Saint Seth the Patriarch
Church icon of Seth
Holy Forefather, Antediluvian Patriarch, and Prophet
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam

Seth (Hebrew: שֵׁת, Standard Šet, Tiberian Šēṯ; Arabic: شيث‎ Shith or Shiyth; "Placed; appointed"), in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, he was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who were the only other of their children mentioned by name. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after the slaying of Abel by Cain, and Eve believed God had appointed him as a replacement for Abel.

In the Pentateuch[link]

According to Genesis, Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old^[1] "a son in his likeness and image."^[1] The genealogy is repeated at 1 Chronicles 1:1-3. Genesis 5:4-5 states that Adam fathered "sons and daughters" before his death, aged 930 years. In Genesis 4:25, there is a folk etymology for Seth's name, which derives it from the Hebrew word for "plant" as in "plant a seed" (syt). Eve says, "God has planted another seed, under/replacing Abel's". Seth lived to the age of 912.^[2]

In Jewish tradition[link]

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi) refers to Seth as the ancestor of Noah and hence the father of all mankind, all other humans having perished in the Great Flood.

In gnosticism, Seth is seen as a replacement given by God for Abel, whom Cain had slain. It is said that late in life, Adam gave Seth secret teachings that would become the kabbalah. The Zohar refers to Seth as "ancestor of all the generations of the tzaddikim" (Hebrew: righteous ones).^[3]

According to Seder Olam Rabbah, based on Jewish reckoning, he was born in 130 AM. According to Aggadah, he had 33 sons and 23 daughters. According to the Seder Olam Rabbah, he died in 1042 AM.

In Islam[link]

Islamic tradition reveres Seth as the gift bestowed upon Adam after the death of Abel. Round about 25 prophets are mentioned in the Qur'an, although Seth is not mentioned, Muslims see Seth as a prophet like his father, and the one who continued teaching mankind after the death of Adam.^[4] Islamic lore gives Seth an exalted position among the Antediluvian Patriarchs of the Generations of Adam, and some sources even cite Seth as the receiver of a scripture.^[5] Islamic literature holds that Seth was born when Adam was past 100 and that, by the time Adam died, Adam had already made Seth the heir to him in guiding the "Children of Adam". Muslims hold that Seth was taught of the hours of day and night as well as of the Great Flood to come and was further taught to pray to God during the hours of the night. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, traces the genealogy of mankind back to Seth, since Abel did not leave any heirs and Cain's heirs, according to tradition, were destroyed by the Great Flood.^[6]

Some Muslims believe that Seth's tomb is located in the village of Al-Nabi Shayth (literally meaning The Prophet Seth) where a mosque is named after him.

In Josephus[link]

In the Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus refers to Seth as virtuous and of excellent character, and reports that his descendants invented the wisdom of the heavenly bodies, and built the "pillars of the sons of Seth", two pillars inscribed with many scientific discoveries and inventions, notably in astronomy. They were built by Seth's descendants based on Adam's prediction that the world would be destroyed at one time by fire and another time by global flood, in order to protect the discoveries and be remembered after the destruction. One was composed of brick, and the other of stone, so that if the pillar of brick should be destroyed, the pillar of stone would remain, both reporting the ancient discoveries, and informing men that a pillar of brick was also erected. Josephus reports that the pillar of stone remained in the land of Siriad in his day.

William Whiston, a 17/18th century translator of the Antiquities, stated in a footnote that he believed Josephus mistook Seth for Sesostris, king of Egypt, the erector of the referenced pillar in Siriad (being a contemporary name for the territories in which Sirius was venerated (i.e., Egypt). He stated that there was no way for any pillars of Seth to survive the deluge, because the deluge buried all such pillars and edifices far underground in the sediment of its waters.

In Christianity[link]

The 2nd century BC Book of Jubilees, regarded as non-canonical except by Coptic Christianity, also dates his birth to 130 AM.^[7] According to it, in 231 AM Seth married his sister, Azura, who was four years younger than he was. In the year 235 AM, Azura gave birth to Enos.^[7]

Seth is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with Adam, Abel, and others, with a feast day on July 26. He is also included in the Genealogy of Jesus, according to Luke 3:23–38.^[8]

See also[link]

• Biblical longevity
• Knights of Seth
• Sethian

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Seth

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2009)

Seth Lakeman
Lakeman performing in April 2009
Background information
Origin	Dartmoor, Devon, England
Genres	English folk music, folk rock, electric folk, acoustic folk
Instruments	Vocals, violin, guitar, viola, banjo
Years active	1994–present
Labels	iScream Music (pre-2006) , Relentless (2006—present)
Associated acts	Cara Dillon, Sam Lakeman, Equation, The Lakeman Brothers, Steve Knightley, Jenna Witts
Website	http://sethlakeman.co.uk

Seth Bernard Lakeman (born 26 March 1977) is an English folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who is most often associated with the fiddle and tenor guitar, but has also mastered the viola and banjo. Nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, Lakeman has belonged to several musical ensembles, including one with his two brothers, fellow folk musicians Sam Lakeman and Sean Lakeman, but has most recently established himself as a solo headlining act.

