Dan Harmon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Harmon
Harmon in 2016
Born	Daniel James Harmon (1973-01-03) January 3, 1973 (age 52) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	Glendale Community College
Occupation	Writer producer actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Erin McGathy ​ ​ (m. 2014; div. 2015)​
Partner(s)	Cody Heller (2019-present; engaged)

Dan Harmon is a talented American writer and producer. He is famous for creating popular TV shows like Community and co-creating the animated hit Rick and Morty. He also started a comedy podcast called Harmontown and helped create a website for short films, Channel 101.

Early Life and Education

Dan Harmon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 3, 1973. He went to high school in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. Later, he attended Glendale Community College in California. His time there actually inspired his TV show Community!

Career Highlights

Starting Out in Comedy (1996–2008)

Harmon in March 2010

Early in his career, Dan Harmon was part of a comedy group called ComedySportz in Milwaukee. He worked with his friend Rob Schrab. Together, they created a comedy album in 1996.

Harmon also helped create a TV pilot called Heat Vision and Jack. It starred famous actors Owen Wilson and Jack Black. He also made several short shows for a website called Channel 101. Some of these shows featured well-known comedians like Drew Carey and Sarah Silverman. Harmon also helped create and was a head writer for Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.

He also co-wrote the movie Monster House, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Creating Community (2009–2015)

In 2009, Dan Harmon's TV show Community was picked up by NBC. The show was inspired by his own experiences at community college. Harmon was the main writer and producer for the first three seasons.

He left the show for a short time but returned in 2013. Community was canceled by NBC after its fifth season. However, Yahoo! decided to bring it back for a sixth season, which aired online.

Harmontown and HarmonQuest (2011–2019)

Harmon in 2014

In 2011, Harmon started a live comedy show and podcast called Harmontown. It became a weekly show after he left Community. The show often included a segment where they played role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. This game segment inspired an animated series called HarmonQuest.

Many famous guests appeared on Harmontown, including Kumail Nanjiani and Aubrey Plaza. A documentary film about the podcast, also called Harmontown, was released in 2014. The podcast ended in December 2019.

Starburns Industries (2010–2020)

Harmon also co-founded a company called Starburns Industries. This company helped produce a special stop-motion episode of Community. This episode won an Emmy Award!

Starburns Industries also worked on Rick and Morty and animated films like Anomalisa. Harmon left the company in 2020.

Rick and Morty (2013–Present)

While on a break from Community, Harmon and Justin Roiland started working on ideas for an animated show. This led to Rick and Morty, which premiered in 2013. The show is about a super smart but grumpy inventor and his grandson.

Rick and Morty became very popular and was renewed for many more episodes. Harmon also voices a character named Bird Person on the show.

New Projects: Krapopolis

In 2020, it was announced that Fox ordered a new animated comedy series from Harmon. The show is called Krapopolis and is set in Ancient Greece. It's a co-production between Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment.

Writing Style

The "Story Circle" Technique

Dan Harmon uses a special way to plan his stories, which he calls the "story circle." It's based on a well-known idea called the "hero's journey." He created this method to help make sure stories have a clear and strong structure.

Dan Harmon's "Story Circle"

The story circle has eight steps that can be used for almost any story:

• A character is in their normal, comfortable world.
• They want something new.
• They enter a new, unfamiliar situation.
• They learn to deal with this new situation.
• They finally get what they wanted.
• They face problems because of what they got.
• They return to their familiar world.
• They have changed a lot because of their journey.

Harmon uses this circle for many of his projects, including Community and Rick and Morty. He says it helps him create interesting and well-structured plots.

Creative Influences

Dan Harmon has shared some of the things that have inspired his writing. These include movies like RoboCop and Network. He also enjoys TV shows such as Cheers and Arrested Development.

Books like Slaughterhouse-Five and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy have also influenced him. He also mentioned the game Dungeons & Dragons as an inspiration.

Awards and Recognition

Dan Harmon has won several awards for his work.

• In 2009, he won an Emmy Award for writing the "Hugh Jackman Opening Number" for the 81st Academy Awards TV show.
• In 2018 and 2020, Harmon won the Emmy for "Outstanding Animated Program" as the executive producer of Rick and Morty.
• He was also nominated for a Hugo Award for writing the Community episode, "Remedial Chaos Theory."

Personal Life

In 2011, while writing a character for Community, Dan Harmon realized he might have Asperger syndrome. After talking to a doctor, he learned he is on the autism spectrum. He has said that he found he had a lot in common with the character he was writing.

Harmon married podcaster Erin McGathy in 2014, but they divorced in 2015. In 2019, he became engaged to TV writer Cody Heller.

Film and Television Work

Film

Television

Web series

See also

In Spanish: Dan Harmon para niños