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Jeff Schaffer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1970 |
| Education | Harvard University |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, writer, director |
| Years active | 1994—present |
| Spouse | Jackie Schaffer |
| Children | 1 |
Jeff Schaffer (born 1970) [1] is an American film and television director, writer, and producer.
Schaffer and his brother Greg (also a film and TV writer and producer) [2] were raised in the Warren–Howland, Ohio area, [3] [4] about 50 mi (80 km) east of Cleveland. He is Jewish. [5]
After graduating from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, Schaffer attended Harvard College, where he was on the staff of the humor publication The Harvard Lampoon . [3]
After college, Schaffer and his Harvard Lampoon writing pals Alec Berg and David Mandel wrote several episodes of the sitcom Seinfeld. [3] He also served as executive producer during its ninth season. He also held various other positions on the show such as program consultant, supervising producer and story editor. Schaffer is credited with creating the Festivus pole.
Schaffer directed several episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and also served as executive producer for several episodes. Notably, Schaffer directed "Seinfeld", the finale episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm's seventh season, which featured a reunion of the original cast of the Seinfeld series (for which the star and creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David, was co-creator, head writer and executive producer).
The League is a "semi-improvised series." [3] The sitcom which was created by Schaffer and his wife Jackie Schaffer. It is written and directed by Jeff Schaffer.
Schaffer worked with Dave Burd to create Dave , a sitcom that is loosely based on Burd's life as a rapper. The show premiered on FXX on March 4, 2020. The show's second season premiered on June 16, 2021. [6]
Schaffer wrote and directed EuroTrip , a 2004 teen comedy, and participated in the screenplay for the 2003 adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat . [7] Other scripts he helped write include two comedy features starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Brüno (2009) and The Dictator (2012). [7] On the latter film, Alec Berg and David Mandel — former Seinfeld writers as well as friends and collaborators with Schaffer since college — also collaborated, and veteran Seinfeld writer and Curb Your Enthusiasm director Larry Charles directed. [8] All four would later write the TV movie Clear History starring Larry David. [9]
Dan O'Keefe, who worked with Schaffer on Seinfeld , credits Schaffer with introducing the concept of the Festivus pole as the only decoration for Festivus, the December 23 holiday. Festivus was popularized in the 1997 Seinfeld episode "The Strike". The aluminum pole was not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, which centered on putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall. [10]
Schaffer married the former Jackie Marcus, also his professional partner, particularly on The League; [11] their life experiences have often been translated into the plot of the series. [3] They have a daughter, Arwen (named for the character in The Lord of the Rings ), born in 2012. [3] [11]
'The only reason we got our deal is because of Seinfeld,' said Schaffer, 28, who, like Berg, has been writing comedy for four years.
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Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom Seinfeld from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special, and went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays.
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Larry Charles is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom Seinfeld for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film Religulous and the mockumentary comedy films Borat, Brüno, and The Dictator. His Netflix documentary series Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy premiered in 2019.
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Alec Berg is an American television writer, director and producer.
Gregg Kavet is a writer and director who worked on NBC's Seinfeld for several seasons with collaborator Andy Robin. The team wrote episodes including "The Jimmy", "The Hot Tub", "The Caddy", "The Bottle Deposit", "The Fatigues", "The Comeback", "The Nap", and "The Slicer". The Fatigues won the 1997 Writers Guild of America Award for best television comedy.
"Seinfeld" is the tenth and final episode of the seventh season of the American situation comedy television series Curb Your Enthusiasm. The 70th overall, the episode was written by Larry David and directed by Jeff Schaffer and originally aired on HBO on November 22, 2009. The episode revolves around a fictional Seinfeld reunion show featuring the original cast.
Greg Schaffer is an American television producer and writer.
Dan O'Keefe is an American television writer and producer, who has worked on such shows as Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, The League, Silicon Valley, and Veep.
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Mark O'Keefe is an American screenwriter, who specializes in the comedy genre. He wrote and produced the 2003 film Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, and the 2006 film Click, starring Adam Sandler. O'Keefe resides in Los Angeles.
"No Lessons Learned" is the series finale of the American television sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. It is the tenth episode of the twelfth season and the 120th episode overall of the series. The episode was directed by executive producer Jeff Schaffer, with the story written by series creator and star Larry David and Schaffer. The episode first aired on HBO in the United States on April 7, 2024, and was also available on Max on the same date.
