Alan Zweibel

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Alan Zweibel
Born (1950-05-20) May 20, 1950 (age 71)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
OccupationAuthor, playwright, screenwriter, producer, director, actor, comedian
NationalityAmerican
Years active1974–present
Website
alanzweibel.com//

Alan Zweibel (born May 20, 1950)[1] is an American television writer, author, playwright, and screenwriter whom The New York Times says has  “earned a place in the pantheon of American pop culture."

An original Saturday Night Live writer, Zweibel has won five Emmy Awards for his work in television, which also includes It's Garry Shandling's Show (co-creator and producer) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (consulting producer).

Zweibel's theatrical contributions include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning play 700 Sundays, Martin Short's Broadway hit Fame Becomes Me, and six off-Broadway plays including Bunny Bunny – Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy which he adapted from his best-selling book. He is currently preparing Bunny Bunny for a return to the New York stage. Taking to the stage himself, Zweibel is an ensemble performer in Celebrity Autobiography at New York's Triad Theater— and is a sought after keynote speaker.

A frequent guest on late night talk shows, Zweibel appeared in episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Law & Order, and can be seen in the documentary The Last Laugh about humor and the Holocaust; Judd Apatow's The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (HBO); Gilbert , a documentary about the life of Gilbert Gottfried; and Love, Gilda, the Emmy-nominated CNN documentary for which he also served as executive producer.

All told, Zweibel has written eleven books including his cultural memoir Laugh Lines – My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier, the 2006 Thurber Prize winning novel The Other Shulman, the popular children's book Our Tree Named Steve, a parody of the Haggadah titled For This We Left Egypt? and A Field Guide For the Jewish People, both which he wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach, and Bunny Bunny – Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy

Zweibel's humor has appeared in such diverse publications as The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Op-Ed page, Huffington Post and MAD Magazine.  He also penned a best-selling e-book titled From My Bottom Drawer.

Zweibel produced and co-wrote the feature film Here Today (2021) with Billy Crystal who also directs and stars alongside Tiffany Haddish. Other feature film co-writing credits include: Dragnet,  North and The Story of Us.

He has been honored with awards from the Writers Guild of America and the Television Critics Association, and in 2010 the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) presented him with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing which is given “in honor of a lifetime body of work as a writer in motion pictures or television.” In 2009, Zweibel received an honorary PhD. from the State University of New York.

Early life[]

Zweibel was born May 20, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York City,[2] to Julius and Shirley (Bram) Zweibel. He grew up in the New York City suburbs of Wantagh[3] and Woodmere on Long Island.[4] He graduated from George W. Hewlett High School in 1968 and the University at Buffalo in 1972.[5]

Upon graduation from college, Zweibel started writing for stand-up comedians who paid him seven dollars a joke.[6] He later compiled over 1,100 of them into a portfolio which he showed to producer Lorne Michaels who then hired Zweibel to be one of the original writers of a new show called Saturday Night Live.[7]

Career[]

Television[]

During his five years at Saturday Night Live (1975–1980), Zweibel wrote many memorable sketches, including the Samurai for John Belushi, and helped to create the characters of Roseanne Roseannadanna and Emily Litella, both portrayed by Gilda Radner. As an in-joke, Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey, a name and hometown often associated with the Roseannadanna character, is Zweibel's real life brother-in-law and did live in Fort Lee, New Jersey.[8]

Zweibel's close friendship and collaboration with Gilda Radner extended beyond their tenure at Saturday Night Live – as her last television appearance was on an episode of It's Garry Shandling's Show which Zweibel co-created and produced. After Radner's death from ovarian cancer, Zweibel wrote a best-selling book about their relationship titled Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner – a Sort of Love Story which he later adapted into an off-Broadway play.

Zweibel has won multiple Emmy, Writers Guild of America, and TV Critics awards for his work in television which also includes Curb Your Enthusiasm, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and an episode of Monk.

