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Robert Ozn (born Robert Mitchell Warfield Frank Rosen,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
) (records under the name DaDa NaDa; Broadway credits as Robert Rosen; nickname ŌZN, (pronounced "OH-zen")) is widely credited, along with his partner, the late Ned "ẼBN" Liben, to be the creator of the first commercially released and charted record ever made with a computer in the United States, ẼBN-ÕZN's "AEIOU Sometimes Y" (Elektra Records, 1983), which was inducted into the Alternate Music Hall of Fame as a Class of 2024, "Masterpiece Single." A Top Five Billboard recording artist, screenwriter, producer and Broadway actor, he's known for being the vocal half of '80s
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
duo
EBN-OZN ĒBN-ŌZN (pronounced EEBEN-OHZEN) was an American 1980s New York-based experimental new wave synth-pop duo, composed of Ned "Ebn" Liben (Fairlight CMI programming) and Robert "Ozn" Rosen, (sung vocals, rhymes, character voices). The duo, wh ...
; his solo act, Dada Nada, which continues to generate hit chart positions in the U.S. and U.K.; and for his later work as co-producer and co-writer with Colin Greene of the award-winning, human rights-themed feature film '' I Witness'' starring
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...
,
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
and
Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series ''Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for wh ...
.


Biography


Early life and career

As a child, he was a member of the New York City
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
Children's Chorus, appearing in numerous productions in both the "Old Met" and the "New Met" at Lincoln Center. At the age of 16, he was the youngest student to receive a Key Scholarship award from Herbert Berghof acting school (
HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...
) in Greenwich Village. At 17, he was accepted as a voice and theater major at the
Indiana University School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...
, where he studied with Norwegian Bass/Baritone Roy Samuelson of the
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
. As a teenager, he went on the road as a singer with
Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) ...
and
The Tonight Show Band The Tonight Show Band refers to the house band on the American television variety show ''The Tonight Show'', which has created an important showcase for jazz on American television. The Tonight Show Band has changed in form and composition since ...
, working with award winning jazz instrumentalists
Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...
,
Ed Shaughnessy Edwin Thomas Shaughnessy (January 29, 1929 – May 24, 2013) was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Biography Shaughnessy ...
,
Snookie Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...
,
Tommy Newsom Thomas Penn Newsom (February 25, 1929 – April 28, 2007) was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', for which he later became assistant director. Newsom was frequently the band's substitute dir ...
, Ross Tompkins,
Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...
and
Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...
. His first professional musical theatre role was that of Hero in a tour of ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
'' with
Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters including Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and o ...
. Shortly after, he created the role of Henry Anderson in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award winning musical '' Shenandoah'' starring
John Cullum John Cullum (born March 2, 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in ...
, which originally premiered at the
Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of ...
. Subsequent acting work: leads in Vagabond Stars a pre-Broadway piece at the Berkshire Theater Festival with lyrics written by '' The Newsrooms Executive Producer/Director
Alan Poul Alan Mark Poul (born May 1, 1954) is an American film producer and television director. Career Poul served as executive producer for the HBO original series, '' Six Feet Under'', on which he made his directing debut. He directed four episodes ...
, ''
Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...
'' with
Karla DeVito Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress. Early life and education DeVito was born in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. She attended Loyola U ...
, and the LA company of
Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...
's ''
Curse of the Starving Class ''Curse of the Starving Class'' is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Some critics consider it part of a Family Trilogy that includes '' Buried Child'' (1979) and '' True West'' (1980). Others consider i ...
'' with
Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, director, producer, musician and humanitarian. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has ...
and
James Gammon James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager of fictionalized versions of the Cleve ...
. After his supporting lead in the National Endowment for the Arts film short ''No Regrets'' directed by Ruth Charny, produced by Ellen Sherman of
Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...
and his subsequent lead in the Broadway rock musical ''
Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters with the surname or given name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Pat Marlowe (1933–1962), English socialite * Phili ...
'' along with Patrick Jude and Lisa Mordente New York City music impresario Ron Delsener mentored him as a recording artist.


