'Simpsons' co-creator Sam Simon dead at 59, donates his $100 million fortune to charity

"The Simpsons" co-creator and producer, Sam Simon, died Monday following a battle with colon cancer.

"After being given three months to live following a cancer diagnosis in 2012, Simon dedicated his $100 million fortune to charitable causes, chiefly the Sam Simon Foundation, which provides service dogs for returning veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and the hearing impaired," reports The Wrap.

Simon, who has said he earned nearly "tens of millions" annually off his "Simpsons" royalties, donated his entire fortune to charity before he died.

"I get pleasure from it. I love it. I don't feel like it is an obligation," Simon told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2013.

Various charities are the recipients of Simon's generosity - from a dog-rescue haven in Malibu and PETA to Save the Children and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

"I want medical experiments on animals stopped. They don't do anything, and they don't work," Simon said of donating heavily to animal rights causes. "Veganism is an answer for almost every problem facing the world in terms of hunger and climate change."

Simon said that while "I was never that hands-on with any of it [the charities]" he had "been fortunate to find great people to run things."

Not that Simon had much free time. Between doing his own radio show, working on Charlie Sheen's FX show "Anger Management," and chemotherapy, Simon still kept plenty busy after co-creating "The Simpsons" more than 20 years ago alongside cartoonist Matt Groening.

In August, Simon teamed with Fusion on a documentary that chronicled Simon's fight with his terminal disease and his efforts to save animals from harmful and abusive situations.

Simon has no children and is not currently married but his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Tilly, previously told THR, "He really does have a passion to survive, and the longer he's on the earth, the more good work he can do." 

"The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending," said Simon. "Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this."

The Sam Simon Foundation confirmed Simon's passing on Monday: