Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American screenwriter, comedian, and radio personality. He is the creator and executive producer of the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-winning television series ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

and is co-host of

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

radio's long-running conceptual comedy program ''

Seven Second Delay ''Seven Second Delay'' is a comedy radio show broadcast on radio station WFMU. It has been hosted by Ken Freedman and Andy Breckman since the early 1990s. The show is self described as "on air radio stunts." In March 2022, as part of a radio ...

''. He has written screenplays for a number of comedy films including '' Sgt. Bilko'' (starring

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

) and ''

Rat Race A rat race is a metaphor used to describe an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase is sometimes used to relate the human life to that of rats attempting to earn an ultimately pointless reward when Mortality salience, death ...

'' (directed by

Jerry Zucker Jerry Gordon Zucker (born March 11, 1950) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one third of the filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. He is best known for his role in writing and directing comedy spoof films like ...

Early life

Breckman was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States, to a middle-class Jewish family. He grew up in

Haddonfield, New Jersey Haddonfield is a borough (New Jersey), borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,550, an increase of 957 (+8.3%) from the ...

and attended Moorestown Friends School and Haddonfield Memorial High School.

Television work

Breckman wrote for ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

'' from 1982 to 1984 and contributed sketches to ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' from 1983 to 1996. One of his most well-known vignettes was a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch called "White Like Me" (which he also

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

), in which

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

disguises himself as a

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

for a day. In 2004 he served as a jokewriter for comedian

's stint as host of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, for which Breckman was nominated for a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

(WGA) Award for TV writing.Andy Breckman Awards at IMDB.com
/ref> Breckman's biggest success, ''

'', was a murder-mystery with a humorous edge. Breckman told ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' that he was a voracious reader of the works of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

, John D. MacDonald, and other authors of “solvable” mysteries, as well as being a big fan of the TV series ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

''. “In a way, it’s similar to comedy writing,” he says. "It's puzzles and puzzle solving. Very logical." In August 2009, USA Network launched the spinoff '' Little Monk''. He wrote seven episodes of the 2000-2001

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

series ''

TV Funhouse ''Saturday TV Funhouse'' is a segment on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' featuring cartoons created by ''SNL'' writer Robert Smigel. 101 "TV Funhouse" segments aired on ''SNL'' between 1996 and 2008, with one further segment airing in 2011. It al ...

'', and in 2015 wrote "Dog Show" for '' The Jack and Triumph Show''. In July 2016 he was part of a team of writers for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's coverage of the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

; the writing crew won the WGA 2017 Award for TV Comedy/Variety. '' The Good Cop'', another humorous murder-mystery series created and written by Breckman, debuted on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in September 2018. (It ran for ten episodes before being cancelled.) The show starred

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...

as Tony Caruso Sr., "a disgraced, former

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

officer who never followed the rules," and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, ...

as his son, Tony "T.J." Caruso Jr., a squeaky-clean homicide detective. About the series, Breckman said, "Many cop shows feature dark and provocative material: psycho-sexual killers, twisted, grim, flawed detectives. Many address the most controversial issues of the day. I watch a lot of them. God bless 'em all. But the show I want to produce is playful, family-friendly, and a celebration of old-fashioned puzzle-solving." In October 2018, TBS announced it would be launching a new TV series, '' The Misery Index'', starring members of the Tenderloins comedy troupe, based on Breckman's card game, "Shit Happens". Breckman developed the TV version with Ben and Dan Newmark of Grandma's House Entertainment. The series premiered on October 22, 2019. On December 3, 2019, it was announced the series was renewed for a second season. In 2021 it completed its third season. Breckman wrote the screenplay for the feature-length film, '' Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'', which aired on the Peacock Network in December 2023.Lloyd, Robert, "Review: If you loved ‘Monk,’ Peacock’s new movie is a welcome return"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', December 7, 2023 The film reunited most of the cast of the original series.

