Todd Graff
{{short description|American actor, writer and director (born 1959)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Todd Graff
| image = Toddgraffkekepalmer.jpg
| caption = Graff (right) with Keke Palmer in 2011
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|10|22}}
| birth_place = New York, New York, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Actor, filmmaker
| relatives = {{plainlist|
- Ilene Graff (sister)
- Randy Graff (cousin)
}}
| years_active = 1970–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Jhon Lafaurie|2014}}
| children =
}}
Todd Graff (born October 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing the musical comedy films Camp (2003), for which he was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Bandslam (2009), and Joyful Noise (2012). Graff is also known for his supporting roles in the science fiction films The Abyss (1989) and Strange Days (1995), as well as the black comedy crime film Death to Smoochy (2002).
Early life
Graff was born in New York City, the son of Judith Clarice (née Oxhorn), a piano teacher and choirmaster, and Jerome Lawrence Graff, a musician.[http://www.filmreference.com/film/39/Todd-Graff.html Profile], filmreference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2014. His sister is actress Ilene Graff.{{cite web|url=http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=684|title=Writer-director Todd Graff talks about his campy new film, 'Camp'|date=August 7, 2003|first=Kyle|last=Counts|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124134610/http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=684|archive-date=January 24, 2013|url-status=unfit|access-date=August 20, 2014}}
Career
Graff is an alumnus both as a camper and counselor of the Stagedoor Manor performing arts summer camp in upstate New York. He sang on the original-cast albums of Sesame Street (1970) and the follow-up Sesame Street 2 (1971). He garnered fame in 1975 when he joined the cast of the PBS children's television series The Electric Company. Playing the role of Jesse, a member of the Short Circus, he remained with the show to the end of its production in 1977 (replacing Stephen Gustafson).{{IMDb name|333804}}
Graff's writing credits include Camp, Used People, The Vanishing, and The Beautician and the Beast. Graff acted in several films including Death to Smoochy, Dominick and Eugene, Strange Days, Not Quite Paradise, and The Abyss.
He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Danny in Broadway's Baby in 1984. He starred in the 1987 Off-Broadway musical Birds of Paradise as Homer. In 2006, Graff directed the stage musical 13 by Jason Robert Brown and Dan Elish at the Mark Taper Forum.[http://www.taperahmanson.com/show.asp?id=348 Mark Taper Forum website]. Retrieved August 2014. In 2009, he co-wrote and directed the film Bandslam. In 2012 he wrote and directed the film Joyful Noise. He developed Apple TV's miniseries The Crowded Room (2023).
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1985
|Rothwell T. Schwartz |Also known as Not Quite Jerusalem |
| 1987
|James | |
| 1987
|Leonard |
| 1988
|Larry Higgins | |
| 1989
|Tough Kid | |
| 1989
|Robby | |
| 1989
|Alan "Hippy" Carnes | |
| 1990
|Pete | |
| 1990
|Lou Pesquino | |
| 1991
|Zip | |
| 1995
|"Tex" Arcana | |
| 1997
|Denny |Also writer |
| 2002
|Skip Kleinman | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1975–1977
|Jesse |Main role (seasons 5–6) |
| 1983–1992
|Trent / Robby Pols |Episodes: "It's No Crush, I'm in Love", "Summer Stories: The Mall – Part 3" |
| 1995
|Louis Bagley |Episode: "Growth Pains" |
| 1997
|Harvey |Episode: "Danny's Dead and Who's Got the Will?" |
Award nominations
- 1984 Tony Award nominee as Featured Actor in a Musical for Baby
- 1984 Won Theatre World Award for Baby (musical)
- 2003 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee for Camp
TV
- Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition (2012)
- Made in Hollywood (2011)
- Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History – 1980s, 1990s and 2000s (2009)
- Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History – 1970's (2009)
- Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss (1993)
Writer/Director
- Used People (1992; writer only)
- {{ill|lt=Fly by Night|Fly by Night (1993 film)|fr|Fly by Night (film, 1993)}} (1993; writer only)
- The Vanishing (1993; writer only)
- Angie (1994; writer only)
- The Beautician and the Beast (1997; writer only)
- Camp (2003; director)
- Bandslam (2009; director)
- Joyful Noise (2012; director)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://peliculastoddgraff.weebly.com/ Todd Graff infosite (in Spanish)]
{{Todd Graff}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal|Biography|Film|Greater Los Angeles|Canada|Television|Theatre}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graff, Todd}}
Category:20th-century American actors
Category:American LGBTQ film directors
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:Film directors from New York City