Dean Pitchford
Encyclopedia
Dean Pitchford is an American
songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award
, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, seven Grammy Award
s and two Tony Award
s.
Pitchford began his performance career as an actor and singer with the Honolulu Community Theatre (now Diamond Head Theatre
), the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, among others.
While studying at Yale University
, Pitchford performed with numerous campus drama groups, but his focus gradually turned off-campus, where he worked with the Wooster Square
Revival, an experimental theatre company that offered acting opportunities to recovering addicts and alcoholics. In 1969, Pitchford returned to Honolulu as a writers’ assistant to authors Faye Hammel and Sylvan Levey, updating the popular guidebook Hawai’i on $5 and $10 A Day, and researching TWA
’s Budget Guide to Hawai’i, the first of a series of guidebooks that would eventually metamorphose into the popular series TWA Getaway Guides.
in New York City. He also starred in Godspell at Washington, D.C.
’s historic Ford’s Theatre.
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse
cast Pitchford as Pippin in the Broadway show of the same name in 1972. While in Pippin
, Pitchford acted, sang and danced in over 100 commercials for such products as Dr Pepper
, McDonald’s, Lay’s Potato Chips, and M&M's
.
, Alan Menken
and Rupert Holmes
. In 1979, he collaborated with recording artist and cabaret performer Peter Allen
to write new songs for Allen’s one-man Broadway revue, Up In One.
With composer Michael Gore
, Pitchford collaborated on three songs for Alan Parker
's motion picture Fame (1980)-- Red Light, a disco hit for singer Linda Clifford
; the symphonic/rock finale I Sing the Body Electric; and the title song Fame
, which became a multi-platinum, international best seller for Irene Cara
. That song earned Gore and Pitchford an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year (1981). They also received a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
When Pitchford was signed by Warner Brothers Publishing (1981) he began collaborating with a variety of songwriters. Among the first songs he wrote with Tom Snow was Don’t Call It Love; first cut by Kim Carnes
on her Bette Davis Eyes
album (1981), the tune became a chart-topper for Dolly Parton
in 1986 and was named the BMI
Country Song of the Year.
For the ill-fated 1981 movie The Legend of the Lone Ranger
, Pitchford wrote a narrative ballad, The Man In the Mask. This was spoken (throughout the movie) and sung (at its beginning and end) by Merle Haggard
.
You Should Hear How She Talks About You, another Snow/Pitchford composition, was a Top 5 hit for Melissa Manchester
for which she won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(1983). That same year, Pitchford and Kenny Loggins
wrote (with Steve Perry
of Journey
fame) Don’t Fight It, a Top 20 hit that was Grammy-nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Duo category.
With musical director Michael Miller, Pitchford wrote the theme song for the weekly dance-music show Solid Gold
(1980–1988); the theme was first sung by Dionne Warwick
, and, in subsequent seasons, re-recorded by replacement hosts Andy Gibb
, Marilyn McCoo
, and Rex Smith
.
, a town which had finally lifted an 80-year-old ban on dancing, Pitchford wrote the screenplay for the motion picture Footloose (1984). He collaborated on the nine-song score with songwriters Eric Carmen
, Michael Gore, Sammy Hagar
, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow and Bill Wolfer. The movie, directed by Herbert Ross
and featuring a cast that included Kevin Bacon
, John Lithgow
and Sarah Jessica Parker
, opened at #1 and became (at the time) the highest-grossing February release in film history.
When the soundtrack album
hit #1 on the Billboard
album charts, it deposed Michael Jackson
’s Thriller
and held that position for 10 weeks. It went on top charts all over the world, eventually selling more than 17 million albums. Kenny Loggins' single of the title song hit #1 on March 31, 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. Five weeks later (May 26, 1984) Deniece Williams
’ "Let’s Hear It for the Boy" went to #1, as well. Four more songs from the soundtrack charted in the Top 40 -- "Almost Paradise
" (#7 - co-written w/Eric Carmen); "Dancing in the Sheets" (#17 - co-written w/Bill Wolfer); "I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" (#22 - co-written w/Kenny Loggins); and "Holding Out for a Hero
" (#34 - co-written w/Jim Steinman). "Footloose
" was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Song; and "Footloose" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (co-written with Tom Snow) both received Academy Awards nominations (1985). Pitchford also received two Grammy nominations: Best Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, and Best R&B Song "Dancing in the Sheets".
Pitchford also wrote the screenplay, as well as collaborated on all songs, for the 1989 musical film Sing
.
