Andy Cowan

Andy Cowan (born Andrew Glenn Cowan)^[1] is an American writer and script consultant for television and other media, including two of the five best television series of all time, as compiled in 2012 by ABC News and People Magazine, and the number two and number eight best written series as voted on by the Writers Guild of America in 2013 (101 Best Written TV Series). He's hosted the radio comedy talk show, Up & Down Guys, on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles.^[2] He has appeared in several television shows, most recently as host of the hour-long talk show pilot, Another Talk Show! with Andy Cowan, featuring Jason Alexander and Sheila Raye Charles.^[3] and guest commentator on KTTV's Good Day L.A. He has written humor columns for the Los Angeles Times newspaper and magazine, Salon,^[4] special material for The New Yorker, and several songs, one of which won international song contest nods. He's a voiceover artist, and sings in jazz clubs throughout Los Angeles.^[5]

Biography

Cowan received a Master's degree in Broadcasting from Boston University and began his broadcasting career in radio and TV news in Pennsylvania.^[6]

Career

After gaining media experience in Pennsylvania newsrooms, Cowan moved to Los Angeles, writing scripts for several comedy television shows. He gained greater exposure with The Merv Griffin Show during the 1980s, where he wrote, assisted in producing segments, and appeared on-air. He interviewed hundreds of guests, including Jerry Seinfeld and Orson Welles. On the cable TV channel Showtime, he produced, wrote and hosted the 1990 short 6 Minutes,^[7] a spoof of the popular 60 Minutes. That segment won a CableACE Award in 1991.^[8] At the 2009 Southeast New England Film, Music & Arts Festival, Cowan received the Best Comedy Award for the short film, Knocked Down, which he wrote and appears in. Cowan has performed in comedy clubs throughout the country.^[9] His voice has been used on audiobooks for the Star Wars audiobook series, as narrator on the Audible Inc. audiobook, Tales from the Oklahoma Sooners Sidelines, and in TV show voiceovers, including as narrator on Hollywood's Best Film Directors. He has written for MyFM in Los Angeles, and wrote for the Jack FM network from 2007 to 2010. He has written nearly 300 panels for the award-winning worldwide syndicated newspaper comic strip Bizarro, in collaboration with Dan Piraro, one of which was featured on NBC's Meet the Press, and has written multiple panels for the syndicated newspaper comic strip Rhymes with Orange in collaboration with Hilary B. Price. New York publisher, Library Tales, will be publishing two of his books in 2015-'16 -- Bizarro Meets Cheers & Seinfeld Writer, Andy Cowan, a compilation of favorite Bizarros, and What the Stars Told Me* *Before the Show, a Hollywood memoir.

Cowan's songwriting work includes ... Hitchin' on the Highway of Life (music, lyrics, vocals by Andy Cowan, guitar arrangement by Marty Rifkin, award-winning session musician for Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Jewel) ^[10] recipient of five international songwriting nods and featured in Knocked Down ... And 20th Century Man (music, lyrics, vocals) the theme to Another Talk Show! with Andy Cowan.

Cowan's television writing work includes "The Opposite", one of the top ten Seinfeld episodes. http://splitsider.com/2014/07/sketch-anatomy-andy-cowan-explains-the-origins-of-seinfelds-the-opposite/

Partial credits include:

Cheers (3 episodes plus an additional story, 1985-1987) - (writer)
Throb (1 episode, 1986) - (writer)
Take Five aka The George Segal Show, 1987 - (writer, story editor)
The Pat Sajak Show (1989-1990) - (writer)
Into the Night (1990-1991) - (writer)
Seinfeld (18 episodes, 1994-1995) - (writer, program consultant)^[11]
Double Rush (1 episode, 1994) - (writer, story editor)
3rd Rock from the Sun (2 episodes, 1995–96) - (writer, executive story consultant)
The Merv Griffin Show - (writer, segment producer, talent coordinator, performer)
6 Minutes (Showtime, 1990 short segment) - (producer, writer, host)
My Talk Show (1990, 1991) - (writer)^[12]
The Best Damn Sports Show Period (3 episodes, 2002) - (announcer)
Knocked Down (2008 short film) - (writer, actor, vocalist)^[13]
Ellen DeGeneres - (writer for Emmy hosting)
Phonees (2011 webisode series) - (writer, actor)^[14]
Our Time is Up (2015 webisode series pilot) - (Creator, host)
Wannabes (2015 webisode series pilot) - (EP, writer, actor)

References

External links

Andy Cowan at the Internet Movie Database