Jim Brochu
Encyclopedia
Jim Brochu is an American
actor, writer, director, and playwright. Born in Brooklyn
, he studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and received his B.A. from St. Francis College. His stage debut was in a production of William Shakespeare
's Taming of the Shrew. A friend of Lucille Ball
, he is known as the author of the unauthorized biography Lucy in the Afternoon, and in this capacity, appeared on an episode of MythBusters
.
He co-wrote the musical The Big Voice: God or Merman with Steve Schalchlin
.
Brochu wrote and starred Off-Broadway
in Zero Hour
in 2009-2010, a one-person play
about the life and career of actor and comedian Zero Mostel
. He won the Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Solo Performance for this performance.
," Judge Julius Weyburn on "The Young and The Restless," Officer Jerry Chandler on the cult-classic "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and the befuddled bailiff on NBC's "Sirota's Court" with Michael Constantine
. Although the part was small, he can also boast that he made his motion picture debut in "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" opposite another newcomer, Robert DeNiro. His acting career has taken him to regional stages all over the United States, including the Washington Theatre Club in D.C., the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, two seasons at the Goodspeed Opera House where he originated the role of Flint in "Something's Afoot," Theatre Building Chicago, Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, the Trinity Arts Center in Dallas and the DejaVu Theatre in Los Angeles where he won the Backstage West Award as Best Actor for his performance as Marvin in Robert Patrick's "T-Shirts." While playing Tevye at the Waldo Astoria Dinner Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri - he wrote his first play "Cookin' With Gus" which was immediately published by Samuel French and has since been performed all over the United States and has been translated into several languages for productions all over the world. A huge hit in Quebec, Canada; it was recently taped in French by HBO. One play led to another and soon Jim was writing full time. For the theatre, he has written the comedies "The Lucky O'Learys" with Kathleen Freeman, "Fat Chance" with Virginia Capers, "The Lady Of The House" with Rue McClanahan and the off-Broadway smash hit musical, "The Last Session", which he also directed. After "The Last Session's" New York run (for which he received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), the show was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the ten best plays of the 1998-1999 Los Angeles season, garnering him the Oscar Wilde Award and the GLAAD Media Award. Brochu won another Backstage West Award for his direction of the show, along with the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award as playwright. In 1988 he got an offer he couldn't refuse - a call from his idol, Lucille Ball, who had read his play "The Lucky O'Learys" and thought it would be perfect for herself and Audrey Meadows
. By the time he finished writing the pilot for 20th Century Fox, Miss Ball was not up to doing the project and it never developed. However, what did develop was a deep friendship between Ball and Brochu that resulted in them spending almost every afternoon together until she died in 1989. Jim chronicled Lucy's life as she told it to him over the backgammon table in his book, "Lucy In The Afternoon," published by William Morrow and named as an alternate selection by The Literary Guild Book Club. Jim lives in Los Angeles where, between theatrical assignments, he travels on the great cruise ships all over the world lecturing about Broadway, Hollywood and the stars with whom he has worked. He is an active member of the Dramatists Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association and remains, as the New York Times called him, a true "Man Of The Theatre". Jim has been touring "Zero Hour", over the past year and he will bring it to New York next season in which he portrays the theatrical giant, Zero Mostel
. One Los Angeles critic called it the best performance of the 2006 season. "Zero Hour" was also awarded the Best Play of 2006 by the L.A. Ovations. His caricature hangs on the wall of the legendary Sardi's Restaurant in New York, a singular tribute to a forty year show business career as an actor and playwright.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, writer, director, and playwright. Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, he studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and received his B.A. from St. Francis College. His stage debut was in a production of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Taming of the Shrew. A friend of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, he is known as the author of the unauthorized biography Lucy in the Afternoon, and in this capacity, appeared on an episode of MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
.
He co-wrote the musical The Big Voice: God or Merman with Steve Schalchlin
Steve Schalchlin
Steve Schalchlin is an American songwriter, actor and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the first HIV/AIDS bloggers, beginning his in 1996 to keep family and friends updated on his failing health. When he responded well to a last ditch effort in treatment by his doctor, he found out that...
.
Brochu wrote and starred Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in Zero Hour
Zero Hour (play)
Zero Hour is a 2006 one-person play written and performed by playwright and actor Jim Brochu and directed by actress Piper Laurie. In a biographical reflection on Zero Mostel, Brochu portrays the Jewish actor and comedian giving a fictional interview with an unseen New York Times reporter shortly...
in 2009-2010, a one-person play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
about the life and career of actor and comedian Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
. He won the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Solo Performance for this performance.
