Mark O’Donnell (July 19, 1954 – August 6, 2012) was an American writer and humorist.

Early life

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1976. He was a member of ''

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...

'', where he held the position of Ibis. In 1974, he helped produce a popular ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' ''Lampoon'' parody (with Patricia Marx, Ian Frazier and his twin brother Steve O'Donnell, among others). In addition to writing for the parody, he and his twin brother Steve portrayed the Dromio twins, Siamese twins adept at football. He was the writer and librettist for three Hasty Pudding musicals for the

Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United St ...

group.

Career

O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan shared the 2003

Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...

and the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. For two years, in addition to the award ...

for their work on '' Hairspray'', and they wrote the 2007 film adaptation. The pair also worked on another

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

musical adaptation, '' Cry-Baby'', for which they received a 2008 Tony nomination. His plays include ''That's It, Folks!''; ''Fables for Friends''; ''The Nice and the Nasty''; ''Strangers on Earth''; ''Vertigo Park''; and the book and lyrics for the musical ''Tots in Tinseltown''. Along with

Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a nu ...

, he wrote ''Scapin'', a 1997 play adapted from the original by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

. His books include ''Elementary Education'' and ''Vertigo Park and Other Tall Tales'', as well as two novels, ''Getting Over Homer'' and ''Let Nothing You Dismay''. He contributed to all three issues of

George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap ng... the comedic sensibility ...

's '' Army Man'', as well as to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and '' Spy''. A 1980 article he wrote for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', "O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion," was both widely quoted ("1. Anybody suspended in space will remain suspended in space until made aware of its situation") and widely circulated by fans of

cartoon physics Cartoon physics or animation physics are terms for a jocular system of laws of physics (and biology) that supersedes the normal laws, used in animation for humorous effect. Many of the most famous American animated films, particularly those from ...

. O'Donnell was also a writer for the 1981–1982 season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'', under head writer

Michael O'Donoghue Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' magazine, and was the ...

. At ''

'', he wrote alongside

Terry Southern Terry Southern (May 1, 1924 – October 29, 1995) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to ...

. Although a proud Poonie, O'Donnell was a longtime editorial advisor to the '' Yale Record'' and taught a popular comedy-writing seminar at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Family

O’Donnell was the identical twin of television writer Steve O’Donnell. Mark was gay while his twin is straight.

Death

He died in 2012 after collapsing in front of his apartment building on Riverside Drive in Manhattan. He was 58."Hairspray Writer Mark O'Donnell Dies" Boston.com (August 6, 2012)
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References

External links

*
Mark O’Donnell at Random House''The Believer Magazine'' interview with Steve & Mark O’Donnell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Mark 1954 births Writers from Cleveland Harvard College alumni The Harvard Lampoon alumni 2012 deaths American twins Identical twins 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Hasty Pudding alumni American gay writers American LGBT novelists American male novelists American male short story writers