Mitchell Hurwitz
Encyclopedia
Mitchell D. Hurwitz is an American
television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show
, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show
and The Golden Girls
.
. In 1976, when Hurwitz was 12, he co-founded a chocolate-chip cookie business called the Chipyard, with his older brother, Michael. A Chipyard store, opened at a later date by their father, is still in operation in Boston. He graduated from Estancia High School
in Costa Mesa, CA, and from Georgetown University
in 1985 with a double major in English
and Theology
.
and 1990s
, including Nurses
, The Golden Girls
, The Golden Palace
, The John Larroquette Show
, The Ellen Show
, and Hench at Home. He also created, "Everything's Relative," a midseason comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor
and Jill Clayburgh
for NBC in 1999.
to create a sitcom about a rich dysfunctional family
, which eventually turned into Arrested Development. Hurwitz wrote the pilot in 2002, which was filmed in March 2003. FOX added the show to its schedule in May. Although the show premiered to stunning reviews from television critics around the country, the show was plagued by low ratings throughout its three-season run. In July 2004, the show was nominated for 7 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 5, including Outstanding Comedy Series
, Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Hurwitz won two of the awards: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series ("Pilot") and Outstanding Comedy Series, along with the other producers of the show.
In the second season, ratings decreased further and the show was cut down to 18 episodes instead of the planned 22 episodes. Nevertheless, the show was still critically acclaimed and was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards. Hurwitz won one (Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Righteous Brothers", which Hurwitz wrote along with Jim Vallely
, Hurwitz's writing partner in many other Arrested Development-related projects) out of the two nominations he received (the second being Outstanding Comedy Series along with producers of the show). The award in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series went to Everybody Loves Raymond
, which was in its final season.
In the show's third and final season, Hurwitz tried to keep Arrested Development on the air, but did not have the advertising funding to promote the series. The show was again cut down, from 22 episodes to 13. FOX announced the cancellation of the show before the production of the final five episodes. For the third season, Hurwitz was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the series finale, "Development Arrested
," along with Chuck Tatham
, Jim Vallely
and Richard Day
as well as for Outstanding Comedy Series along with the other producers of the show.
Hurwitz was presented with the Outstanding Television Writer Award by Ron Howard at the 2009 Austin Film Festival
.
Among Hurwitz's projects have been the US television adaptations of the British comedy shows The Thick of It
(which was not picked up in the running for ABC
's 2007-2008 TV season, though other networks such as HBO, Showtime and NBC
have expressed interest) and Absolutely Fabulous.
My World And Welcome To It was a 2009 CBS television pilot
. The executive producer
s were Jay Kogen
, Kim Tannenbaum, Barry Sonnenfeld
& Hurwitz. It was a comedy based on James Thurber
's collection of essays about being a dad in the 1960s, based on an earlier series My World and Welcome to It
.
Happiness Isn't Everything was a CBS pilot written by Hurwitz and Jim Vallely
, starring Richard Dreyfuss
, Jason Biggs
, Ben Schwartz
and Mary Steenburgen
.
Hurwitz was the recipient of the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the 16th Annual Austin Film Festival
& Conference in Austin, TX in October 2009. Past Outstanding Television Writer Award Recipients include Greg Daniels
, Glenn Gordon Caron
, David Milch
, David Chase
, Tom Fontana
, Gary David Goldberg
, Darren Star
, Garry Shandling
, and Mike Judge
.
His latest creation was Running Wilde
, which premiered in the fall of 2010. It was a collaboration with Arrested Development star Will Arnett
. It was later canceled.
Mitch co-starred in an episode of Workaholics titled "Dry Guys." In this role, Hurtwitz plays the clan's HR representative and is aiding them in their pursuit to become sober.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show is a television sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres that aired during the 2001–2002 season on CBS. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, after Ellen on ABC , but it was unable to garner strong ratings and was quickly cancelled.After coming out of the closet as a lesbian on her...
, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
and The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
.
Birth and early life
Hurwitz was born in Anaheim, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1976, when Hurwitz was 12, he co-founded a chocolate-chip cookie business called the Chipyard, with his older brother, Michael. A Chipyard store, opened at a later date by their father, is still in operation in Boston. He graduated from Estancia High School
Estancia High School
Estancia High School is a public high school in Costa Mesa, California.Estancia is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Orange County and is located at 2323 Placentia Avenue.-Sports:...
in Costa Mesa, CA, and from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in 1985 with a double major in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
Early career
Hurwitz worked on several sitcoms in the 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, including Nurses
Nurses (TV series)
Nurses is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1991 to 1994, developed and produced by Susan Harris as a spin-off of Empty Nest .-Synopsis:...
, The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1992, to May 14, 1993. The show was a spin-off and continuation of the sitcom The Golden Girls....
, The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
, The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show
The Ellen Show is a television sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres that aired during the 2001–2002 season on CBS. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, after Ellen on ABC , but it was unable to garner strong ratings and was quickly cancelled.After coming out of the closet as a lesbian on her...
, and Hench at Home. He also created, "Everything's Relative," a midseason comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
and Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
for NBC in 1999.
Arrested Development
Hurwitz was chosen by Ron HowardRon Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
to create a sitcom about a rich dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, which eventually turned into Arrested Development. Hurwitz wrote the pilot in 2002, which was filmed in March 2003. FOX added the show to its schedule in May. Although the show premiered to stunning reviews from television critics around the country, the show was plagued by low ratings throughout its three-season run. In July 2004, the show was nominated for 7 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 5, including Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Comedy Series is a category for the following awards:*Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series*NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy Series...
, Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Hurwitz won two of the awards: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series ("Pilot") and Outstanding Comedy Series, along with the other producers of the show.
In the second season, ratings decreased further and the show was cut down to 18 episodes instead of the planned 22 episodes. Nevertheless, the show was still critically acclaimed and was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards. Hurwitz won one (Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Righteous Brothers", which Hurwitz wrote along with Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely is an American television producer, and screenwriter. He was a writer and consulting producer for Arrested Development, an Emmy Award-winning television show on the Fox network, and was an executive producer and co-creator of Running Wilde, also on Fox, along with Mitchell Hurwitz and...
, Hurwitz's writing partner in many other Arrested Development-related projects) out of the two nominations he received (the second being Outstanding Comedy Series along with producers of the show). The award in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series went to Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
, which was in its final season.
In the show's third and final season, Hurwitz tried to keep Arrested Development on the air, but did not have the advertising funding to promote the series. The show was again cut down, from 22 episodes to 13. FOX announced the cancellation of the show before the production of the final five episodes. For the third season, Hurwitz was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the series finale, "Development Arrested
Development Arrested
"Development Arrested" is the 53rd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. It is the season finale for Season 3, as well as the series finale before the announcement of Season 4 over five years later.-Episode:...
," along with Chuck Tatham
Chuck Tatham
Charles "Chuck" Tatham is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Arrested Development.-Early life:Tatham grew up in Guelph and later lived in Waterloo and Bathurst Street...
, Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely is an American television producer, and screenwriter. He was a writer and consulting producer for Arrested Development, an Emmy Award-winning television show on the Fox network, and was an executive producer and co-creator of Running Wilde, also on Fox, along with Mitchell Hurwitz and...
and Richard Day
Richard Day (writer)
Richard Day is an American writer, producer, director and occasional actor. He has worked as a writer/producer for several television programs including Arrested Development, Spin City, Ellen, Roseanne, Mad About You and Aliens in America.In addition to his work in television, he has also written...
as well as for Outstanding Comedy Series along with the other producers of the show.
Hurwitz was presented with the Outstanding Television Writer Award by Ron Howard at the 2009 Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
.
Later projects
Hurwitz created FOX's animated comedy Sit Down, Shut Up, based on an Australian TV series of the same name, for the 2008 season.Among Hurwitz's projects have been the US television adaptations of the British comedy shows The Thick of It
The Thick of It (U.S. TV series)
Veep is a forthcoming 2012 HBO television comedy series set in the office of a fictional U.S. vice-president. The pilot was written by Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell....
(which was not picked up in the running for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 2007-2008 TV season, though other networks such as HBO, Showtime and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
have expressed interest) and Absolutely Fabulous.
My World And Welcome To It was a 2009 CBS television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
. The executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s were Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
, Kim Tannenbaum, Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld is an American filmmaker and television director. He worked as cinematographer for the Coen brothers, then later he directed and produced big budget films such as Men in Black.-Life and career:...
& Hurwitz. It was a comedy based on James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
's collection of essays about being a dad in the 1960s, based on an earlier series My World and Welcome to It
My World and Welcome to It
My World and Welcome to It was a US-made half-hour sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine that closely resembles The New Yorker, called The Manhattanite...
.
Happiness Isn't Everything was a CBS pilot written by Hurwitz and Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely
Jim Vallely is an American television producer, and screenwriter. He was a writer and consulting producer for Arrested Development, an Emmy Award-winning television show on the Fox network, and was an executive producer and co-creator of Running Wilde, also on Fox, along with Mitchell Hurwitz and...
, starring Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, Jason Biggs
Jason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs is an American actor who is best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films.-Personal life:...
, Ben Schwartz
Ben Schwartz
Ben Schwartz is a writer, actor and comedian. His feature film credits include Peep World with Rainn Wilson, Michael C. Hall and Sarah Silverman as well as Everybody's Fine with Robert DeNiro...
and Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, which earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
.
Hurwitz was the recipient of the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the 16th Annual Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
& Conference in Austin, TX in October 2009. Past Outstanding Television Writer Award Recipients include Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, Glenn Gordon Caron
Glenn Gordon Caron
Glenn Gordon Caron is an American television writer, director and producer. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.-Bio:...
, David Milch
David Milch
David S. Milch is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including NYPD Blue and Deadwood.-Biography:...
, David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
, Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...
, Gary David Goldberg
Gary David Goldberg
Gary David Goldberg is a United States writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg is best known for his work on Family Ties , Spin City , and his semi-autobiographical series Brooklyn Bridge .-Background:Gary David Goldberg was born on June 25, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of...
, Darren Star
Darren Star
Darren Bennett Star is an American producer, director and writer for film and television. He is best known for creating the hit TV shows Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sex and the City.-Career:...
, Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
, and Mike Judge
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
.
His latest creation was Running Wilde
Running Wilde
Running Wilde was an American comedy television series created by Mitchell Hurwitz for the Fox Network. It starred Will Arnett as Steve Wilde, a self-centered, idle bachelor and heir to an oil fortune...
, which premiered in the fall of 2010. It was a collaboration with Arrested Development star Will Arnett
Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
. It was later canceled.
Mitch co-starred in an episode of Workaholics titled "Dry Guys." In this role, Hurtwitz plays the clan's HR representative and is aiding them in their pursuit to become sober.
Personal life
Hurwitz is married to actress Mary Jo Keenen. The two have two daughters: Maisie Asami, born in 2000, and Phoebe Hitomi born in 2002.External links
- http://www.palestineherald.com/cnhi/palestineherald/features/local_story_202011305.html?keyword=topstory