Robert Christopher "Phoef" Sutton (born September 11, 1958) is an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

and producer. His film credits include '' Mrs. Winterbourne'' and '' The Fan'', both released in 1996. Phoef — the first name that he uses both personally and professionally — is pronounced "feef", and was a childhood nickname given to him in infancy by his brothers. Sutton was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. A 1981 graduate of

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

, he began his career writing scripts for ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...

''. He later became a writer for and executive producer of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

''. He collaborated with

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...

again on the 1992 TV series '' Bob'' and worked as a creative consultant on 1990s TV series '' Almost Perfect'' and ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Steph ...

''. With Mark Jordan Legan he wrote and produced the cult comedy series '' Thanks'' about the Pilgrims' first years in America and co-wrote a 2017 episode of ''

Kevin Can Wait ''Kevin Can Wait'' is an American television sitcom starring Kevin James that aired on CBS from September 19, 2016, to May 7, 2018. The series was created by James, Rock Reuben, and Bruce Helford, and marked James' second starring role in a CBS ...

''. He was also the showrunner and producer for the NBC series ''

The Fighting Fitzgeralds ''The Fighting Fitzgeralds'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 6 until May 15, 2001. It was created by filmmaker Edward Burns and his brother Brian. Premise "Fitz", a widower and former firefighter, wants to en ...

'' and the American version of ''Coupling''. In 1999, he published the novel ''Always Six O'Clock''. In 2012, he published the novel ''The Dead Man: The Midnight Special'' and ''The Dead Man: Reborn''. In May 2015, his novel ''Fifteen Minutes to Live'' was published by

Brash Books Brash Books is an American crime fiction imprint founded in 2014 by authors Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman. The main focus of Brash Books is to republish award-winning and critically acclaimed novels, primarily from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, wh ...

. His other novels include ''Crush'', and the two sequels ''Heart Attack & Vine'' and ''Colorado Boulevard'', as well as two books co-authored with

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stepha ...

: ''Wicked Charms'' and ''Curious Minds''. From 2005 to 2009, Sutton was a consulting producer for ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 200 ...

''. In 2010, Sutton became a staff writer on the FX series ''

Terriers Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary g ...

'' starring

Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...

. He was also a writer and consulting producer for the

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...

sitcom '' Rob'', the SyFy Channel series ''

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

'', and the showrunner and writer for the

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

original sitcom ''

The Soul Man ''The Soul Man'' is an American sitcom created by Suzanne Martin and Cedric the Entertainer. The series is a spin-off from ''Hot in Cleveland'', in which Cedric guest starred in the 2011 episode "Bridezelka", the backdoor pilot for ''The Soul Ma ...

''. He is an adviser to the

American Shakespeare Center The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) is a regional theatre company located in Staunton, Virginia, that focuses on the plays of William Shakespeare; his contemporaries Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Christopher Marlowe; and works relate ...

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people American male screenwriters American television producers Emmy Award winners James Madison University alumni Novelists from Washington, D.C. Screenwriters from Washington, D.C. {{US-screen-writer-stub