Career[link]

The Lakeman Brothers[link]

Seth Lakeman began playing music with his parents and two brothers Sean and Sam Lakeman at an early age.

As The Lakeman Brothers, the three brothers released their critically acclaimed debut album Three Piece Suite in 1994. Later that same year they were invited by two Yorkshire based singers Kathryn Roberts and Kate Rusby to join them as a backing group on a tour of Portugal. After the tour the five musicians became a permanent group and called themselves Equation.^[1] The group swiftly garnered critical praise and were signed in a record deal with Time Warner in 1995. After three full albums (Return to Me in 1996, Hazy Daze in 1998, and The Lucky Few in 2000), and tours in the UK, Europe and the United States, Lakeman left Equation in 2001. He joined his brother Sam and Sam's wife Cara Dillon and appeared on Dillon's acclaimed eponymous debut album, which featured Seth on fiddle, guitar and vocals.^[2] The album won two awards at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.^[3]

Solo work[link]

In 2002 Lakeman released his first solo album, The Punch Bowl, which received wide critical acclaim including a review in fRoots magazine which said: "The songs don't just glide smoothly by.....they get their claws into you".

Kitty Jay, Lakeman's second solo album was released in 2004. The title track of the album tells the story of Jay's Grave, a well known location on Dartmoor. The album was recorded for a cost of less than £300.^[4] That same year he collaborated with Devon singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and young local singer Jenna Witts on the album Western Approaches.

A sell-out UK tour in Autumn 2005 followed his Mercury Music Prize nomination, after which Lakeman and his band (regularly brother Sean (guitar), Ben Nichols (bass), Andy Tween(drums), toured extensively with folk-rock giants The Levellers, who took to closing their set with a "fiddle off" between Lakeman and Levellers' fiddler Jonathan Sevink. Other support tours with Billy Bragg and Jools Holland brought Lakeman's music to a wider audience.

In March 2006 Lakeman began a UK tour in order to promote his new album Freedom Fields which was released on iScream. He signed to a new major record label, Relentless Records, promptly releasing a new single "Lady of the Sea" in early August 2006.

His fourth solo album, Poor Man's Heaven, was released on 30 June 2008 with an accompanying tour. It introduced a rockier edge to the folk of the previous albums. The fifth solo album, Hearts & Minds, was released on 19 July 2010.^[5] Lakeman released his sixth album called Tales From The Barrel House on 18 November 2011.

Festival tours[link]

In 2007[link]

In 2007, Seth Lakeman performed at the SXSW festival in Texas, Hyde Park Calling, in Hyde Park, London, the Glastonbury Festival, The V Festival in South Staffordshire, Womad Charlton Park Festival in Wiltshire, England, the Folk by the Oak Festival, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, in Alberta, Canada, the Cornbury Music Festival, Fairport's Cropredy Convention, and the Towersey Village Festival (both located in Oxfordshire, England), and Lakeman provided support for Tori Amos on her European tour.

2008[link]

Seth Lakeman performing at the Folk by the Oak Festival in 2008 Photo: David Laws

On 18 April 2008, Lakeman appeared on stage with Jethro Tull on their 40th anniversary tour at Colston Hall in Bristol before the start of his own UK tour later that month and going on to tour the festival circuit throughout the summer. His fourth album, Poor Man's Heaven was released on 30 June 2008. It includes "Solomon Browne", a tribute to the courage of the men who lost their lives in the Penlee lifeboat disaster.^[6] In August 2008, Lakeman was one of the acts playing at the Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham, England, to over 18,000 people.

2009[link]

The festival tour continued in 2009 (with new drummer Simon Lea); notably with an appearance at the Bath Fringe Festival on 3 June, playing at the newly renovated Komedia venue to a capacity crowd who enjoyed renditions from Poor Man's Heaven and other albums as well as a wealth of new material. On 29 June they played the Glastonbury Festival's Avalon stage.

In July, he played on the acoustic stage at Chagstock 2009 to a rapturous audience, to be invited back next year to the main stage.

In August 2009 Lakeman performed at Cambridge Folk Festival for the second year running and again at Fairport's Cropredy Festival, Fairport Convention's annual folk festival in Oxfordshire, headlining on the Friday night. The band also headlined at The Levellers' Beautiful Days festival on Friday 21 August and at the V Festival in Weston Park the following day. The band, now augmented by the presence of Benji Kirkpatrick, performed on the Shrewsbury Folk Festival main stage on 29 August and then at Solfest, in Cumbria, England on Sunday 30 August.

On September 13, 2009, Lakeman performed at the Harvest At Jimmy's Food & Music Festival at Jimmy's Farm, Suffolk.

Lakeman has also been a regular performer at the small annual Parklife Festival in the Town of Tavistock near to his home village of Buckland Monarchorum.

2010[link]

Seth played at Cornbury Festival at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire on Sunday 4 July, and as second headline on the main stage at Chagstock 2010 on Saturday 17 July as the sun set. Seth also played at the 2010 Tall Ships Festival on 10 July in Hartlepool, and at the Cambridge Folk Festival, also in July.

He made a return local visit to the Levellers "Beautiful Days" festival on 21 August in Devon and played as support for Runrig on their German tour, some days later. He was also the main headline on Saturday 4 September at Weyfest in Farnham, Surrey.

