| Paul Kreppel | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 20, 1947 Kingston, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Director/Producer |
| Years active | 1968–present |
Paul Kreppel (born June 20, 1947) is an actor, producer, director. On television, he was best known as the pianist, Sonny Mann in the show, It's a Living. In his work as theater director- producer-creator, he received the 2007 Tony Award for Jay Johnson: The Two and Only.
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Kreppel was born in Kingston, New York to Adele and Irv Kreppel.[1] He then moved to Boston to attend Emerson College and graduated with honors. Kreppel received an Alumni Achievement Award in '93 and is a member of the Class of 1969. From there, he had started his acting career by starring in the improvisational theater group, "The Proposition." When the group, which included Jane Curtin, Josh Mostel, Judith Kahan and Munson Hicks, moved to New York, Kreppel began starring in off-Broadway plays, including "Godspell" and "Tuscaloosa's Calling Me...". While appearing at the New York Shakespeare Festival, he notably starred with Meryl Streep in the musical, "Alice in Concert", by Elizabeth Swados. Others are Agamemnon (as part of choir) and Comedy of Errors in the late 1970s.[2][3]
In 1979, Kreppel moved to Los Angeles to become the memorable waitress-harassing pianist, Sonny Mann, of It's a Living, and starred in all 120 episodes; he has also directed some episodes. He has been known to be spunky and jovial while acting on the show. (Kreppel, along with Gail Edwards, Barrie Youngfellow and the late Marian Mercer, were the only four who lasted through the show's network and syndicated runs.) While doing his television career there, he frequently returns to New York to do theater acts. He was a semi-regular celebrity guest on the 1980s versions of the game show, Pyramid, and on the short-lived game show, Blackout.
During the 1990s, he returned to theatre and starred in the musical revue of the Allan Sherman songs from, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!" In addition, he starred in Jerome Robbins' Broadway on its national tour. In the movie sector, he was the voice of Apollo Blue in Jetsons: The Movie. Up until recently, Kreppel has guest starred and directed in many other television shows, including appearing as Jackie's dad in That '70s Show.
He recently appeared off Broadway for more than a year in the one-man-show "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy." He has served on the Council of Actor's Equity Association and as a board member of the Screen Actors Guild and is active in art's education as a professional arts educator and as a member of the board of directors of Enrichment Works, a not-for-profit that provides curriculum based theatre for schools in Southern California.
Currently, Kreppel is directing and producing with his partner in WetRock Entertainment, Ms. Murphy Cross, Jay Johnson: The Two and Only, in which he won a 2007 Tony Award for best special theatrical event. They are also developing other projects.[4]
He is Jewish, divorced and has two children, Will and Molly. Each has recently graduated from an Arts University.[2]