American writer (1947–2021)
Anne Beatts
Born (1947-02-25 ) February 25, 1947Died April 7, 2021(2021-04-07) (aged 74) Alma mater
McGill University Occupation Comedy writer
Anne Beatts (February 25, 1947 – April 7, 2021) was an American
comedy writer.
Early life
Beatts was born in
Buffalo, New York , to Sheila Elizabeth Jean (Sherriff-Scott) and Patrick Murray Threipland Beatts.
[1]
[2]
[3] She has described her parents as "
beatniks ."
[4] Beatts had what has been called an "aggressive, dark sensibility."
[4] Growing up in
Somers, New York , she later attended
McGill University .
[4]
It was at McGill University where Beatts discovered the
dark humor of
Jewish writers
J. D. Salinger ,
Philip Roth , and
Bruce Jay Friedman .
[4] At this time, Beatts converted to
Judaism .
[4]
National Lampoon
After graduating from college, Beatts wrote for
The Village Voice and
National Lampoon magazine , a national offshoot of the
Harvard Lampoon .
[5] She co-wrote a parody advertisement for
Volkswagen , conceived by Philip Socci, for which the magazine was later sued by the car company.
[6] The advertisement stated, "If
Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he'd be President today," accompanied by a photograph of a
VW Beetle floating on a lake (an allusion to
Kennedy's Chappaquiddick incident ).
During Beatts' time at National Lampoon magazine, she worked with
Michael O'Donoghue . The two became romantically involved, and both joined the creative team of
Saturday Night Live in the early years of the program.
[7]
Television
At SNL , she was nominated for an
Emmy five times, winning once.
[8] Beatts created the 1982 CBS sitcom
Square Pegs starring a young Sarah Jessica Parker and Jami Gertz,
[9] and additionally appeared in uncredited guest spots on the early SNL .[
citation needed ] For Square Pegs , Beatts hired a staff of five women writers, believing they would be best able to voice the experiences of a teenage girl, but the network compelled her to include a male writer,
Andy Borowitz , to connect with a broader audience.
[10]
Beatts wrote the book for the 1985
Ellie Greenwich
jukebox musical
Leader of the Pack .
[11]
Starting in 1987, she produced the first season of
The Cosby Show spinoff
A Different World .
[12]
In
2000 she won a
Writers Guild Award for Best Comedy/Variety show for her part in writing the
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special .
[13]
In 2006, she directed the series
John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You with her writing and producing partner, Eve Brandstein, for B-Girls Productions.
In 2007, Beatts served as one of the judges for the online comedy competition Project Breakout .
[14]
Beatts served as
Adjunct Professor in the Writing Division at the
University of Southern California 's School of Cinematic Arts,
[15] as well as at
Chapman University 's
Dodge College of Film and Media Arts . She also gave private lessons on writing sketch comedy.
[16]
Credits
National Lampoon (Magazine)
National Lampoon's Lemmings (with
Sean Kelly ,
Tony Hendra ,
Christopher Guest , and
Paul Jacobs ) (1973) (Stage Show)
Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle (with
Michael O'Donoghue ) (1975) (Adaptation)
National Lampoon: A Dirty Book (1976) (Book)
Saturday Night Live (1975–1979) (TV)
Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women (with
Deanne Stillman ) (1976) (Book)
Gilda Live (with
Gilda Radner ,
Michael O'Donoghue ,
Alan Zweibel ,
Don Novello ,
Lorne Michaels ,
Marilyn Suzanne Miller ,
Paul Shaffer , and
Rosie Shuster ) (1980) (Stage Show)
Square Pegs (1982–1983) (TV)
Titters 101 (with
Deanne Stillman and
Judith Jacklin Belushi ) (1984) (Book)
Leader of the Pack (1985) (Stage Show)
The Mom Book (with
Judith Jacklin Belushi and
Deanne Stillman ) (1986) (Book)
A Different World (1987–1988) (TV) (Producer only)
Faerie Tale Theatre (1987) (TV)
The Belles of Bleeker Street (1991) (TV)
Murphy Brown (1991) (TV)
The Elvira Show (1993) (TV)
The Stephanie Miller Show (1995) (TV)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (2000) (TV)
Hollywood Off-Ramp (2000) (TV)
56th Annual Writers' Guild Awards (2004) (TV)
Media portrayals
Beatts was portrayed by
Natasha Lyonne in the 2018
Netflix film
A Futile and Stupid Gesture . She was profiled in the January 6, 2020, issue of
New York Magazine .
[17]
Death
Beatts died at age 74 on April 7, 2021, at her home in
West Hollywood .
[18]
[19]
She is survived by her daughter, Jaylene Beatts.
References
^ Marquis Who's Who Inc (2004).
Who's Who of American Women 2004-2005 . Marquis Whos Who.
