Mike Judge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mike Judge
Judge at SXSW 2024
Born	Michael Craig Judge (1962-10-17) October 17, 1962 (age 62) Guayaquil, Ecuador
Education	University of California, San Diego (BS)
Occupation	Actor animator writer producer director musician
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Francesca Morocco ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 2009)​
Children	3
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Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is famous for creating popular animated TV shows and movies. You might know him from Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, or the live-action series Silicon Valley.

Judge was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He studied physics at the University of California, San Diego. After college, he decided to follow his passion for animation and filmmaking.

Early Life and Creative Start

Michael Craig Judge was born on October 17, 1962, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He is one of three children. His mother was a librarian, and his father was an archaeologist. When Mike was born, his dad was working in Ecuador to help with farming.

When Judge was three, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He even worked on a chicken farm for a short time! He went to St. Pius X High School. In 1985, he earned a science degree in physics from the University of California, San Diego.

From Science to Animation

After college, Mike Judge had a few short jobs in physics and engineering. But he found science boring. In 1987, he moved to Silicon Valley to work for a company that made video cards. He didn't like the job or the people there, so he quit after less than three months.

Soon after, he became a bass player in a touring blues band. He played music for two years. In 1989, he saw some animation drawings in a movie theater. This inspired him to buy a camera and start making his own animated short films at home.

Creating Beavis and Butt-Head

In 1991, one of his short films, called Office Space (also known as the Milton shorts), was bought by Comedy Central. He then left school to focus on his animation career.

In 1992, he made another short film called Frog Baseball. This film featured two characters named Beavis and Butt-Head. Frog Baseball was shown on MTV's Liquid Television. This led to the creation of the Beavis and Butt-Head TV series on MTV.

In the show, Mike Judge voiced both Beavis and Butt-Head. He also voiced most of the other characters. He wrote and directed many episodes. The show is about two heavy metal-loving teenage boys, Beavis and Butt-Head. They live in a made-up town called Highland, Texas. The show became very popular.

Beavis and Butt-Head also led to a movie, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. It also inspired a spin-off show called Daria. After many years, the series returned with new episodes in 2011 and again in 2022.

The Success of King of the Hill

In 1995, after Beavis and Butt-Head became a hit, Judge decided to create another animated series. This new show was called King of the Hill. Judge came up with the idea for the show. He drew the main characters and wrote the first script.

Fox Broadcasting Company wasn't sure about an animated comedy set in the American South. So, they paired Judge with Greg Daniels, a writer from The Simpsons. Judge used to live in Garland, Texas, which inspired the fictional town of Arlen in the show.

In King of the Hill, Judge voiced characters like Hank Hill and Jeff Boomhauer. The show is about the Hill family, a middle-class family living in Arlen, Texas. It finds humor in everyday life and deals with common issues in a funny way.

When it first aired in 1997, King of the Hill was a big success for Fox. Many magazines called it one of the best TV series of the year. It ran for 13 seasons, making it one of the longest-running American animated series.

Live-Action Films and Shows

While working on King of the Hill, Mike Judge also wrote and directed live-action movies.

His film Office Space came out in 1999. It was based on his earlier Milton short films. The movie is about people working in an office and how they deal with their boring jobs. It wasn't a huge hit in theaters, but it became a cult classic on DVD. Many people loved its funny take on office life.

Judge's third film was Idiocracy (2006). It's a comedy set in the future where people have become less intelligent. The movie was released in a limited way and didn't have much advertising. However, it later gained a strong following and is now considered a cult film.

In 2009, Judge directed Extract. This film is about a man who owns a factory and faces many funny problems. Judge used his own experiences working in a factory to make the story feel real.

Judge also created a third TV show called The Goode Family. It was an animated series that debuted on ABC in 2009. It was canceled after one season.

Silicon Valley and Recent Work

In 2014, Mike Judge created his fourth TV show, Silicon Valley, for HBO. This show is a live-action comedy set in Northern California. It's about a group of young people trying to make it big in the tech world. The show received great reviews from critics and was very popular. It ran for six seasons.

In 2017, Judge's fourth animated series, Tales from the Tour Bus, premiered on Cinemax. This show was about the funny and wild stories of famous musicians on tour.

In recent years, Judge has been busy with new projects. In 2020, Comedy Central announced that Beavis and Butt-Head would return for new seasons. In 2022, a new Beavis and Butt-Head movie, Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, was released. New episodes of the show also started airing on Paramount+.

In 2022, Judge and Greg Daniels formed a new animation company called Bandera Entertainment. They announced that a revival of King of the Hill is being planned for Hulu.

Personal Life

Mike Judge married Francesca Morocco in 1989. They divorced in 2009. They have three children together, two daughters and a son. The family lives in Austin, Texas, and Santa Monica, California.

Mike Judge usually keeps his political views private. His shows often make fun of different viewpoints, like the conservative character Hank Hill in King of the Hill or the liberal family in The Goode Family.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Work

Other Appearances

Awards and Nominations

Mike Judge has won many awards for his work. He won a Primetime Emmy Award and two Annie Awards for King of the Hill. He also won two Critics' Choice Television Awards and Satellite Awards for Silicon Valley.

Images for kids

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  Mike Judge in 2009

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  Mike Judge with his daughters in 2009

See also

In Spanish: Mike Judge para niños