Dick Wolf

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Dick Wolf

Born Richard Anthony Wolf
December 20, 1946 (1946-12-20) (age 61)
New York, New York, United States
Other names Richard A. Wolf
Richard Wolf
Spouse Noelle Lippman (June 17, 2006-present)
Christine Marburg (June 29, 1983-2005, 3 children)
Susan Scranton (September 5, 1970-March 16, 1983)

Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946), usually billed as simply Dick Wolf, is one of American television's most respected drama series creators and is an Emmy Award-winning producer, specializing in crime dramas.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Wolf was born in New York City, the son of Marie G. (née Gaffney), a homemaker, and George Wolf, an advertising executive.[1][2] As a child, he was an altar boy at St. Patrick's Cathedral when Francis Cardinal Spellman was Archbishop of New York.[2]

Wolf attended Phillips Academy, where he was a classmate of George W. Bush, and graduated from The Gunnery.[2] He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1969.[2] He was a member of Penn's chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity.

[edit] Career

Wolf worked as an advertising copywriter at Benton & Bowles creating commercials for Crest toothpaste, all the while writing screenplays in the hopes of a film career.[2] It was at this time that he briefly collaborated on a screenplay with Oliver Stone, who was also a struggling screenwriter at the time. He moved to Los Angeles after a few years and had three screenplays produced; one of these films, Masquerade starring Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly, was well received. He started his television career as a staff writer on Hill Street Blues and was nominated for his first Emmy for an episode on which he was the only writer.[2] He moved from there to Miami Vice where he was a supervising producer.[2]

Wolf's Law & Order is the second-longest-running dramatic show in television history, making it one of television's most successful franchises.[2] The show has been nominated for the most consecutive Emmy Awards of any primetime drama series. Wolf serves as creator and executive producer of the three current Law & Order drama series from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television – Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. A third spinoff of the original franchise, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, was cancelled after its first season. In addition, he was the creator and executive producer of NBC's courtroom reality series Crime & Punishment, which chronicled real-life cases prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney’s office.

Wolf's company also produced Twin Towers, the 2003 Academy Award-winning Short Documentary about two brothers, one a policeman and the other a fireman, who lost their lives in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. Currently, Wolf is involved with the production of a theatrical film that will document the popular rock group The Doors.

Wolf's personal honors include the Award of Excellence from the Banff Television Festival, the 2002 Creative Achievement Award from NATPE; the Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Entertainment Industry Award, the Leadership and Inspiration Award from the Entertainment Industries Council, the Governor’s Award by the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the 1997 achievement award from the Caucus for Producers, Writers, and Directors, the 1998 Television Showman of the Year Award from the Publicist’s Guild of America, the 2002 Tribute from the Museum of Television and Radio, and a 2003 Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Wolf is also an Honorary Consul general of Monaco and is actively involved in the principality’s prestigious annual Television Festival, and is its primary liaison with the entertainment community.

On March 29, 2007, Wolf received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard.[3]

In addition to having been a classmate of President George W. Bush, Wolf was the employer of Fred Thompson, who sought the Republican nomination for president in 2008 with help of the national attention he gained playing the district attorney on Law & Order. Wolf supported Thompson in his bid, as he did Bush's, as it has been reported that he contributed money to Thompson even before he officially announced he was running.[4]

Wolf is currently working on a theatrical documentary about the life of Jim Morrison, which should be released sometime in 2008. It will include, for the first time ever, interviews with Morrison's family members, including his father, Admiral George Morrison.

[edit] Quotes

  • “I've never understood the obsession with younger writers and dramas. Comedies I understand, but how do you write drama at 23, you haven't experienced anything. You know about 23-year-olds. It's kind of hard to write about 60 year old EADAs [Executive Assistant District Attorneys]. Only a couple of us are 60 years old so far, but there are not many 23-year-olds who can write about life-changing situations unless it's medical. That sounds weird, but there's not the mileage on the odometer to get under the surface. There are exceptions that prove the rule—Dickens wasn't bad at 23.”
[In fact Charles Dickens was first published at the age of 24 (Pickwick Papers) although by the age of 27 he had become an exceptionally popular author in England.]

[edit] Credits

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dick Wolf Biography (1946-)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  3. ^ Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Hollywood Walk of Fame Recent Ceremonies. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  4. ^ Memphis Daily News. Thompson's 'candidacy' Draws Variety of Supporters. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.

[edit] External links

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