Biography
Jim spent the better part of 2008 in New York City, starring in his Off-Broadway hit, "The Big Voice: God or Merman?" which the New York Times called, "Triumphant - a hilarious and utterly enthralling evening of musical theatre." In 2005, Jim was nominated by the Los Angeles Ovation Awards as Best Actor in a Musical for "The Big Voice", an honor he won from both the Palm Springs Desert Star Awards and the Valley Theatre League ADA Awards. "The Big Voice: God or Merman?" was also given the Ovation Award as Best Musical, presented to himself and composer-partner, Steve Schalchlin, by the legendary Jerry Herman. A native of Brooklyn, Jim produced his first show, a charity revue featuring the Bay Ridge neighborhood kids, at the age of thirteen and four years later was working on Broadway - selling orange drink at the back of the St. James Theatre during intermissions of "Hello, Dolly!" After studying drama at Carnegie-Mellon University, where his classmate was Stephen Schwartz, he returned to New York, got his BA in English from St. Francis College (Brooklyn) and made his Broadway debut (on stage at Town Hall) as Christopher Sly in a very bad revival of "The Taming Of The Shrew." His off-Broadway credits include Berkeley Square with Christopher Reeve at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Robert Lowell's "Endicott And The Red Cross" at the American Place Theatre, Ephraim Kishon's "Unfair To Goliath" at the Cherry Lane, "Skye" at Lincoln Center and Frank Loesser's "Greenwillow" for the Equity Library Theatre. While working as a stage actor, he appeared in two legendary television commercials - first as a dancing raisin for Post Raisin Bran and then as the "Lemon from Outer space" with Madge the Manicurist for Palmolive. His television work includes regular stints as Father James on "All My ChildrenAll My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
," Judge Julius Weyburn on "The Young and The Restless," Officer Jerry Chandler on the cult-classic "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and the befuddled bailiff on NBC's "Sirota's Court" with Michael Constantine
Michael Constantine
Michael Constantine is a Greek American actor.He is probably now best known for his portrayal of Gus Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula Portokalos , in the 2002 surprise hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.Prior to that, he was well-known for his extensive TV work, especially...
. Although the part was small, he can also boast that he made his motion picture debut in "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" opposite another newcomer, Robert DeNiro. His acting career has taken him to regional stages all over the United States, including the Washington Theatre Club in D.C., the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, two seasons at the Goodspeed Opera House where he originated the role of Flint in "Something's Afoot," Theatre Building Chicago, Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, the Trinity Arts Center in Dallas and the DejaVu Theatre in Los Angeles where he won the Backstage West Award as Best Actor for his performance as Marvin in Robert Patrick's "T-Shirts." While playing Tevye at the Waldo Astoria Dinner Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri - he wrote his first play "Cookin' With Gus" which was immediately published by Samuel French and has since been performed all over the United States and has been translated into several languages for productions all over the world. A huge hit in Quebec, Canada; it was recently taped in French by HBO. One play led to another and soon Jim was writing full time. For the theatre, he has written the comedies "The Lucky O'Learys" with Kathleen Freeman, "Fat Chance" with Virginia Capers, "The Lady Of The House" with Rue McClanahan and the off-Broadway smash hit musical, "The Last Session", which he also directed. After "The Last Session's" New York run (for which he received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), the show was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the ten best plays of the 1998-1999 Los Angeles season, garnering him the Oscar Wilde Award and the GLAAD Media Award. Brochu won another Backstage West Award for his direction of the show, along with the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award as playwright. In 1988 he got an offer he couldn't refuse - a call from his idol, Lucille Ball, who had read his play "The Lucky O'Learys" and thought it would be perfect for herself and Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners.-Early life:...
. By the time he finished writing the pilot for 20th Century Fox, Miss Ball was not up to doing the project and it never developed. However, what did develop was a deep friendship between Ball and Brochu that resulted in them spending almost every afternoon together until she died in 1989. Jim chronicled Lucy's life as she told it to him over the backgammon table in his book, "Lucy In The Afternoon," published by William Morrow and named as an alternate selection by The Literary Guild Book Club. Jim lives in Los Angeles where, between theatrical assignments, he travels on the great cruise ships all over the world lecturing about Broadway, Hollywood and the stars with whom he has worked. He is an active member of the Dramatists Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association and remains, as the New York Times called him, a true "Man Of The Theatre". Jim has been touring "Zero Hour", over the past year and he will bring it to New York next season in which he portrays the theatrical giant, Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
. One Los Angeles critic called it the best performance of the 2006 season. "Zero Hour" was also awarded the Best Play of 2006 by the L.A. Ovations. His caricature hangs on the wall of the legendary Sardi's Restaurant in New York, a singular tribute to a forty year show business career as an actor and playwright.
Selected filmography
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(TV movie 1976) - KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(TV series 1976) - Sirota's Court (TV series 1976)
- All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
(TV series 1985) - Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (TV movie 1991)
- CheersCheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
(TV series 1991) - Mann & MachineMann & MachineMann & Machine is an American science fiction/police drama series that aired for nine episodes on NBC from April 5, 1992 to July 14, 1992.-Synopsis:...
(TV series 1992) - Wings (TV series 1993)
- Mother of the Bride (TV movie 1993)
- Reasonable DoubtsReasonable DoubtsReasonable Doubts is a police drama broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from 1991 to 1993.-Synopsis:Reasonable Doubts is primarily about the working relationship between Assistant District Attorney Tess Kaufman , a prosecutor very sensitive to the rights of the accused, and...
(TV series 1993) - Bram and Alice (TV series 2002)