Bill Prady

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.

Bill Prady
Born
William Scott Prady

(1960-06-07) June 7, 1960
OccupationWriter, television producer
Years active1984–present
Spouse(s)
  • Kelly Pino (1982-1984)
  • Kirith Bernstein (1997-2016)

Biography

Born to a Jewish family,[3] Prady graduated from Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.[4] He began his writing career in Canada with You Can't Do That on Television in the early 1980s and also wrote for the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock.

Joining Henson, 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 from the 3-D movie to The Jim Henson Hour.[5] 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.[6]

His first staff writing job was on 5 episodes of 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 producer on Good Morning, MiamiCaroline in the City, Related, Platypus Man and Gilmore Girls.[7]

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

Educator

As of fall, 2012, Prady is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.[8] He is also a Trustee of the Humanitas "New Voices" program.[9]

Personal life

In 2003, he 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 2013, Prady was awarded NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.[13] In 2015, asteroid 8630 (1981 EY35) was designated 8630 Billprady in his honor.[14]

He is divorced from Kirith Prady (née Bernstein). The Pradys have two children: Stella, born in 1999 and Asher, born in 2006.[15]

Selected credits

Awards

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

References

  1. Bill Prady [@billprady] (27 June 2014). "Oh, and I was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Southfield, Michigan. Anything else?" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  2. Bill Prady [@billprady] (27 June 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. Jewish news of Northern California: "Big Bang stars religious balancing act in Hollywood" By Dan Pine March 8, 2013
  4. "Bill Prady". Facebook.
  5. Adalian, Josef (May 12, 2015). "Everything We Know So Far about the Muppets". Vulture. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  6. Goldberg, Lesley (May 9, 2012). "'Muppets' Revived at ABC With 'Big Bang Theory' Co-Creator". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  7. "Bill Prady bio". IMDB.
  8. "Attending my first #USC Trojans football..." Twitter. September 1, 2012.
  9. "Our Board of Trustees: Bill Prady". The Humanitas Prize. 2015. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  10. "Special Election - Statement of the Vote" (PDF). 2003.
  11. Bill Prady [@billprady] (24 June 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. "2013 Agency Honor Awards" (PDF). NASA. 2013. p. 38. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  14. Ron Baalke [@RonBaalke] (2 September 2015). "Asteroid 8630 has been named in honor of @billprady, executive producer of @BigBang_CBS Congratulations Bill!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  15. "Distinguished Alums to Return to Campus as Honored Commencement Speakers". Cranbrook schools website.
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