Samuel Garza Bernstein (born 1970imdb.com) is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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 ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who grew up all over the world, living in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, Austin, Phoenix,

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, and Ft. Collins, Colorado, while his family also traveled through

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and the Caribbean. He is co-founder of Babyhead Productions with husband Ronald Shore. The couple have been together since 1994, and were married in a Jewish ceremony in 1996, then in Vancouver, Canada in 2003 when it became legal for same sex couples to marry, and then again in 2013 in West Hollywood, California, after the Supreme Court struck down Proposition 8. He is also a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for foster children in Los Angeles County.

Awards

Writers Guild of America Writers Access Project Honoree (2018) London Independent Film Awards Best Original Screenplay ''Elephant & Castle'' (2017) British Independent Film Festival Special Citation ''Elephant & Castle'' (2016) Anna Sosenko Trust Grant ''Mr. Confidential'' New York Musical Theatre Festival Performance Award ''Mr. Confidential'' (2014) eLit Silver Medal ''Lulu'' (2010) Foreword Book of the Year Finalist (Biography) ''Mr. Confidential: The Man, His Magazine & The Movieland Massacre That Changed Hollywood Forever'' (2006) GLAAD Nominee Best TV Film (2003); Emmy Nomination Bernadette Peters; Advocate Top Ten Television Events of the Year ''

Bobbie's Girl ''Bobbie's Girl'' is a 2002 Irish comedy-drama television film directed by Jeremy Kagan and starring Bernadette Peters, Rachel Ward, Jonathan Silverman, and Thomas Sangster. The plot is about two women leading a comfortable, quiet life running a ...

'' (2002) Houston International Film Festival Gold Award, Charleston International Film Festival Silver Award '' Silent Lies'' (1996) American Library Association

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow ...

for Non-Fiction (1995)

Biography

Samuel Garza Bernstein has written stage plays and musicals, television shows, movies, and books; working in Los Angeles, New York, and London. He dove into show business immediately upon graduating high school in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, moving to New York at the age of 17. After studying at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...

he began to work as an actor and singer, most notably playing the role of "Magaldi" in various productions of Evita. In the early 90s he started writing, and his first play, "The Liquidation of Granny Peterman," was produced 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 ...

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

said, "Samuel Bernstein's insights into what keeps families together are as rich as a holiday pudding." While writing and rewriting the script that would become his first film, ''Silent Lies'', he worked on his first book, a photo-anthology called "Uncommon Heroes" that won a

from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1996. Bernstein and his partner on the project, Phillip Sherman, tied with writer

Dorothy Allison Dorothy Allison (born April 11, 1949) is an American writer from South Carolina whose writing focuses on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism and lesbianism. She is a self-identified lesbian femme. Allison has won a number of a ...

. His book about the rise and fall of

Confidential (magazine) ''Confidential'' was a magazine published quarterly from December 1952 to August 1953 and then bi-monthly until it ceased publication in 1978. It was founded by Robert Harrison and is considered a pioneer in scandal, gossip and exposé journalism ...

in the 1950s, "Mr. Confidential" was published by Walford Press in 2007 and Liz Smith proclaimed that, "It reads like a house afire in a sultry swamp!". He adapted the project with composer David Snyder as a stage musical that premiered in 2014 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Among his many other film and television projects, one of his favorites is

which starred

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

, and

Jonathan Silverman Jonathan Elihu Silverman (born August 5, 1966) is an American actor, known for his roles in the comedy films ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'', ''Weekend at Bernie's'', and its sequel '' Weekend at Bernie's II''. Early life and education Silverman wa ...

, and marked the film debut of

Thomas Sangster Thomas Brodie-Sangster (born 16 May 1990), also credited as Thomas Sangster, is an English actor. He is known for playing Sam in ''Love Actually'' (2003), Simon in '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), Ferb in ''Phineas and Ferb'' (2007–2015), Jojen Reed ...

, the young actor who would go on to star in Love, Actually and Nanny McPhee among his many other films. Bernadette Peters received an Emmy nomination while the film received a

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

nomination and a citation from The Advocate as one of the top ten television events of the year.

Bibliography

*'' Uncommon Heroes'' (1994) *'' Mr. Confidential'' (2007) *''Lulu'' (2010)

Filmography

*'' Silent Lies'' (1996) *''Icing on the Cake'' (2000) *''Sally B.'' (2001) *''

'' (2002) *''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'' (2004) *'' W.I.T.C.H.'' (2005-2006) *'' Kill Your Inner Child'' (2007) *'' Sarge'' (2010) *'' Mr. Confidential'' (2014) *''

Shimmer & Shine ''Shimmer and Shine'' is an American animated television series created by Farnaz Esnaashari-Charmatz and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block on August 24, 2015, and ran for four seasons. The s ...

'' (2017) *''

Elephant & Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

'' (2017) *'' Miracle on a String'' (2017)

References

* McCulloh, T: "The Los Angeles Times", page 7. October 2, 1992

External links

The Internet Movie DatabaseBroadway WorldStonewall Book AwardsMr. Confidential MusicalMr. Confidential BookBabyhead Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Samuel 1970 births American non-fiction writers American male screenwriters Place of birth missing (living people) American gay writers Living people Writers from Austin, Texas American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Texas