Facts:   - imagesize: 172px    - residence: los angeles    - years active: 1985 -- present    - signature: dan castellaneta signature.svg    - known for: homer simpson in '' the simpsons ''    - home town: chicago , illinois , us    - caption: castellaneta in 2004 at an autograph signing in new york city    - birth name: daniel louis castellaneta    - spouse: deb lacusta 1987      - education: oak park and river forest high school    - birth date: 29 october 1957    - name: dan castellaneta    - occupation: actor , voice actor , comedian , writer    - image: dan castellaneta cropped.jpg    - birth place: oak park , illinois , united states    - alma mater: northern illinois university   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of dan castellaneta .
daniel louis castellaneta -lrb- born october 29 , 1957 -rrb- is an american actor , voice actor , comedian and screenwriter .noted for his long-running role as homer simpson on the animated television series `` the simpsons '' , he voices many other characters on the show , including abraham `` grampa '' simpson , barney gumble , krusty the clown , sideshow mel , groundskeeper willie , mayor quimby and hans moleman .born in oak park , illinois , a suburb of chicago , castellaneta started taking acting classes at a young age .he would listen to his father 's comedy records and do impressions of the artists .after graduating from northern illinois university , castellaneta joined chicago 's second city in 1983 , and performed with the troupe until 1987 .he was cast in `` the tracey ullman show '' , which debuted in 1987 .`` the tracey ullman show '' included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family .voices were needed for the shorts , so the producers decided to ask castellaneta to voice homer .his voice for the character started out as a loose impression of walter matthau , but later evolved into a more robust voice .the shorts would eventually be spun off into `` the simpsons '' .castellaneta has won four primetime emmy awards for outstanding voice-over performance for his work on the show as well as an annie award for outstanding individual achievement in the field of animation in 1993 .castellaneta has co-written four episodes of `` the simpsons '' with his wife deb lacusta .castellaneta has also had roles in several other television programs , `` supermariologan '' as the voice of the brooklyn guy , including the live-action sitcom `` sibs '' , `` the adventures of dynamo duck '' , and the animated series '' '' , `` earthworm jim '' , `` aladdin '' , `` hey arnold ! '', and `` darkwing duck '' .in 1999 , he appeared in the christmas special `` olive , the other reindeer '' and won an annie award for his portrayal of the postman .castellaneta has also released a comedy cd , ``...