Sad news this evening as it has emerged that one of the co-creators of The Simpsons, Sam Simon, has died at just 59 years old.

Sam had been diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2012 and was initially told he had just six months to live. His foundation, the Sam Simon Foundation, confirmed the news of his death on Facebook earlier saying. “It is with much sadness that we must let you know that Sam Simon has passed over."

Simon had an impressive nine primetime Emmys to his name, one of which was for his work on The Tracy Ullman show, while the rest were for The Simpsons along with fellow creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.

Simon left the show back in 1993 but remained in the credits as an executive producer and continued to earn money from the show thanks to home video sales deal. He quickly realised the money he had earned would leave him set for life so retired from the entertainment business in his thirties. Pretty cool, 'ey?

In another unique move by Simon, he has given away most of his fortune to charity, with $100 million going mostly to animal organisations.

The Simpson's showrunner, Al Jean, paid tribute to his late colleague on Twitter: