Kevin Curran, Writer and Producer on 'The Simpsons,' Dies at 59

He also wrote for 'Late Night With David Letterman' and 'Married … With Children' and won six Emmys.

Kevin Curran, a six-time Emmy-winning writer and producer who worked on Late Night With David Letterman and The Simpsons, died Tuesday, Fox confirmed. He was 59.

Curran started with The Simpsons in 1998 as a consulting producer and stayed with the show through 2015, sharing three Emmys for outstanding animated program in 2003, 2006 and 2008.

Curran received his first three Emmys (1985 through 1987) for his writing on NBC's Letterman show, where in 1985 he suggested and wrote the very first Top Ten list, "Top Ten Words That Almost Rhyme With Peas." (The No. 1 word on the list was "Meats.")

He received 20 Emmy nominations in all.

Said Simpsons executive producer and showrunner Al Jean in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: "Kevin Curran was a sweet, brilliant man who said many hilarious things, some unprintable, others which will live forever in a children's cartoon.”

A native of Hartford, Conn., Curran attended Harvard and also wrote and produced for Married … With Children and a takeoff of that fabled Fox sitcom, Unhappily Ever After.

He was in a previous relationship with English novelist and screenwriter Helen Fielding, creator of the Bridget Jones character. Survivors include their children Dashiell and Romy.