Kevin S. Bright (born November 15, 1954) is an American television executive producer 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 * ''D ...

whose credits include '' Dream On'' and '' Friends''.

Early life

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

-American family in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Bright attended the

East Side Hebrew Institute The East Side Hebrew Institute was a traditional Jewish day school, in the East Village/Alphabet City area of Manhattan, New York City. It was "once one of the major institutions of the Jewish East Side". History The East Side Hebrew Institute ...

on the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and graduated '' magna cum laude'' from Emerson College.

Career

Bright started his professional career under the tutelage of his father, Jackie Bright. After graduation, he worked in New York with Joseph Cates, where he produced specials for

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

, Johnny Cash,

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

, and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. After moving to Los Angeles in 1982, he started work in comedy programming such as '' The History of White People in America'' and comedy specials starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on '' Mary Hartman ...

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''Late Ni ...

, and

Merrill Markoe Merrill Markoe (born August 13, 1948) is an American author, television writer, and occasional standup comedian. Early life Markoe was born in New York City. Her family moved several times including stays in Miami, Florida and San Francisco, ...

. In 1993, Bright entered a partnership with

Marta Kauffman Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom '' Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive p ...

and David Crane to form Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions and began a development deal with

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

to produce the comedy series '' Friends''. He also directed 60 episodes of the series, including the series finale. After ''Friends'', he went on to executive-produce the spin-off series ''

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horac ...

'' with ''Friends'' producers

Shana Goldberg-Meehan Shana Goldberg-Meehan is an American television producer and television writer. She was an executive producer of ''Friends'' and its spinoff ''Joey'', which she also co-created along with Scott Silveri, whom she married in 2006 (they met when bot ...

and

Scott Silveri Scott Silveri is an American television producer and writer. He is the creator of '' Go On'' and '' Speechless'' and the co-creator of '' Perfect Couples'' (with Jon Pollack) and ''Joey'' (with Shana Goldberg-Meehan, whom he met while working ...

. ''Joey'' starred ''Friends'' actor

Matt LeBlanc Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...

as the title character and featured Jennifer Coolidge, also an Emerson College attendee. ''Joey'' was cancelled on May 15, 2006, during its second season after a major ratings slump. After ''Joey'', Bright moved back to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

where he began working at his alma mater, Emerson College. Over the last four years at Emerson, he executive produced three-sketch comedy shows, ''Zebro: A Laugh Show'' and ''Chocolate Cake City'', four original half-hour situation comedies, ''Browne At Midnight'', ''Saturdays'', ''Ground Floor'', and ''Record Cellar'', and a live multi-cam stand-up comedy special, ''Die Laughing''. He also serves as an advisor to The EVVY Awards. Bright then went on to teach a series of television production classes in the Visual Media Arts department, and helped develop the program for Emerson's new LA Center, which opened in 2013. Kevin ran a diversity workshop for high school students through Emerson College, and worked with

Perkins School for the Blind Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Perkins manufactures its own Perkins Br ...

in Watertown, MA, to develop a method of teaching television production to the blind. Bright moved back to Los Angeles in 2013, when he was appointed as Founding Director of the Emerson Los Angeles program. There, he has focused on building new programs that take full advantage of the opportunities Emerson's expanded presence in Los Angeles provides. Bright also directed a documentary in 2007 with Linda Feferman called ''Who Ordered Tax?'' about his father, Jackie, who was an actor and vaudevillian performer. In 2016 Bright served as the executive producer of the documentary '' Best and Most Beautiful Things'' about Michelle Smith, a woman from Bangor, Maine who is both legally blind and autistic. Bright also directed on

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 ...

comedy '' Man with a Plan'' in 2019 for one episode, reuniting with ''Friends'' alum

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Kevin 1954 births American television directors Television producers from New York City Emerson College alumni Emerson College faculty Living people Jewish American writers East Side Hebrew Institute alumni Businesspeople from New York City American television writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Massachusetts People from the Lower East Side 21st-century American Jews