David Lee (screenwriter)

Last updated

David Clark Lee (born 1950) [1] is an American television producer, director, and writer.

Contents

Lee grew up in Claremont, California, and went to college at the University of Redlands. [2] He co-wrote and co-produced The Jeffersons and Cheers with Peter Casey for, respectively, six and four years. [3] He and Casey co-created Wings and Frasier alongside the late David Angell under the Grub Street Productions.

He produced revival productions of Broadway musicals, including South Pacific starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Reba McEntire, [3] [2] Can-Can , and Camelot . [4] He co-wrote a newly revised script of Can-Can alongside Joel Fields when he was reviving the old musical. [5] [6]

Lee has been nominated eighteen times for Primetime Emmy Awards; he won nine out of those nominations. [7] [8] He also won the Directors Guild Award, the Golden Globe Award, Producers Guild Award, GLAAD Media Award, British Comedy Award, three Television Critics Association Awards, two Humanitas Prizes, and the Peabody Award. [8]

He was honored the 449th star, placed at Palm Springs Walk of Stars, on March 18, 2022. [9]

Personal life

Lee is openly gay. [10] [11] [12] [2]

He paid US$3 million in 2002 (equivalent to $5,082,000in 2023) for a Palm Springs estate built by architect Donald Wexler and originally resided in by Dinah Shore. [3] He sold the estate to real estate agents for $5,995,000 in 2009 (equivalent to $8,514,000in 2023), [3] later purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2014 for $5,230,000 (equivalent to $6,731,000in 2023). [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Angell</span> American screenwriter and television producer (1946–2001)

David Lawrence Angell was an American screenwriter and television producer, known for his work in sitcoms. He won multiple Emmy Awards as the creator and executive producer of the sitcoms Wings and Frasier with Peter Casey and David Lee. Angell and his wife Lynn were killed heading home from their vacation on Cape Cod aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.

<i>Frasier</i> American television sitcom (1993–2004)

Frasier is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It aired from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo DiCaprio</span> American actor (born 1974)

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. Known for his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. As of 2019, his films have grossed over $7.2 billion worldwide, and he has been placed eight times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frasier Crane</span> Fictional character in the television series Frasier and Cheers

Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane is a fictional character who is both a supporting character on the American television sitcom Cheers and the titular protagonist of its spin-off Frasier and the latter’s 2023 sequel. In all three series, he is portrayed by Kelsey Grammer. The character debuted in the Cheers third-season premiere, "Rebound " (1984), as Diane Chambers's love interest, part of the Sam and Diane story arc. Intended to appear for only a few episodes, Grammer's performance in the role was praised by producers, prompting them to expand his role and increase his prominence. Later in Cheers, Frasier marries Lilith Sternin and has a son, Frederick. After Cheers ended, the character moved to a spin-off series, Frasier, through which the span of his overall television appearances totals 20 years. In the spin-off, Frasier moves back to his birthplace, Seattle, after his divorce from Lilith, who retained custody of Frederick in Boston, and is reunited with a newly created family: his estranged father, Martin, and brother, Niles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinah Shore</span> American singer and actress (1916–1994)

Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the Big Band era. She achieved even greater success a decade later in television, mainly as the host of a series of variety programs for the Chevrolet automobile company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hyde Pierce</span> American actor (born 1959)

David Hyde Pierce is an American actor. For his portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pierce has also received five Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Supporting Actor for the role. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role of Lt. Frank Cioffi in the Broadway musical Curtains (2007).

The Good Son (<i>Frasier</i>) Pilot episode of Frasier

"The Good Son" is the pilot episode of the television sitcom Frasier. It premiered on September 16, 1993, on NBC. It introduces the primary characters and settings, and distances itself from its parent series Cheers.

"Fagel Attraction" is the twenty-third episode of the fourth season of the American television series Will & Grace. It was written by Jenji Kohan and directed by series producer James Burrows. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 25, 2002. Michael Douglas, Molly Shannon, and Barry Livingston guest starred in "Fagel Attraction".

