Todd Graff | |
|---|---|
 Keke Palmer and Graff | |
| Born | October 22, 1959 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, director |
| Years active | 1970– |
| Spouse | Jhon Lafaurie (m.2014) |
Todd Graff (born October 22, 1959) is an American actor, writer and director, best known for his 2003 independent film Camp and his role as Alan "Hippy" Carnes in the 1989 science fiction film The Abyss .
Graff was born in New York City, the son of Judith Clarice (née Oxhorn), a piano teacher and choirmaster, and Jerome Lawrence Graff, a musician. [1] His sister is actress Ilene Graff. [2]
Graff is an alumnus both as a camper and counselor of the Stagedoor Manor performing arts summer camp in upstate New York. He sang on the original-cast albums of Sesame Street (1970) and the follow-up Sesame Street 2 (1971). He garnered fame in 1975 when he joined the cast of the PBS children's television series The Electric Company . Playing the role of Jesse, a member of the Short Circus, he remained with the show to the end of its production in 1977 (replacing Stephen Gustafson). [3]
Graff's writing credits include Camp , Used People , The Vanishing , and The Beautician and the Beast . Graff acted in several films including Death to Smoochy , Dominick and Eugene , Strange Days , Not Quite Paradise , and The Abyss . [3]
He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Danny in Broadway's Baby in 1984. He starred in the 1987 Off-Broadway musical Birds of Paradise as Homer. In 2006, Graff directed the stage musical 13 by Jason Robert Brown and Dan Elish at the Mark Taper Forum. [4] In 2009, he co-wrote and directed the film Bandslam . In 2012 he wrote and directed the film Joyful Noise . He developed Apple TV's miniseries The Crowded Room (2023).
| Movie | Character | Year |
|---|---|---|
| It's No Crush, I'm in Love | Robby Pols | 1982-1983 |
| P.O.P. | Johnny Gordon | 1984 |
| Not Quite Paradise | Rothwell T. Schwartz | 1985 |
| Sweet Lorraine [5] | Leonard | 1987 |
| Five Corners | James | 1987 |
| Dominick and Eugene | Larry Higgins | 1988 |
| An Innocent Man | Robby | 1989 |
| The Abyss | Alan 'Hippy' Carnes | 1989 |
| After Midnight | Tough Kid | 1989 |
| Opportunity Knocks | Lou Pesquino | 1990 |
| Framed | Pete | 1990 |
| City of Hope | 'Zip' | 1991 |
| Fly by Night | Naji | 1993 |
| Strange Days | 'Tex' Arcana | 1995 |
| Series | Character | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Electric Company | Jesse (seasons 5–6) | 1975–1977 |
| ABC Afterschool Specials | Trent Pols / Robby Pols | 1983-1992 |
| Vietnam War Story | Richard Muldoon | 1987 |
| The Marshall Chronicles | Vincent | 1990 |
| Chicago Hope | Louis Bagley | 1995 |
| The Nanny | Harvey | 1997 |
Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. With a career spanning seven decades he received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved musicals on Broadway and in Hollywood. Although they were not a romantic couple, they shared a unique comic genius and sophisticated wit that enabled them to forge a six-decade-long partnership. They received numerous accolades including four Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. Green was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980 and American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Comden and Green received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1991.
Chicago is a 2002 American musical black comedy crime film based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name which in turn originated in the 1926 play of the same name. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. Chicago centers on Roxie Hart (Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), two murderers who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Roxie, a housewife, and Velma, a vaudevillian, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film marks the directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who also choreographed the film, and was adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
Dorothy Loudon was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Loudon was also nominated for Tony Awards for her lead performances in the musicals The Fig Leaves Are Falling and Ballroom, as well as a Golden Globe award for her appearances on The Garry Moore Show.
Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of eighteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. He is one of two people to have won a Razzie, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony ("REGOT").
The Beautician and the Beast is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis, written by Todd Graff, and starring Fran Drescher, Timothy Dalton, Lisa Jakub, Ian McNeice, and Patrick Malahide. It tells the story of a New York City beautician who is hired, under the false assumption that she is a science teacher, to tutor the four children of a dictator of a fictional Eastern European nation, played by Timothy Dalton. The film deals with the theme of cultural differences, and takes inspiration from other stories like Beauty and the Beast, The King and I, Evita, and The Sound of Music. Produced by Drescher's company High School Sweethearts in partnership with Paramount Pictures, The Beautician and the Beast was her first starring role in a film.
John David Logan is an American playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his work as a screenwriter for such films as Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) and Hugo (2011), Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Sam Mendes's James Bond films Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). He has been nominated three times for Academy Awards, and has won a Tony Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.
Joyful Noise or A Joyful Noise may refer to:
David Rudman is an American puppeteer, actor, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and Sesame Street. Rudman currently performs the roles of Scooter, Janice, and Beaker for The Muppets Studio, which were all originated by Richard Hunt, as well as Cookie Monster and Baby Bear on Sesame Street.
Wearing Someone Else's Clothes is a solo album by musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown. It was released by Sh-K-Boom Records on June 28, 2005 to generally positive critical reception. Amazon.com named it as one of its ten Editors' Picks in Broadway and Vocal Albums for 2005.
Roger Allers is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, and playwright. He is best-known for co-directing The Lion King (1994), the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, and for writing the Broadway adaptation of the same name. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length animated film, Open Season (2006) and the animated adaptation of The Prophet.
Ilene Susan Graff is an American actress and singer.
Mark Saltzman is an American script writer who has written films, plays and musicals and for TV. He worked for several years for Sesame Street. He has been given seven Emmy Awards for Best Writing for a Children's Show.
Raphael Sbarge is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on The Guardian (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on Once Upon a Time (2011–18) and Inspector David Molk on the TNT series Murder in the First (2014–16). He is also known for voicing Carth Onasi in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), RC-1262 / "Scorch" in Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) and Kaidan Alenko in the Mass Effect trilogy (2007–12).
Bandslam is a 2009 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Todd Graff who co-wrote the screenplay with Josh A. Cagan. The film stars Aly Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelan Connell, Lisa Kudrow, Scott Porter, Ryan Donowho, and Tim Jo. The story revolves around Will and Charlotte, who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. Assembling a like-minded crew of misfits, the friends form a rock group and perform in a battle of the bands competition called "Bandslam".
Joyful Noise is a 2012 American musical comedy-drama film, starring Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, and Courtney B. Vance. It is based on an original script, Love The Light, written by Max Myers and was rewritten and directed by Todd Graff, with gospel-infused music by Mervyn Warren. The film was released in U.S. theaters on January 13, 2012. In the film, two strong-minded women are forced to cooperate when budget cuts threaten to shut down a small-town choir. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for its songs and acting but criticism of its script and tone.
Nikka Graff Lanzarone is an actress and dancer.
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