'The Simpsons' writer Steve Pepoon has died at the age of 68

Mary Stephenson, Pepoon's wife, has confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.

The writer enjoyed a hugely successful career in the TV industry, working on a host of well-known shows, such as 'The Simpsons', 'Roseanne' and 'The Wild Thornberrys'.

Pepoon left Kansas to move to Los Angeles in 1979 and in 1985, he sold at script that eventually became an episode of 'Silver Spoons', the NBC sitcom that starred Alfonso Ribeiro and Jason Bateman.

In 1987, Pepoon was hired as a staff writer on another NBC sitcom, 'ALF', working on the TV show for its final three seasons.

However, the undoubted high point of Pepoon's career arrived in the early 90s, when he won an Emmy award for 'Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment', a 'Simpsons' episode that he wrote.

Despite this, Pepoon admitted in 2016 to being surprised by his Emmy success.

The writer - who worked at a shoe store before making the move to Los Angeles - said: "For whatever reason, they chose my episode [for Emmy consideration]."

The award-winning episode - which aired on February 7, 1991 - centred on Homer watching TV using an illegal cable hook-up. However, Lisa took umbrage with her dad, accusing him of breaking the 8th Commandment.

Homer initially dismisses Lisa's concerns, before having a change of mind and deciding to follow the law instead.

Following his 'Simpsons' success, Pepoon worked on 'Roseanne', the ABC sitcom that featured Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, as well as serving as the lead writer on 'The Jackie Thomas Show' in 1992 and 1993.

And in the late 90s, Pepoon co-created the animated TV series 'The Wild Thornberrys', which ran for five season between 1998 and 2004.

The hit TV show - which focused on a family of nomadic wildlife documentary filmmakers - actually inspired three movies and even a video game, called 'The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures'.