Rachel York is an American actress and singer. She is known for stage roles, including award winning performances in Camelot, Hello, Dolly!, Into The Woods and Anything Goes. She also has performed in film and on television, including her portrayal of Lucille Ball in the 2003 television movie Lucy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm Springs Walk of Stars</span> Sidewalk stars honoring Palm Springs area personalities

The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes portions of Palm Canyon Drive, Tahquitz Canyon Way, La Plaza Court and Museum Drive. Among those honored are presidents of the United States, showbusiness personalities, literary figures, pioneers and civic leaders, humanitarians and Medal of Honor recipients.

<i>Grey Gardens</i> (2009 film) 2009 HBO film directed by Michael Sucsy

Grey Gardens is a 2009 American biographical drama television film about the lives of Edith Bouvier "Little Edie" Beale, played by Drew Barrymore, and her mother Edith Ewing "Big Edie" Bouvier, played by Jessica Lange. Co-stars include Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jacqueline Kennedy, Little Edie's cousin, and Ken Howard as Phelan Beale, Little Edie's father. The film, directed by Michael Sucsy and co-written by Sucsy and Patricia Rozema, flashes back and forth between various events and dates ranging from Little Edie as a young débutante in 1936 moving with her mother to their Grey Gardens estate through the filming and premiere of the actual 1975 documentary Grey Gardens.

Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, as well as for numerous variety specials, such as If They Could See Me Now, starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Grub Street Productions was an American production company founded in 1989 by three writers and producers: David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee - who met while working on Cheers and left that show to form it. It was affiliated with Paramount Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Fryman</span> American television producer and director (born 1959)

Pamela Gail Fryman is an American sitcom director and producer. She directed all but twelve episodes of the television series How I Met Your Mother.

Donald Allen Wexler was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly in the Palm Springs, California, area. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design.

Kurt Rappaport is an American real estate businessman, investor and entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of Westside Estate Agency.

Robert S. Finkel was an American producer and director. Finkel has notable credits on the TV shows The Eddie Fisher Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show and The Andy Williams Show. Finkel also produced multiple broadcasts of the People's Choice Awards, the Oscars and the Emmy Awards. He also produced the televised comeback concert for singer Elvis Presley in 1968, the highest rated television show for the week of broadcast, and the highest rated television special of the year.

References

  1. McKairnes, Jim (22 October 2017). "DAVID LEE". The Interviews. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 David Lee (September 3, 2012). "PalmSprings.com Spotlight: An Interview with David Lee". PalmSprings.com (blog) (Interview). Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Beale, Lauren (May 1, 2009). "Jeffersons producer David Lee lists Dinah Shore Palm Springs estate for $5,995,000". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  4. Levitt, Hayley (October 30, 2014). "Frasier Cocreator David Lee on Can-Can, Camelot, and 11 Years of 22-Minute Plays", TheaterMania.com; retrieved May 16, 2016.
  5. Gans, Andrew (January 17, 2013). "Revival of Cole Porter's Can-Can Aiming for Broadway in Spring 2014; David Lee Will Direct", Playbill ; retrieved May 16, 2016.
  6. Reiner, Jay. "Review of Pasadena Playhouse 'Revisal'", Reuters , July 8, 2007.
  7. "David Lee". Emmys.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016. The website may have erroneously listed a sound mixer and the producer, writer, and director of the same name under the same page.
  8. 1 2 "David Lee". laphil.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  9. Ventura, Bianca (March 18, 2022). "Palm Springs Walk of the Stars honors David Lee with 449th star" . Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  10. Littlefield, Warren (2012). "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs". Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV. New York City: Anchor Books. p. 134. ISBN   9780307739766 . Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  11. Becker, Ron (2006). "Gay Material and Prime-Time Network Television". Gay TV and Straight America . Rutgers University Press. p.  163 . Retrieved December 8, 2013. David Lee gay.
  12. Littlefield, Kinney (1996). "In '95, Gay Came To Stay In Prime-time TV". Chicago Tribune . The date incorrectly says January 1, 1996.
  13. Beale, Lauren (March 7, 2014), Leonardo DiCaprio buys Dinah Shore's onetime desert home, Los Angeles Times ; accessed May 23, 2017.