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

Early life

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, he received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1976. He was a member of ''

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

'', 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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' ''Lampoon'' parody (with Patricia Marx,

Ian Frazier Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history ''Great Plains'', 2010's non-fiction travelogue ''Travels in Siberia'', and works as a writer and humorist for ''The New Yorker ...

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 group.

Career

O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan shared the 2003 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical 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, actor, writer, 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, choreographer, 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 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 great writers in the French language and world liter ...

. 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 United States, American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he served as a scriptwriter and gag writer (for which he is credited as a producer) and led the show's commu ...

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

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

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

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', under head writer Michael O'Donoghue. At ''

'', he wrote alongside Terry Southern. 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 Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

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 LGBTQ novelists American male novelists American male short story writers Comedians from Cleveland American humorists American male comedians