John J. Strauss | |
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![]() Strauss at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival | |
Born | John Jay Strauss Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | UCLA (B.F.A.), University of Georgia (M.F.A.) |
Occupation(s) | Producer, Screenwriter |
Years active | 1989–present |
John J. Strauss is an American producer and writer of film and television. He has written a variety of films across numerous genres - animation, drama, comedy and more. He is best known for writing There's Something About Mary (1998), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and The Santa Clause 2 (2002).
Strauss has written and produced for the television series Boy Meets World , known as the writer who came up with the character name for Topanga Lawrence (naming her after Topanga Canyon). Strauss is also known for his appearances on The Howard Stern Show , where he cast Eric the Actor on an episode of In Plain Sight (2011).
He has been the showrunner on over ten different television series including Mozart in the Jungle (2014), which received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best TV Series Comedy" in 2015, and the Peabody Award-Winning series David Makes Man (2019). [1]
Strauss was born in Los Angeles California to Renee and John Strauss. His father, John Strauss, was a veteran publicist who worked for Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures before establishing his own public relations agency. His father represented some of the largest names in the entertainment industry including Jimmy Stewart, Andy Williams, Carol Burnett, and Lucille Ball. [2] Strauss was raised in Sherman Oaks, California.
Strauss graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a B.F.A. degree in Motion Picture (Film) and TV. He later received an M.F.A. in Film, Television, and Media Studies from The University of Georgia. [3]
Since 1998, Strauss has mainly focused on films, co-writing the screenplays for There's Something About Mary (1998), [4] Head Over Heels (2001), The Santa Clause 2 (2002), [5] The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), Rebound (2005), The Wild (2006), [6] The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), You Again (2010). [7] and Free Birds (2013).
He is also credited on Me and the Boys and Odd Man Out .
He frequently collaborates with fellow producer and writer Ed Decter. He, along with Decter replaced Barry Kemp as showrunner of the CBS Tom Selleck comedy The Closer , which eventually came out in 1998. [8]
In 2011, while serving as the executive producer for In Plain Sight , Strauss made multiple appearances on The Howard Stern Show , where he negotiated on-the-air with Eric the Actor to cast Eric in an episode of the series. Eric played a disgruntled landlord during a story involving the FBI investigating a hoarder. Eric ad-libbed the line "Keys, woman" when the script called for him to hold the keys himself—something his disability made difficult due to his deformed hands. [9]
His most recent credits include serving as the executive producer for VH1's The Breaks (2017), the Golden Globe-winning series Mozart in the Jungle (2014), and for Peabody Award-Winning best drama series David Makes Man (2019-2021), with Academy Award winner Tarell McCraney (Moonlight), for Warner Brothers Television and the OWN Network.
Lizzie McGuire is an American comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character who learns to navigate the personal and social issues of her teenage years. Duff also voices an animated version of Lizzie that performs soliloquies to express the character's inner thoughts and emotions. The series also stars Lalaine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, Hallie Todd, and Robert Carradine. The series concluded on February 14, 2004, after a total of 65 episodes were produced. A feature film based on the series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, was released in 2003.
Boy Meets World is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September 1993 and May 2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews and his friends and family, as he progresses from childhood to adulthood. Episodes chronicle the everyday events of Cory's home and school life; his teacher and neighbor George Feeny delivers life lessons as Cory learns to cope with social and personal issues of adolescence. Cory has strong relationships with his older brother Eric, younger sister Morgan, and parents, Amy and Alan. Cory's friendship with Shawn Hunter and romantic interest in Topanga Lawrence serve as central focuses of episodes. Overarching themes include a focus on family and friendships as well as discovering one's identity. Further characters were introduced in later seasons; Jonathan Turner, Eli Williams, Jack Hunter, Angela Moore and Rachel McGuire.
