Barnet Kellman

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Barnet Kellman
Born (1947-11-09) November 9, 1947 (age 76)[1]
EducationColgate University (BA)
Yale University (MFA)
Union Institute and University (PhD)
Occupation(s)Film director, television producer, actor
Years active1980–present

Barnet Kellman (born November 9, 1947) is an American theatre,

Directors Guild of America Award.[3][4] He is the co-founder and director of USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts, and holds the school's Robin Williams Endowed Chair in Comedy.[5]

Early life and education

Barnet Kellman was born in New York City,[1] and raised in suburban Long Island. His father was Joseph A. G. Kellman, an attorney, and his mother was Verona Kellman (née Kramer).[citation needed]

He attended

Yale School of Drama, eventually earning his Ph.D. from Union Institute at Antioch[6] on a Danforth Graduate Fellowship.[7] As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, he studied theater and film in Europe[7] and worked with renowned theater pioneer Joan Littlewood at her Theater Royal in Stratford, East London, appearing in her production of The Marie Lloyd Story.[citation needed
]

Theatre

Kellman began as an actor, joining Actors' Equity at age nineteen. While still at Colgate, he was an assistant to director Alan Schneider on the Broadway production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. In the 1970s, he was a mainstay on New York City's Off-Broadway. He directed productions in the early seasons of Playwrights Horizons, and the Manhattan Theatre Club.[8]

His WPA Theatre production of Key Exchange introduced playwright Kevin Wade and moved to the Orpheum Theatre for a year-long run, while his acclaimed Circle Rep production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea introduced playwright

Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center's National Playwrights Conference associated with works by Shanley, Lee Blessing and Richard Dresser. His Hudson Guild production of Lee Kalcheim's Breakfast with Les and Bess had a long run at the Lambs Theatre. Other notable premieres include plays by Israel Horovitz and Donald Margulies. He is a past board member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers.[9]

Film and television

Kellman got his start in the early 1980s as a director for soap operas such as the

He directed the Showtime adaptation of the long-running Broadway play Gemini and the CBS special Orphans, Waifs and Wards. He made his feature film directorial debut with the

20th Century Fox screen adaptation of Key Exchange, which starred Brooke Adams.[10]

An opportunity to direct the pilot episodes of half-hour TV comedies brought Kellman to Los Angeles. In his first pilot season he mounted pilots starring

Emmy Awards in 1990 and 1992 for his work.[1][6]

Kellman directed fifty pilots, half of which went to series, launching long runs such as NBC's Mad About You, Suddenly Susan, and George Lopez. He also worked on CBS's Designing Women, Felicity, E.R., Ally McBeal, My Boys and 8 Simple Rules.[1][6]

He went on to direct

Disney's 1992's Straight Talk starring Dolly Parton as a sultry, wise-cracking DJ, and the Tri-Star release Slappy and the Stinkers for Sony Pictures[6] in 1998. In 2000, he directed the ABC television movie Mary and Rhoda, reuniting Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper.[12]

When Murphy Brown returned to the CBS schedule for an eleventh season in 2018, Kellman returned to direct the season finale.[13]

Teaching career

In 2008, during a Writers Guild strike, Kellman joined the film faculties of the American Film Institute and the University of Southern California (USC). In 2011, he was awarded tenure at USC and co-founded the school's groundbreaking comedy program, USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts.[14] In 2017, USC named him inaugural holder of its Robin Williams Endowed Chair in Comedy.[15]

Awards and nominations

  • Primetime Emmy Award: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1992[4]
  • Primetime Emmy Award: Best Comedy, Murphy Brown – Producer, 1990[3]
  • Directors Guild Award: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy, Murphy Brown, 1989[16]
  • Monitor Award: Best Director, Pepsi – To The Victors, 1985
  • Primetime Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1991[4]
  • Primetime Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1990[4]
  • Directors Guild Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1990[17]
  • Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1989[4]
  • Viewers for Quality Television Award
    , 1989
  • Media Access Award, 1989
  • Directors Guild Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1988[18]
  • Primetime Emmy Nomination: Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series, Murphy Brown, 1988
  • Daytime Emmy Nomination: Best Direction, Another World, 1981

Selected filmography

Director

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Barnet Kellman - Biography". Hollywood.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  2. ^ Canby, Vincent (August 14, 1985). "Key Exchange (1985) SCREEN: 'KEY EXCHANGE,' A COMEDY". The New York Times.[verification needed]
  3. ^ a b "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Television Academy Emmys Award". Television Academy. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  5. ^ Saval, Malina (2017-07-19). "Robin Williams Chair in Comedy at USC Creates a Home for Students". Variety. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  6. ^ a b c d "Directory Profile - Barnet Kellman, PhD". USC Cinematic Arts (cinema.usc.edu) weblink. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Barnet Kellman | LATW". latw.org. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  8. ^ a b "How I Made It: 'You gotta make a lot of bad jokes to make a good joke,' says USC comedy professor Barnet Kellman". Los Angeles Times. 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  9. ^ "Barnet Kellman". Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  10. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  11. . Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  12. ^ "USC Cinematic Arts | School of Cinematic Arts Directory Profile". cinema.usc.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  13. ^ Happy New Year, retrieved 2019-09-03
  14. ^ "Directing Comedy with Barnet Kellman". Peter McGraw. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  15. ^ "USC School of Cinematic Arts announces Robin Williams Endowed Chair in Comedy". USC News. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  16. ^ "Awards / History / 1989". www.dga.org. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  17. ^ "Awards / History / 1990". www.dga.org. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  18. ^ "Awards / History / 1988". www.dga.org. Retrieved 2019-09-03.

External links