Steve Pepoon, Writer on ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘The Wild Thornberrys’ and ‘ALF,’ Dies at 68

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Steve Pepoon, the freelance writer who won an Emmy for his work on an episode of The Simpsons, also contributed to various TV comedies such as It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, ALF, and Roseanne, and co-created The Wild Thornberrys, has passed away. He was 68 years old.

For the last two years, Pepoon had been undergoing treatment for a heart issue known as cardiac amyloidosis. Tragically, he passed away unexpectedly on May 3, outside his residence in Paola, Kansas, according to his wife, Mary Stephenson, who shared this news with The Hollywood Reporter.

In late 1985, Pepoon, who had relocated from Kansas to Los Angeles in 1979, managed to sell his first script. This script was later aired as an episode of Silver Spoons in January 1986. Just fifteen months after this achievement, he was employed as a staff writer for ALF, another NBC comedy series, and continued writing for it until 1990, during the final three seasons.

He continued to write scripts without a specific project in mind, and one of these, titled “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment” for Fox’s “The Simpsons”, earned him an Emmy, which he shared with 13 other winners in the category of outstanding animated program.

In an interview from 2016, he mentioned that for some unknown reason, they selected his episode for Emmy nomination.

In the years 1992-93 and 1994, Pepoon held the position of head writer on “The Jackie Thomas Show” for ABC and worked as a writer for both “Roseanne” on ABC and “Tom,” which he created, served as head writer, and ran as showrunner, while it was airing on CBS.

Together with Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic, Pepoon developed “The Wild Thornberrys” for Nickelodeon. This series centered around a family of wildlife filmmakers, with Tim Curry as Sir Nigel Archibald Thornberry, and it spanned over five seasons from 1998 to 2004.

Born on the 19th of May, 1956, in Kansas City, Missouri, I, Stephen Robert Pepoon, was one among three brothers. When I was just two years old, our family uprooted and moved to Paola, Kansas. My father, Donald, established a construction company there, while my mother, Marianne, dedicated her time to volunteering at the local library.

At Paola High School, Steve Pepoon penned articles for the school’s newspaper and developed a fondness for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” a series focusing on a television comedy writer. This sparked an ambition in him to pursue a career as a screenwriter, which his family acknowledged.

Following his graduation from Kansas State University in 1978, Pepoon found employment at a shopping center shoe store to accumulate funds for his relocation to Los Angeles, which he achieved in 1979. Simultaneously, he penned 35 screenplays as spec work while residing in Bellflower and holding down jobs as a bank teller, fast food worker, and manager of a drive-in theater and video arcade, all to sustain his living expenses.

He finally got some job security with ALF.

Apart from his work on “Seinfeld,” Pepoon has contributed to various television shows such as “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” (in 1990), the NBC spinoff of “Ferris Bueller” (from 1990-91, starring Charlie Schlatter and Jennifer Aniston), “Get a Life” on Fox (1991-92, featuring Chris Elliott) and “Dinosaurs,” a production by Jim Henson for ABC (in 1992).

His professional portfolio encompasses writing and producing for shows like “Cleghorne!”, “The PJs”, “You Wish”, and “Teen Angel”. He also acted in “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” (1994). Interestingly, he managed to secure a role as an audience member in the movie’s chaotic Oscar scene, not because of any professional connection, but simply due to his ownership of a tuxedo.

He belonged to both the Academy of Magical Arts and the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, and following his encounter with the one featured in “Back to the Future”, he acquired a DeLorean.

In the year 2009, Pepoon attended his 35th high school reunion in Paola, which is where he reconnected with Stephenson, a friend from their kindergarten days. They got married later that October, marking an end to his journey back to Hollywood.

Additionally, among the survivors are his brothers, Michael and Bill; their respective spouses, Sonja and Francesca; his stepchildren, Katie and Nick; as well as his beloved grandkids, Micah, McKenzie, Lily, Audrey, and Dean.

A life-honoring event has been arranged for this coming Saturday at the Paola Community Center. In lieu of flowers, his family is accepting donations towards establishing a scholarship program for Paola High School students who aspire to pursue careers in writing, theater, or film.

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2025-05-13 20:54