Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, and former

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'', and for creating 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 ...

sitcom ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

''.

Early life

Boomer was born into a lower-middle class family in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada, the third of four sons. He was enrolled in a gifted program at school. His mother is named Eileen. He was the middle child in his household. Boomer made a show based on his life story called ''

'', which ran on

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 ...

from January 2000 to May 2006.

Career

Boomer began his career as an actor. After playing Adam Kendall on ''

'', Boomer began focusing his talents on the behind-the-scenes aspects of television. Boomer's writing and executive producing credits include ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...

'', '' Flying Blind'', '' The Boys Are Back'', ''

Townies ''Townies'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman, and Lauren Graham. Synopsis Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, ''Townies'' follows ...

'', ''

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

'' and ''

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''. He also created and executive produced the pilots ''Family Business'', ''Nice Try'', and the U.S. version of ''

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'', and served as an executive producer under

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

for the pilot of ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

''. He also owns his own production company Satin City. Boomer negotiated with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on a pilot order for a project that reunited him with

Gail Berman Gail Berman (born August 17, 1956) is an American producer and television executive. She is co-owner and founding partner of The Jackal Group, a production entity formed in partnership with Fox Networks Group. The Jackal Group develops and produ ...

, the exec who shepherded ''Malcolm'' during her tenure at Regency TV and as programming chief at

. Boomer wrote the script and exec produced along with Berman and

Lloyd Braun Lloyd Braun (born 1958) is an American media executive. He is the founder and CEO of Whalerock Industries, a Los Angeles based media and technology company. Early life and education Braun was born in New York, the son of Merna and David Braun ...

for their ''BermanBraun'' shingle and

Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

, where BermanBraun is based. Dubbed ''The Karenskys'', the multi-camera comedy would revolve around a daughter's return to the fold of her large, eccentric, ethnic family after her husband takes a job in her hometown. It was directed by

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and starred

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty i ...

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Mather Zickel Mather Zickel (born ) is an American actor, mainly known for comedy roles, as well as the character Kieran in ''Rachel Getting Married''. A native of New York City, he has worked in both film and television since the late 1990s. He graduated from t ...

Sasha Alexander Sasha Alexander (born Suzana Drobnjakovic on May 17, 1973), is an American actress and TV director. She played Gretchen Witter in ''Dawson's Creek'' and has acted in films including '' Yes Man'' (2008) and ''He's Just Not That Into You'' (20 ...

Tinsley Grimes ''That '80s Show'' is an American television sitcom set in 1984 that aired from January to May 2002 on Fox. Even though it had a similar name, show structure, and many of the same writers and production staff, it was not a direct spin-off of t ...

, &

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''Malcolm in the Middle''

Although Boomer has created, produced and acted in many television series, he is best known for creating the

sitcom ''

'', which was based on his life story. The pilot episode of the series premiered on January 9, 2000 and was watched by 22.5 million viewers, while the second episode, "Red Dress" (premiered on January 16, 2000), was watched by 26 million viewers. Boomer wrote two episodes, starting with the pilot episode and then "Francis Escapes" and directed five episodes -- "Opera," "Stilts," "Reese vs. Stevie," "Bride of Ida," and the series finale, "Graduation." Boomer received a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the pilot episode. The series completed its six-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.

Awards and nominations

Wins

* Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series for ''

'' ("Pilot")

Nominations

* Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series for ''

'' (2001) * Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series for ''

'' (1984)

Filmography

References

External links

*
Hollywood Reporter Interview from February 2004

Malcolm In The Middle Voting Community - Fan Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boomer, Linwood 1955 births American male television actors American television directors American television writers American male television writers American television producers Canadian emigrants to the United States Living people Male actors from Vancouver Primetime Emmy Award winners Canadian television producers Canadian television directors Canadian television writers Writers from Vancouver