Awards[link]

• In July 2005 Lakeman was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for his album Kitty Jay.^[7]
• On 5 February 2007 Lakeman won Singer of the Year and Best Album awards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.^[8]

Instruments[link]

Seth Lakeman's primary musical instruments are the violin, the tenor guitar, the banjo and the viola.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• The Punch Bowl (2002, iScream)
• Kitty Jay (2004, iScream) UK #100
• Freedom Fields (2006, iScream) UK #32
• Poor Man's Heaven (2008, Relentless) UK #8
• Hearts & Minds (2010, Virgin Records) UK #17
• Tales From The Barrel House (2011, Honour Oak Records) UK #63

Singles[link]

• The Bold Night (2005)
• Lady Of The Sea (2006) #52
• The White Hare (2006) #47
• King & Country (2006)
• Poor Man's Heaven EP" (2007)
• The Hurlers" (2008)
• Crimson Dawn (2008)
• Solomon Brown (2008)

[edit] with The Lakeman Brothers

• Three Piece Suite (1994)

[edit] with Equation

• Hazy Days (1998)
• The Lucky Few (1999)
• Return To Me (2003)
• First Name Terms (2004)

[edit] with Steve Knightley and Jenna Witts

• Western Approaches (2004)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Seth Lakeman

• Seth Lakeman official website
• Seth Lakeman on Facebook
• Unofficial Seth Lakeman Fan News on Twitter
• Seth Lakeman on YouTube
• Seth Lakeman MySpace
• Seth Lakeman Archive (fan site)
• Seth Lakeman at Allmusic
• Equation official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Seth Godin
Born	(1960-07-10) July 10, 1960 (age 51)
Alma mater	Tufts University Stanford University
Occupation	author, marketing guru
Website
sethgodin.com

Seth Godin (born July 10, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Godin popularized the topic of permission marketing.

Background[link]

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Seth Godin graduated from Tufts University in 1979 with a degree in computer science and philosophy. Godin earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. From 1983 to 1986, he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software. For a time Godin commuted every week between California and Boston both to do his new job and to complete his MBA..

After leaving Spinnaker Software in 1986, Godin used $20,000 in savings to found Seth Godin Productions, primarily a book packaging business, out of a studio apartment in New York City.^[1] It was in the same offices that Godin met Mark Hurst and founded Yoyodyne. After a few years Godin sold the book packaging business to his employees and focused his efforts on Yoyodyne, one of the first online marketing companies.^{[citation needed]} It was with Yoyodyne that Godin came up with the concept of permission marketing.^{[citation needed]} For a period of time, Godin served as a columnist for Fast Company^{[citation needed]}

Godin and his wife Helene now live in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York with their two sons.

Viewpoints[link]

Godin believes that the end of the "TV-Industrial complex" means that marketers no longer have the power to command the attention of anyone they choose, whenever they choose. Second, in a marketplace in which consumers have more power, he thinks marketers must show more respect; this means no spam, no deceit and a bias for keeping promises. Finally, Godin asserts that the only way to spread the word about an idea is for that idea to earn the buzz by being remarkable. Godin refers to those who spread these ideas as "Sneezers", and to the spreading idea as an "IdeaVirus." He calls a remarkable product or service a purple cow.

Advertisements on television and radio are classified as 'interruption marketing' which interrupt the customer while they are doing something of their preference. Godin introduced the concept of "permission marketing" where the business provides something "anticipated, personal, and relevant".

Business ventures[link]

Yoyodyne[link]

In 1995, Godin launched Yoyodyne which used contests, online games, and scavenger hunts to market companies to participating users. In August, 1996, venture-capital firm Flatiron Partners invested $4 million in Yoyodyne in return for a 20% stake.^[2] The site gained significant traction, with over one million viewers visiting the site, and companies like America Online, American Express, H&R Block, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Sony Music, Sprint, and Volvo using its services.^[3]

At Yoyodyne, Godin developed the principle of permission marketing and authored Permission Marketing: Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers.

In 1998, Godin sold Yoyodyne to Yahoo! for $30 million^[4] and became Yahoo's vice president of direct marketing, a position he held until 2000.^[5]

Squidoo[link]

In March 2006, Godin launched Squidoo, a community website allowing users to create pages (called "lenses") for subjects of interest.^[6] The site donates 5% of the profits to charity, and 50% to the lensmasters. Godin and Squidoo have been profiled on CNN and the Washington Post.^[7][8] The site was given top prize in SXSW's community/wiki category.^[9] As of July 2008, Squidoo was one of the 500 most visited sites in the world.^[10]

Other projects[link]

ChangeThis[link]

Godin developed the idea for ChangeThis, a website aimed at spreading ideas through PDF files.^[11] In the summer of 2004, Godin hired five interns—Amit Gupta, Catherine Hickey, Noah Weiss, Phoebe Espiritu and Michelle Sriwongtong—to build and develop the website.^[12] The website went live on August 14, 2004.^[13] Tom Peters, Chris Anderson, and Guy Kawasaki all had manifestos featured on ChangeThis.^[14] In July 2005, ChangeThis was turned over to 800-CEO-READ, the leading distributor of business literature in the United States.^[15][16]

