Dean Ward is an American screenwriter, television comedy writer and documentary filmmaker.

Early life

Ward was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts and graduated from

Brookline High School Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. It is a part of Public Schools of Brookline. The Headmaster is Anthony Meyer who holds a Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard ...

. He attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Career

As a television comedy writer, Ward has written for " Chelsea, Lately," "

After Lately ''After Lately'' is an American television comedy. The series depicts, in mockumentary style, the behind the scenes goings-on at the office of the late-night talk show ''Chelsea Lately''. The cast is made up of the actual writers and performers o ...

," " Talk Soup," " Penn & Teller: Bullshit," "The Josh Wolf Show" and the Netflix talk show "Chelsea." His screenwriting credits include work for CBS Films and Frank Sinatra Enterprises. Ward's documentary film "Let Me In, I Hear Laughter - A Salute To The Friars Club" appeared on Cinemax and features interviews with legendary members of the Friars Club including

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, Milton Berle,

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work ...

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

, Jack Carter,

Norm Crosby Norman Lawrence Crosby (September 15, 1927 – November 7, 2020) was an American comedian born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was often referred to as "The Master of Malaprop". Career Crosby went solo as a stand-up comedian, adopting a friendly, ...

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...

, Susie Essman,

Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...

Jeff Ross Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz (born September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as the "Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the ...

and

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (16 March 1906 – 24 February 1998) was a British-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the " one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many comedians told ela ...

. The film also chronicles the untimely death of comedian

Harry Einstein Harry Einstein (May 6, 1904 – November 24, 1958), known professionally as Harry Parke and other pseudonyms, most commonly Parkyakarkus, was an American comedian, writer, and character actor. A specialist in Greek dialect comedy, he became famou ...

(aka "Parkyakarkus") shortly after performing at a Friars Club dinner honoring

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...

in 1958. Einstein was the father of comedians

Bob Einstein Stewart Robert Einstein (November 20, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American actor, comedy writer, and producer. He created and performed the satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne, and was also known for his roles as Marty Funkh ...

and Albert Brooks.

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

called the film “a funny, lovable documentary featuring memories from a bunch of amazing comedians old enough to have shtupped Adam Sandler’s grandmother.” Ward was interviewed on

Fresh Air With Terry Gross ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

while promoting the film's release. Ward's documentary "The Bielski Brothers: Jerusalem In The Woods" earned him an Emmy Nomination in the category of Best Research. Ward hosts "The No-Show Roast Show" on the Callin Podcast Network, which has featured appearances by comedians

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show ''Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, ...

Ian Karmel Ian Karmel (born October 9, 1984) is an American stand-up comedian and writer. He is currently the co-head writer for CBS’ ''The Late Late Show with James Corden''. He wrote for the 2017 and 2018 Grammy Awards as well as the 2016 Tony Awards. ...

Greg Fitzsimmons Gregory Sebastian Fitzsimmons (born April 5, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, producer and radio host. He hosted ''The Greg Fitzsimmons Show'' on Howard 101 until December 2018. Life and early career Fitzsimmons was born in New ...

Wayne Federman Wayne Federman (born June 22, 1959) is an Emmy Award winning American comedian, actor, author, writer, comedy historian, producer, and musician. He is noted for numerous stand-up comedy appearances in clubs, theaters, and on television; his book ...

and many others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Dean American male screenwriters American documentary filmmakers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)