Dustin Lee Abraham
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Dustin Lee Abraham is an American actor, producer and
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. He wrote the 2001 cult film ''
How High ''How High'' is a 2001 American stoner comedy film directed by Jesse Dylan in his feature film directorial debut and written by Dustin Lee Abraham. In the film, Method Man and Redman portray two cannabis users who are visited by the ghost ...
'' for
Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...
and Redman. As of 2009, he produced and writes for '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''.


Biography

Abraham was born to a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family and attended Chaparral High School in
Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-larg ...
where he was friends with Anthony Zuiker who encouraged him to enroll in Speech and Forensics (
Dramatic Interpretation Dramatic Interpretation (often shortened to "Dramatic Interp," "Drama" or just "DI") is an event in National Speech and Debate Association (and NSDA-related) high school forensics competitions. In the National Christian Forensics and Communicatio ...
) coursework. He eventually won the state championship in Dramatic Interpretation which led to a scholarship at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
. Zuiker who wrote him some scripts that he used to win the national championship in Dramatic Interpretation and won a scholarship to attended California State's graduate school and also teach their Speech and Forensics team. A friend of his introduced him to ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' star
Angie Harmon Angela Michelle Harmon (born August 10, 1972) is an American actress and model. She won ''Seventeens modeling contest in 1987 at age 15, signed with IMG Models, and appeared on covers for magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Esquire''. ...
who then introduced him to
Russel Simmons Russel Simmons is an American businessman. He co-founded Yelp, Inc. with Jeremy Stoppelman and served as CTO from July 2004 until he left in June 2010. Prior to co-founding Yelp, Simmons was a co-founder of PayPal, where he was a Lead Software ...
and his agent
Stan Lathan Stan Lathan (born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of Black Entertainment Television, BET's ''Real Husbands of Hollywood''. He has produced and directed nume ...
who liked his monologues. Jenny Delaney from the
William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
then started to market him to various casting directors including Francine Maisler at
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
who signed him; his first check was for $30,000. Although he was auditioning and getting paid, he did not win any roles. His agent encouraged him to write. He called Zuiker, who at the time was operating a tram in Las Vegas, and they decided to write a script about the Jewish mob in Las Vegas (Abraham had run numbers for the Jewish mob while in high school); the final product was called ''The Runner.'' After initially failing with the
William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
, they sold the script to a Showtime director for a mere $25,000; unfortunately, before the
Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency, LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous client ...
had reviewed it. CAA had found a lucrative buyer but the director refused to sell and instead what he felt was a lackluster movie, '' The Runner'', was produced in 1999 (although it starred
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
,
Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She rose to international prominence by playing Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004) and Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise '' Scream'' ...
, and
Ron Eldard Ronald Jason Eldard is an American actor. Early life Eldard was born on Long Island, New York. He is the sixth of seven children, and has four sisters and two brothers. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. Eldard's mother died in a car accident w ...
).Mass Appeal: "How a Speech & Forensics Coach Wrote the Script for ‘How High’ - Featuring Jewish mobsters, Russell Simmons, a softcore porn director and Sticky Fingers stealing weed" by Eric Ducker
May 18, 2017
Abraham wrote his first script, which he calls boilerplate, for John Wells which got him some exposure. Abraham then received a call from his agent that
Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...
and Redman wanted him to write ''
How High ''How High'' is a 2001 American stoner comedy film directed by Jesse Dylan in his feature film directorial debut and written by Dustin Lee Abraham. In the film, Method Man and Redman portray two cannabis users who are visited by the ghost ...
'' which was released in 2001. Abraham then worked on the '' CSI'' franchise as a writer for nine years. In 2007, he ventured into production and produced his first episode of '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', "
Cockroaches Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...
", directed by
William Friedkin William David Friedkin (; August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in doc ...
.CSI Files: "Interview: Dustin Lee Abraham" by Rachel Trongo
July 1, 2011


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Dustin Lee Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American Jews American male screenwriters American male television writers American television producers American television writers Jewish American screenwriters