Denny Martin Flinn (December 21, 1947 – August 24, 2007) was an American writer, choreographer,
stage director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
and actor with numerous
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
credits. He co-wrote the screenplay for ''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991).
Biography
Flinn grew up in California, spending his early life in the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He attended the
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
,
his
academic major
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...
being theatre. While still in college, Flinn performed as a dancer in
North Beach, San Francisco.
He later moved to New York City, where he found employment as an actor, dancer, and choreographer. His Broadway theatre credits include the original musical ''
Sugar'' (1972), and revivals of ''
Hello, Dolly!'' (1975) and ''
Pal Joey'' (1976).
His
Off-Broadway credits include the choreography of ''Six'' (1971) by
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as '' Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause'', and '' Annie''.
Life and career
Strouse was born in New York City, to Jewis ...
.
He also performed in the national tour of ''
Fiddler on the Roof''. He also was in the short lived 1978 musical ''
Barbary Coast''. In the 80s Flinn toured with the national company of ''
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'' in the roles of both Zack and Greg.
Flinn later wrote and directed his own Off-Broadway musical: ''Groucho'' (1979),
starring
Lewis J. Stadlen.
He choreographed musical sequences for the films ''
The Deceivers'' (1988) and ''
Ghost'' (1990),
and the television series ''
Another World'' and ''
Search for Tomorrow
''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...
''.
Flinn wrote the 1989 book ''What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of A Chorus Line'', covering the story behind the production of the 1970s musical ''A Chorus Line''. He next turned to
mystery fiction, writing the novels ''San Francisco Kills'' (1990) and ''Killer Finish'' (1991). He and
Nicholas Meyer co-wrote the script of ''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991).
Flinn also wrote ''The Fearful Summons'' (1995), a
Star Trek novel.
His research work ''Musical! A Grand Tour – the Rise, Glory and Fall of an American Institution'' (1997) won an
ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. His later output consisted of non-fiction books such as ''How Not To Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make'' (1999) and ''How Not To Audition: Avoiding the Common Mistakes Most Actors Make'' (2003).
Death
Flinn died in
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
Geography
Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...
due to "complications from cancer". He was survived by a wife and two children.
Filmography
*''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991) (co-writer)
*''
The Deceivers'' (1988) (choreographer)
Bibliography
Non-Fiction
*''The Great American Book Musical: A Manifesto, Monograph, and Manual'' (Limelight Editions 2008)
*''Ready for My Close-up!: Great Movie Monologues'' (Limelight Editions 2007)
*''Little Musicals for Little Theaters'' (Limelight Editions 2006)
*''How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make'' (Lone Eagle Publishing 1999)
*''Musical!: A Grand Tour'' (Wadsworth Publishing 1997)
*''What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of a Chorus Line'' (Bantam Dell Pub Group 1989)
Co-authored:
*''How Not to Audition: Avoiding the Common Mistakes Most Actors Make'' (with Ellie Kanner) (Lone Eagle Publishing 2003)
Fiction
*''Fearful Summons (Star Trek)'' (name 1995)
*''Killer Finish'' (Bantam Books 1991)
*''San Francisco Kills'' (Bantam Books 1991)
References
External links
*
*
His article in Memory Alpha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flinn, Denny Martin
1947 births
2007 deaths
Writers of books about writing fiction
American male screenwriters
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American writers
Deaths from cancer in California
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
Screenwriting instructors
Screenwriters from California
20th-century American screenwriters