Anne Beatts (February 25, 1947 – April 7, 2021) was an American comedy writer.

Early life

Beatts was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, to Sheila Elizabeth Jean (Sherriff-Scott) and Patrick Murray Threipland Beatts. She has described her parents as " beatniks." Beatts had what has been called an "aggressive, dark sensibility." Growing up in

Somers, New York Somers is a Town (New York), town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 21,541. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal i ...

, she later attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. It was at McGill University where Beatts discovered the dark humor of Jewish writers

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

, and

Bruce Jay Friedman Bruce Jay Friedman (April 26, 1930June 3, 2020) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. He was noted for his versatility of writing in both literature and pop culture. He was also a trailblazer in the style of modern Ameri ...

. At this time, Beatts converted to Judaism.

''National Lampoon''

After graduating from college, Beatts wrote for

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

and ''National Lampoon'' magazine, a national offshoot of the ''

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduate ...

''. She co-wrote a parody advertisement for

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

, conceived by Philip Socci, for which the magazine was later sued by the car company. The advertisement stated, "If

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

drove a Volkswagen, he'd be President today," accompanied by a photograph of a VW Beetle floating on a lake (an allusion to Kennedy's Chappaquiddick incident). During Beatts' time at ''National Lampoon'' magazine, she worked with Michael O'Donoghue. The two became romantically involved, and both joined the creative team of ''

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 ...

'' in the early years of the program.

Television

At ''SNL'', she was nominated for an

Emmy 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 catego ...

five times, winning once. Beatts created the 1982 CBS sitcom '' Square Pegs'' starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

and Jami Gertz, and additionally appeared in uncredited guest spots on the early ''SNL''. For ''Square Pegs'', Beatts hired a staff of five women writers, believing they would be best able to voice the experiences of a teenage girl, but the network compelled her to include a male writer, Andy Borowitz, to connect with a broader audience. Beatts wrote the book for the 1985

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

'' Leader of the Pack.'' Starting in 1987, she produced the first season of ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'' spinoff ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

''. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

she won a Writers Guild Award for Best Comedy/Variety show for her part in writing the ''Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special''. In 2006, she directed the series ''

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You'' with her writing and producing partner, Eve Brandstein, for B-Girls Productions. In 2007, Beatts served as one of the judges for the online comedy competition ''Project Breakout''. Beatts served as

Adjunct Professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

in the Writing Division at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

's School of Cinematic Arts, as well as at

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. She also gave private lessons on writing sketch comedy.

Media portrayals

Beatts was portrayed by Natasha Lyonne in the 2018

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 ...

film '' A Futile and Stupid Gesture,'' and Leander Suleiman in '' Saturday Night.'' She was profiled in the January 6, 2020, issue of ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

''.

Death

Beatts died at age 74 on April 7, 2021, at her home in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

. She is survived by her daughter, Jaylene Beatts.

Works

*'' National Lampoon'' (Magazine) *'' National Lampoon's Lemmings'' (with Sean Kelly, Tony Hendra,

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born 5 February 1948), known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy ...

, and Paul Jacobs) (1973) (Stage Show) *'' Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle'' (with Michael O'Donoghue) (1975) (Adaptation) *'' National Lampoon: A Dirty Book'' (1976) (Book) *''

'' (1975–1980) (TV) *'' Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women'' (with Deanne Stillman) (1976) (Book) *'' Gilda Live'' (with

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was one of the seven Saturday Night Live cast members, original cast members of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy series ...

, Michael O'Donoghue, Alan Zweibel, Don Novello,

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

, Marilyn Suzanne Miller,

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

, and Rosie Shuster) (1980) (Stage Show) *'' Square Pegs'' (1982–1983) (TV) *'' Titters 101'' (with Deanne Stillman and Judith Jacklin Belushi) (1984) (Book) *'' Leader of the Pack'' (1985) (Stage Show) *'' The Mom Book'' (with Judith Jacklin Belushi and Deanne Stillman) (1986) (Book) *''

'' (1987–1988) (TV) (Producer only) *''

Faerie Tale Theatre ''Faerie Tale Theatre'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre'') is an American award-winning live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series created and presented by actress Shelley Duvall. The series originally ...

'' (1987) (TV) *'' The Belles of Bleeker Street'' (1991) (TV) *''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'' (1991) (TV) *'' The Elvira Show'' (1993) (TV) *''

The Stephanie Miller Show ''The Stephanie Miller Show'' is a syndicated progressive talk radio program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu, comedic style. The three-hour show is hosted by Stephanie Miller and is syndica ...

'' (1995) (TV) *'' Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child'' (2000) (TV) *'' Hollywood Off-Ramp'' (2000) (TV) *'' 56th Annual Writers' Guild Awards'' (2004) (TV)

References

External links

* * * *"Interview with Anne Beatts"
Part One
and

''Maximum Fun''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatts, Anne 1947 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American people of Scottish descent American comedy writers American humorists American magazine editors American people of Canadian descent American women non-fiction writers American women screenwriters American women television producers American women television writers American television writers Comedians from New York (state) Converts to Judaism Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American screenwriters American television producers Primetime Emmy Award winners National Lampoon people Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from New York (state) American women humorists American women magazine editors Writers from Buffalo, New York Writers Guild of America Award winners