Dino Stamatopoulos

Already known for his characteristically oddball style of humor as a writer on the 1990s cult favorites "Mr. Show with Bob and David" (HBO 1995-98) and "The Ben Stiller Show" (MTV 1990-91; Fox 1992-93), Dino Stamatopoulos turned to more darkly satirical work with his celebrated stop-motion animation series "Moral Orel" (Adult Swim 2005-08). The series, which poked fun at family-friendly shows like "Leave It to Beaver" (CBS 1957-58; ABC 1958-63), ran for three seasons on Adult Swim, all the while earning a small but devoted following. Although his bitingly hilarious work on "Moral Orel" may have been over the heads to some, Stamatopoulos honed his comedy writing chops as a staff member on some of TV's most popular shows, including "Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS 1993-2015), "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC 1993-2009), and "MADtv" (Fox 1995-2009).

Born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Norridge, Stamatopoulos was first drawn to comedy during high school. Each year his school would put on a variety show for the entire student body, with the comedy sketches penned by Stamatopoulos often receiving the biggest laughs. Realizing he could make people laugh with his words, Stamatopoulos enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago to pursue his comedy career in earnest. While attending Columbia, Stamatopolous met fellow comedian Andy Dick. The two budding performers became fast friends, and appeared on stage together throughout college. After college Dick was hired as a performer on "The Ben Stiller Show" and suggested Stamatopolous apply for a writing position. Stamatopolous took Dick's advice and submitted a spec episode of "The Simpsons" (Fox 1989- ) as a sample. Stiller loved what he read and immediately hired Stamatopoulos as a writer for the show in 1992. Stamatopoulos served as a writer for all twelve episodes, and went on to win a Primetime Emmy with the rest of the writing staff. However, the show was cancelled after its first season. Undeterred, Stamatopolous went on to write for some of the most wildly inventive comedies of the '90s and early 2000s, including HBO's "Mr. Show with Bob and David," "TV Funhouse" (Comedy Central 2000), and "Tom Goes to the Mayor" (Adult Swim 2004-06). In 2005 his stop-animation series "Moral Orel," debuted on Adult Swim. Although never a breakout hit, the show earned a devoted fanbase throughout its three season run, and was eventually brought back in 2012 for a single episode special called "Beforel Orel: Trust." After "Moral Orel" was cancelled in 2008, Stamatopoulos's career took an unexpected turn into acting when he landed a recurring role as the antagonist Star-Burns on the cult comedy "Community" (NBC 2009-15; Yahoo!, 2015). In 2010 Stamatopoulos returned to the stop-animation format with the debut of "Mary Shelley's Frankenhole" (Adult Swim 2010-12). Although not as popular as "Moral Orel," "Frankenhole" still had a devoted following, with its second season airing in 2012. In 2013 Stamatopoulos made the leap into network programming with the debut of "High School USA!" Unlike his previous two efforts, "High School USA!" boasted a 2D animation format, yet still retained Stamatopoulos's signature style of darkly humorous material. The show eventually earned a TV-MA rating, the first of its kind for the Fox network.