Animal House producer and National Lampoon co-founder Matty Simmons dies at 93
Matty Simmons, the producer of the popular Vacation series and Animal House, has died at 93 from natural causes.
The legendary movie producer’s daughter Kate Simmons confirmed the news in a heartfelt Instagram tribute with a snap of him sitting on a chair with his name emblazoned on the back on set.
‘Yesterday I lost my hero,’ Kate Simmons wrote on Instagram on Thursday. ‘My dad had gone from the sharpest, healthiest 93 year old most people have encountered to abruptly having every imaginable issue except corona.’
A legend: Matty Simmons, the co-founder of National Lampoon magazine and producer of Animal House has died at 93
‘He wrote like nine books and could finish a novel faster than I’ll probably finish this post,’ she joked after praising his extensive body of work.
She added: ‘When we lost my mom a couple years ago it felt like a part of us both died. He told me early on, we’re a team now and we have to stick together. We did just that and became inseparably close. He became my best friend in the world.’
More than a hundred fans extended their condolences on her personal account, as they reminisced on his incredible legacy and the laughter her father spread.
Iconic: Producers Matty Simmons and Ivan Reitman on the set of the Universal Studios film Animal House in 1978
Before launching a successful career in entertainment, Simmons was the executive vice president of Diners Club, the first credit card company, and ‘hired blacklisted Hollywood writers to contribute to Signature, the club’s magazine,’ according to the Los Angeles Times.
‘He was gregarious, hardworking and loved his children,’ his son Michael Simmons told the outlet. ‘He was bigger than life… He was very witty and sharp, and he didn’t lose that until the very end.’
The icon was also known for producing the John Landis-directed film Animal House in 1978, which starred John Belushi as a Delta Tau Chi misfit who fights against a rival fraternity’s president to keep his house’s spot on campus.
Beloved: Producer Matty Simmons and Stephen Bishop in 2003 on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood
National Lampoon tweeted on Friday, ‘The comic geniuses everyone knows deserve much credit for our legacy. BUT, there’d be no #Vacation, #AnimalHouse nor #NationalLampoon w/o crazy, wonderful, visionary Matty Simmons.’
The company noted that his passing on the founding date of the Lampoon felt like the ‘last great punchline.’
Simmons is survived by four children, Michael, Julie, Andrew and Kate; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
His wife, Patti Browne, died in 2017
Mastermind: Simmons pictured with Animal Houses’ actresses Martha Smith, Karen Allen and Verna Bloom in 2003 at the 25th Anniversary Ultimate Homecoming Parade & DVD Release Extravaganza