Robert Long is an American writer and television producer in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. As a screenwriter and executive producer for the long-running television program ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'', he received Emmy and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominations in 1992 and 1993. Long created the television show '' George and Leo'', among others. In addition to his television work, Long is a

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership d ...

for ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', as well as a contributor to ''TIME'', '' Newsweek International'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''. He hosts the

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

weekly radio commentary ''

Martini Shot In filmmaking and video production, a shot is a series of frames that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Film shots are an essential aspect of a movie where angles, transitions and cuts are used to further express emotion, ideas and m ...

'', and appears regularly on political commentary shows. In May 2010, he took part in launching a new center-right commentary site,

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

. Long received an award from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers G ...

, and is on the board of directors of ''The American Cinema Foundation'', a non-profit arts organization created to nurture and reward television and feature-film projects. His published works include ''Conversations with My Agent'' and ''Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke''.

Education

Long graduated from

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = M ...

(1983) and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1987. After graduation, he studied for two years at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he later served as an Adjunct Professor of screenwriting.

Television career

Long started his career as a screenwriter for the television show ''

'' in 1990, and became an executive producer for the show in 1992. During his tenure, the show won two

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and two

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

. Long received Emmy and

nominations in 1992 and 1993. After ''Cheers'' ended in 1993, Long formed a television production company with his ''Cheers'' collaborator and fellow Emmy nominee Dan Staley. Together, they created the television show '' George and Leo'', starring

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, '' The Button-Down M ...

and

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series '' Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS se ...

, for CBS. They also created '' Love & Money'' for CBS and '' Men, Women & Dogs'' for

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

. In addition to their show creation work, Long and his partner served as creative consultants on numerous shows. Long took over as show runner for

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on '' The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Em ...

vehicle '' Kevin Can Wait'' after Bruce Helford left the CBS show.

Political and social commentary

Beginning in 1993, Long wrote a fortnightly

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where su ...

column for ''

'' titled ''Letters from Al''. Written anonymously, the majority of these columns purported to be personal letters from Vice President Al Gore to his friend "Rusty", an academic researcher living in a Brazilian

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

. The letters revealed insider information about government figures, as well as humorous speculation on their roles in public controversies. Occasionally the letters were from other political figures, such as George Bush and Dick Morris, and on occasion the column purported to be the transcript of a police

wiretap Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

. ''National Review'' maintained the author's anonymity throughout the

Clinton presidency Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...

, revealing Long's identity only after George Bush was inaugurated in 2001. Long is now a

for ''National Review'', where he writes the fortnightly column ''The Long View''. He comments on political and social topics, especially mass media and Hollywood politics. He is also a contributor to ''TIME'', '' Newsweek International'', ''

'', and the ''

''. Long hosts the

radio show ''

'', where he provides news and opinion on the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre ...

, as well as interviews with notable subjects. Broadcast weekly, the show originates at Los Angeles NPR station

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

. The show's title is a Hollywood term for the final scene of the day on a

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

set. In addition, Long regularly appears on political commentary shows.

Ricochet

In 2008, Long started a political news and commentary website, RobinsonandLong.com, in collaboration with

Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...

, author and former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan. In 2010, Robinson and Long launched a new, more interactive website,

, featuring a news feed in the model of Facebook, Twitter, or

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a ...

. The site features approximately 40 contributors from conservative publications, such as ''National Review'' and ''The Weekly Standard'', who start conversation threads open to commentary and discussion. In order to encourage earnest and respectful discussion, only paying members of the site are allowed to comment, and a code of conduct is enforced.

Other work

Long is the author of two books. His first, ''Conversations with My Agent'', is a memoir of his early career. Published in 1998, it provides extensive advice for aspiring scriptwriters, and has become a "cult classic". His second book, ''Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke'', is a further memoir of his entertainment industry experiences, and was published in 2005. Long is mentioned and quoted extensively in the book ''The Sound of No Hands Clapping'' by

Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of '' The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at '' Quillette.'' A graduate ...

. Long serves on the board of directors of ''The American Cinema Foundation'', a "Los Angeles-based non-profit arts organization created to nurture and reward television and feature-film projects that promote democratic pluralism and inclusion." He is also president of the Board of Directors of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Associated television shows

* ''

'' (1990–1993) * '' Pig Sty'' (1995) * '' Good Company'' (1996) * '' George and Leo'' (1997–1998) * ''Love & Money'' (1999) * ''Men, Women & Dogs'' (2001–2002) * '' Sullivan & Son'' (2012–2014) * '' Kevin Can Wait'' (2016–2018)

Published works

* ''Conversations with My Agent'' (1998) * ''Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke'' (2005) *''Bigly: Donald Trump in Verse'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

* Nomination,

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

(1992) * Nomination,

(1993) * Nomination,

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

(1992) * Nomination,

(1993) * Writers Guild of America Award

References

External links

Martini Shot at KCRW
Retrieved 2009-10-30
Letters from America on Newsweek
Retrieved 2009-10-30
Q+A with Rob Long
at

LAist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts ...

Retrieved 2010-01-05 *
Rob Long's blog
Retrieved 2009-10-30
Rob Long search at NPR
Retrieved 2010-01-05
The American Cinema Foundation
Retrieved 2009-10-30
Cheerful Long on National Review Online
Retrieved 2009-10-30
Book Review on The Guardian
Retrieved 2009-10-30
In-depth podcast interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Rob American television writers American television producers Place of birth missing (living people) American male screenwriters Yale University alumni Living people 1965 births American male television writers UCLA Film School alumni Showrunners