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Chuck Lorre

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Chuck Lorre
Lorre in September 2008.
Born
Charles Michael Levine
Occupation(s)Writer, television producer, composer, television director, production manager
Years active1984–present
AwardsBMI Television Music Awards 2004, 2005, 2008
WebsiteChuckLorre.com

Chuck Lorre (born Charles Michael Heim Levine October 18, 1952[1]) is a writer, director, producer and composer who has created many American sitcoms, including Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Lorre also serves as executive producer of the sitcom Mike & Molly which premiered in September 2010.

Early life

Lorre attended State University of New York at Potsdam, dropping out after two years to pursue a career as a songwriter.[1]

Career

After leaving school, Lorre toured the United States as a guitarist and songwriter.[2] He wrote Deborah Harry's radio hit single "French Kissin' in the USA" for the 1986 Rockbird album.[2] Lorre also composed the soundtrack to the 1987 television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Dennis Challen Brown.[3][4][5]

Lorre's first show as creator was the ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire.[2] It premiered on ABC in 1993, and was nominated at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

Lorre's next project was the sitcom Cybill. The show aired for four seasons on CBS and received critical acclaim, winning an Emmy in 1995: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for co-star Christine Baranski and 2 Golden Globe Awards in 1996: Best TV series (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in a TV series (Musical or Comedy). Lorre's next project, Dharma and Greg, was conceived in 1997, one year before the end of Cybill.[1] The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as the title characters.

In 2003, Lorre co-created Two and a Half Men with Lee Aronsohn. The show focuses on two brothers, one of whom, Charlie (Charlie Sheen), is a rich, successful womanizer who owns a beach house at Malibu. His brother Alan (Jon Cryer) gets a divorce and is forced to move into his brother's Malibu house. Alan also has a son, Jake (Angus T. Jones) the "half" who comes to visit the brothers on weekends. Premiered on CBS in September 2003, the series has become the most popular sitcom in America.[1] As of the 2010–2011 season, Two and a Half Men would have completed eight seasons. In February 2011, however, CBS canceled the production of the rest of the eighth season, following several incidents of production shutdowns due to Charlie Sheen's problems with alleged substance abuse, the last of which culminated in Sheen's verbal attacks directed at Lorre in a radio interview.[6][7] Charlie Sheen was later fired from the show,[8] following which he filed a US$100 million legal action against Lorre and Warner Bros.[9]

In 2007, Lorre co-created The Big Bang Theory (with Bill Prady), which follows two young nerdy physicists living next door to an attractive young woman. Each episode usually focuses on the daily lives of the men and two of their equally nerdy friends, with a dose of absurdity from the relationship with their normal neighbor. The two main protagonists, Sheldon and Leonard, are named after the actor and television producer Sheldon Leonard.[10] The show is the second highest rated comedy series in America.[2]

Lorre's most recent production Mike & Molly premiered on CBS in September 2010.[11]

Vanity cards

Chuck Lorre in 2007.

At the end of every episode of Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mike & Molly, Lorre features a vanity card consisting of a message that usually reads like an editorial, essay, or observation on life. The card is shown for only a few seconds at most, meaning it cannot always be read during its original airing. Lorre also posts his vanity cards on his website, ChuckLorre.com. CBS has censored Lorre's vanity cards on several occasions.[12] The uncensored cards can be found on his website. The production card used on Grace under Fire and Cybill featured a wooden desk with an Apple Macintosh SE.

Selected credits

  • Roseanne, 1990–1992, (writer, co-executive producer / supervising producer)
  • Grace Under Fire, 1993–1998 (creator, writer, co-executive producer / supervising producer)
  • Cybill, 1995–1998 (creator, writer and executive producer)
  • Dharma & Greg, 1997–2002 (creator, writer, executive producer)
  • Two and a Half Men, 2003–present (creator, writer, executive producer)
  • The Big Bang Theory, 2007–present (creator, writer, executive producer)
  • Mike and Molly, 2010--present (executive producer, writer)[13][14]

Show crossovers

Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory are both taped at the Warner Brothers lot, in adjacent stages; the shows share several writers and technical crews.[15] The Big Bang Theory has cast several actors from Lorre's past, starting with Johnny Galecki from Roseanne (he was Darlene's boyfriend and later husband). Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene on Roseanne, was Leslie Winkle on Big Bang. Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie in Roseanne, plays Sheldon's mother Mary. Christine Baranski, Emmy Award winner on Cybill, was cast as Leonard's mother.

Also on The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny are seen watching Oshikuru: Demon Samurai. Oshikuru was the show Charlie wrote the theme song for on Two and a Half Men. However, the placement of Big Bang in relation to Two and a Half Men is muddied by the appearance of Charlie Sheen, seemingly as himself, in the Big Bang episode "The Griffin Equivalency".

Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men appeared in one episode of Dharma and Greg. Jenna Elfman, Susan Sullivan, and Joel Murray of Dharma and Greg also appeared in various episodes of Two and a Half Men.

Awards and recognition

Lorre won BMI Television Music Awards in 2004, 2005, and 2008 for Two and a Half Men.

On March 12, 2009, Lorre received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[16] Three months later, Lorre received an honorary degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and gave a keynote address at the graduation.[17]

Personal life

Lorre is of Jewish origin. He is divorced and has two children.[1][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rice, Lynette (December 8, 2006). "It Hurts to Laugh". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Bissell, Tom. "A Simple Medium". The New Yorker (December 6, 2010): 34–41. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  3. ^ Chuck Lorre. "Vanity Card #165". Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  4. ^ Chuck Lorre. "Vanity Card #243". Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  5. ^ Chuck Lorre. "MUSIC - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  6. ^ Hinckley, David (February 28, 2011). "Charlie Sheen, Stan Rosenfield cut ties: Long-time publicist quits amid actor's public meltdown". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  7. ^ Carr, David (February 28, 2011). "Insulting Chuck Lorre, Not Abuse, Gets Sheen Sidelined". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  8. ^ "Charlie Sheen fired from Two and a Half Men TV show". BBC Online. March 7, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  9. ^ "Sacked star Charlie Sheen sues sitcom makers". BBC Online. March 11, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  10. ^ Strachan, Alex (11 March 2009). "The hilarity of the nerds: Big Bang Theory ignites hope for TV sitcoms". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 26 March 2009. [dead link]
  11. ^ "Mike and Molly". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  12. ^ Malcolm, Shawna (10 March 2009). "Vanity cards let Lorre sound off". Variety. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  13. ^ "CBS Plotting Their 2011 Pilots". 1 Apr 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  14. ^ "Mike and Molly (2010) (TV)". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  15. ^ Wyatt, Edward (October 4, 2009). "The Big Surprise of Big Bang: The Bigger Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  16. ^ "TV producer Chuck Lorre receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame". Washington Times. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009. [dead link]
  17. ^ ""Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre to speak at [[SUNY]] undergrad commencement". The State University of New York at Potsdam. 12 Feb 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-15. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  18. ^ Herbert, Steven (16 March 2009). ""Series of Miracles" Led to Walk Star for Lorre". msnbc. Retrieved 24 March 2009.[dead link]
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