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32 Random Trivia Tidbits About ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator Dan Harmon

From ‘Heat Vision and Jack’ to ‘Krapopolis,’ with a couple lesser-known projects in between

32 Random Trivia Tidbits About ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator Dan Harmon

October 10, 2024

Daniel James Harmon was born on January 3, 1973 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After attending Greendale Community College, he…

Wait, what?!?! Oh my god! That must be where he got the idea for Community! Well, now we’re hooked. Since we just learned that juicy little fact right now, we’re wondering what else we don’t know about this guy.

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32

EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES & HIDDEN MEANINGS THE ROMANTIC LOOKS MONTAGE community In season 2 episode 21 (Paradigms of Human Memory) there's a montage of supposed romantic looks between the characters...that's really anything but. She chokes right before this. It's a parody and a homage to a fan- made video of Jeff and Annie using the song Gravity, the same song Harmon used for the show's own sequence. CRACKED.COM — Fan video

31

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE CREATORS DON'T KNOW WHICH BETH IS A CLONE. Rick Mony goal Dan Harmon says that Rick saying he's a terrible father for not knowing which Beth is the real one is a metaphor for the writing team being bad writers because they themselves still haven't decided which one is a clone. CRACKED.COM — CinemaBlend

30

PROFESSOR SLATER was a disposable side of a triangle. After competing with Britta for Jeff's affections in Season 1 of Community, Michelle Slater just vanished from the show. The writers pitched several ideas for the character, but Dan Harmon never seemed interested in bringing her back. — Sources: Community Wiki, Andy Bobrow on Twitter

29

McDonald's egged on sci-fi nerds sze CHUAR sauce MU DEA time the CRACKED.COM After the notorious Rick & Morty Szechuan sauce episode, McDonald's very publicly over-promised a limited time return of their signature sugar goop. Fans turned out in droves, and were extremely miffed when they quickly ran out. Dan Harmon says the show had nothing to do with the promotion -- Ronald brought this on himself. — Source

28

Community

EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES & HIDDEN MEANINGS GOD OF community FARTS 1956 In season 2's Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples Professor Duncan shows his anthropology class a video called God of Farts. The clip is taken from a Channel 101 short parody film called Laser Fart, created and starring Dan Harmon. CRACKED.COM — God of Farts, Laser Fart

27

BEHIND-THE-SCENESP FACTS MORTY'S POOPY UNDERWEAR IS BASED ON A REAL STORY. Rick MoRS And In season one episode Something Ricked This Way Comes, Jerry tells a story about Morty throwing his soiled underwear out of a window - this is something that Dan Hamon actually did once as a kid. — Film School Rejects

26

Community

Rick and Morty Easter Eggs Auto Erotic Assimilation Rick recreates community. Dan Harmon pokes fun at his Community experience when Rick asks the hive-mind Unity to make the performers of a TV show happy cry, make fun of the blonde one, cancel the show, then uncancel it - just like the real-life Community. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Clip on YouTube, CBR

25

CRACKED.COM community WAS INSPIRED BY DAN HARMON'S EXPERIENCES AT GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHEN HE WAS IN A BIOLOGY STUDY GROUP WITH TWO CLASSMATES A DECADE YOUNGER THAN HIM. — 22 Eyebrow-Arching Ways Creators' Lives Influenced Their Work

24

Community

Best/Worst things to come out of lockdown Community reunion VIRTUAL community TABLE RE Community came back together for a scripted read and a long discussion of the proposed movie. TABLE RE community CRACKED.COM — Community/YouTube

23

Spencer Crittenden went from audience member to podcast regular to actor. Не was in the audience for Dan Harmon's podcast, and evolved into the podcast's Dungeon Master and Harmon's assistant. Не appeared in the show as Annie's brother. NOW YOU KNOW: COMMUNITY CRACKED.COM — Source

22

GRACKED DAN HARMON'S COMPUTERMAN. HEP OR MED CA ALEY F ER Not only did he create a slew of shorts in the early 2000s, he started the comedy film festival Channel 101 to feature them. Jack Black starred in Harmon's Computerman, and the fest's first big hit was The 'Bu by The Lonely Island. — Source

21

Let the games begin!

Comedy hotbeds COMEDY SPORTZ This improv organization was founded in Milwaukee in 1984, and training centers are now found across the U.S, and in England and Germany. Famous alumni include Wayne Brady, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Harmon, and Iliza Shlesinger. COMEDYSPORT EST.198U CSZ . CRACKED — ComedySportz,
Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock,
Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
ComedySportz Milwaukee

20

Fans found out why Season 3 of Rick & Morty was delayed.

