Matt Williams (producer)

Last updated

Matt Williams
Born
Mark Williams

(1951-04-18) April 18, 1951 (age 73)
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Alma mater University of Evansville
Occupation(s)Television producer, television writer, professor
Years active1980s–2018 (television)
SpouseAngelina Fiordellisi
Children2

Matthew Williams (born Mark Williams; April 18, 1951) is an American professor, writer, and former television producer. [1]

Contents

Career

Before becoming a writer and producer, Williams was an actor, appearing in commercials, theater and as Ben Martin on the CBN soap opera Another Life in the early 1980s. [2]

One of his many credits is creating and executive producing, along with Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean, the TV series Home Improvement . He produced films such as What Women Want . He was a writer/producer for The Cosby Show and A Different World , and wrote the screenplay for Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken .

Williams created the TV series Roseanne , starring comedian Roseanne Barr. Barr became upset learning that he was credited as the creator. During the first season, she refused to say some of his lines and by the thirteenth episode threatened to quit if he wasn't fired. ABC fired him, but he retained "created by" credit for its series run and also for its spin-off The Conners . [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Additionally, he has written the play "Between Daylight and Boonville", and directed and co-produced the feature film Where the Heart Is starring Natalie Portman. He also wrote and directed Walker Payne in 2006, starring Jason Patric, Drea de Matteo, and Sam Shepard. [11]

Williams retired from the television industry in 2018. [12] In 2024, he published the book Glimpses: A Comedy Writer's Take on Life, Love, and All That Spiritual Stuff. [12]

Personal life

Williams, whose birth name is Mark, is a native of Evansville, Indiana; he graduated from the University of Evansville and did post-graduate work in theater at The University of New Orleans. [13] [14]

Williams and his wife, Angelina Fiordellisi, have two children. As of 2024, the couple reside in a three-story townhouse in the West Village in Manhattan, New York. [12] Williams has taught at the Columbia University School of the Arts as an adjunct professor. [1] He is a Christian. [15]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseanne Barr</span> American actress, comedian, writer, and producer (born 1952)

Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom Roseanne. She won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show.

Roseanne is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams that originally aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner and revolves around her family in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Receiving generally positive reviews for its realistic portrayal of a working-class American family, the series reached No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1989 to 1990 in its second season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Goodman</span> American actor

John Stephen Goodman is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Vanity Fair has called Goodman "among our very finest actors."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Metcalf</span> American actress (born 1955)

Laura Elizabeth Metcalf is an American actress. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning more than four decades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Gilbert</span> American actress (born 1975)

Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its spin-off, The Conners (2018–present). She is also creator and former co-host of the CBS daytime talk show The Talk and had a recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lecy Goranson</span> American actress

Alicia Linda "Lecy" Goranson is an American actress. She plays Becky Conner in the television sitcoms Roseanne, which debuted in 1988, and The Conners. She has also had supporting roles in the films How to Make an American Quilt (1996), Boys Don't Cry (1999), and The Extra Man (2010).

Roseanne Harris Conner is the title character of the TV series Roseanne, created and portrayed by comedian and namesake Roseanne Barr. Roseanne, in a takeoff of her stand-up comedic and presumed real-life persona, is bossy, loud, caustic, overweight, and dominant. She constantly tries to control the lives of her sister, husband, children, co-workers, and friends. Despite her dominating nature, Roseanne is a loving wife and mother and loyal friend who works hard and makes as much time for her family as possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Lorre</span> American television writer and producer (born 1952)

Charles Michael Lorre is an American television producer, writer, director, and composer. Called the "King of Sitcoms", Lorre has created/co-created and produced several sitcoms including Cybill (1995–1998), Dharma & Greg (1997–2002), Two and a Half Men (2003–2015), The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), and Mom (2013–2021). He also served as an executive producer of Roseanne. Lorre won three Golden Globe Awards for his work on Roseanne, Cybill, and The Kominsky Method.

Kenneth Levine is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and author. Levine has worked on a number of television series, including M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker and Dharma and Greg. Along with his writing partner David Isaacs, he created the series Almost Perfect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Jeselnik</span> American actor and stand-up comedian (born 1978)

Anthony Jeselnik is an American comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is known for his dark comedy style, which emphasizes ironic misdirection, non sequiturs, biting insults, an arrogant demeanor, and a stage persona that frequently takes amoral or psychopathic stances.