Recently, Pitchford co-wrote the screenplay for the 2011 remake
of Footloose.
. That led to Pitchford's hiring as director of HBO's Blood Brothers; The Joey DiPaolo
Story(1992), which won that year's Cable Ace Award for Best Children’s Program.
, Pitchford wrote Welcome, the Invocation for the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics
; it was performed by a choir of 1,000 voices in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
.
Pitchford wrote lyrics for Broadway
's Carrie
with Michael Gore in 1988.
For the motion picture Chances Are
(1989), Pitchford and Tom Snow composed "After All", an international hit for Cher
and Peter Cetera
which garnered Pitchford his fourth Oscar nomination, and two years later Pitchford's and Gore’s "All the Man That I Need
" was a worldwide #1 for Whitney Houston
.
Pitchford contributed lyrics to Richard Marx
's song "That Was Lulu" for Marx's 1989 album Repeat Offender, with whom he also wrote "Through My Eyes" for Martina McBride
for the Bambi II
soundtrack.
Pitchford worked for many years on a stage adaptation of Footloose
, which finally opened on Broadway on October 22, 1998. The original cast recording was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Musical Show Album. After over 700 performances, the show closed on July 2, 2000. The musical continues to be performed all over the U.S. and around the world.
Australian film star Hugh Jackman
won Broadway’s Tony Award for his portrayal of songwriter Peter Allen
in The Boy from Oz
(2003), in which he sang songs ("Not the Boy Next Door" and "Once Before I Go") written more than two decades earlier by Allen and Pitchford.
Pitchford contributed songs to The Lizzie McGuire Movie
(2003); Shrek 2
(2004); Ice Princess
(2005); and Bambi II
(2006).
/Penguin Group
published Pitchford's first Young Adult novel, The Big One-Oh, in March, 2007, and Random House
’s Listening Library released the audiobook (read by Pitchford) in January 2008. That recording received a 2008 Grammy nomination in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for Children. Pitchford's second novel, Captain Nobody, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Group and released on audiobook by Random House in summer, 2009; that recording received a 2009 nomination in the same Grammy category.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, seven Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s and two Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s.
Early life
Pitchford was born in Honolulu, where he attended Star Of The Sea School and graduated (1968) from Saint Louis High School.Pitchford began his performance career as an actor and singer with the Honolulu Community Theatre (now Diamond Head Theatre
Diamond Head Theatre
The Diamond Head Theatre is a cultural institution in the United States. Calling itself the Broadway of the Pacific, it is located on the slopes of Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii. Opened in 1915, it is Hawaii's oldest performing arts center.-History:...
), the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, among others.
While studying at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Pitchford performed with numerous campus drama groups, but his focus gradually turned off-campus, where he worked with the Wooster Square
Wooster Square
Wooster Square is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut to the east of downtown. The name refers to a park square located between Greene Street, Wooster Place, Chapel Street and Academy Street in the center of the neighborhood...
Revival, an experimental theatre company that offered acting opportunities to recovering addicts and alcoholics. In 1969, Pitchford returned to Honolulu as a writers’ assistant to authors Faye Hammel and Sylvan Levey, updating the popular guidebook Hawai’i on $5 and $10 A Day, and researching TWA
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
’s Budget Guide to Hawai’i, the first of a series of guidebooks that would eventually metamorphose into the popular series TWA Getaway Guides.
Performing
In 1971, Pitchford was cast in the off-Broadway musical, GodspellGodspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
in New York City. He also starred in Godspell at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
’s historic Ford’s Theatre.
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
cast Pitchford as Pippin in the Broadway show of the same name in 1972. While in Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
, Pitchford acted, sang and danced in over 100 commercials for such products as Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
, McDonald’s, Lay’s Potato Chips, and M&M's
M&M's
M&M's are dragée-like "colorful button-shaped candies" produced by Mars, Incorporated...
.
Early songwriting
As a result of performing his early songwriting efforts in cabarets around Manhattan, Pitchford was invited to write with such composers as Stephen SchwartzStephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
, Alan Menken
Alan Menken
Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
and Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
. In 1979, he collaborated with recording artist and cabaret performer Peter Allen
Peter Allen
Peter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, with one, Arthur's Theme, winning an Academy Award in 1981...
to write new songs for Allen’s one-man Broadway revue, Up In One.
With composer Michael Gore
Michael Gore
Michael Gore is an American composer. He, along with lyricist Dean Pitchford, won the Oscar in 1980 for best original song for "Fame" from the film of the same title. He also won the award that year for best original score. Gore is the younger brother of singer/songwriter Lesley Gore.Gore wrote...
