Christopher Raymond Kreski (July 31, 1962 – May 9, 2005) was an American writer, biographer and screenwriter.

Early life and education

Kreski graduated in 1980, from Butler High School and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2018. He graduated with a BFA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1984.

Writing

In 1989, during his tenure as the head writer for ''

Remote Control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...

,'' Kreski met actor Barry Williams, who was one of three celebrity contestants during a "Brady Day" episode. When Williams said that he'd thought about writing a biography, Kreski struck up a partnership. The resulting book, '' Growing Up Brady: I Was A Teenage Greg'' sold more than 300,000 copies and established Kreski as an "as told to" celebrity writer. Kreski went on to co-write three best-selling autobiographies with

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

, and one with baseball pitcher David Wells.

MTV

Kreski was associated with MTV Networks for over 15 years, and was a writer and consultant for many of its high-profile series and specials, such as ''

'', '' Beavis and Butt-Head'', ''

Celebrity Deathmatch ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV. A parody of sports entertainment programs, ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' depicted various celebrities engaging in ...

,'' and the channel's annual movie and video music awards shows. He was responsible for many of the channel's distinctive in-house promotional spots during the early 1990s. Kreski was also a head writer of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' and ''

The Martin Short Show ''The Martin Short Show'' is a syndicated talk show, based on the late night model, hosted by Martin Short with announcer/sidekick Michael McGrath. The talk show aired for one season from 1999 to 2000. It was produced by King World Productio ...

''.

Bibliography

*Williams, Barry and Kreski, Chris (1992) ''Growing Up Brady'' *Shatner, William and Kreski, Chris (1993) ''Star Trek Memories'' *Shatner, William and Kreski, Chris (1994) ''Star Trek Movie Memories'' *Kreski, Chris (1998) ''Life Lessons from Xena, Warrior Princess'' *Shatner, William and Kreski, Chris (1999) ''Get A Life!'' * Wells, David and Kreski, Chris (2004) ''Perfect I'm Not''

Professional wrestling

Following the departures of

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonsto ...

and

Ed Ferrara Edward Ferrara (born November 22, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, writer and agent for the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, often co-working alongside Vince Russo. He is most known for, in WCW ...

, Kreski became the head writer of the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

(WWF, now WWE) in 1999 during the

Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a term used by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE) to describe the company's programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It started during the Monday Night Wars, a ...

. He is widely credited with writing captivating and layered storylines, and was at the helm of WWF creative in some of its all-time peak years of both ratings and

profitability In economics, profit is the difference between the revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and the total cost of its inputs. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs. It i ...

. Kreski was replaced as head writer by

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...

following October's No Mercy PPV event, but remained on the creative team until 2002, when he left to pursue other opportunities.

Death

Kreski died of lung and brain

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on May 9, 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreski, Chris 1962 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American biographers 20th-century male writers American male screenwriters American television writers Deaths from cancer in Connecticut American male television writers Professional wrestling writers American male biographers WWE executives