Bill Prady

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill Prady
Prady in 2011
Member of the California College of Presidential Electors
In office
December 14, 2020
ConstituencyCalifornia's 30th congressional district
Personal details
Born
William Scott Prady

(1960-06-07) June 7, 1960 (age 63)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.[1]
Spouses
  • Kelly Pino
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1982; div. 1984)​
  • Kirith Bernstein
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1997; div. 2016)​
  • Jessica Queller
    ​
    (m. 2021)​
OccupationWriter, television producer
Years active1984–present

William Scott Prady[2] (born June 7, 1960) is an American television writer and producer who has worked on American sitcoms and variety programs, including Married... with Children, Dream On, Star Trek: Voyager, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and Gilmore Girls and is the co-creator of The Big Bang Theory and The Muppets.

Early life[edit]

Born in Detroit, Prady graduated from Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.[3] He began his broadcast writing career with four episodes of You Can't Do That on Television (shared credit with Terence Taylor) in the early 1980s.

Joining Jim Henson Productions, he was a production assistant on a TV special about the world of technology. Prady stayed with the company and worked in the merchandising department. With the encouragement of Jim Henson, Prady began writing working on projects ranging from the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock to The Jim Henson Hour.[4] During his tenure at The Muppets, he was visually caricatured as the puppet "Chip" (The Jim Henson Hour). In 1991, Prady was nominated for an Emmy award for co-writing the posthumous tribute to Jim Henson entitled "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson". He wrote the Disney theme park attractions Muppet*Vision 3D and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.

On April 3, 2015, he co-wrote and sold a new version of Muppet Show with the working title The Muppets to ABC with Bob Kushell, who also served as show runner.[5]

His first staff writing job was on the HBO series Dream On in 1995. In 1997 he joined the writing staff of Dharma & Greg, rising to Executive Producer and taking over as Showrunner in 2001. He was also a writer/producer on Good Morning, Miami, Caroline in the City, Related, Platypus Man and Gilmore Girls.[6]

From 2007 to 2019, he was the executive producer and co-creator with Chuck Lorre of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Educator[edit]

As of fall, 2012, Prady is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.[7] He is also a Trustee of the Humanitas "New Voices" program.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Prady is Jewish.[9]

In 2003, Prady was one of 135 candidates who ran for Governor of California in the 2003 recall election, receiving 474 votes, tying him for 111th place.[10]

Prady was a Z80 programmer at The Small Computer Company.[11] In 2010, Prady was given honorary membership in the Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science.[12] In 2015, asteroid 8630 (1981 EY35) was designated 8630 Billprady in his honor.[13]

NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal ribbon
NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal ribbon

In 2013, Prady was awarded NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.[14]

In 2020, Prady appeared in a small cameo role in Bill & Ted Face the Music.[15]

In 2022, Prady was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa by Wayne State University.[16]

Prady is on the autism spectrum.[17]

Selected credits[edit]

Awards[edit]

Year Award Category Program Result
1989 WGA Award Outstanding Achievement: Variety, Musical, Award, Tribute or Special Event Miss Piggy’s Hollywood Won
1990 WGA Award Outstanding Achievement: Variety, Musical, Award, Tribute or Special Event Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special Won
1991 CableACE Award Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming The Presidential Inaugural Celebration for Children Won
1991 WGA Award Outstanding Achievement: Variety, Musical, Award, Tribute or Special Event The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson Won
1991 Emmy Award Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson Nominated
1996 The People's Choice Awards Favorite New Television Comedy Series Caroline in the City Won
1998 The People's Choice Awards Favorite New Television Comedy Series Dharma & Greg Won
1998 Golden Globe Award Best Series: Musical or Comedy Dharma & Greg Nominated
1999 Golden Globe Award Best Series: Musical or Comedy Dharma & Greg Nominated
1999 WGA Award Outstanding Achievement: Comedy Series Dharma & Greg Nominated
2009 TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Big Bang Theory Won
2009 Satellite Award Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2010 Golden Globe Award Best Series: Musical or Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2010 The People's Choice Awards Favorite Television Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Won
2010 TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2011 Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2011 The People's Choice Awards Favorite Television Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2011 Producers Guild of America Award Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2011 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Satellite Award Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy The Big Bang Theory Won
2012 TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding International Producer The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Producers Guild of America Award Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2012 Golden Globe Award Best Series: Musical or Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2013 The People's Choice Awards Favorite Television Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Won
2013 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Won
2013 TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Comedy The Big Bang Theory Won
2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice Award: Best Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2013 Monte-Carlo Television Festival International TV Audience Award The Big Bang Theory Won
2013 Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2013 Golden Globe Award Best Series: Musical or Comedy The Big Bang Theory Nominated
2014 The People's Choice Awards Favorite Television Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory Won
2022 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Play Dana H Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bill Prady [@billprady] (June 27, 2014). "Oh, and I was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Southfield, Michigan. Anything else?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Bill Prady [@billprady] (June 27, 2014). "Re: request to solve a Wikipedia problem: My full name is William Scott Prady, and my date of birth is 6/7/60" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Bill Prady". Facebook.
  4. ^ Adalian, Josef (May 12, 2015). "Everything We Know So Far about the Muppets". Vulture. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 9, 2012). "'Muppets' Revived at ABC With 'Big Bang Theory' Co-Creator". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  6. ^ "Bill Prady bio". IMDB.
  7. ^ "Attending my first #USC Trojans football..." Twitter. September 1, 2012.
  8. ^ "Our Board of Trustees: Bill Prady". The Humanitas Prize. 2015. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  9. ^ "The Influence of Jewish Characters in Seinfeld and Israel | Bartleby".
  10. ^ "Special Election - Statement of the Vote" (PDF). 2003.
  11. ^ Bill Prady [@billprady] (November 4, 2010). "For the record, I personally am a big iPhone fan even though I tend to be a PC guy (but that's 'cause I'm an old Z80 programmer)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "The Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science Bestows Honorary Memberships to The Big Bang Theory Creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady". prnewswire.com. October 7, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  13. ^ Ron Baalke [@RonBaalke] (September 2, 2015). "Asteroid 8630 has been named in honor of @billprady, executive producer of @BigBang_CBS Congratulations Bill!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "2013 Agency Honor Awards" (PDF). NASA. 2013. p. 38. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  15. ^ "IMDB". IMDb.
  16. ^ "Wayne State Press Release". 15 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Bill Prady: Origins of Sheldon. Neurodiversity & Sensory Overload". Mayim Bialik's Breakdown. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Prady&oldid=1212790869"