Mark Kirkland: Who Is Douglas Kirkland’s Son?
Sophia Vance
Updated on December 28, 2025
Douglas Kirkland was a Canadian-born American photographer. He was born on August 16, 1934 and died on October 2, 2022 at age 88.
He has a son, Mark Kirkland, American animation director who has directed 84 episodes of The Simpsons since 1990, more than any other director.
At just 13 years, Mark began making super 8 films and working for his father.
At the age of 17, Mark began studying in the Experimental Animation Program at the California Institute of the Arts for four years, earning a BFA degree.
After earning his degree, he applied to Disney, but he was not accepted and instead began working for Hanna-Barbera.
Mark began working on The Simpsons from season two onwards and has directed 82 episodes, more than any other director.
He became the show’s supoervising director in season 18. However, in 2021, he parted ways with The Simpsons to become supervising director on HouseBroken.
Mark has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Environmental Media Awards and a Pioneer in Television Animation Award from the Burbank ark International Film Festival for his work on The Simpsons.
