Gregory Thomas Garcia (born April 4, 1970) is an American television director, producer and writer. He is the creator/executive producer of several long-running sitcoms, including '' Yes, Dear,'' '' My Name Is Earl'' (in which he made seven cameo appearances), ''

The Guest Book ''The Guest Book'' is an American anthology comedy television series created by Greg Garcia. Season one starred Charlie Robinson, Carly Jibson, Lou Wilson, and Kellie Martin, while season two starred Jibson, Eddie Steeples, Kimiko Glenn, Jimmy T ...

'', '' Sprung'', and '' Raising Hope''. He has also worked for the series '' Family Matters'' and as a consulting producer on ''

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 ...

''.

Early life

Garcia was born in Arlington County, Virginia. His parents Tom and Natalie Garcia raised Greg and his older sister Shelley in the Pimmit Hills neighborhood of

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

and then

North Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. After graduating in 1988 from Yorktown High School (also his mother's alma mater), Garcia attended Frostburg State University in

Frostburg Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...

, Maryland, where he participated in the Warner Bros. outreach program ''Writing for Television'' courses, which ultimately opened the door for him as a writer in Hollywood.

Career

Garcia worked as a board operator and DJ for Tony Kornheiser on '' The Tony Kornheiser Show'' radio show on WTEM. He was also an intern for the ''

Don and Mike Show The ''Don and Mike Show'' was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 11, 2008. The show debuted on WAVA-FM in 1985 as ''The Mornin ...

'' radio program in Fairfax, Virginia. Relocating to work in Hollywood, his early show business work included as an extra on the teen drama TV series '' Beverly Hills, 90210'' and as a production assistant on '' Step by Step''. In the mid-1990s, he began writing for sitcoms '' On Our Own'' and '' Family Matters'' (the show that spun off ''On Our Own''), which led to co-writing the pilot for the short-lived series ''

Built to Last ''Built to Last'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by the Grateful Dead (their twentieth album overall). It was recorded between February 1 and October 20, 1989, and originally released on October 31, 1989. The album was released on CD ...

'' with

Warren Hutcherson Warren Hutcherson is an American producer, comedian, and comedy writer. He has served as a producer on several successful television sitcoms. Hutcherson wrote for ''Saturday Night Live'' for two years (1991–93) and ''Living Single'' for four ...

(1997). During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, he worked as a cashier and janitor at a

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. Garcia wrote for, created, produced and directed the sitcoms '' Raising Hope'', '' My Name Is Earl'' and '' Yes, Dear'', '' Sprung'', and

. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for ''My Name Is Earl'' in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Garcia co-wrote the book for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Escape to Margaritaville'' featuring the songs of

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

with Mike O'Malley.

Personal life

Garcia and his wife Kim have three sons, and they reside in the Los Angeles area. Kim and Greg attended the same college, Frostburg State University. Garcia has been incorrectly labeled as a Scientologist, after reports in the '' Daily Mirror'' were amplified by actor

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

. While several cast members on ''My Name is Earl'' cast were Scientologists, Garcia stated: During the

2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike. The Writers Guild of America ...

, Garcia worked as a cashier and janitor at a

in Southern California.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Greg 1970 births Living people American television directors American television writers American male television writers Frostburg State University alumni Showrunners Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Arlington County, Virginia Screenwriters from Virginia Television producers from Virginia Yorktown High School (Virginia) alumni