Six month alternative MBA program[link]

In December 2008, Godin announced in a blog post that he would be offering a six month alternative MBA program at his office in Hastings on Hudson, NY.^[17] 48,000 people looked at the post and 340 applied. He invited 27 applicants to his office for a group interview. They spent two hours interviewing one another. After co-mingling, they and Godin together wrote down the names of their favorite candidates. Three weeks later the chosen 9 showed up at Godin's office.^[18] This group graduated in July 2009.^[19]

The Domino Project[link]

In December 2010, Godin announced on his blog that he would be working directly with Amazon on a venture called The Domino Project.^[20]

Stop Stealing Dreams (what is school for)[link]

In February 2012, Godin released a 30,000 word manifesto on Squidoo in response to the question "What do you think we ought to do about education?". This manifesto is "totally free to read, share, translate, print and, most of all, use to start an essential conversation". ^[21]

Books[link]

Godin is the author of 11 books; his Free Prize Inside was a Forbes Business Book of the Year in 2004,^[22] in its first two years of release, Purple Cow sold over 150,000 copies in more than 23 printings.^[23] The Dip was a Business Week and New York Times bestseller.^[24][25] And Godin has called his free ebook Unleashing the Ideavirus the most "popular ebook ever written".^[26] In the early 1990s he created a ten book series for children titled Worlds of Power, which was written by various writers. In each the plot of a single video game was told in a novelized form.^[27]

Beginning with Permission Marketing, Godin uses the concepts discussed in the books to promote the book. For Permission Marketing, Godin gave 1/3 of the book away for free to anyone who sent an e-mail. For Unleashing the Ideavirus, Godin released the entire eBook on the Internet for free, which led to eventual publishing deals in 41 countries and a public speaking career. For Purple Cow, Godin created a milk carton container for the book which generated attention from work colleagues. For Tribes, Godin launched an exclusive online community for the first 3000 people who pre-ordered the book. For Linchpin, Godin gave the book away for three weeks before its release for free to anyone willing to give $30 to the Acumen Fund for the $20 book, and raised $100,000 for the Acumen Fund.

Bibliography[link]

• Godin, Seth (1993). The Smiley Dictionary. Berkeley: Peachpit Press. ISBN 1-56609-008-3. 
• Godin, Seth (1995). eMarketing: Reaping Profits on the Information Highway. New York: Berkley Pub. Group. ISBN 0-399-51904-1. 
• Godin, Seth (1999). Permission marketing: turning strangers into friends, and friends into customers. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-85636-0. 
• Godin, Seth (2001). Unleashing the Ideavirus. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-8717-6.  Book online - Detailing the idea of Viral marketing
• Godin, Seth (2002). The Big Red Fez: How To Make Any Web Site Better. New York: Free Press. pp. 112. ISBN 0-7432-2790-5. 
• Godin, Seth (2002). Survival is not enough: zooming, evolution, and the future of your company. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-2571-6. 
• Godin, Seth (2003). Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. Portfolio. pp. 224. ISBN 1-59184-021-X. 
• Godin, Seth (2004). Free Prize Inside!: The Next Big Marketing Idea. Penguin USA Portfolio. pp. 256. ISBN 1-59184-041-4. 
• Godin, Seth (2005). All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-100-3. 
• Godin, Seth; the Group of 33 (2005). The Big Moo: Stop Trying to be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-103-8. 
• Godin, Seth (2006). Small Is the New Big: and 193 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-126-7. 
• Godin, Seth (2007). The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-166-6. 
• Godin, Seth (2008). Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-174-7. 
• Godin, Seth (2008). Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. Portfolio Hardcover. p. 160. ISBN 1-59184-233-6. 
• Godin, Seth (2010). Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?. Portfolio Hardcover. p. 256. ISBN 1-59184-316-2. 
• Godin, Seth (2011). Poke the Box. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-936719-00-2. 
• Godin, Seth (2011). We Are All Weird. The Domino Project. ISBN 1-936719-22-3. 

Blog[link]

Godin's Seth's Blog^[28] is ranked in the AdAge Power 150 as the #1 marketing blog out of 976 tracked. ^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Seth Godin on TED
• Seth Godin at the Internet Movie Database
• Subvert Magazine interview
• Smart People Podcast - interview (2011)
• The Marketplace of Ideas - interview (2010)

Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Born	Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (1973-10-26) October 26, 1973 (age 38) Kent, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (Bachelor of Fine Arts)
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, animator, writer, comedian, singer, producer, director
Years active	1995–present
Known for	Family Guy American Dad! The Cleveland Show The Winner Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy Comedy Central Roasts Ted
Political party	Democrat
Parents	Ronald Wilton MacFarlane, Ann Perry (née Sager) (deceased)
Family	Rachael MacFarlane (sister)

Seth Woobury MacFarlane (born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, producer, director and singer. He created the animated sitcom Family Guy and co-created American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.^[1]

A native of Kent, Connecticut,^[2] MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied animation, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for several television shows, including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory and I Am Weasel, before creating his own series for 20th Century Fox entitled Family Guy in 1999. MacFarlane went on to co-create American Dad! in 2005, and The Cleveland Show in 2009 for Fox. He also went on to serve as executive producer on the Fox sitcom The Winner.

