Eric Schaeffer (born January 22, 1962) is an American actor, writer, and director.

Early life and education

Schaeffer was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and later graduated with a degree in drama and dance from

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 18 ...

. After graduating, he drove a New York City taxi for nine years, during which time he wrote two stage plays, a novel, twenty screenplays and various other works.

Career

Schaeffer rose to fame with fellow actor/writer/director Donal Lardner Ward on the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

, ''My Life's in Turnaround'' (1993), which was made in fifteen days for only $200,000. Schaeffer and Ward parlayed the film's success into ''

Too Something ''Too Something'' (also known as ''New York Daze'') is an American sitcom that aired Sunday at 8:30 on the Fox network in October 1995 and again from May 26 to June 30, 1996. Premise The show centered on Eric McDougal, a would-be author, and Don ...

'' (1995–1996), a short-lived

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

that was briefly renamed ''New York Daze''. He signed on as a client of

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 employ ...

and made a deal to direct the 1996 romantic comedy '' If Lucy Fell'' for a budget of $3.5 million for Columbia TriStar. Schaeffer starred opposite model Amanda de Cadenet in the 1997

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

drama '' Fall'', about a cab driver who begins a passionate affair with a model he first met in his cab. In 2000, he released the comedy '' Wirey Spindell'', a semi-autobiographical tale. This was followed by the romantic comedy ''

Never Again "Never again" is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. The phrase may originate from a 1927 poem by Yitzhak Lamdan which stated "Never again shall Masada fall!" In the context of geno ...

'' in 2001, starring Jill Clayburgh and Jeffrey Tambor, and '' Mind the Gap'' in 2004. In recent years Schaeffer has been writing an autobiographical blog, ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single'', about his relationships and ongoing search for love. Schaeffer has turned the blog into a book, ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single – Sane, Slightly Neurotic (But in a Sane Way) Filmmaker into Good Yoga, Bad Reality TV, Too Much Chocolate, and a Little Kinky Sex Seeks Smart, Emotionally Evolved ... Oh Hell, At This Point Anyone Who'll Let Me Watch Football''. In 2008, Schaeffer debuted a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

, also called, ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single''. In 2009, Schaeffer and Jill Franklyn created the half-hour

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

series ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...

'' for

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

. The series about people who have failed at suicide – originally titled ''Failure to Fly'' – stars Schaeffer along with Krysten Ritter, Ivan Sergei, Ving Rhames and Rachel Hunter. It began airing in April 2010 and on June 30, 2010, the show was cancelled.Nypress.com
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Filmography and television work

Actor, director and screenwriter

Actor (only)

Books

* Schaeffer, Eric (2007). ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single – Sane, Slightly Neurotic (But in a Sane Way) Filmmaker into Good Yoga, Bad Reality TV, Too Much Chocolate, and a Little Kinky Sex Seeks Smart, Emotionally Evolved ... Oh Hell, At This Point Anyone Who'll Let Me Watch Football''. New York City: Thunder's Mouth Press. .

References

External links

* *
Bankrate.com interview

UGO interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaeffer, Eric 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New York City American bloggers American male film actors American film directors American male screenwriters American male television actors Bard College alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) American male bloggers 21st-century American screenwriters