Ken Finkleman (born 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

television and film writer, producer,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Biography

Finkleman was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. In Canada, Finkleman is best known as the writer, creator and producer of the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

series '' The Newsroom'', in which he starred as television news producer George Findlay. He later produced a number of other series for Canadian television as well, including '' Married Life'', '' Foolish Heart'', '' Foreign Objects'', ''

More Tears ''More Tears'' is a 1998 seriocomedy television series that was broadcast by CBC Television, as a short run programme; it was written and produced by Ken Finkleman following the success of '' The Newsroom'' (1996), and was partly a remake of '' ...

'', ''

Good Dog ''Good Dog'' is a Canadian television comedy-drama series which aired for one season on HBO Canada. The show follows the life of character George Findlay, a role that Ken Finkleman reprised from ''The Newsroom (Canadian TV series), The Newsroom''. ...

'', and '' Good God''. Each of these series also included the linking character George Findlay (or the nearly identical character George Britton in the first series, ''Married Life''). Finkleman describes Findlay as his vehicle for exploring issues that both intrigue him and tick him off."The Six Faces of George"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', March 4, 2011. His 2006 series '' At the Hotel'' was his only television project to date not to include the linking character. He began his career doing radio and TV work at the CBC, teaming up with

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, producer, songwriter and writer. Moranis appeared in the sketch comedy series '' Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and starred afterward in s ...

, then a Toronto DJ. The two of them performed in a series of live performances on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

's '' 90 Minutes Live'', comedy radio specials and television comedy pilots including one called ''Midweek'' and one called ''1980'' (produced at CBC Toronto in 1979). Both pilots starred Finkleman and Moranis in a series of irreverent sketches including an early mockumentary sketch featuring Moranis as a Canadian movie producer and another featuring the dubbed in voiced overs of Nazi war criminals as they appear to be discussing their Hollywood agents and the money one can earn being interviewed on major documentary series like ''The World At War''. In 1982, Finkleman was tasked with writing two sequels to blockbuster films for

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 ...

, ''

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the Grease (film), 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 Grease (musical), musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Orig ...

'' and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (also directing the latter), after the creative teams behind the original films declined to take part. Finkleman was given much larger budgets than his predecessors were, but both films, while still earning a profit, underperformed at the box office and were unfavourably reviewed by film critics. His television productions are seen, in part, as a reaction to his experiences in the mainstream Hollywood

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

system. Finkleman also wrote the 2010 novel ''Noah's Turn.'' His brother, Danny Finkleman, is a longtime radio personality on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

, who retired as host of '' Finkleman's 45s'' in 2005. Finkleman and his former wife Marion L. Cohen, a judge of the

Ontario Court of Justice The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court court of record, of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and prov ...

, have two children.

Filmography

Films

*''

'' (1982) *'' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) (also director) *'' Head Office'' (1985) (also director) *''

Who's That Girl Who's That Girl? may refer to: Film and television * Who's That Girl (1987 film), ''Who's That Girl'' (1987 film), an American film starring Madonna * ''Who's That Girl'', a List of Philippine films of 2011#Films, Philippine film of 2011 * "Who's T ...

'' (1987) *'' An American Dream: The Education of William Bowman'' (2016) (also director)

Television

*'' Van Dyke and Company'' (1976) (TV) *1980 (pilot -1979) *'' Married Life'' (1995) *'' The Newsroom'' (1996–2005) *''

'' (1998) *'' Foolish Heart'' (1999) *'' Foreign Objects'' (2001) *'' At the Hotel'' (2006) *''

'' (2011) *'' Good God'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Ken Finkleman talks ''Good God''
from CriticizeThis.ca {{DEFAULTSORT:Finkleman, Ken 1946 births Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Film producers from Manitoba Canadian male screenwriters Canadian Screen Award winning writers Canadian comedy writers Canadian television writers Film directors from Winnipeg Male actors from Winnipeg Writers from Winnipeg Jewish Canadian male actors Jewish Canadian screenwriters Canadian male television writers Canadian comedy film directors 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian Comedy Award winners Canadian television show creators Canadian male novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Screenwriters from Manitoba Canadian Screen Award winning directors