David J. Zuckerman (born August 28, 1962) is an American television producer and writer and is best known as the original

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

and executive producer of the animated comedy series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'', as well as the creator of the American adaptation of the Australian television series of the same name, '' Wilfred''. A native of

Danville, California The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 census ...

, Zuckerman is a graduate of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Zuckerman first wrote for the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

'', and then went on to write and produce episodes for the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

animated series ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

.'' In 1999, along with writer and producer

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...

, he developed another Fox animated series, entitled ''

''. He subsequently worked on MacFarlane's second series, ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'', before adapting the Australian live action series '' Wilfred'' and producing it under the same name for FX.

Early life and education

Zuckerman was born and raised in

, and is a graduate of Monte Vista High School. He also has a degree from

. He has

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

ancestry.

Career

Zuckerman began his career as a creative executive for

Lorimar-Telepictures Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios) ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. He then began writing full-time when he was hired for a staff job on 1990 NBC sitcom ''

''. As a writer and producer, he helped play a key role in the launch of the first seasons of the

animated series ''

'', which he wrote for from 1997 until 1999, before leaving to develop the series ''

''. Zuckerman was partnered with

, the creator of ''Family Guy'', and served as the series's original

, though has not a single writing credit. Afterward, Zuckerman was brought in to develop the Fox animated series ''

'', also created by MacFarlane. He would also go on to create two short-lived network series, as well as an internet show. In 2011, Zuckerman created the American adaptation of the Australian television series of the same name, entitled '' Wilfred'', for the cable network FX, starring

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Wood ...

and

Jason Gann Jason Gann is an Australian-born actor, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known for his role as the title character in the Australian comedy series '' Wilfred'', directed by Tony Rogers, and the U.S. reboot of the same name. Biography ...

Personal life

In 1985, Zuckerman appeared as a contestant on the game show ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'', winning $2,800 in cash and prizes. Zuckerman was married to film and television director

Ellie Kanner Ellie Kanner, sometimes credited as Ellie Kanner-Zuckerman, is an American film and television director and former casting director. Career Kanner grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut. From a young age, she wanted to move to Los Angeles and purs ...

. They have two sons, Zachary and Adam, and are now divorced. He belonged (along with his former wife) to the

Kehillat Israel Kehillat Israel is a Reconstructionist Judaism, Reconstructionist congregation in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. They are one of two Reconstructionist synagogues in greater Los Angeles (the other being the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue). Thei ...

Reconstructionist Congregation of Pacific Palisades.Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation of Pacific Palisades Bulletin
MAY-AUGUST 2012 , Iyar/AV 5772 - Volume 61 , Issue 9

Filmography

Television

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuckerman, David 1962 births Showrunners Television producers from California Jewish American writers American television writers American male television writers American people of German-Jewish descent Living people People from Danville, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni Screenwriters from California 21st-century American Jews Jewish American comedy writers