| Chuck Lorre | |
|---|---|
Lorre in September 2011 |
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| Born | Charles Michael Levine October 18, 1952 |
| Occupation | Writer, television producer, composer, television director, production manager |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Awards | BMI Television Music Awards 2004, 2005, 2008 |
| Website | |
| ChuckLorre.com | |
Chuck Lorre (born Charles Michael Levine October 18, 1952)[1] is a writer, director, producer and composer who has created many American sitcoms, including Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Lorre also served as an executive producer of the sitcom Roseanne, and currently serves as an executive producer for CBS's Mike & Molly.
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Lorre attended State University of New York at Potsdam, dropping out after two years to pursue a career as a songwriter.[1]
After leaving school, Lorre toured the United States as a guitarist and songwriter.[2] He wrote Deborah Harry's radio hit single "French Kissin' in the USA" for the 1986 Rockbird album.[2] Lorre also composed the soundtrack to the 1987 television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Dennis Challen Brown.[3][4][5]
Lorre shifted into writing, being a writer on the show Roseanne. Lorre's first show as creator was the ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire, starring comedienne Brett Butler.[2] It premiered on ABC in 1993, and was nominated at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Lorre's next project was the sitcom Cybill, starring Cybill Shepherd. The show aired for four seasons on CBS and received critical acclaim, winning an Emmy in 1995: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for co-star Christine Baranski and 2 Golden Globe Awards in 1996: Best TV series (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in a TV series (Musical or Comedy) for Shepherd's performance as Cybill Sheridan. Lorre's next project, Dharma and Greg, was conceived in 1997, one year before the end of Cybill.[1] The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as the title characters.
In 2003, Lorre co-created Two and a Half Men with Lee Aronsohn. The show focuses on two brothers, one of whom, Charlie (Charlie Sheen), is a rich, successful womanizer who owns a beach house at Malibu. His brother Alan (Jon Cryer) gets a divorce and is forced to move into his brother's Malibu house. Alan also has a son, Jake (Angus T. Jones) the "half" who comes to visit the brothers on weekends. The series premiered on CBS in September 2003 and has become the most popular sitcom in America.[1] As of the 2010–2011 season, Two and a Half Men would have completed eight seasons. In February 2011, however, CBS canceled the production of the rest of the eighth season, following several incidents of production shutdowns allegedly due to Charlie Sheen's problems with substance abuse, the last of which culminated in Sheen's verbal attacks directed at Lorre in a radio interview.[6][7] Charlie Sheen ended up being fired from the show,[8] and because of this, he later filed a US$100 million lawsuit against Lorre and Warner Bros.[9] In May 2011 it was announced that Ashton Kutcher would replace Sheen as the lead of the show. His character's name is Walden Schmidt. Kutcher made his debut on September 19 2011.
In 2007, Lorre co-created The Big Bang Theory (with Bill Prady), which follows two young nerdy physicists living next door to an attractive young woman. Each episode usually focuses on the daily lives of the men and two of their equally nerdy friends, with a dose of absurdity from the relationship with their normal neighbor. The two main protagonists, Sheldon and Leonard, are named after the actor and television producer Sheldon Leonard.[10] The show is the second highest rated comedy series in America.[2]
Lorre's most recent production Mike & Molly premiered on CBS in September 2010.[11]
On the vanity card for Chuck Lorre Productions at the end of every episode of Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mike & Molly, Lorre includes a message that usually reads like an editorial, essay, or observation on life. A typical card might include a range of topics as diverse as what the Bee Gees never learned, the cancellation of Dharma & Greg, the competence of AOL Time Warner management, and the genesis of Two and a Half Men.
The card is shown for only a few seconds at most, so longer messages cannot be read unless recorded and paused, although Lorre now posts the cards on his website. CBS has censored Lorre's vanity cards on several occasions;[12] Lorre posts both the censored and uncensored versions of the cards.
Several of the cards became prominent elements of the Charlie Sheen incident.[13]
The vanity card used on Grace under Fire and Cybill featured a wooden desk with an Apple Macintosh SE.
Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory are both taped at the Warner Brothers lot, in adjacent stages; the shows share several writers and technical crews.[14] The Big Bang Theory has cast several actors from Lorre's past, starting with Johnny Galecki from Roseanne (he was Darlene's boyfriend and later husband).[15] Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene on Roseanne, was Leslie Winkle on Big Bang. Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie in Roseanne, plays Sheldon's mother Mary. Christine Baranski, Emmy Award winner on Cybill, was cast as Leonard's mother.
Also on The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny are seen watching Oshikuru: Demon Samurai. Oshikuru was the show Charlie wrote the theme song for on Two and a Half Men. Charlie Sheen also makes a cameo appearance in the Big Bang episode "The Griffin Equivalency".
Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men appeared in one episode of Dharma and Greg. Jenna Elfman, Susan Sullivan, and Joel Murray of Dharma and Greg also appeared in various episodes of Two and a Half Men. In the eighth episode of the fifth season of Two and a Half Men ("Is There a Mrs. Waffles?") Charlie watches Dharma and Greg after watching the first commercial for his CD. In the first episode after Charlie Sheen left (ninth season), Dharma and Greg were one of the couples looking over Charlie's house, which is on sale.
Lorre won BMI Television Music Awards in 2004, 2005, and 2008 for Two and a Half Men.
On March 12, 2009, Lorre received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[16] Three months later, Lorre received an honorary degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and gave a keynote address at the graduation.[17]
On November 29, 2011, it was announced that Lorre would be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in March 2012.
Lorre is of Jewish origin. He is divorced and has two children.[1][18]
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