EBN-OZN and DaDa NaDa

In 1981, Rosen met Ned Liben, then the owner of New York's Sundragon Recording Studios. Liben had built his first professional studio at the age of 14 and by the time he met Rosen had worked with
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads
, and
The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...
. Their initial collaboration, "AEIOU Sometimes Y" was recorded in 1981–1982 (released in 1983) and was the first American commercially released and charted record to be produced on a computer (a
Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...
). "AEIOU" was a mix of rap, spoken word, digital sampling, rock and R&B dance music. Liben and Rosen cut their own 12-inch dance single, which was signed by Arista Records in London and in New York by Elektra Records' President Bob Kraznow before the band even had a name, which eventually became EBN-OZN. "AEIOU" went top 20 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Club Chart, establishing OZN as one of the first white rappers in the industry. "AEIOU"'s video, a ''
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 ...
'' Top 10 Video of the Year, and an MTV Heavy Rotation favorite garnered wide domestic and international exposure and was featured on ''
Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
'' throughout the 1990s. EBN-OZN's first full-length album, ''Feeling Cavalier'', released by Elektra in 1984, went Top 20 on the College Radio Chart and their second single, "Bag Lady (I Wonder)" went Top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Club Chart. The video for "Bag Lady" starred Tony and Emmy Award winner
Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and pursu ...
and like "AEIOU," enjoyed worldwide television and club play. EBN-OZN received rave reviews for their album, singles, videos and live shows. They were covered in ''Time'' magazine, ''People'', ''US'' and ''The New York Post''. Ozn was declared the "greatest white rapper alive" by ''Playboy'' and called the "new American sex symbol" by the ''Boston Globe''. EBN was also featured in ''Guitar Player'' magazine. In a 2021 appearance on
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
's "Broken Record" podcast
Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...
said about AEIOU Sometimes Y: "If you have never heard AEIOU or seen the video, I highly encourage you to do so. I would posit EIOU isthe strangest song in western pop music history. The lyrics are so phenomenal and they make absolutely no sense - like a grad student thesis on semiotics while a guy is talking about trying to pick up a girl at a café." After the duo's split up in 1985, EBN went on to run his exclusive SOHO studio working with
Scritti Politti Scritti Politti are a British band formed in 1977 in Leeds by singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band. Initially formed as a punk culture, punk-aligned underground act influenced by leftist poli ...
and
Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...
, while OZN moved to Los Angeles and started his own label, One Voice Records and his own solo act, Dada Nada. Dada Nada received a distribution deal with Polydor/UK and he distributed it himself in North America, landing two top five ''Billboard'' dance hits, "Haunted House" (the first House record by a white artist to chart in North America) and "Deep Love". His 1991 UK release "The Good Thing/Give It All I Got", written & produced by OZN, Steve Wight and Bob Greenberg and mixed by Bad Boy Bill OZN & Steve Wight, was a two-song, 12-inch single, which as an import, hit No. 3 on the Record Mirror Cool Cuts Chart and No. 25 on the Record Mirror Mainstream Dance Chart. OZN's collaborators on Dada Nada tracks included the legendary Godfather of House the late
Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), known professionally as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music, a genre of mus ...
and House music pioneers Bad Boy Bill,
David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1961) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Mar ...
, Mike "Hitman" Wilson, Steve Wight (now an associate professor of recording arts at Cal State), and Bob Greenberg. OZN's last public appearance was the 1990 US Dada Nada tour, which suffered a shooting incident during a show in Chicago. EBN died in 1998 of a heart attack in
Soho, New York SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...
and is survived by his wife Sallie Moore Liben and son Max Liben. In April 2015, OZN announced on Facebook and Twitter that he was making his first record in 25 years inspired by the
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; ) is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. The publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular, libertarian, and within the tradition of left-wing radicalism ...
assassinations, Je Suis Paris!. An anthem for the growing, global pro-peace, anti-terror movement, he produced and wrote the track with Gabe Lopez, who works with
Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
, supported by Julian Coryell, son of jazz legend
Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...
and guitarist for (
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
), Chris Golden bass player for hip hop star Exzibit, Gibi Dos Santos
Sergio Mendes Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * Sergio, the mascot for the Old Orchard Beach Surge Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungar ...
' long-time Brazilian percussionist, and background vocalists Mindy Jones of
Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...
and Mark Strom of the boy band Innovate. Released in summer 2016 with remixes by Richard Cutmore, House of Virus and Mntna, the record's U.K. release peaked at #13 on the Music Week Commercial Pop Dance Chart in October 2016, after OZN recorded additional vocals with the lyric "I Am Orlando" in reference to the Orlando, Florida Pulse nightclub anti-gay terror attack, establishing it as an LGBT anthem through the United Kingdom. The track was never released to dance clubs in the US. His 2017 record "We Can Feel It" reached number 9 on the ''Music Week'' Commercial Pop Dance Chart in December 2017 and went to number 15 on the ''Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in February 2018—his first American release since 1990. Paramount TV announced the reboot of
Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...
's ''Beavis & Butt-head'' series and re-licensed "AEIOU Sometimes Y" in 2023 as a featured music video for its 13-24 year old demographic.


Social Media

The music videos for both ĒBN-ŌZN's "AEIOU Sometimes Y" and "Bag Lady" stream on scores of Youtube channels with 3.5 million-plus views and 2.5 million-plus views respectively. "Bag Lady" starred Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award Winner Imogen Coca in the title role. ĒBN-ŌZN has 700,000-plus Spotify streams on two channels. Dada Nada's two most recent releases "Je Suis Paris/I Am Orlando" and "We Can Feel It" 1.2-plus million streams on Soundcloud.com. Spotify 100,000-plus streams.