Publishing, theater, and film[]

In addition to his cultural memoir, Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier (Abrams Books, 2020), Zweibel's other books include The Other Shulman: A Novel, which won the 2006 Thurber Prize for American Humor, Lunatics with Dave Barry, For This We Left Egypt and A Field Guide for the Jewish People, both with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach, and Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner—A Sort of Love Story. His popular children's book, Our Tree Named Steve, was a Scholastic Book Club selection that has been translated into eleven languages, and his young adult novel, North, was made into a movie directed by Rob Reiner. A collection of short stories and essays, Clothing Optional, was published by Villard in 2008.

His humor has appeared in such diverse publications as Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Op-Ed Page, The Huffington Post, and Mad Magazine.

In the theater, Zweibel's work has appeared both on and off Broadway. On Broadway, he co-wrote Fame Becomes Me with Martin Short and collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning production of 700 Sundays. Zweibel's off-Broadway shows include Between Cars, Comic Dialogue, Bunny Bunny, and Happy.

His film credits include Dragnet, The Story of Us, and North.

Accolades[]

In 2009, Zweibel was awarded an honorary PhD. by the State University of New York[9] and the following year, he was awarded the Ian McLellan Hunter Lifetime Achievement Award by the Writers Guild of America, East[10]

Works[]

Books[]

Films[]

Unproduced screenplays[]

  • Barbarians at the Plate
  • Bunny Bunny
  • Marrying Mom
  • Men Who Lunch
  • Once Upon a Time, Inc.
  • Teddy Young
  • Waiting for Sam to Die

Television[]

Broadway[]

Off Broadway[]

  • Diamonds (1984) (contributing writer) Circle in The Square
  • (1985) Ensemble Studio Theater
  • (1986) Ensemble Studio Theater
  • (1997) Lucille Lortel Theater
  • , Summer Shorts Festival 4 (2010) 59E59 Theaters
  • Celebrity Autobiography — Triad Theater NYC (performer)

Appearances[]

Stage appearances[]

  • A History of Me (2007) U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
  • Celebrity Autobiography (2010) Triad Theatre, NYC; Broad Stage, LA

Awards[]

  • (2010) WGAE Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing
  • (2006) Thurber Prize for American Humor winner
  • (2005) Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event 700 Sundays
  • (1989) CableACE Award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series in "It's Garry Shandling's Show".
  • (1977/78) Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy, Variety, or Music Series in "The Paul Simon Special".
  • (1977/78) Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy, Variety, or Music Series in "NBC's Saturday Night".
  • (1976/77) Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy, Variety, or Music Series in "NBC's Saturday Night".
  • (1975/76) Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy, Variety, or Music Series in "NBC's Saturday Night".

References[]

  1. ^ Kamin-Meyer, Tami (2006). "JBW Dialogues: The Many Faces of Alan Zweibel". Jewish Book World. 24–25. Jewish Book Council. p. 125. Where and when were you born? AZ: In Brooklyn on May 20, 1950.
  2. ^ Goldberg, Carole (March 6, 2011). "A Comedy Writer Walks Into A Jewish Book Festival…". Hartford Courant. Connecticut. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Clyde, Beth Ann (March 29, 2017). "Alan Zweibel Talks Passover, SNL and Growing Up on LI". Long Island Pulse. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. (2004-12-12). "From 'Saturday Night Live' to '700 Sundays'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-28. As the funny kid in the neighborhood, Mr. Zweibel -- born in Brooklyn and reared in Woodmere, on Long Island -- first tried his hand at writing jokes while at the University of Buffalo, mailing them to Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett.
  5. ^ McGee, Celia (1997-03-09). "How to Mourn a Friend? One Way Is With a Play". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-28. Mr. Zweibel harbored secret ambitions to write as far back as his days as a jock at Hewlett High School on Long Island. After graduation from the University of Buffalo...
  6. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. (December 12, 2004). "From 'Saturday Night Live' to '700 Sundays'". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. (December 12, 2004). "From 'Saturday Night Live' to '700 Sundays'". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Coutros, Evonne (July 8, 2005). "Once again, Ft. Lee is writer's fodder". The Record. Archived from the original on May 7, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "Alan Zweibel".
  10. ^ "Alan Zweibel".

External links[]

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