CRACKED JUSTIN ROILAND & DAN HARMON About Rick & Morty Season 3 delays, Harmon said, We have fights all the time and then we have fights about why we're having fights. That's why it's taking longer! All this fighting! — Inverse / Hollywood Reporter / NY Times

19

A Lego Batman sequel was in the works for a while, but sadly got cancelled. R The movie was written by Michael Waldron (Loki) and Dan Harmon, and it was supposed to be kind of similar to The Godfather Part II. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Pickle Rick

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS PICKLE RICK WAS INSPIRED BY AN EPISODE OF BREAKING BAD. Rick Many According to Dan Harmon, season three's Pickle Rick episode was influenced by Breaking Bad's season two episode 4 Days Out. In the episode, Walt and Jesse get stuck in the desert and have to use their smarts to escape. CRACKED.COM — Newsweek

17

Community

Every scene in Season 1 of Community takes place on campus. Dan Harmon says it was me raining on the writers' parade, saying, 'Trust me, we have to keep the camera on the campus because it pays off later. NOW YOU KNOW: COMMUNITY CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 'Community' Expert-Level Facts

16

Dan Harmon

Comedy-Writing Advice ВЕСА TED BY LM T&T VAL PRE Comedy is tragedy followed by a third act. Dan Harmon, creator of Community and Rick and Morty Harmon notes that the first joke a baby learns is peek-a-boo. The child is scared of being abandoned, but the big reveal is that they were never alone. Find a relatable fear and make a case why it is silly to be scared of it. LM CRACKED.COM VAI — ScreenCraft

15

'Rick and Morty'

Rick and Morty's pilot episode was written in six hours. When the pitch was accepted by Adult Swim, Justin Roiland convinced Dan Harmon to just crank out a draft in Harmon's office rather than do it over three months. CRACKED.COM — Los Angeles Times

14

Creative Freedom

adult swim Creative freedom comes first Showrunners like Rick and Morty's Dan Harmon have raved about the level of creative freedom they are allowed, which is what many feel makes the programming so unique. CRACKED.COM — Cartoon Network
Vulture

13

Ridiculous Behind-The-Scenes Stories From Your Favorite Movies And Shows - Chevy Chase and Dan Harmon bickered like kids while making Community. — Source: 7 Famous Shows That Were Total Chaos Behind The Scenes

12

Rick and Morty

COMEDY DG NERD CRACKED.COM RICK AND MORTY WAS AN X-RATED BACK TO THE FUTURE Co-creator Justin Roiland invented The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti, a perverse animated parody of Back to the Future, for a short film festival. Dan Harmon loved it and enlisted Roiland to help create Rick and Morty. — Mental Floss

11

32 Random Trivia Tidbits About ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator Dan Harmon — Entertainment Weekly

10

Dan Harmon CRACKED.COM When a 7-year-old fan wrote to him lightly criticizing the kids' movie he'd written, Monster House, Harmon explained that Gil Kenan is a hack and Steven Spielberg is a moron. — Source: 4 Strange, Revealing Fanmail Replies From Famous People

9

Community

EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES & HIDDEN MEANINGS DANIELLE community HARMON ALL 5 Dances At the dance during the season 1 finale, the Dean announces the nominees for the Transfer Dance Queen. One of the names is Danielle Harmon, a shout-out to the show's creator, Dan Harmon. CRACKED COM — Video clip

8

Abed

ABED NADIR is Dan Harmon's friend ABED GHEITH. He's kind of a kid-like version of me, the real Abed has said of his Community counterpart. Harmon even had him audition for his own part, before Danny Pudi pretty much stole it. — Source: Comedy Central (via archive.org)

7

The comedy stars aligned for heat vision and jack CRACKED.COM The One that Got Away. Jack Black as a disgraced astronaut. Owen Wilson as the voice of his talking motorcycle. Ron Silver as Ron Silver, the NASA bigwig and occasional actor who is hunting them down. Did we mention Ben Stiller and Dan Harmon were masterminding this? — Slashfilm YouTube

6

32 Random Trivia Tidbits About ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator Dan Harmon — The Hollywood Reporter

5

EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES & HIDDEN MEANINGS DAN HARMON'S community VOICE OVER In season 3 episode 19 where the study group is made to believe that they've actually been in the Greendale Asylum all along, Garrett is a doctor who, while usually talking in a screeching voice, sounds totally normal as he discusses the patients with the Dean (also a doctor). Garrett's voice is actually that of Dan Harmon. CRACKED.COM — Video clip, IMDb

4

Delicious!

Dan Harmon moved to California because Oliver Stone had optioned his friend Rob Schrab's comic, Scud: The Disposable Assassin. The friends were so con

3

32 Random Trivia Tidbits About ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator Dan Harmon — AV Club

2

Dan Harmon

HOT Morty nonious Claptl'ap Rick and Easter Eggs The ending vanity card refers to Dan Harmon's love life. The card at the end of the episodes featured clay versions of Harmon and his then-wife Erin McGathy until their divorce. It would then feature Harmon alone until uniting with his now-fiancée Cody Heller. CRACKED.COM — Source: Heavy

1

Community / Channel 101

Dan Harmon is со- founder of Channel 101, a monthly short film festival. channel 101 Home About Shows Specials Submit A ton of Channel 101 actors have showed up on Community, including Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Jack Black, Drew Carey, John Oliver, and Patton Oswalt. NOW YOU KNOW: COMMUNITY CRACKED.COM — Source: 21 'Community' Expert-Level Facts

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