As an actor, he has made guest appearances on shows such as Gilmore Girls, The War at Home and FlashForward. MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and fantasy has led to cameo and guest appearances on Star Trek: Enterprise and voicing the character of Johann Kraus in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. In 2008, he created his own YouTube series entitled Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. As a singer, MacFarlane has performed at several venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.

MacFarlane has won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Annie Award. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. For several years, it has been the subject of criticism from television watchdog groups, such as the Parents Television Council, who regularly condemn it for its alleged indecency. Even fellow cartoonists such as The Ren & Stimpy Show's John Kricfalusi and South Park duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone have criticized MacFarlane's creation on numerous occasions. He occasionally speaks at universities and colleges throughout the United States, and is a supporter of gay rights.

On the February 10, 2011 episode of the TBS variety nighttime talk-show series Conan, MacFarlane announced he is directing his first feature-length comedy film, Ted. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as an adult who, as a child, wished his teddy bear would come to life. MacFarlane will be the voice and motion capture for the bear. It is currently in production and is scheduled for release July 13, 2012.^[3][4] In September, 2011, MacFarlane released a debut album of American standards, Music Is Better Than Words. In 2011 MacFarlane began a revival of Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones for the Fox network. The first episode was due to air in the US in 2013,^[5][6] but production has been indefinitely delayed due to MacFarlane's schedule.^[7]

Early life and education[link]

MacFarlane's parents, Ann Perry (née Sager) and Ronald Milton MacFarlane, were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts.^[8] He is of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh ancestry, partly by way of Canada, and his ancestors include William Brewster, who travelled to America on the Mayflower.^[9][10] MacFarlane's parents met in 1970, when they both lived and worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and married later that year.^[8] In 1972, the couple moved to Kent, Connecticut, where Ann Perry began working in the Admissions Office at South Kent School and later in the College Guidance and Admissions Offices at the Kent School, a selective college preparatory school where Ronald was also a teacher.^[8][11] During his childhood, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration and began drawing cartoon characters Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker, as early as two years old.^[12] By the age of five, MacFarlane knew that he would want to pursue a career in animation, and began by creating flip books, after his parents found a book on the subject.^[13] Four years later, at nine, MacFarlane began publishing a weekly comic strip entitled "Walter Crouton" for The Kent Good Times Dispatch, the local newspaper in Kent, Connecticut, which paid him five dollars per week.^[14][15] In one anecdote from the time, MacFarlane said in a 2011 interview he was "always like just weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony [so] I did a strip that had a guy kneeling at the altar taking Communion and saying 'Can I have fries with that?' And to my 11-year-old brain that was comedy ...." The paper printed it and he got "an angry letter from our local priest .... It created sort of a little mini-controversy in our little town." ^[16]

MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School.^[8][11] While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and was given an 8 mm camera by his parents.^[17] MacFarlane went on to study film, video and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.^[14] As a student, he had originally intended to work for Disney, but changed his mind upon graduating.^[18] At RISD, MacFarlane created a series of independent films, eventually meeting future Family Guy cast member Mike Henry, whose brother Patrick was MacFarlane's classmate. His senior year at RISD, MacFarlane created a thesis film entitled The Life of Larry, which would eventually become the inspiration for Family Guy.^[14] MacFarlane's professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, where he was later hired.^[19]

Early career[link]

After college MacFarlane was hired at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry, rather than on cartooning ability. He was one of few people hired to the company solely based on writing talent.^[2] He worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series.^[20] He described the atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old fashioned Hollywood structure, where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another." MacFarlane worked on four television series during his tenure at the studio: Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and Johnny Bravo.^[21][22] Working as both a writer and storyboard artist, MacFarlane spent the most time on Johnny Bravo. He found it easier to develop his own style at Johnny Bravo through the show's process of scriptwriting, which Dexter, Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel did not use.^[2] As a part of the Johnny Bravo crew, MacFarlane met actors and voiceover artists such as Adam West and Jack Sheldon of Schoolhouse Rock! fame. Meeting these individuals later became significant to the production and success of his Family Guy series.

He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation, writing for Jungle Cubs and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes, and plot points, MacFarlane found the work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on Ace Ventura).^[2] MacFarlane also created and wrote a short titled Zoomates for Frederator Studios' Oh Yeah! Cartoons on Nickelodeon.^[23] In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry and Steve, which features a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. Executives at Fox saw both Larry shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series.^[24]

Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor.^[2] He first pitched Family Guy to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive for Hanna-Barbera, who was trying to get back into the prime-time business at the time, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Collins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of King of the Hill in 1997, MacFarlane called Collins once more to ask about a possible second pitch for the series. The company offered the young writer a strange deal: Fox gave him a budget of $50,000 to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least $1 million).^[2][25] Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times, MacFarlane stated, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot".^[26]

After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with a "very, very simply, crudely animated film – with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and ordered the series immediately.^[2] In July 1998, the Fox Broadcast Company announced the purchase of Family Guy for a January 1999 debut.^[27] Family Guy was originally intended to be a series of shorts on MADtv, much in the same way The Simpsons had begun on The Tracey Ullman Show a decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's MADtv connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns.^[2] At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer.^[12]

