team in 1993 but the show brought him a fortune, earning around ten million a year in royalties. He also produced the Drew Carey Show and worked as consultant on the Charlie Sheen series Anger Management.

After he was diagnosed with the deadly disease, Simon dedicated the rest of his life to helping animals and fighting for their rights. He was a respected poker player, writer and a producer, but most of all he was a good man and humanitarian, trying to help those in need.

Simon was a real fighter in every sense of the word and the world has suffered a great loss upon his passing.

Photo: laughspin.com