Alex Hirsch

Alexander Robert Hirsch (born June 18, 1985) is an American storyboard artist, writer, producer, and voice actor. He is the creator of the Disney Channel series Gravity Falls, for which he provided the voices of Grunkle Stan, Soos, and Bill Cipher, among others. He also earned BAFTA and Annie Awards for the series. In 2016, Hirsch co-authored Gravity Falls: Journal 3 which debuted as a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for forty-seven weeks. In 2018, Hirsch wrote Gravity Falls: Lost Legends which also appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. Early life and education Hirsch's father is Jewish, but he was raised agnostic, celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Between the ages of 9 and 13, Hirsch and his twin sister would go stay with their great-aunt (or "graunty") Lois, at her cabin in the woods during the summer. These experiences later served as Hirsch's inspiration for Gravity Falls. He graduated from Piedmont High School where, as a junior, he won the school's annual Bird Calling Contest in 2002 and appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. Hirsch went on to attend the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he created a variety of projects and short films including his senior film, Off The Wall, which combined animation and live action and "Cuddle Bee Hugs N'Such" with Adrian Molina, which was chosen by Nicktoons Network for their original series Shorts in a Bunch. He also spent the summer of 2006 working in Portland, Oregon on a later-scrapped animated film for Laika. He graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Career Hirsch's first job after graduating from CalArts was as a writer and storyboard artist for The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack on Cartoon Network where he worked alongside fellow CalArts alumni, J. G. Quintel, Pendleton Ward (who was his writing partner on the show), and Patrick McHale. He would go on to develop the pilot for the Disney Channel series Fish Hooks along with Maxwell Atoms and future Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland.