Sam Simon is an all-around awesome-seeming dude, who co-created the Simpsons with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, and, after leaving the show, managed boxers and became a professional poker player. He’s also big into charities and animal rights causes, and thanks to colon cancer, supposedly only has months to live. He’s said he wants to give the rest of his substantial fortune to charity.
So when racecar-driving animal activist Leilani Munter (and fellow UCSD grad) appeared on Simon’s radio show trying to raise money to get her ARCA racecar kitted out in Blackfish logos, Simon ended up ponying up the dough himself.
Leilani had desperately been trying to raise money to pay for the $115,000 fee to enter the car for a big race at an ARCA event at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3rd. As of our last story, she had raised only $7,500.
Strange, stock car racing fans are usually so supportive when it comes to animal rights.
But that all changed last week — Leilani appeared on Simon’s radio show to talk about her car and orca-related activism … and Simon was so moved, Leilani tells us, he donated the balance of her entrance fee immediately after the show … $107,500. [TMZ]
Sam Simon has already been a hero to animals around the world and today, he became a hero to orcas as well. Sam is sponsoring the Blackfish racecar at Talladega on May 3 to get Blackfish in front of millions of race fans and inspire them to embrace compassion instead of captivity. The kindness and compassion of this person has floored me. When I hung up the phone from his radio show after he told me the news, I collapsed in tears. Thank you Sam, you are a hero to all animals, and to a lot of humans as well, including this one! [LeilaniMunter]
Most of us would be lucky to leave a legacy a millionth as important as having helped create The Simpsons, but now Sam Simon is going out as a freelance philanthropist to boot. Clearly, he’s a pretty great guy. And I bet he’d be very interested to hear about how my landlord is always walking around kicking pigeons and being verbally abusive towards cats. You know what’d really serve that animal-hating son of a bitch right is to buy his property out from under him and give it to a dog-lover like me.