Matthew Bennett is an American

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 ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and former Broadway

stage 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 (), lite ...

Career

Theater

From 1986 until 2003, Bennett was an actor in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He made a career on the New York stage in the original productions of ''

Floyd Collins William Floyd Collins (July 20, 1887 – February 13, 1925) was an American cave explorer, principally in a region of Kentucky that houses hundreds of miles of interconnected caves, today a part of Mammoth Cave National Park, the longest ...

'', ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

,'' '' Blood Brothers'', ''Zara Spook and Other Lures'', '' Amour'', ''Radio Gals'', Anne Bogart's ''Marathon Dancing'', and the original

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

(Sullivan Street) production of ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

''. Bennett created the musical stage play, ''Ten Years Apart'', as well as the play ''Badger Country'', both with writing partner Sean McCourt.

Television

Bennett is the founder of the television and film production company, Silent Crow Arts. Notably, he created the first modern "after show" television format: the ''

Deadliest Catch ''Deadliest Catch'' is a reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons. The ...

'' partner series, '' After The Catch'', for

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

. Bennett has also served as

Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

and

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 ...

on many television specials, pilots and series. In addition to performing on stage and in film, Bennett also acted in roles for television's ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', ''

Law and Order SVU ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (often abbreviated to ''Law & Order: SVU'' or just ''SVU'') is an American crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf's own production company, Wolf Entertainment, for NBC. The first spin-off of '' ...

'', and '' Remember WENN''.

Partial filmography

Television director

Television producer

Actor

Recognition

The theatrical production ''Ten Years Apart'' in which Bennett also starred, was created by Bennett and his partner Sean McCourt. ''

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey County, Minn ...

'' called the production "Innovative, but ultimately ineffective," noting that its stars (Matthew Bennett and Sean McCourt) "are both adept musicians, highly adaptable actors and solid singers. Their resumes show accomplishment, and they're both gifted and versatile enough to enjoy good strong careers." The '' Cincinnati Enquirer'' called the musical "a wrenching tale of a full life," and said, "Some musicals offer nothing more than an excuse to come in out of the rain. But this play put a hand on my heart... The play got to me. Tears. Hard swallows. Long thoughts."

Personal life

Bennett was married to actress Dorrie Joiner until her early death in 1999.
He is now married to actress Marsha Dietlein Bennett.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Matthew (Matt) American television directors Living people Discovery Channel people American television producers American male television actors Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Portland, Oregon