Peter James Tolan III (born July 5, 1958) is an American

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

, director, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Early life and career

Tolan was born in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

, where he was a perennial favorite in the high school's dramatic productions. Before leaving to pursue a career in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, Tolan founded a theater group called YPST (Young People's Summer Theatre). The group performed

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and rehearsed at a local church. Within three years, the group became so popular that a second production had to be added to accommodate the ever-increasing enrollment. Tolan attended the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

for four years before dropping out to directly pursue theater. From college Tolan went to Minneapolis'

Brave New Workshop The Brave New Workshop (BNW), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded by Dudley Riggs in 1958 and is the longest running sketch and improvisational comedy theater in the US. BNW continues the tradition, of writing, producing, and performing ...

(founded by improv great Dudley Riggs) at the suggestion of UMass employee Jim MacRostie, who had appeared at the Twin Cities institution during its early years. Riggs offered Tolan a job over the phone, but when Tolan arrived in Minneapolis several months later, he discovered that the job was that of janitor at the theater. Within a year, Tolan became the musical director for the theater's touring company, and after that graduated to appearing as a member of the main stage cast. In the mid 80's, Tolan moved to New York City, where he and fellow writer-performer Linda Wallem formed a double act called Wallem & Tolan and began performing on the

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

circuit 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 ...

at such venues as Don't Tell Mama, Eighty-Eights and Broadway Baby. Wallem and Tolan were known for their sketch work and for musical material (written by Tolan) that became the cornerstone of their act. After an extended run at the Manhattan Punch Line Theater, the act was mounted Off-Broadway at the Theater at St. Peter's Church in 1989. Titled ''Laughing Matters'', the show was produced by Sanford Fisher and Zev Guber and directed by Broadway veteran

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

. For his work in the show, Tolan was named Outstanding Lyricist of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Show by the Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook 1988-1989 Best Plays.

Television

Tolan began his career writing for short-lived

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

s ''

Carol & Company ''Carol & Company'' is an American comedy anthology television series starring Carol Burnett, Jeremy Piven, Meagen Fay, Terry Kiser, Anita Barone, Richard Kind and Peter Krause that aired for two seasons on NBC from March 31, 1990, to July 20 ...

'' and ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

''. After writing for and co-producing the first six episodes of ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

'' he began writing for the hit series ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...

'', a three-season tenure for which he would share an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Comedy Series (1992, as co-producer). In 1992 Tolan began writing for the HBO program ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...

'', for which he received, in his capacity as co-/executive producer, three

CableACE Awards The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...

for Comedy Series and an Emmy for co-writing (with series lead

Garry Shandling Garry Emmanuel Shandling (November 29, 1949 – March 24, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as ''Sanford and Son'' and '' Welcome Back, Kotter''. He made ...

) the series finale "Flip". After writing for several more programs (''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'', '' Buddies'', ''

Good Advice ''Good Advice'' is a 2001 comedy film starring Charlie Sheen, Angie Harmon, and Denise Richards. The film also features Jon Lovitz and Rosanna Arquette as a married couple in supporting roles. Plot Ryan Turner is a hotshot broker living an u ...

''), and creating the short-lived sitcoms ''

Style & Substance ''Style & Substance'' is an American sitcom television series created by Peter Tolan, starring Jean Smart and Nancy McKeon that aired on CBS from January 5 to September 2, 1998. Premise Jean Smart is Chelsea Stevens, a Martha Stewart, Martha Stew ...

'' and ''

The George Wendt Show ''The George Wendt Show'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from March 8 to April 12, 1995. Based on the public radio show ''Car Talk'', the series was a star vehicle for George Wendt after co-starring in the NBC sitcom ''Ch ...

'', Tolan co-created the ABC satiric comedy '' The Job'' with comedian

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole") and throu ...

, who would also star as an amoral and hedonistic

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

detective. Though critically lauded, the series languished in the ratings and was canceled after two short seasons. Tolan went on to create the similarly short-lived sitcom '' Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)'', a mid-season replacement about an idealistic television executive who joins a struggling

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...

, that was canceled by ABC after only five episodes aired. In 2004, however, Tolan found success with the FX drama '' Rescue Me'' which he produced under his The Cloudland Company banner. Again, he worked with co-creator Denis Leary as

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions als ...

Tommy Gavin, who bears many similarities to Leary's character from ''The Job''. The series has been well received by both critics and audiences, garnering Emmy nominations for Tolan and Leary and averaging 2.7 and 2.8 million viewers for its first and second seasons, respectively. It ended in 2011 after seven seasons. In February, 2013, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' reported that "Tolan landed

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (19 ...

to play a defense lawyer with 'zero filter'" on an upcoming

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

television program entitled ''

Rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

''. Tolan has also produced pilots with comedian

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

and another based on the Israeli series ''Bilti Hafich'' through Fedora Entertainment, the production company he started with partners Michael Wimer and Leslie Tolan.

