Richard Appel
Richard Appel | |
---|---|
Born | Richard James Appel May 21, 1963 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
Period | 1994–present |
Genre | Comedy |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Richard James Appel (born May 21, 1963) is an American writer, producer and former
Following in his mother's footsteps, Appel became a lawyer. After attending law school, he started out as a law clerk for Judge John M. Walker Jr. before becoming a federal attorney, serving as assistant U.S. attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for three years. In 1994, he moved into comedy writing when he was hired for The Simpsons, writing seven episodes of the show including "Mother Simpson". He moved on to become showrunner and executive producer of King of the Hill before creating the sitcom A.U.S.A.. He then worked on The Bernie Mac Show, Family Guy and American Dad! before co-creating The Cleveland Show. He was married to the writer Mona Simpson, noted author and sister of Steve Jobs.
Early life and law career
Richard James Appel was born May 21, 1963, in New York City and raised in
His mother was a lawyer and served as dean of Loyola University Chicago's law school from 1983 to 2004, where as of 2010 she continued to teach tort law,[5] and his father (who died on May 2, 2009) was professor of English at Northwestern University and an expert on Vladimir Nabokov.[6] Appel has a sister, Karen Oshman.[6]
Appel lived in California while his parents taught at
He then worked for two years as a law clerk for Judge
Appel still had dreams of becoming a comedy writer despite the security working as a lawyer offered him, but only in 1993, after his wife became pregnant, was Appel "reminde[d] that this was [his] life and [he] could shape it." Three months later he had retained an agent, had written and submitted two spec-scripts, and had moved to California.[2][4]
Writing career
"I don't think I opened my mouth for the first six weeks in that room. Part of it was my son had just been born. My son was, like most babies, not sleeping through the night, and there were some days where I didn't say anything not because I was intimidated but because I could barely focus."
—Appel on the start of his stint at The Simpsons[8]
When starting out as a comedy writer, Appel recalled: "One reason I caught up to my contemporaries is that when I started to send out my scripts, the idea that I'd been on the Lampoon, even 8 or 10 years before, was a credential I could use."[4] Appel got his first television job when David Mirkin hired him for the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1994, initially on a ten-week contract,[2] and served as a writer and producer there for four years.[1][9] There, he wrote seven episodes, often employing the use of "joke sequences, a narrative approach to humor that eschews the quick laugh in favor of something that develops over time."[4]
Appel found work on The Simpsons to be a learning curve because it was a "very tough show to write for."
Appel wrote two episodes from
Daniels hired Appel as executive producer and showrunner on King of the Hill in 1997, leading the show's writing process and overseeing all aspects of the show. Daniels noted: "It was essential that Rich was a good writer who could deal with people, who could help manage the business in the room. But equally important was the fact that he was someone I could trust, who had a similar sense of taste and values."[4] He stayed until 2001.[2][18] For his work on The Simpsons and King of the Hill, Appel won three Primetime Emmy Awards.[19]
Appel created the short-lived series A.U.S.A., which aired in 2003, which he based on his own experiences as an assistant U.S. attorney.[20] He conceived it in 2001 and NBC ordered 13 episodes the following year; the show's original pilot used a single-camera setup but NBC executives felt it would have more appeal as a multiple-camera setup, so it was re-shot.
Appel then wrote and worked as a co-executive producer on The Bernie Mac Show and Kitchen Confidential,[9] and appeared as Josh in the 2004 film I Heart Huckabees.[21] In 2006, he produced a pilot called My Ex Life about two divorcing couples for CBS. The show was not picked up [22][23]
In 2008, he served as a co-executive producer on
Appel co-created, alongside Mike Henry and Seth MacFarlane, the Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, which they began discussing in 2007 and which premiered September 27, 2009.[26][27] He and Henry serve as the show's executive producers with limited involvement from MacFarlane.[28] Henry and Appel conceived the show as "more of a family show, a sweeter show" than Family Guy.[29]
Starting with the
Personal life
In 1993 he married novelist
Credits
Appel worked on the listed shows and wrote all the listed episodes:
- The Simpsons (1994–98) – writer, producer, co-executive producer, consulting producer and story editor
- "Mother Simpson" (1995)
- "Bart on the Road" (1996)
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" (co-writer) (1996)
- "Bart After Dark" (1996)
- "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" (1997)
- "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" (1997)
- "When You Dish Upon a Star" (1998)
- King of the Hill (1997–2001) – executive producer
- A.U.S.A. (2003) – creator, executive producer, writer
- "Pilot"
- "12 Happy Grandmothers"
- The Bernie Mac Show (2003–05) – co-executive producer, writer
- "Eye of the Tiger"
- "That Old Mac Magic"
- "Stiff Upper Lip"
- "Nerdy Mac"
- I Heart Huckabees (2004) – actor
- Kitchen Confidential (2005–06) – co-executive producer, writer
- "Praise Be Praise"
- "Let's Do Brunch"
- My Ex Life (2006) – creator, executive producer, writer
- Family Guy (2008–09, 2013– ) – co-executive producer, writer, executive producer, showrunner
- American Dad! (2008–09) – executive producer
- The Cleveland Show (2009–13) – co-creator, executive producer, writer
- "Pilot"
References
- ^ a b Freeman, Michael (November 11, 2002). "The comic appeal of Rich Appel". Electronic Media. pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Rich Appel takes a bite out of showbiz". Chicago Sun-Times. January 26, 2003. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Appel profile". Contemporary Authors, New Revisions Series. January 1, 2004. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2013 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ulin, David L. (December 6, 1998). "In His Prime Time". Chicago Tribune. p. 14.
- ^ "Nina S. Appel". Loyola University Chicago. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c Loebbaka, Charles R. (May 5, 2009). "Noted English Scholar, Author Alfred Appel Dies at Age 75". Northwestern University. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- The Deseret News. p. C10.
- ISBN 978-1-55365-503-9.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2010). "Rich Appel signs new 20th TV deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c Appel, Richard (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Appel, Richard (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart on the Road" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Appel, Richard (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Bart After Dark". BBC. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson". BBC. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "The Two Mrs Nahasapeemapetilons". BBC. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "When You Dish Upon A Star". BBC. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
- The Deseret News. p. C08.
- ^ "I Heart Huckabees Cast List". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- Press of Atlantic City. October 31, 2004. p. H6.
- ^ "CBS Comedy Has Good Grammer". Zap2it. March 30, 2006. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
- ^ "Richard Appel". FoxFlash.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ "Family Guy (1999 – present): Family Gay". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ^ "FOX Announces Fall Premiere Dates for the 2009–2010 Season". The Futon Critic. June 15, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ "Fox Primetime – The Cleveland Show – Fact Sheet". Fox Flash. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- The Toronto Star. p. E12.
- ^ Idato, Michael (December 17, 2009). "A sweeter family guy – comedy". The Age. p. 15.
- Fortune Magazine. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ Burciu, Andrea (March 11, 2010). "Author Mona Simpson reads from newest novel on campus". The Hofstra Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
- ^ Kamp, Ted (June 29, 2009). "The Diary of Steve Jobs's New Liver". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
External links
- Richard Appel at IMDb