Further career[link]

[edit] Family Guy

Family Guy first aired January 31, 1999.^[28] MacFarlane's work in animating Family Guy has been influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from The Simpsons and All in the Family.^[29] In addition to writing three episodes, "Death Has a Shadow", "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1" and "North by North Quahog", MacFarlane voices Family Guy's main characters – Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Glenn Quagmire as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake and additional characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and established fan loyalty, Family Guy developed into a $1 billion franchise.^[25] On May 4, 2008, after approximately two and a half years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached a $100 million agreement with Fox to keep Family Guy and American Dad until 2012. The agreement makes him the world's highest paid television writer.^[30]

MacFarlane's success with Family Guy has opened doors to other ventures relating to the show. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created Family Guy: Live in Vegas. The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in the track "Stewie's Sexy Party".^[31] A fan of Broadway musicals,^[24] MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component to Family Guy:

In addition, a Family Guy video game was released in 2006.^[33] Two years later, in August 2007, he closed a digital content production deal with AdSense.^[34] MacFarlane takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. Family Guy Live provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007 Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth season premiere "Blue Harvest". Shows have been played in Montreal, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.^[35]

On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official".^[36] In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script.^[37] Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year".^[38] He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie". He later went to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel".^[39]

Despite its popularity, Family Guy has not been immune to criticism.^[40] The Parents Television Council frequently criticizes the show for its content, once organized a letter-writing campaign aimed at removing it from FOX's lineup,^[41] and has filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some episodes of the show contained indecent content.^[42] MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things, "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings."^[43] Family Guy has been cancelled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider.^[44] MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected the lineup of writers each time Fox approved the show. "One of the positive aspects of 'Family Guy' constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to restaff writers".^[32]

During the sixth season, episodes of Family Guy and American Dad! were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike (which MacFarlane participated in to support the writers while FOX aired three Family Guy episodes without MacFarlane's permission). On February 12, 2008, the strike ended,^[45] and the series resumed airing regularly, beginning with "Back to the Woods".

[edit] American Dad!

Seth co-created American Dad! with Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker. American Dad! was first shown after Super Bowl XXXIX as a sneak preview on February 6, 2005. The show began airing regularly on Fox on May 1, 2005.^[46][47] MacFarlane describes the show being similar to All in the Family.^[32]

American Dad! received its inspiration from President George W. Bush's policies.^[48] The show focuses on Stan Smith, a straight-laced CIA officer and fanatical conservative. Stan's wife (Francine) and children, (Hayley and Steve), share a typical middle class home with Roger, an extraterrestrial rescued by Stan from Area 51, and Klaus, a goldfish who hosts the transplanted brain of an East German, 1986 Olympic skier.^[49][50] Seth MacFarlane provides the voices of Stan and Roger, basing Roger's voice on Paul Lynde as he played Uncle Arthur in Bewitched.^[12] His sister Rachael MacFarlane provides the voice of Hayley.^[51]

[edit] The Winner

MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called The Winner. The show premiered on Fox on March 4, 2007.^[52] The plot has a man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends.^[53]

After six episodes, the show was officially cancelled on May 16, 2007.^[54] However, at Family Guy Live in Montreal on July 21, 2007, Seth MacFarlane stated, "It is looking like there could be a future life for The Winner".^[55] After MacFarlane's statement neither Fox nor MacFarlane has released any details of plans for the show to return. The show was mentioned in the Family Guy episode "Family Gay" where all of the horses at a racing track are named after failed Fox shows, The Winner being one of them.

[edit] The Cleveland Show

MacFarlane developed a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show, which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by Family Guy writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes,^[56] was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered.^[57] Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up the back nine episodes of season 2, making a 22-episode season and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44.^[58]

[edit] Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy

On September 10, 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. These animated shorts were distributed by Burger King and released weekly.^[59]

[edit] The Flintstones

In May 2011, it was reported that MacFarlane had signed a deal to revamp The Flintstones for airing in 2013.^[60].Macfarlane also said that he will lend his voice to Barney.^[61]

[edit] Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

In August 2011, Fox announced that they had ordered a 13-part updated series of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage which MacFarlane will co-produce with Ann Druyan and Steven Soter. The new series will be hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and is expected to begin airing on the channel in 2013, with repeats airing on the National Geographic Channel on the same night.^[62]

Untitled Animated Series[link]

Seth Macfarlane confirmed that he is working on what will be his fifth animated series with Alex Borstein and Gary Janetti.Currently not much is known about the series other than it will be about a family and will have a female lead role.^[63].