Film

Tolan has also found success in film, having written the hit comedy ''

Analyze This ''Analyze This'' is a 1999 American mafia comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Kenneth Lonergan, and Peter Tolan. The plot follows a crisis-stricken mafioso (Robert De Niro) who solicits the assi ...

'' and its sequel ''

Analyze That ''Analyze That'' is a 2002 American mafia comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and produced by Paula Weinstein and Jane Rosenthal. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film '' Analyze This''. The film starred Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal who ...

'' as well as the films ''

My Fellow Americans ''My Fellow Americans'' is a 1996 American political comedy film directed by Peter Segal. It stars Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents, with Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whi ...

'', '' Bedazzled'', ''

America's Sweethearts ''America's Sweethearts'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Joe Roth and written by Billy Crystal and Peter Tolan. It stars Julia Roberts, Crystal, John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones, with Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth ...

'', ''

Guess Who Guess Who may refer to: * ''Guess Who'' (B.B. King album), 1972 * Guess Who (Slim Whitman album), 1971 * ''Guess Who'' (EP), a 2021 EP by South Korean girl group Itzy * ''Guess Who'' (film), a 2005 romantic comedy starring Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutche ...

'' and '' Just Like Heaven''. In 2008 Tolan made his directorial debut with '' Finding Amanda'', a semi-autobiographical film starring

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...

and

Brittany Snow Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She rose to prominence after appearing in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two ...

Personal life

Tolan is married to editor Leslie Tolan. They have three children; sons Peter John and Benjamin Mark, and daughter Beatrice Grace. He later came out as gay, but it is unclear if he remains married to Leslie.

Filmography

*''

Carol and Company ''Carol & Company'' is an American comedy anthology television series starring Carol Burnett, Jeremy Piven, Meagen Fay, Terry Kiser, Anita Barone, Richard Kind and Peter Krause that aired for two seasons on NBC from March 31, 1990, to July 20, 19 ...

'' (1990) (TV) *''

'' (1991) (TV) *''

'' (1991–1993) (TV) *''

'' (1992–1998) (TV) *''

'' (1994) (TV) *''

'' (1995) (TV) *'' Buddies'' (1996) (TV) *''

'' (with E. Jack Kaplan and Richard Chapman) (1996) *''

'' (1997) (TV) *'' The Dave Chappelle Project'' (1998) (TV) *''

'' (1998) (TV) *''

'' (with

Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell ...

and

Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...

) (1999) *''

What Planet Are You From? ''What Planet Are You From?'' is a 2000 American science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Michael Leeson, Garry Shandling, Ed Solomon, and Peter Tolan based on a story by Leeson and Shandling. The film stars Shandli ...

'' (with

, Michael J. Leeson and

Ed Solomon Edward James Solomon (born September 15, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing the screenplays to ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' (1989), ''Men in Black'' (1997), and '' Now You See Me'' (2013). Life and career Solo ...

) (2000) *'' Bedazzled'' (with

and

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

) (2000) *''

'' (with

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

) (2001) *'' The Job'' (2001–2002) (TV) (also co-creator, with

) *'' My Adventures in Television'' (2002) (TV) *''

Stealing Harvard ''Stealing Harvard'' is a 2002 American crime comedy film directed by Bruce McCulloch and written by Martin Hynes and Peter Tolan, about a man who resorts to crime to pay for his niece's Harvard tuition. The film stars Jason Lee and Tom Green w ...

'' (with

Martin Hynes Martin Hynes is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and film producer. Life and career Hynes was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, and has a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University. Hynes wrote and directed '' The ...

) (2002) *''

'' (with

and Peter Steinfeld) (2002) *'' Phil at the Gate'' (with

Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting ''The Phil Hendrie Show'', a ...

) (2003) (TV) *'' Rescue Me'' (2004–2011) (TV) (also co-creator, with

) *''

'' (with David Ronn and Jay Scherick) (2005) *'' Just Like Heaven'' (with

Leslie Dixon Leslie Dixon is an American screenwriter and film producer. She began her career as an original screenwriter, writing films such as 1987's '' Outrageous Fortune'' and '' Overboard''. She then moved into adaptations and re-writes, developing the s ...

) (2005) *'' Fort Pit'' (2007) (TV) *'' Finding Amanda'' (2008) (TV) *'' The End of Steve'' (2008) (TV) *'' Council of Dads'' (2011) (TV pilot) *''

'' (2014) (TV) *''

The Jim Gaffigan Show ''The Jim Gaffigan Show'' is an American sitcom written and executive produced by comedian Jim Gaffigan and his wife Jeannie Gaffigan. Gaffigan stars as a fictionalized version of himself as a stand-up comedian raising five children in a two-bedr ...

'' (2015–2016) (TV) * ''Outsiders'' (2016–2017) (TV) *'' Guess Who Died'' (with

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning '' All in the Fami ...

) (2018) (TV) *''

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...

'' (2019) (TV)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolan, Peter 1958 births American television directors Television producers from Massachusetts American television writers Emmy Award winners Living people University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni People from Scituate, Massachusetts American male screenwriters American male writers American male television writers Screenwriters from Massachusetts American gay writers LGBT people from Massachusetts