Jeff “Swampy” Marsh joined the Disney network’s hall of fame as one of the co-creators of the Phineas and Ferb franchise, along with Dan Povenmire. But as successful as the series was, it took a decade for the duo, who had come up with the concept for the show in the ’90s, to finally find a studio that was willing to produce the episodes.
In that time, Marsh worked on a number of illustrious projects for television and made his name as a rising star in the animation industry. Here are some of the best projects Marsh worked on besides Phineas and Ferb.
The Simpsons
After dropping out of a nine-to-five job in sales, Marsh set out for Hollywood armed with nothing but his portfolio and a friend who helped him get in touch with some names in the animation industry.
Thus, for his first project, he wound up working on The Simpsons as a layout and storyboard artist. It was there that Marsh hit it off particularly well with one of his coworkers, Dan Povenmire, and the two started working on ideas for their own cartoon series.
Rocko’s Modern Life
Marsh next worked on Rocko’s Modern Life as a writer, director, and occasional voice actor. The series followed the adventures of an Australian-immigrant wallaby and his eccentric friends. Featured on Nicktoons, the show was intended for kids as well as more mature audiences with sly jokes and double meaning lines which would go over the heads of children while eliciting chuckles from adults.
Marsh would later use this same tactic in Phineas and Ferb as well, which was one of the reasons for the show’s wide appeal. Once again, Marsh found himself working with Povenmire, and the duo won an environmental achievement award for their work on the episode ‘Zanzibar.’
Little Dracula
Around 1991, Marsh found himself working on a couple of episodes of a show called Little Dracula as a storyboard artist. The series was a kid-friendly take on the Dracula mythos, featuring a child of the vampire count who desires to be as big and tough and feared as his dad but is hindered by his distinctly human interests and disposition, including a love of surfing and rock n’ roll. The series only ran for one season before being pulled from the air.
King of the Hill
Having made a name for himself in the industry, Marsh next set to work as a storyboard artist and designer for King of the Hill. The show was set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, focused on the life of an average middle-class family and the neighbors and relatives that make up the rest of the cast. So popular was the show that it briefly eclipsed The Simpsons in ratings.
Over its thirteen-year run, King of the Hill met with critical acclaim for its storylines and rich cast of characters. Incidentally, it was around that time that Marsh and Povenmire began pitching their idea for a new show about a couple of young inventor brothers with a nosy sister and a pet platypus.
Rugrats
Another iconic show that Marsh worked on as a writer was Rugrats. The series was as popular as it was subversive, focussing on a selection of babies who went on ordinary adventures that became something much greater in the imagination of the young protagonists.
Once again, we see this theme from Marsh’s writing carry over into Phineas and Ferb, where a great emphasis is placed on children’s imagination as a way to deal with everyday issues.
Aaagh! It’s the Mr. Hell Show!
After his attempts to get Phineas and Ferb off the ground were unsuccessful, Marsh moved to the UK. While there, he worked as a voice actor on a strange little show called Aaagh! It’s the Mr. Hell Show!, which was basically an animated sketch comedy with little connection between individual episodes.
The main character of the series is Mr. Hell, a devil who interacts with human characters while not being quite in touch with what it means to be human. The show frequently parodied pop culture tropes and despite its short run of only 13 episodes, went on to become a cult classic.
Postman Pat
Another series that Marsh briefly worked on while in England was Postman Pat. This was a departure from his previous work since the show was a stop-motion animated series aimed at a much younger audience.
Postman Pat, the titular character, delivers letters in a small town in Britain, where he is always willing to stop and help any of the neighbors along the way. Despite only running for a short initial season, the show became extremely popular, resulting in multiple spin-off movies, games, and books, and was dubbed in multiple foreign languages and broadcast all over the world.
Bounty Hamster
Marsh also provided his voice to one of the characters of Bounty Hamster in an episode. This time, Marsh found himself working on a science-fiction show. Cassie Harrison is a 13-year old girl who finds herself traveling across the universe on a quest to track down her missing father.
But she needs help from a bounty hunter who is familiar with the ins and outs of the business. Enter her partner in crime, a talking blue hamster named Marion with an eyepatch over one eye. The show enjoyed a broad audience thanks to its many pop culture references and engaging plotlines.
Milo Murphy’s Law
The show that Marsh and Povenmire created after Phineas and Ferb. The two shows take place in the same reality, allowing for many cameos from the earlier series in Milo’s world, including Phineas, Ferb, and Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Milo is a descendant of Edward A. Murphy Jr., the man who is famously responsible for Murphy’s law: If something can go wrong, it will.
This particularly applies to the show’s main character, who is a magnet for bad luck. And yet, the cheerful and helpful Milo is always ready to look on the bright side and overcome the obstacles placed in his path to save the day.
Pete the Cat
A lot of the show has to do with Pete playing his guitar, which allows for a host of famous musical stars to appear on series, including Elvis Costello and Diana Krall.