Music career[link]

MacFarlane is a skilled pianist and singer who, in his early years, trained with Lee and Sally Sweetland, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra's vocal coaches. He signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records and released a big band/standards album in 2011. MacFarlane's debut studio album, Music Is Better Than Words, was announced in 2010^[64] and released on September 27, 2011, drawing on his training in and attraction to "the great American songbook and particularly the early- to late-'50s era of orchestration". The singer, asked about his experience with the music, said he did "old Nelson Riddle, Billy May charts [with] one of my composers, Ron Jones, [who] has a group called the Influence Jazz Orchestra that he performs with throughout L.A."^[16] His album has been nominated in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category" at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Guest appearances[link]

MacFarlane has appeared in sitcoms, comedy and news programs, independent films, and other animated shows. In 2002, MacFarlane appeared in the Gilmore Girls episode "Lorelai's Graduation Day".^[19] Four years later on November 5, 2006, MacFarlane guest starred on Fox's The War at Home as "Hillary's Date", an unnamed 33-year-old man who secretly dates teenaged Hillary in the episode "I Wash My Hands of You".^[18][65] MacFarlane also appeared as the engineer Ensign Rivers on Star Trek: Enterprise in the third season episode "The Forgotten" and the fourth season episode "Affliction".^[66] During 2006, MacFarlane had a role in the independent film Life is Short. He portrayed Dr. Ned, a psychologist who advises a short man (played by Freaks and Geeks star Samm Levine) to have relationships with taller women.^[67] He is also a frequent guest on the radio talkshow Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky.

Seth MacFarlane being interviewed at the Fox Fall Eco-Casino Party in Hollywood on September 8, 2008.

MacFarlane appeared on the November 11, 2006 episode of Fox's comedy show MADtv and performed a live action re-enactment of a scene from the Family Guy episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High". In the scene, Peter and Lois suspect Chris of murdering his teacher's husband. As a reaction, a terrified Meg jumps out the window. A version with MacFarlane as Peter, Nicole Parker as Kathy Griffin as Lois, Ike Barinholtz as Dane Cook as Chris, Nicole Randall Johnson as Queen Latifah as Meg, and Keegan-Michael Key as Snoop Dogg as Stewie was recorded over the original cartoon.^[68] MacFarlane served as a host to the Canadian Awards for the Electronic & Animated Arts's Second Annual Elan Awards on February 15, 2008.^[69]

MacFarlane has also appeared on news shows and late night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!^[70] and Late Show with David Letterman.^[71] On January 19, 2007, MacFarlane appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC to discuss Stephen Colbert's appearance on The O'Reilly Factor and Bill O'Reilly's return appearance on The Colbert Report. MacFarlane introduced the segment by saying in Stewie's voice "Oh, wait Bill. Hold still, allow me to soil myself on you. Victory is mine!"^[72] Three months later on March 24, 2007, MacFarlane was interviewed on Fox's Talkshow with Spike Feresten,^[73] and closed the show by singing the Frank Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young".^[74] He also provided Stewie's voice when he appeared as a brain tumor-induced hallucination to Seeley Booth in an episode of Bones, writing his own dialogue for the episode.^[75] On May 8, 2009, MacFarlane was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher.^[76]

Other than Family Guy and American Dad!, MacFarlane voices characters in other cartoon shows and movies. He voiced Wayne "The Brain" McClain in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.^[77] He has also voiced various characters on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, including a parody of Lion-O and Emperor Palpatine as well as Peter Griffin in the Season 2 premiere – he even parodied himself in the Season 4 premiere, in which he renewed the show simply by mentioning it in a Family Guy-like cutaway after its fictitious cancellation at the end of Season 3. He also played the villain "The Manotaur" in Bob Boyle's animated kids series Yin Yang Yo!.^[78] In addition, MacFarlane voiced Johann Kraus in the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army.^[79] He also had a guest appearance in the animated film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder where he sings "That Was Then (And This is Too)", the opening theme.^[80] He had also starred in a commercial for Hulu in which he plays an alien presenting Hulu as an "evil plot to destroy the world", progressively as his famous Family Guy and American Dad! characters. He also lent his voice to the series finale movie of the Comedy Central series, Drawn together.

On August 1, 2009, MacFarlane performed at The BBC Proms with John Wilson and his orchestra, singing a selection of songs from MGM musicals^[81] alongside Kim Criswell, Sarah Fox, Sir Thomas Allen, and Curtis Stigers.^[82][83] Three songs from High Society, Singin' in the Rain, and That's Entertainment were featured. Seth also repeated the MGM musicals show on tour in the UK with the John Wilson Orchestra during November and December 2010.^[84] He made another appearance with the John Wilson orchestra in a BBC Two special, Swingin' Christmas, on December 25, 2010.^[85]

Seth also played in a character named Ziggy in the 2010 film, Tooth Fairy. In August 2010, MacFarlane appeared as a guest voiceover in a sci-fi themed episode of Disney's Phineas and Ferb entitled "Nerds of a Feather".^[86] MacFarlane was the roastmaster of the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff in 2010 and then of the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in 2011, as well as the Roast of Charlie Sheen, also from 2011. He is the first (and currently the only) person to serve as roastmaster for more than one occasion of the Comedy Central Roasts.