, Pitchford collaborated on three songs for Alan Parker
Alan Parker
Sir Alan William Parker, CBE is an English film director, producer, writer and actor. He has been active in both the British cinema and American cinema and was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.-Life and career:...
's motion picture Fame (1980)-- Red Light, a disco hit for singer Linda Clifford
Linda Clifford (singer)
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer and actress, who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light"....
; the symphonic/rock finale I Sing the Body Electric; and the title song Fame
Fame (Irene Cara song)
"Fame" is a pop song, written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford that was released in 1980, and achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie...
, which became a multi-platinum, international best seller for Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
. That song earned Gore and Pitchford an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year (1981). They also received a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
When Pitchford was signed by Warner Brothers Publishing (1981) he began collaborating with a variety of songwriters. Among the first songs he wrote with Tom Snow was Don’t Call It Love; first cut by Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
on her Bette Davis Eyes
Bette Davis Eyes
"Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon and made popular by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes.-History:...
album (1981), the tune became a chart-topper for Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
in 1986 and was named the BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Country Song of the Year.
For the ill-fated 1981 movie The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
, Pitchford wrote a narrative ballad, The Man In the Mask. This was spoken (throughout the movie) and sung (at its beginning and end) by Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
.
You Should Hear How She Talks About You, another Snow/Pitchford composition, was a Top 5 hit for Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
for which she won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
(1983). That same year, Pitchford and Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
wrote (with Steve Perry
Steve Perry (musician)
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
of Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
fame) Don’t Fight It, a Top 20 hit that was Grammy-nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Duo category.
With musical director Michael Miller, Pitchford wrote the theme song for the weekly dance-music show Solid Gold
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
(1980–1988); the theme was first sung by Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, and, in subsequent seasons, re-recorded by replacement hosts Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb was an English singer and teen idol, and the youngest brother of the family whose other male siblings formed the Bee Gees: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.-The early years:...
, Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold...
, and Rex Smith
Rex Smith
Rex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...
.
Screenwriting
Inspired by a 1979 news story about Elmore City, OklahomaElmore City, Oklahoma
Elmore City is a town in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 756 at the 2000 census. It was named after J. O. Elmore.- History :The first business in Elmore City was opened by Jasper N...
, a town which had finally lifted an 80-year-old ban on dancing, Pitchford wrote the screenplay for the motion picture Footloose (1984). He collaborated on the nine-song score with songwriters Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...
, Michael Gore, Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow and Bill Wolfer. The movie, directed by Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
and featuring a cast that included Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
, John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
and Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, opened at #1 and became (at the time) the highest-grossing February release in film history.
When the soundtrack album
Footloose (soundtrack)
Footloose is the original soundtrack of the Paramount motion picture Footloose. The original nine-track album was released in 1984 and reached Number One on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart on April 21, 1984, where it stayed until June 30, 1984. When it was re-released in 1998, four bonus tracks...
hit #1 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
album charts, it deposed Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
’s Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
and held that position for 10 weeks. It went on top charts all over the world, eventually selling more than 17 million albums. Kenny Loggins' single of the title song hit #1 on March 31, 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. Five weeks later (May 26, 1984) Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams
June Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s...
’ "Let’s Hear It for the Boy" went to #1, as well. Four more songs from the soundtrack charted in the Top 40 -- "Almost Paradise
Almost Paradise
"Almost Paradise...Love Theme from Footloose" is the title of a duet by singers Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, written by pop music singer-songwriter Eric Carmen and co-written by Dean Pitchford....
" (#7 - co-written w/Eric Carmen); "Dancing in the Sheets" (#17 - co-written w/Bill Wolfer); "I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" (#22 - co-written w/Kenny Loggins); and "Holding Out for a Hero
Holding Out for a Hero
"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1984 on the soundtrack to the film Footloose. It later appeared on Tyler's Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album. It hit #96 for the first time in UK in 1984,...
" (#34 - co-written w/Jim Steinman). "Footloose
Footloose (song)
"Footloose" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. It was released in January 1984 as the first of two single by Loggins from the 1984 film of the same name. The song spent three weeks at number one, March 31—April 14, 1984 on the U.S. Billboard...
" was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Song; and "Footloose" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (co-written with Tom Snow) both received Academy Awards nominations (1985). Pitchford also received two Grammy nominations: Best Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, and Best R&B Song "Dancing in the Sheets".
Pitchford also wrote the screenplay, as well as collaborated on all songs, for the 1989 musical film Sing
Sing (1989 film)
Sing is a 1989 film, starring Lorraine Bracco, Peter Dobson and Jessica Steen. The movie is about a fictional New York City SING! production...
