Edwin Aguilar, an animator who spent over two decades working on iconic Fox comedy The Simpsons, has passed away. Aguilar died in Los Angeles on Saturday after suffering from a stroke. The animation veteran was 46 when he passed away.
Before his passing, Edwin Aguilar’s family confirmed he had suffered a stroke and set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his medical expenses. Aguilar's passing was later confirmed on social media by some of his colleagues from The Simpsons. Show producer Matt Selman paid tribute to Aguilar after his passing with a sweet message on social media:
We @TheSimpsons family are mourning the loss of animator Edwin Aguilar — a talented artist and beloved fountain of love and inspiration to all
Liz Climo, another longtime animator on The Simpsons, also spoke out following Edwin Guilar’s passing. She referred to the late animator as the “kindest, gentlest soul she’s ever known”:
Edwin Aguilar practiced martial arts, and when I moved into my first apartment alone he offered to teach me self defense during our lunch breaks so that I felt safe. He made everyone around him feel safe and loved. He was the kindest, gentlest soul I’ve ever known
Tyler Shores, the Manager of the ThinkLab Program at the University of Cambridge, previously taught a college course on The Simpsons and had the opportunity to know Edwin Aguilar. Shores remembered him by sharing a sweet message of his own:
Today my heart is breaking, mourning the loss of my dear friend Edwin Aguilar. Edwin was one of the kindest and best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He had an incredible life, was an inspiration, and had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I have known.
In addition, Tyler Shores also shared a sweet memento from the first time he ever met Aguilar. The gift can be seen in the post below:
Edwin Aguliar was born in El Salvador and eventually immigrated to Los Angeles with one of his brothers in 1982 to join other family members. He would later go on to study at the ArtCenter College of Design before landing his first job as an animation assistant at Graz Entertainment. He would later find himself working at Hanna-Barbera and later for legendary animator Chuck Jones.
After joining The Simpsons in 1999, Edwin Aguillar would become a jack of all trades, serving as an animator, assistant director, character layout artist and more. He holds credits as a character layout artist on 85 episodes of the show and has 32 assistant director credits as well. Needless to say, Edwin Aguilar was a massive part of the Simpsons family and played a major role in maintaining the quality of the show.
Edwin Aguilar is survived by his wife, Marike, and their three children, Jonathon, Maya and Bodhi. We here at CinemaBlend extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of Edwin Aguilar during this time.