Speaking engagements[link]

MacFarlane speaking at a ceremony for Bill Maher to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010

MacFarlane is a frequent speaking guest on college campuses.^[87] On April 16, 2006, he was invited by Stanford University's ASSU Speakers' Bureau to address an audience of over 1,000 at Memorial Auditorium.^[88] MacFarlane was invited by Harvard University's class of 2006 to deliver the "class day" address on June 7, 2006. He spoke as himself, and also as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire.^[89] He has also delivered speeches at George Washington University,^[87] Washington University in St. Louis,^[21] the University of Texas,^[90] the University of Missouri,^[91] University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University^[92] and Loyola Marymount University.^[93]

Activism[link]

Political views[link]

MacFarlane is a supporter of the United States Democratic Party.^[43] He has donated over $200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.^[94] He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis.^[95]

Gay rights support[link]

MacFarlane came to support gay rights and gay marriage after a family member wondered aloud whether his gay cousin's homosexuality could be "cured".^[43] The incident angered MacFarlane, who said in a 2008 interview in The Advocate, that such a statement "was fucking horrifying to hear from somebody that you love".^[43] He credits his parents for raising him to be a logical person, in reference to his support for gay rights.^[43]

MacFarlane is passionate about his support for gay rights.^[43] He said it is "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'". He went on to say, "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time".^[43] MacFarlane continued, "Why is it that Johnny Spaghetti Stain in fucking Georgia can knock a woman up, legally be married to her, and then beat the shit out of her, but these two intelligent, sophisticated writers who have been together for 20 years can't get married?"^[43]

MacFarlane, in recognition for "his active, passionate commitment to Humanist values, and his fearless support of equal marriage rights and other social justice issues", was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year in 2011.^[96]

Despite his position on gay rights, MacFarlane was criticized for his portrayal of transsexualism in the Family Guy episode "Quagmire's Dad". Gay novelist Brent Hartinger found the episode's inclusion of transphobic remarks from Peter and Lois Griffin — as well as a scene of Brian vomiting profusely upon discovering his new girlfriend to be transgendered — to be "shockingly insensitive". Hartinger continued, "Frankly, it's literally impossible for me to reconcile last night's episode with MacFarlane's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the man is pretty much a complete idiot".^[97] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog organization, shared "serious concerns being voiced from members of the community" about the episode.^[98] MacFarlane said he was "surprised" by the negative reaction to "Quagmire's Dad", saying that "it seemed that [gay commentators] were not picking up on the fact that it was a very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character". He further added, "Look, Brian happens to be a heterosexual character, as I am. If I found out that I had slept with a transsexual, I might throw up in the same way that a gay guy looks at a vagina and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's disgusting.'"^[99]

2008 Writers Guild of America strike[link]

Seth MacFarlane speaks at a Writers Guild of America rally in Culver City on November 9, 2007.

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, MacFarlane publicly sided with the Writers Guild, and fully participated in the strike.^[100] Official production of Family Guy was halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, and although he refused to work on the show during the strike, his contract with Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it subsequently produced.^[101] Rumors of continued production on Family Guy prompted the statement from MacFarlane that "...it would just be a colossal dick move if they did that".^[101] The strike ended on February 12, 2008.^[45]

Personal life[link]

MacFarlane identifies himself as a Star Wars, Star Trek and science fiction fan.^[66][102] He appeared at a Star Wars convention to promote his new Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest" on May 26, 2007.^[103] MacFarlane's interest in science fiction and music are regularly themes for his birthday and Christmas parties in Los Angeles. In 2009, he held a Star Wars-themed Christmas party.^[104] In 2010, he held a Rat Pack-themed party for his birthday with a 60-piece orchestra and performance by Frank Sinatra, Jr.^[105]

In a 2004 interview with The Daily Princetonian, MacFarlane noted his similarities to Brian Griffin on Family Guy, revealing, "I have some Brian type issues from time to time – looking for the right person – but I date as much as the next guy".^[106] MacFarlane has also revealed that Brian is his favorite character from Family Guy, because he feels most comfortable when playing that role.^[107]

In early 2007, fellow comedian Alex Borstein reported in an interview that MacFarlane is old-fashioned in several aspects of his life, in that "his pop culture knowledge is very retro. Seth doesn't have e-mail at home, doesn't own a computer and he doesn't really watch television. He doesn't understand MySpace and despises most new music.".^[108]

On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry MacFarlane, died after a long battle with cancer. Her death was reported by Larry King on his show, Larry King Live, who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with her son in May 2010.^[8][109] A brief opening scene from the first episode of the ninth season of Family Guy ("And Then There Were Fewer") mentions her lifespan, and dedicates the episode to her.

MacFarlane is an atheist,^[110] but says that he has no problem with religious people in general.

September 11, 2001 experience[link]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston. Suffering from a hangover from the previous night's celebrations,^[111] and with an incorrect departure time (8:15 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.) from his travel agent,^[112] he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight as the gates had been closed.^[112] Fifteen minutes after departure, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked,^[113] and at 8:46 a.m. it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, obliterating the airplane, and killing everyone on board.^[114]

In an interview with TVShowsOnDVD.com, MacFarlane said the following about his close call:

Lawsuits[link]

On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing Family Guy of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, and Walter Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages.^[116] Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.^[117][118] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.^[119]

In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd "faux" magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".^[120] MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox, Steve Callaghan, and Alex Borstein were all named in the suit.^[121] In July 2009 a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved—"purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work", and "amount and substantiality of the taking"—counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth—"economic impact"—had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers—not Metrano or his act.^{[122][123][124]}

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]