.
Recently, Pitchford co-wrote the screenplay for the 2011 remake
Footloose (2011 film)
Footloose is a 2011 American dance film directed by Craig Brewer. It is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name and stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie MacDowell. The film follows a young man who moves from Boston to a small southern town and protests the town's ban...
of Footloose.
Directing
Pitchford wrote and directed a short film, The Washing Machine Man (1991), for Chanticleer Films; it was invited to be shown out-of-competition at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. That led to Pitchford's hiring as director of HBO's Blood Brothers; The Joey DiPaolo
Joey DiPaolo
Joey DiPaolo is a New York native who is an AIDS activist. DiPaolo himself is HIV positive.Joey DiPaolo contracted HIV during a heart surgery in 1984. He required a blood transfusion, and the blood given to him came from an AIDS patient...
Story(1992), which won that year's Cable Ace Award for Best Children’s Program.
Later songwriting
With Marvin HamlischMarvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
, Pitchford wrote Welcome, the Invocation for the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
; it was performed by a choir of 1,000 voices in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
.
Pitchford wrote lyrics for Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
's Carrie
Carrie (musical)
Carrie: The Musical is a musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. Adapted from Stephen King's novel Carrie, it focuses on an awkward teenage girl with telekinetic powers whose lonely life is dominated by an oppressive religious fanatic mother...
with Michael Gore in 1988.
For the motion picture Chances Are
Chances Are (film)
Chances Are is a 1989 romantic comedy film written by Perry & Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey, Jr., Ryan O'Neal, and Mary Stuart Masterson. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre.-Plot:...
(1989), Pitchford and Tom Snow composed "After All", an international hit for Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
which garnered Pitchford his fourth Oscar nomination, and two years later Pitchford's and Gore’s "All the Man That I Need
All the Man That I Need
"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by American songwriters Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded under the name "All the man I need" by singer Linda Clifford, in 1982, for her album I'll Keep on Loving You. Pitchford and Gore had in mind Clifford and her husband...
" was a worldwide #1 for Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
.
Pitchford contributed lyrics to Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
's song "That Was Lulu" for Marx's 1989 album Repeat Offender, with whom he also wrote "Through My Eyes" for Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
for the Bambi II
Bambi II
Bambi II is a 2006 Disney animated feature directed by Brian Pimental that initially premiered in theaters in Argentina on January 26, 2006, before being released as a direct-to-video title in the United States on February 7, 2006...
soundtrack.
Pitchford worked for many years on a stage adaptation of Footloose
Footloose (musical)
Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow , the lyrics by Dean Pitchford , and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie.-Act 1:...
, which finally opened on Broadway on October 22, 1998. The original cast recording was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Musical Show Album. After over 700 performances, the show closed on July 2, 2000. The musical continues to be performed all over the U.S. and around the world.
Australian film star Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
won Broadway’s Tony Award for his portrayal of songwriter Peter Allen
Peter Allen
Peter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, with one, Arthur's Theme, winning an Academy Award in 1981...
in The Boy from Oz
The Boy from Oz
The Boy from Oz is a jukebox musical based on the life of singer/songwriter Peter Allen and featuring songs written by him. The book is by Nick Enright. The production had its world premiere, directed by Gale Edwards, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, on 5 March 1998 and toured Brisbane,...
(2003), in which he sang songs ("Not the Boy Next Door" and "Once Before I Go") written more than two decades earlier by Allen and Pitchford.
Pitchford contributed songs to The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 Walt Disney Pictures comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire which was released on May 2, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the first Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Jim Fall with...
(2003); Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
(2004); Ice Princess
Ice Princess
Ice Princess is a 2005 American figure-skating film directed by Tim Fywell, Starring Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Hayden Panettiere, Trevor Blumas, and Kirsten Olson...
(2005); and Bambi II
Bambi II
Bambi II is a 2006 Disney animated feature directed by Brian Pimental that initially premiered in theaters in Argentina on January 26, 2006, before being released as a direct-to-video title in the United States on February 7, 2006...
(2006).
Fiction writing
G. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
/Penguin Group
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
published Pitchford's first Young Adult novel, The Big One-Oh, in March, 2007, and Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
’s Listening Library released the audiobook (read by Pitchford) in January 2008. That recording received a 2008 Grammy nomination in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for Children. Pitchford's second novel, Captain Nobody, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Group and released on audiobook by Random House in summer, 2009; that recording received a 2009 nomination in the same Grammy category.