Alan Kirschenbaum
{{short description|American television producer and writer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alan Kirschenbaum
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1961|4|19}}{{cite web|title=Passings: Alan Kirschenbaum|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings-20121030,0,2908921.story| date= October 30, 2012| website= Los Angeles Times |accessdate=12 January 2013}}
| birth_place = New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|10|26|1961|4|19}}
| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| occupation = Television producer and writer, harness horseman
| parents = Freddie Roman
Ethel Kirschenbaum
|spouse=Vicki Juditz (?-his death; 1 child)
}}
Alan Kirschenbaum (April 19, 1961 – October 26, 2012) was an American television sitcom producer and writer.
Early life, family and education
Kirschenbaum was born in New York to stand-up comedian Freddie Roman{{cite web |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118061332 |title=Comedy writer Alan Kirschenbaum dies |work = Variety.com |date=2012-10-27 |accessdate=2012-10-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220035141/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118061332/ |archivedate=December 20, 2012 }}{{cite web| url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alan-kirschenbaum-dies-at-51-383666 |title=Comedy Showrunner Alan Kirschenbaum Dies at 51| work= The Hollywood Reporter| first= Jordan| last= Zakarin |date=2012-10-27|accessdate=2012-10-27}} (a.k.a. Fred Kirschenbaum) and Ethel Kirschenbaum. He had a sister, Judi.{{cite web| url= https://variety.com/2012/scene/news/friends-recall-kirschenbaum-s-gifts-1118061340/| website= Variety.com| title= Friends recall Kirschenbaum's gifts| first= Cynthia | last= Littleton| date= October 27, 2012| access-date= April 3, 2017}} Alan's paternal great-grandfather owned the Crystal Springs Hotel in the Catskills, where Freddie Roman began performing.
Alan attended high school in New City, New York in Rockland County.{{cite news| title= Sharing Lives and Careers, Gee, Like Friends in a Sitcom| first= Bernard | last= Weinraub | date= March 6, 2001| work= The New York Times| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/06/arts/sharing-lives-and-careers-gee-like-friends-in-a-sitcom.html| access-date= April 3, 2017}} He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business with a degree in marketing in 1983.{{cite web| url= http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0912/pro01.html| title= Luck and Timing, Dread and Relief | first= Robert| last= Strauss| work= The Pennsylvania Gazette | publisher= University of Pennsylvania| date= August 31, 2012| access-date= April 3, 2017}}
Career
=Television=
His early work in television was as a writer for the Judd Hirsch sitcom Dear John and the short-lived Everything's Relative. He directed some episodes of the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (created by his high school friend Philip Rosenthal) and was the head writer for Coach for three seasons.{{cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/sitcom_vet_dead_at_JsqRcFdqibezVFsSMPGYEP?obref=obinsite |title=Sitcom vet dead at 51| work= New York Post| date= 2012-10-27|accessdate=2012-10-31}} He was a writer for Baby Talk,{{cite magazine|url=https://deadline.com/2012/10/alan-kirschenbaum-comedy-writer-dies-361018/|title=R.I.P. Alan Kirschenbaum |magazine= Deadline Hollywood | first= Nellie | last= Andreeva| date= October 27, 2012 |access-date=2012-10-27}} a co-creator, writer and producer of the sitcom Yes, Dear, a producer/writer on Raising Hope, creator of Down the Shore (hiring college friend Lew Schneider in the leading role and Phil Rosenthal to help with writing), and co-creator of the unaired series Friend Me. He was a producer on Stark Raving Mad (an episode of which his father appeared in as himself) and Center of the Universe.
=Other endeavors=
Kirschenbaum was also very involved in the sport of harness racing. He worked as a racehorse trainer in college at Liberty Bell Race Track in Philadelphia and at the Meadowlands Racetrack in northern New Jersey for three years and reporter/commentator for ESPN on their Breeders Crown broadcasts. Kirschenbaum was an owner and horse breeder for many years. Kirschenbaum was also a supporter of the California Sire Stakes for harness horses. He was a supporter of the California Harness Horseman's Association, serving as president, along with being an avid amateur driver, racing in several East vs. West Coast challenges.{{cite web| url= http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/templates/article.aspx?articleid=51010&zoneid=35 |title=Alan Kirschenbaum, 51, dies. |website=USTrotting.com |date=2012-10-28 |accessdate=2012-10-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015040242/http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/templates/article.aspx?articleid=51010&zoneid=35 |archivedate=2013-10-15 }}
Additionally, Kirschenbaum worked as an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writers Program.
Personal life
Kirschenbaum and his wife, actress and storyteller Vicki Juditz, had a daughter, Molly (born c. 1999).
He died by suicide on October 26, 2012. He was found dead in his home in Burbank, California. His funeral was in New City, New York.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0456927|Alan Kirschenbaum}}
- [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99701218/alan-kirschenbaum Alan Kirschenbaum] at Find a Grave
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Category:American television directors
Category:Television producers from New York City
Category:American male television writers
Category:Jewish American screenwriters
Category:Jewish American television writers
Category:American television writers
Category:Suicides in California
Category:Writers from New York City
Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)