Film industry career highlights

OZN went on to a producing and screenwriting career in the film business. He worked first for free for
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
and Janet Yang's Ixtlan Films, trading his time in exchange for learning the development and production end of the movie business. He went on to become a paid first-call reader for A-list material for Stone. He was then hired at Miramax, as reader for ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...
'' under Oscar-winning producer
Richard Gladstein Richard N. Gladstein is a two-time Academy Award nominated film producer. His production company is FilmColony. He served as the Dean of the American Film Institute Conservatory and currently serves as Executive Director of Feirstein Graduat ...
and as contract development exec for much of their European fare and some of horror division Dimension Films' material. He also served as script analyst at Creative Arts Agency (CAA) on projects for
Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Pollack is known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films. Over his forty year career he received numerous accolades ...
,
Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made document ...
,
Paula Weinstein Paula Weinstein (November 19, 1945 – March 25, 2024) was an American film and television producer. Biography Weinstein was raised in a Jewish family, the daughter of television producer Hannah Weinstein (née Dorner) and Pete Weinstein, a rep ...
and
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
's Lightstorm Entertainment. OZN partnered with
Ted Danson Edward Bridge Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe A ...
as executive producers to option ''Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens'', playwright Bill Russell's West End London AIDS dram

for Anasazi/Paramount Television. Danson and OZN attached
Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...
,
Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...
,
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
,
Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and television director. Priestly starred as virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000). His other television roles in ...
and
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
as well as Danson. However, it remains un-produced; OZN and writer/producer Colin Greene (now a Vice-President at Sony Studios) sold ''Storm Warning'', a $100 million-plus film, to Paramount for producer
Mario Kassar Mario F. Kassar (; born October 10, 1951) is a Lebanese-American film producer and industry executive who produced the first three films of the '' Rambo'' series, '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', '' Total Recall'', ''The Doors, Angel Heart'', ' ...
, making the front page of the ''
Daily Variety ''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...
''. In 2003, OZN and Greene's ''God's Witness'', long on many of the industry's "favorite un-sold spec scripts" lists, was finally made as '' I Witness'', starring
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...
,
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
and
Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series ''Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for wh ...
, for which the writing team received the 2003 Method Fest Best Screenplay Award. Universal released the film in the U.S. and Canada in 2007 and HBO released it internationally. OZN left the industry in 2003 to raise his children and returned in 2008, as part of the production team of "Turned Towards the Sun," a UK documentary about the British aristocrat, war hero,
London Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
correspondent, author and out bisexual
Micky Burn Captain Michael Clive Burn, MC (11 December 1912 – 3 September 2010) was an English journalist, commando, writer and poet. Early life Michael Clive "Micky" Burn, born 11 December 1912 in London, was the eldest of four children, the son of ...
. The film premiered at the British Film Institute in London in October 2012 to excellent reviews, earning director Greg Olliver a Grierson Award nomination. OZN then wrote a feature for the Sy Fy Channel, " Earth's Final Hours," which was produced in 2011 by Cinetel and aired in 2012. In 2015 he served as Executive Producer, along with
Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician, photographer, author, and philanthropist. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia; Julian is named after his pate ...
of
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
Board member Julia Verdin's film short "Lost Girls," which won awards at the 2016 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and IndieFEST.


Social/Political activism

A guest at the Obama Administration's 2016 White House Bisexual Community Briefing, Mr. Ozn was the Chairperson of the Los Angeles Bisexual Task Force, a bisexual advocacy non-profit operating out of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, presenting workshops for LGBT youth at the Center and University of Southern California as well as pressing for political change within and without the LGBT community. http://www.bicenter.org. In October 2015, OZN founded The Je Suis Charlie Movement (JSCMovement) a social media project on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, launched in response to continued worldwide terror attacks, created to show solidarity with all victims of terror. Fine and performing artists post their work online as a sign of support, while followers share and like posts - all to raise awareness. http://www.JSCMovement.com.


Return to live performing

After a 32-year absence since the suburban Chicago shooting at a Dada Nada performance, OZN made his first live appearance in July 2023 as one of the guest artists at 80s Rock Star Nights at the Huntington Beach, California Biergarten Club, which also produced the series in partnership with Alt-80s Music cover band The Reflexx. The series included artists from The Go Gos, Josie Cotton, and others. He was introduced by
KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
and
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
celebrity DJ
Richard Blade Richard Blade (born Richard Thomas Sheppard; May 23, 1952, in Bristol, England) is a British-American Los Angeles–based radio, television, and film personality from Torquay, England. He is best known for his radio programs that feature new w ...
.


Awards and honors

Judge: Writers Guild of America Awards (longform) 2006, 2005, 2004 *LA Times Video Top 10 of the Year for EBN-OZN's "AEIOU Sometimes Y" *Method Fest 2003 Best Screenplay for "I Witness" *IFP Emerging Narrative Voices (Independent Feature Project) Screenplay (unproduced) 2002: Deadbeats *City of West Hollywood's "Celebrate Bisexuality Day" September 23, 2017, Proclamation Awarded to Robert Ozn on Behalf of the Los Angeles Bi Task Force.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozn, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male musical theatre actors American pop musicians American male screenwriters Jacobs School of Music alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Skidmore College alumni Singers from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state)