Trivia

Was supposed to board the first plane which crashed into the Twin Towers on September 11th, but he missed his flight due to his travel agent giving him the wrong departure time.

Was given voice training by a 90-year-old couple who also trained Frank Sinatra.

Is a skilled pianist. Has a baritone singing range.

Based the voice of Peter Griffin mostly from a loud mouthed security guard that worked on the campus where he attended college.

The name of his production company, Fuzzy Door, comes from the name of his apartment when he attended Rhode Island School of Design ("RISD"). The door to the house was covered in fur.

Based his Stewie Griffin voice from Rex Harrison's portrayal of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964).

He found out about his Oscar nomination for Ted (2012) while announcing the 85th Academy Award nominations with Emma Stone. After the press applauded for him, MacFarlane joked "That's cool, I got nominated. I get to go to the Oscars now" because he had already been commissioned to host the ceremony.

Is an accomplished crooner, a talent he ably demonstrated as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) singing "You're the Cream in My Coffee" backed by Rickey Minor and the Tonight Show Band (5 August 2010).

Is an avid fan of Star Wars and Star Trek. His favorite film in the Star Wars saga is L'Empire contre-attaque (1980) and his favorite TV series in the Star Trek franchise is Star Trek: La nouvelle génération (1987). He also guest-starred on two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) as Ensign Rivers.

Considers Un vrai schnock (1979) to be the funniest movie ever made.

Dedicated the Season 9 premiere of And Then There Were Fewer (2010), to his mother, Perry MacFarlane (Ann Perry Sager MacFarlane), who died of cancer in 2010.

He considered working for the Walt Disney Company after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, but decided against it due to criticism from religious welfare groups. Instead he worked for Hanna-Barbera after the studio received his thesis film, The Life of Larry (1995), which was sent to them by Seth's professor at the RISD. It was accepted into the "What A Cartoon!" shorts program spearheaded by Fred Seibert. It was produced at the studio as a seven-minute short under the title "Larry and Steve". McFarlane performed several of the voice acting roles, some of which he eventually used in Les Griffin (1999) for patriarch Peter Griffin and Brian, the family dog.

Favorite comedy movies are Y a-t-il un pilote dans l'avion ? (1980) and Le golf en folie ! (1980).

The International Astronomers Union (IAU) has renamed asteroid 1999-UL46 to "70713 SethMcFarlane", citing his role as a founding member of the Board of Advisors to the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a Los Angeles branch office of the National Academy of Sciences.

With the cancellation of Les rois du Texas (1997) and the debut of The Cleveland Show (2009) on Fox, MacFarlane is now the co-creator and producer of three of the four animated shows that comprise Fox's "Animation Domination" on Sunday nights. (Les Griffin (1999), American Dad! (2005) and The Cleveland Show (2009).) The fourth of course being Les Simpson (1989).

He was booked to fly from Boston to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001. But his travel agent had mistakenly told him that the flight left at 8:15 a.m., not 7:45 a.m. "And I had a hangover from the night before" he said. He missed the flight, having turned up late. The plane was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center 47 minutes after takeoff. Mark Wahlberg was also supposed to be on this flight, but chose not to fly to Los Angeles on the 11 September, instead flying on a later day.

His father, Ron MacFarlane, narrated the hour-long Christmas episode of Road to the North Pole (2010).

Best friends with Butch Hartman, creator of Mes parrains sont magiques (2001) and Danny Fantôme (2003).

Was voted as the "Smartest Man on TV" by Entertainment Weekly, the magazine that initially criticized Les Griffin (1999), but had recently been more receptive to the show.

Seth MacFarlane is a distant cousin, once removed, from actor Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown in the Back to the Future Trilogy. Seth has often stated that this series is one of his favorites and Mr. Lloyd did a cameo in Albert à l'ouest (2014).

Is one of the featured singers on Barbra Streisand's duets album "Encores". On the album's notes, she refers to MacFarlane as "one of the most versatile and multi-talented people" she has met.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6259 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 23, 2019.

On his father's side, he is the grandson of Milton Worcester MacFarlane and Selina Alfreda Shean, and on his mother's side, he is the grandson of Arthur Woodbury Sager and Berta Rogers. Through his maternal grandmother, he is a descendant of Mayflower passengers William Brewster, and his wife, Mary.

Favorite Western film is L'homme qui tua Liberty Valance (1962). Prefers Western movies from the 1940s and 1950s as opposed to Spaghetti Westerns, which he finds to be too drab.

Loves Kermit the Frog. On The Orville (2017), his character Captain Ed Mercer has a plush of Kermit the Frog in his office.

Once said his favorite movie is La Mélodie du bonheur (1965).

He constantly references the movie Retour vers le futur (1985) and its sequels in both Les Griffin (1999) and American Dad! (2005).

Favorite television series are La quatrième dimension (1959), Adam-12 (1968), Home Movies (1999), Les Soprano (1999), Black Mirror (2011) and Real Time with Bill Maher (2003).

Has English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. His lineage includes deep Colonial American roots in Massachusetts.

Owns a production company named Fuzzy Door Productions.

Distant cousin of Ashley Judd. Both are descendants of William Brewster and wife, who came over to Massachusetts, America, on the Mayflower.

Is a supporter of the Democratic Party, and is known for mercilessly mocking and lambasting conservatives and their policies through his shows. Ironically, his shows air on the FOX network, which is largely a Republican-supporting channel.

Was inspired by the sitcom All in the family (1971) to write for television. Norman Lear was his mentor. His favorite sitcom episode is Sammy's Visit (1972).

Distant cousin of former Star Trek: La nouvelle génération (1987) actress Denise Crosby.

Does not like the crime drama Le Parrain (1972).

Good friends with Alan Silvestri, Matt Groening, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mike Judge, Jon Favreau, Neil Patrick Harris, Seth Meyers, Charlize Theron and Amy Schumer.

Was raised Roman Catholic but turned it into a joke by age 11 and became an atheist.

Participated in the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America Strike.

Graduated from Kent School, the same high school which Ted Danson, Treat Williams, Peter Farrelly and Sebastian Siegel attended.

Met Kara Vallow at Hanna-Barbera Studios, where he worked as a writer for Johnny Bravo (1997).

Favorite Western television series is Gunsmoke (1955).

Took part in the 2009 season of BBC Proms Concerts in London singing in the Prom 22: A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals (2009) with Kim Criswell, Sarah Fox, Sir Thomas Allen and Curtis Stigers on Saturday 1 August.

Is a huge fan of Grammy Award winner Billy Joel.

Endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election of the United States.

Idolized Garry Shandling. Considers The Larry Sanders Show (1992) to be the greatest single-camera comedy of all time.

Les Griffin (1999) and American Dad! (2005) both premiered after the Super Bowl, but The Cleveland Show (2009) premiered after Les Simpson (1989).

Is a huge fan of Rex Harrison and Woody Allen.

Is a huge fan and personal friend of Keith Olbermann.

Seth MacFarlane is a distant cousin of actress Meredith Baxter, on his maternal side. His sitcom Les Griffin (1999) has often referenced the sitcom Sacrée famille (1982).

Is said by many to bear a physical resemblance to Christopher Knight of The Brady Bunch (1969) fame. The show is referenced several times on McFarlane's shows, including Les Griffin (1999).