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Quick Facts
- NAME: Judd Apatow
- OCCUPATION: Comedian, Filmmaker, Television Producer, Screenwriter
- BIRTH DATE: December 06, 1967 (Age: 45)
- EDUCATION: University of Southern California
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Syosset, New York
- ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius
Best Known For
Judd Apatow is an Emmy-winning screenwriter, producer and director known for films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and This Is 40.
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Play NowJudd Apatow. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:50, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477.
Judd Apatow. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Judd Apatow." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 08:50 http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477.
"Judd Apatow," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Judd Apatow," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Judd Apatow [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477.
Judd Apatow, http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Judd Apatow. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/judd-apatow-21119477. Accessed May 25, 2013.
Synopsis
Judd Apatow was born on December 6, 1967, in Syosset, New York. He studied screenwriting and worked as a stand-up comedian before earning an Emmy for his writing on The Ben Stiller Show. He later created the critically acclaimed series Freaks and Geeks before going on to direct, write and produce the smash 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin. In 2007, he helmed another hit, Knocked Up,
Contents
Quotes
"If you can make somebody laugh, you may not know they like you but you know they don't hate you."
"I want to succeed 'cause I just wanna be allowed to continue making movies. I also have a rebellious streak ... I do have some sense of what makes a very commercial movie and I'm working partially against that. Like as the attention span of the audience gets shorter, I wanna make longer movies to say there's something wrong with you that you can't sit for two hours and 15 minutes."
and went on to direct the films Funny People and This Is 40. Apatow has also worked as a producer and screenwriter for a number of other big-screen comedies, and is an executive producer for the HBO series Girls.
Background and Early Career
Judd Apatow was born in Syosset, New York, on December 6, 1967, to Tami Shad and Maury Apatow. Judd worked at his local high school station, hosting "Club Comedy" and interviewing talent like John Candy, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Weird Al Yankovic. Apatow was also an avid TV watcher, immersing himself in comedic fare like Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda and Saturday Night Live.
Apatow went west and attended the University of Southern California for a time, where he studied screenwriting. He worked as a stand-up comedian, including a stint on the TV series Comic Strip Live, before realizing that he was better equipped at penning material for others. He wrote for comedians like Roseanne Barr, Jim Carrey and Tom Arnold, and by 1992, had earned an executive producer position with the sketch/variety series The Ben Stiller Show. Though the show ran for one season, Apatow won an Emmy for his writing.
Acclaimed Show 'Freaks and Geeks'
Apatow then became one of the writers and executive producers for Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show for several seasons, with Apatow earning several additional Emmy nominations. He continued his journey in TV by creating the series Freaks and Geeks, which debuted in 1999. Though Apatow dealt with another show being cancelled after one season, Freaks earned critical acclaim and provided a platform for actors who would work with the creator on future projects.
By the mid-'90s, Apatow was also getting into film, serving as executive producer and screenwriter on Celtic Pride and producing The Cable Guy, both comedies from 1996. He met actress Leslie Mann on The Cable Guy set; the two married in the summer of 1997 and have two daughters.
Directing Debut With '40-Year-Old Virgin'
Apatow made his big-screen directorial debut in August, 2005 with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, starring Steve Carrell as a sensitive, somewhat alienated soul taking his first steps to becoming sexually intimate. The film, which Apatow also wrote and produced, was an unexpected smash, earning almost $110 million in the domestic box office and another $68 million overseas.
Apatow's next film as a director, 2007's Knocked Up, co-starred Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen as a mismatched couple who end up becoming parents. Knocked Up became another hit for Apatow, earning $219 million worldwide.
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