The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 American teen comedy film directed by Jim Fall. The film serves as the finale of the Disney Channel television series of the same name and was the first theatrical film based on a Disney Channel series. The film stars Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd, and Jake Thomas and tells the story of Lizzie's graduation trip to Rome. It was released on May 2, 2003, by Buena Vista Pictures, peaking at number two at the domestic box office behind X2. It received mixed reviews from critics but gained a strong cult following in later years. The events of the film take place after the second and final season of Lizzie McGuire.
Robert Reed Carradine is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as Bonanza and his brother David's TV series, Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys, which starred John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne. Carradine also portrayed fraternity president Lewis Skolnick in the Revenge of the Nerds series of comedy films.
Alfred Ernest Jean III is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on The Simpsons. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss. Together, they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, ALF and It's Garry Shandling's Show.
Terri Minsky is an American television writer and producer who created The Geena Davis Show, Lizzie McGuire, Less Than Perfect, and Andi Mack.
Michael Lembeck is an American actor and television and film director. He is best known as Max Horvath in One Day at a Time (1979–1984).
Edward Decter is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a 2006 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck. It is the third installment in The Santa Clause franchise, following The Santa Clause (1994) and The Santa Clause 2 (2002). The film features Tim Allen returning as Scott Calvin, who must find a way to reverse a spell cast by Jack Frost that caused him to lose his title of Santa Claus. Allen and Short had previously worked together in the 1997 Disney comedy film, Jungle 2 Jungle. Most of the supporting actors from the first two films reprise their roles, with the exception of David Krumholtz. As a result of his absence, Curtis, who was previously the Assistant Head Elf, has now been promoted to Bernard's former position. This was Peter Boyle's final film to be released during his lifetime. Its production was completed in February 2006.
David Eric Lloyd Morelli is an American actor. He is best known for work as a child actor in such roles as Charlie Calvin in Disney's The Santa Clause film trilogy and the follow-up series The Santa Clauses, as well as "Little John" Warner in the NBC television series Jesse, and Kyle Grant in Dunston Checks In.
Barry Kemp is an American television producer, director and writer, and film producer.
The Closer is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS for 10 episodes from February 23 to May 4, 1998. The show starred Tom Selleck as a successful advertising agency executive.
Michael Angeli is an American writer and television producer, best known for his award-nominated work on television series including Monk and the remake of Battlestar Galactica, a show for which he was also a co-executive producer.
The Santa Clause is a media franchise that consists of three American holiday family-comedy theatrical feature films starring Tim Allen, and one television series for Disney+. Based on an original story by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, the plot centers around Scott Calvin's transformation into Santa Claus, and his adventures thereafter.
Paul W. Downs is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is the co-creator, co-showrunner and star of the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series Hacks, for which he has received a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Award, among others. Downs first gained attention for his role in the Comedy Central series Broad City, which ran for five seasons and for which he was also a writer, director and executive producer.
The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and Bullwinkle Studios. The series is based on "Peabody's Improbable History", the 1960s segments that aired as part of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, and the 2014 film, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which was also produced by DreamWorks Animation. The series premiered on October 9, 2015, on Netflix. The second season was released on March 18, 2016. The third season was released on October 21, 2016. The fourth and final season was released on April 21, 2017. The series was removed from the streaming service in April 2023 along with Turbo Fast.
Prentice Penny is an American producer, writer and director. He is best known as the showrunner for the HBO series Insecure. He is the writer and director of the Netflix film Uncorked, and the creator and host of Upscale with Prentice Penny. He is also known as a writer and producer of the series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Hustle, and Scrubs.
The Santa Clauses is an American Christmas comedy television series created by Jack Burditt for Disney+ and based on The Santa Clause film series. It serves as a sequel to The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) and features Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd, and David Krumholtz reprising their roles from the film series. Jack Burditt serves as showrunner and executive producer. It premiered on November 16, 2022. In December 2022, The Santa Clauses was renewed for a second season which premiered with two episodes on November 8, 2023.
Will Graham is an American producer, director, and screenwriter. He is the showrunner of Mozart in the Jungle and was one of the founders of the Onion News Network. He is also the co-creator of the 2022 television series A League of Their Own.