Personal life

Breckman lives in

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

with his wife, documentary filmmaker Beth Landau, whom he met on the dating pages of Nerve.com and who is nicknamed "Boo." They have two children. In 2011, Breckman and Landau were a featured couple in the documentary ''When Strangers Click'', a film about internet dating. As an engagement present, Breckman named a murder victim after his fiancée (spelled "Beth Landow") in ''Monk'''s season two (2003) episode, " Mr. Monk Goes Back to School".

Radio

Since 1992, Breckman and WFMU station manager Ken Freedman have co-hosted a weekly one-hour comedy radio program, ''

''. The premise of the program seems to be a never-ending series of dead-on-arrival concepts, with the comedic value hinging on Breckman's recurring acknowledgment of failure and his desire to go home as quickly as possible. Breckman has described his co-host as "a sad, bitter little man and WFMU's fundraisers are a good time to humiliate him and exploit his willingness to do just about anything, including prostituting himself, to raise money for his adorable little public hippy noise radio station." From 2009 to 2012, ''Seven Second Delay'' broadcast remotely from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater comedy club in Manhattan. In 2011 the UCB shows went

bi-weekly A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

. Guests on the program included

Dick Cavett Richard Alva Cavett (; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s. In later years, Cave ...

Joe Franklin Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His te ...

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...

Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American Violin, fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. History Stampfel is best known as a member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a ...

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer ( ; January 26, 1929 – January 17, 2025) was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Pulitzer Prize for Editori ...

Andrew VanWyngarden Andrew Wells VanWyngarden (born February 1, 1983) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band MGMT, praised for (according to ''Interview Magazine'') "an uncanny knack for producing pop music that s ...

(of the band

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

), Dan Okrent,

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as ...

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

, Jim Downey, and numerous other celebrities. In 1998, Gadfly Records released ''Death-Defying Radio Stunts'', a CD of outrageous moments from ''Seven Second Delay'' studio broadcasts.

Other projects

In 2014 he launched a line of unusual toys under the brand name Uncle Andy Toys. Products which have reached the consumer market include ''Real Life Travel Bingo'', ''Who Tooted?'', and ''Rigged Trivia''. In 2015 he launched "Feed a Puppy," a live-streaming interactive animal app featuring real rescue puppies, in which users purchase treats to feed the puppies, with a portion of sales receipts donated to rescue shelters. In 2016, he funded his new card game, ''Shit Happens'', with a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Feud with Don McLean

Early in his singing career, Breckman was given the opportunity to perform as opening act for " American Pie" singer

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

, with whom he shared management. The two did not get along, and a feud developed that has persisted to the present day. Andy Breckman wrote about the feud and Don McLean responded to Breckman's claims on WFMU's website.

Filmography

Films

* '' Moving'' (1988) * '' Arthur 2: On the Rocks'' (1988) * '' Hot to Trot'' (1988) * '' True Identity'' (1991) * '' I.Q.'' (1994) * '' Sgt. Bilko'' (1996) * ''

'' (2001) * '' Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'' (2023)

TV and video

* ''Hot Hero Sandwich'' (1979) * ''

'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983–1996) * ''Tourist Trap'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002–2009) * ''The 75th Annual

'' (2003) * '' The Good Cop'' (2018) * '' The Misery Index'' (2019)

Discography

* ''Don't Get Killed'' (Gadfly Records, 1990) * ''Proud Dad'' (Gadfly Records, 1994) * ''Death-Defying Radio Stunts'' (Gadfly Records, 1998)

References

External links

*
Uncle Andy Toys
(personal website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Breckman, Andy 1955 births American comedy musicians American male screenwriters American television writers Boston University alumni Fast Folk artists Haddonfield Memorial High School alumni Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Living people People from Haddonfield, New Jersey People from Madison, New Jersey Radio personalities from Philadelphia American radio DJs American showrunners American male television writers Comedians from Philadelphia Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American Jews Comedians from Camden County, New Jersey Comedians from Morris County, New Jersey Writers from Camden County, New Jersey Writers from Morris County, New Jersey