ISBN
978-0-8379-0430-6 .
^
"The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 27, 1960 · 37" . Newspapers.com . 27 May 1960. Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^
"The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 25, 1980 · 87" . Newspapers.com . 25 October 1980. Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
"Anne Beatts" . She Made It - The Paley Center for Media . Archived from
the original on February 27, 2007.
^
"Anne Beatts, original SNL writer who broke into boys' club of comedy, dies at 74" . Washington Post .
ISSN
0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-07-22 .
^
"The Press: Lampoon's Surrender" . Time . 12 November 1973. Archived from
the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2010 .
^
"Group Think" . gladwell.com . Archived from
the original on April 28, 2007.
^
"Anne Beatts" . Television Academy . Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^ Chaney, Jen (2021-04-09).
"Allow Anne Beatts to Set the Record Straight About Square Pegs" . Vulture . Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^
"Anne Beatts" . Television Academy Interviews . 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2021-07-22 .
^ Greenwich, Ellie; Beatts, Anne P.; Mintz, Melanie; Heifner, Jack (1987).
Leader of the Pack: The Ellie Greenwich Musical . Samuel French, Inc.
ISBN
978-0-573-68168-4 .
^ Haithman, Diane (1988-10-06).
"Different Touch to 'Different World' " . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^ McNary, Dave (2001-01-11).
"NBC tops WGA TV noms" . Variety . Retrieved 2021-04-12 .
^
"Comedy Contest" . Project Breakout . Archived from
the original on May 17, 2007.
^
"Anne Beatts" . Los Angeles, Calif.: University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. Archived from
the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010 .
^ Beatts, Anne.
"Saturday Night Live in 5 Easy Lessons!" . Archived from
the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010 .
^ Cheney, Jen (January 6, 2020).
"Anne Beatts was always more interesting than John Hughes" .
New York Magazine . Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
^ Kilkenny, Katie (2021-04-08).
"Anne Beatts, 'SNL' Writer and 'Square Pegs' Creator, Dies at 74" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2021-04-11 .
^ Littleton, Cynthia (April 8, 2021).
"Anne Beatts, 'Saturday Night Live' writer and creator of 'Square Pegs,' dies at 74" .
Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 8 April 2021 .
External links
Gary Belkin , Peter Bellwood,
Thomas Meehan ,
Herb Sargent and
Judith Viorst (1970)
Herbert Baker ,
Hal Goodman ,
Larry Klein ,
Bob Schiller ,
Norman Steinberg ,
Bob Weiskopf and
Flip Wilson (1971)
Art Baer ,
Roger Beatty ,
Stan Burns ,
Stan Hart ,
Don Hinkley ,
Ben Joelson ,
Woody Kling ,
Mike Marmer , Arnie Rosen and
Larry Siegel (1972)
Bill Angelos,
Roger Beatty ,
Stan Hart , Robert Hilliard,
Woody Kling ,
Arnie Kogen ,
Buz Kohan ,
Gail Parent , Tom Patchett,
Larry Siegel and
Jay Tarses (1973)
Rosalyn Drexler ,
Ann Elder ,
Karyl Geld Miller ,
Robert Illes ,
Lorne Michaels ,
Richard Pryor ,
Jim Rusk ,
Herb Sargent ,
James R. Stein ,
Lily Tomlin ,
Jane Wagner ,
Rod Warren and
George Yanok (1974)
Roger Beatty ,
Gary Belkin ,
Dick Clair ,
Rudy De Luca ,
Arnie Kogen , Barry Harman,
Barry Levinson ,
Jenna McMahon , Gene Perret,
Bill Richmond and
Ed Simmons (1974)
Roger Beatty ,
Gary Belkin ,
Dick Clair ,
Rudy De Luca ,
Arnie Kogen ,
Barry Levinson ,
Jenna McMahon , Gene Perret,
Bill Richmond and
Ed Simmons (1975)
Anne Beatts ,
Chevy Chase ,
Tom Davis ,
Al Franken ,
Lorne Michaels ,
Marilyn Suzanne Miller ,
Michael O'Donoghue ,
Herb Sargent ,
Tom Schiller ,
Rosie Shuster and
Alan Zweibel (1976)
Dan Aykroyd ,
John Belushi ,
Tom Davis ,
James Downey ,
Al Franken ,
Lorne Michaels ,
Marilyn Suzanne Miller ,
Bill Murray ,
Michael O'Donoghue ,
Herb Sargent ,
Tom Schiller ,
Rosie Shuster and
Alan Zweibel (1977)
Roger Beatty ,
Dick Clair ,
Tim Conway , Rick Hawkins,
Robert Illes ,
Jenna McMahon , Gene Perret,
Bill Richmond , Liz Sage,
Larry Siegel , Franelle Silver,
Ed Simmons and
James R. Stein (1978)
Alan Alda (1979)
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