A humorist (American) or humourist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business entertainers whose business is to make an audience laugh. It is possible to play both roles in the course of a career.
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay by a specific writer who offers a personal point of view. In some instances, a column has been written by a composite or a team, appearing under a pseudonym, or a brand name. Some columnists appear on a daily or weekly basis and later reprint the same material in book collections.
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers at the Algonquin Round Table in New York City to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry.
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel Jaws and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark.
Arthur Watterson Hoppe was a popular columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 40 years. He was known for satirical and allegorical columns that skewered the self-important. Many columns featured whimsical characters such as expert-in-all-things Homer T. Pettibone and a presidential candidate named Nobody. Occasionally, Hoppe reined in his humor for poignant columns on serious topics, such as "To Root Against Your Country," a noted 1971 column against the Vietnam War.
Shane Salerno is an American screenwriter, producer, and Chief Creative Officer of The Story Factory. His writing credits include the films Avatar: The Way of Water, Armageddon, Savages,Shaft, and the TV series Hawaii Five-0. He was chosen by director James Cameron to co-write the four sequels to Avatar,Avatar: The Way of Water,Avatar: The Seed Bearer (2024), Avatar: The Tulkun Rider (2026), and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa (2028). He spent ten years writing, producing, financing, and directing the documentary Salinger, and co-writing with David Shields the companion book which became a New York Times bestseller.
Larry Doyle is an American novelist, television writer, and producer.
Sheilah Graham was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for Fleet Street in London. These early experiences would converge in her career in Hollywood, which spanned nearly four decades, as a successful columnist and author.
Jaws is a 1974 novel by American writer Peter Benchley. It tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town and the voyage of three men trying to kill it. The novel grew out of Benchley's interest in shark attacks after he learned about the exploits of Montauk, New York shark fisherman Frank Mundus in 1964. Doubleday commissioned him to write the novel in 1971, a period when Benchley worked as a freelance journalist.
Cathryn Michon is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, actress, writer, blogger and stand-up comic. She has been featured at the Montreal Comedy Festival, the Toyota Comedy Festival and the Marshall’s Women in Comedy Festival.
Thomas Boss Congdon Jr. was an American book editor who worked on Russell Baker's memoir Growing Up, Peter Benchley's bestselling novel Jaws, and David Halberstam's 1986 work The Reckoning, as well as the infamous Michelle Remembers, an unreliable account of child abuse that contributed to the Satanic panic. He ultimately establishing his own publishing house.
Lad: A Dog is a 1962 American drama film based on the 1919 novel of the same name written by Albert Payson Terhune. Starring Peter Breck, Peggy McCay, Carroll O'Connor, and Angela Cartwright, the film blends several of the short stories featured in the novel, with the heroic Lad winning a rigged dog show, saving a handicapped girl from a snake, and capturing a poacher who killed his pups and injured one of his owners. Warner Brothers purchased the film rights for the novel from Vanguard Productions, and acquired the film rights for the other two Lad novels from the late Terhune's wife.
A Dog's Purpose is a 2010 novel written by American author W. Bruce Cameron. It chronicles a dog's journey through four lives via reincarnation and how he looks for his purpose through each.
Muffin Top: A Love Story is a 2014 American romantic comedy directed by Cathryn Michon, who also starred in the film. The film's script was written by Michon with her husband W. Bruce Cameron. It is based on her 2004 novel The Grrl Genius Guide to Sex , which was partially based on her life. Muffin Top was Michon's second directorial effort, after 2007's Cook Off!, though that film would not be released until 2017. The film stars Michon as a woman who must re-enter the dating world after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. It had its world debut on October 18, 2014 at the Carmel International Film Festival. Distribution for the film was handled by the on-demand movie distribution website Tugg, which allowed Michon to show her film in areas with high enough demand. Muffin Top was also released via VOD.
A Dog's Purpose is a 2017 American psychological comedy-drama adventure film directed by Lasse Hallström and written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Audrey Wells, Maya Forbes, and Wally Wolodarsky, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron. The film stars Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, Juliet Rylance, John Ortiz, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Peggy Lipton, Dennis Quaid, and Josh Gad. The first film from the novel covers themes of loyalty, grief, dysfunctional family, and reincarnation from one lifetime to another.
A Dog's Journey is a 2012 book written by W. Bruce Cameron and published by Forge Books. It is the sequel to Cameron's 2010 book A Dog's Purpose.
Cook Off! is a 2007 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Cathryn Michon and Guy Shalem. The film was released on November 17, 2017, after being shelved for 10 years.
A Dog's Way Home is a 2019 American family adventure film directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay by W. Bruce Cameron and Cathryn Michon, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Cameron. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Judd, Edward James Olmos, Alexandra Shipp, Wes Studi, Chris Bauer, Barry Watson, and Jonah Hauer-King, and follows a dog named Bella who travels more than 400 miles to find her owner.
A Dog's Journey is a 2019 American family comedy-drama film directed by Gail Mancuso in her feature film directorial debut and written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Maya Forbes, and Wally Wolodarsky. The film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Cameron and is the sequel to the 2017 film A Dog's Purpose. The film stars Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott, and Henry Lau.
