David X. Cohen Biography

Fast Facts

• Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Physics and earned his Master's in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley
• Wrote some early episodes of "Beavis and Butthead" after one of his sample scripts was given to creator Mike Judge
• Quote: "(On his physics background): "[I] was forced to work very hard, and to think hard and logically, and to try to understand the process behind the correct answer․․․and those things come in handy no matter what you do․""
• Best known as the developer, writer, and executive producer of "Futurama" and as a writer and producer of "The Simpsons․"
• Often included the science he learned in college in the backgrounds of "Futurama" episodes
• Credited with inventing the word "cromulent," meaning "legitimate" or "acceptable," for an episode of "The Simpsons" called "Lisa the Iconoclast․"
• He chose the middle initial "X" in 1998, when he joined the Writers Guild of America and there was already a David S․ Cohen, because he thought it sound "sci-fi-ish․"
• The "Futurama" character Dr․ Zoidberg got his name from a video game for the Apple II that he developed in the 1980s called "ZOID․"
• Was the President of the "Harvard Lampoon," for which he also wrote comedic essays during college