Sultan Pepper (April 22, 1962 – October 20, 2009) was an American

comedy writer Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

who worked on the '' Ben Stiller Show'' and ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

''. Pepper won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for ''

The Ben Stiller Show ''The Ben Stiller Show'' is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 27, 1992, to January 17, 1993. The Fox program starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Cha ...

'' in 1993.

''The Ben Stiller Show''

Pepper won ''

s 1993

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 individual achievement in writing in a variety or music program", according to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''. Pepper was the only woman on ''The Ben Stiller Show'' writing team, which included

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...

, Ben Stiller and Judd Apatow.

Nickelodeon and after

Pepper later wrote for the HBO educational children's show ''

Crashbox ''Crashbox'' is an educational children's television series co-created by Eamon Harrington and John Watkin for HBO Family that ran from 1999 to 2000 in the United States. It was HBO's second attempt (their first being ''Braingames'' 15 years ear ...

'' as well as the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

animated series '' CatDog''. She also worked as a writer for the late-night television talk show '' The Stephanie Miller Show'' during the 1990s.

2000s

In the 2000s, Pepper worked both as a writer and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

for the United States version of ''

Don't Forget Your Toothbrush ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was a British light entertainment TV programme that aired on Channel 4 from 12 February 1994 to 25 February 1995 and was hosted by Chris Evans. Background ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was written ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

as well as

Street Smarts ''Street Smarts'' is an American game show that featured two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people who were found on the street. The show, which was hosted by Frank Nicotero, aired in syndication from 2000 t ...

and the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

''Blind Date''. Pepper was contracted for a one-year development deal with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

/ Columbia Tri-Star Television beginning in 2002. While with Sony/Columbia TriStar, Pepper wrote and produced on the television shows ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'', '' Shipmates'' and ''

The Rerun Show ''The Rerun Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series that aired on NBC from August 1, 2002 until August 20, 2002. VH1 also aired the show on Fridays at 11:30 P.M. The series was created by John Davies and David Salzman. Synopsis The ...

''. Pepper also wrote for the FOX Saturday night

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show ''

'' for two seasons. The show's writing team, which included Pepper, was nominated for Writers Guild of America Awards in 2004 and 2005. Pepper died in

Murrieta, California Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the f ...

, on October 20, 2009, at the age of 47. She was survived by her parents, Teresa and Jack Pepper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Sultan 1962 births 2009 deaths American comedy writers American television producers American television writers American women comedians Primetime Emmy Award winners Place of birth missing 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians American women television producers American women television writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women