Daniel "Dan" Conner is a fictional character in the television series Roseanne created by comedian and namesake Roseanne Barr and portrayed by actor John Goodman. He is the husband to Roseanne Conner, and father to two daughters, Darlene and Becky, and two sons, D.J. and Jerry Garcia. Throughout the years, Goodman has won several awards, including a Golden Globe, for his portrayal of Dan Conner.

James Berg is an American television producer and writer. He has written for many television series including The Golden Girls, Roseanne and Gilmore Girls and the 1996 feature film A Very Brady Sequel. He has frequently collaborated with fellow producer and writer Stan Zimmerman. Berg and Zimmerman were also the creators and executive producers of the sitcom, Rita Rocks, starring Nicole Sullivan and Tisha Campbell-Martin which ran on Lifetime Television.

Michael Aaron Fishman is an American actor, writer, and producer known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series Roseanne and its spin-off show The Conners.

David Campbell McFadzean is an American television producer, television writer, film producer and playwright. He is best known for co-creating the ABC sitcom Home Improvement with Carmen Finestra and Matt Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jena Friedman</span> American comedian and writer

Jena Friedman is an American comedian and writer. She is the host of the comedic true-crime series Indefensible on AMC+. She has been a field producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and has written for Late Show with David Letterman. She is the creator of Soft Focus with Jena Friedman for Adult Swim, the first installment of which premiered in February 2018.

Stan Zimmerman is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Zimmerman has written for many television series including The Golden Girls, Roseanne and Gilmore Girls and the 1996 feature film A Very Brady Sequel. Zimmerman is also the creator and executive producer of the sitcom Rita Rocks.

"Stairmageddon" is the nineteenth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office. It originally aired on NBC on April 11, 2013. The episode features guest appearances from Roseanne Barr as Andy's agent Carla Fern and Paul Feig as a man auditioning his act for Carla.

The Conners is an American television sitcom created for ABC as a direct continuation of the series Roseanne. The series is produced by Werner Entertainment, with Bruce Helford serving as executive producer and features actors John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Jay R. Ferguson.

"Keep On Truckin'" is the pilot episode of the American spin-off sitcom The Conners. It aired in the United States on ABC on October 16, 2018. The episode was directed by Andy Ackerman, and written by Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, and Bruce Rasmussen. This is the first episode not to feature the show's previous star Roseanne Barr.

"Knee Deep" is the ninth and final episode of the tenth season of the American sitcom Roseanne, the 231st episode of the series overall and the finale of the show's revival. It aired in the United States on ABC on May 22, 2018. The episode was directed by Gail Mancuso, and written by Bruce Rasmussen.

References

  1. 1 2 "Matt Williams".
  2. ↑ "Another Life (TV Series 1981–1984) - IMDb". IMDb .[ better source needed ]
  3. ↑ "AT IT TURNS OUT, ROSEANNE JUST MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT". deseretnews.com. April 8, 1994. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ FINKE, NIKKI (January 26, 1989). "One Big Happy Family? : Why 'Roseanne's' Creator Left Hit Show After Dispute With Its Star" . Retrieved May 10, 2018– via LA Times.
  5. ↑ "And I Should Know". NYMag.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Roseanne revival, and the argument over how TV depicts Trump supporters, explained". vox.com. March 30, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Roseanne Returns: Is TV Ready for a Trump-Loving Comic With "Nothing Left to Prove"?". hollywoodreporter.com. February 21, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Barr, Roseanne (March 27, 2018). "From the Archives: Roseanne on Her Life in Television". vulture.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Barr Becomes The Boss After 'Roseanne' Rift". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Roseanne Unchained". People. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Matt Williams Movies & TV". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Cotto, Andrew (June 8, 2024). "How Matt Williams, the Creator of 'Roseanne,' Spends His Sundays" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  13. ↑ McBain, Roger (February 11, 2010). "Evansville native drew on family, friends for breakthrough play's characters » Evansville Courier & Press". Courierpress.com. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Archives". Los Angeles Times . May 23, 1993.
  15. ↑ Williams, Matt (2024). Glimpses: A Comedy Writer's Take on Life, Love, and All That Spiritual Stuff. Forefront Books. p. 21. ISBN   978-1637632499.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.