NEWS

Photo note: To download a photo, see end of the release

CHAPEL HILL -- Mike Reiss, the Emmy-winning producer of "The Simpsons" and co-creator of "The Critic", will speak Feb. 23 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is set for 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union.

Reiss is expected to discuss the current state of television programming and provide a unique glimpse inside the entertainment industry and animated TV, including rare video clips from "The Simpsons" and "The Critic". He will reveal how "The Simpsons" was almost cancelled before it aired, secret trivia of the show and dealings with network censors.

The presentation is co-sponsored by North Carolina Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the Carolina Union Activities Board and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Reiss has won four Emmy Awards for his work on "The Simpsons" during his eleven seasons with the show. He wrote a dozen scripts and produced over 200 episodes and continues as a consulting producer.

He is also the co-creator of "The Critic", another animated series, starring Jon Lovitz as a lovable movie critic, which has been running on Comedy Central for five years. In addition, he is the creator of "Queer Duck," an animated series that has been an Internet hit and recently put on the Showtime network.

A former editor of both The Harvard Lampoon and The National Lampoon, Reiss holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

The Frey Foundation professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus leaders from a variety of fields including government, public policy and the arts. The foundation was established in 1974 by Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich. Their son, David Gardner Frey, is vice chairman of the foundation and a longtime supporter of UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. David Frey earned undergraduate and law degrees from UNC.

- 30 -

Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/lecture/reiss_mike.jpg

Press contact: Shira Weinstein, program director, N.C. Hillel, (919) 942-4057
College contact: Dee Reid, director of communications, (919) 843-6339