Biography
This page uses content from the Judd Apatow biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Judd Apatow (b. December 6, 1967 in Syosset, New York) is an Emmy-winning American screenwriter, television producer, and film producer.
Apatow got his start in show business while still attending Syosset High School in New York, where he used his radio show to interview comedians including Steve Allen, Howard Stern, and John Candy, and then-unknowns Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling. He began doing stand-up comedy and appeared on HBO's 15th Annual Young Comedians Special in 1992.
The screenwriter/producer/director's television career has been plagued by a cycle of critical praise, cult followings and quick cancellations. Past ventures include The Ben Stiller Show (for which he earned an Emmy Award despite a swift cancellation), The Larry Sanders Show (for which he earned six Emmy nominations), Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared.
Most of his early films have proved somewhat less successful, with Heavyweights and Celtic Pride barely making a dent at the box office. He was only billed as a producer for The Cable Guy after the Writers Guild of America denied him a screenwriting credit.
His recent films have been more successful: He co-produced the 2004 comedy Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy, starring Will Ferrell, as well as Kicking & Screaming.
2005 was a busy year for Apatow: He directed and wrote the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin (his directorial debut) and wrote the Jim Carrey comedy Fun with Dick and Jane. Also that year, Undeclared was released on DVD.
Apatow is married to actress Leslie Mann, whom he met on the set of The Cable Guy.
E-mail exchange with Mark Brazill
The fall of 2001 saw a heated e-mail exchange between Apatow and Mark Brazill (creator of That '70s Show), which seemingly began over the possibility of Topher Grace (star of That '70s Show) guest starring on Undeclared, but quickly degenerated into a bitter and vitriolic fight over the origins of a sketch on The Ben Stiller Show. The series of emails became public after being featured in March 2002 issue of Harper's Magazine.
In a series of at least nine messages, Brazill:
- accuses Apatow of stealing sketch ideas from him,
- tells him to "die in a fiery accident and taste [his] own blood", and
- signs off one e-mail: "Get cancer."
Apatow's retorts include:
- "If you think cancellation hurts me at this point, you haven't been following my career as closely as I thought",
- "After you said 'get cancer' did you really think I was looking to heal our relationship? Usually the cancer insult is a closer. I'm sure everyone who has suffered with that appreciates your sharp wit", and
- "I should have told everyone on the Ben Stiller show, no rock band sketches, that's Brazill's area. So hold on to your hate and rage, even though it makes no sense. I'll go back to my life of thievery and leeching. As for the cancer, I'll wait till you get it and then steal it from you."
External links
- E-mail exchange with Mark Brazill — published in Harper's
Interviews
- Bullz-Eye.com Interview — 6 August 2005
- NPR: Morning Edition Sunday audio interview — 21 August 2005
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
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