Tanya Ryno is an American television producer and businesswoman. She was ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 's film segment producer/head of production during the 1990s and produced many of the commercial parodies for which the show is noted along with the animated

TV Funhouse ''Saturday TV Funhouse'' is a segment on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' featuring cartoons created by ''SNL'' writer Robert Smigel. 101 "TV Funhouse" segments aired on ''SNL'' between 1996 and 2008, with one further segment airing in 2011. It al ...

segments. Ryno was one of very few women producing comedy sketches and animation shorts in the 1990s, with the organization

Women in Animation WIA (originally Women in Animation) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization with the purpose of furthering, promoting, and supporting female animators in the art, science and business of animation. WIA helps young female artists to ...

originating several years after her career began. She is now the founder of a luxury home gym design and wellness firm that has been featured in Architectural Digest, Forbes, and House Beautiful Magazine

Early life

Ryno was born in

Fort Lee (Virginia) Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg-Adams), in Prince George County, Virginia is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the United States Ar ...

, at the Kenner Army Health Clinic, and is the daughter of Stephen Wayne Grondin and Donna Ruth Kitchen. Shortly after her birth, her father was transferred to the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

, the

NATO headquarters The NATO headquarters is the political and administrative center of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After previous locations in London and Paris, it has been headquartered in Brussels since 1967, in a complex in Haren, part of ...

in Belgium where they lived until 1972. From there her family moved to

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

, where her parents were from. The next several years, Tanya's family would move to a new school district, almost annually, until she was a teenager where her parents settled in

Hampden, Maine Hampden is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,709 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor, Maine, Bangor metropolita ...

, so that she could attend all four years at

Hampden Academy Hampden Academy is a public high school located at 89 Western Avenue in Hampden, Maine, United States. The school is a part of Regional School Unit #22 (R.S.U. 22), with approximately 708 students from Hampden, Newburgh, Frankfort and Winterp ...

. Tanya was an only child, until her parents divorced. She now has one half-brother, Wyatt, and three step-sisters. After high-school, she moved to Florida to attend

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is a former for-profit art and culinary school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in ...

before transferring to the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

Early career

While attending college in Florida, Ryno began her career as a photographer and editor for a small publication in South Beach, Miami called Talent Times Magazine. When she transferred to the School of Visual Arts, in NYC, she continued as a photographer's assistant for several high profile fashion photographers.

Saturday Night Live

In the early 1990s, Tanya started working at Saturday Night Live. And in addition to the commercial parodies, Tanya was a producer for

Robert Smigel Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The pup ...

series, including the award-winning Ambiguously Gay Duo, which was voiced by

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2011, 2013), and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, a ...

and

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

, The X-Presidents, and Fun with Real Audio. She even produced the GoLords (Stop Motion) Puppet series written by Andrew Steele, which was short lived, but had a cult-like following. Tanya was also a producer for several prime time specials including ''The Best of

Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. He was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' for fiv ...

'' compilation and ''The Best of

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, and his family moved to the United States when he w ...

''. The commercial parodies, she's best known for include: AM Ale, featuring

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. His prominent roles include Champ Kind in the '' Anchorman'' film series (2004–2013) and Todd Packer in ''The Office'' (2005–2013). Koechner first became i ...

, Big Brawn Feminine Napkins, featuring

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and

Molly Shannon Molly Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for playing Joanne ...

, Caribbean Essence Bath Oil, featuring

Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003, and played Tracy Jordan in the NBC sitcom ''30 Ro ...

and

Cheri Oteri Cheryl Ann Oteri (; born September 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. A Primetime Emmy Award nominee, she is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2000. Earl ...

, Cookie Dough Sport, featuring Will Ferrell, and Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas Special., featuring

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory ...

. Tanya's most controversial segments were: One

segment, written by

that's claim to fame is that it only aired once. On the March 14, 1998 episode, featuring

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...

and

The Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

. The segment titled "Conspiracy Theory Rock" was banned by

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

immediately after it aired. The other controversial segment Tanya was a producer on involved the Heaven's Gate Cult and mass suicide, where all the members were found wearing the same pair of

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

sneakers. Within days of the event,

aired a satirical commercial parody that incorporated some of the actual news footage of the dead members, from their legs down, wearing Nike shoes. The tagline was: "

Keds Keds is an American brand known for its canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916 by U.S. Rubber, its original shoe design was the first mass-marketed canvas-top sneaker. The brand was sold to Stride Rite in 1979, which was acquired by ...

. Worn by level-headed Christians."

Other film and video work

Ryno was a producer on New York at the Movies for A&E. A documentary hosted by

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

that included over 14 film legends (including:

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as ...

Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor and filmmaker. He rose to fame with '' The Brothers McMullen'' (1995), his low-budget independent film that became successful worldwide. His other film appearances include '' ...

, and

John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

) giving their real-life experiences of making movies in New York City. With the tagline of "You can't fake New York". Ryno also produced ''Coney Island Baby'', an award-winning romantic comedy that takes place in Sligo, Ireland and made its premiere television broadcast on the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV Sundance TV ...

. It was direct by

Amy Hobby Amy Hobby is an American film producer. She is best known for producing documentary ''What Happened, Miss Simone?'' that earned her Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature nomination at 88th Academy Awards and Grammy Award for Best Music Film at ...

who won best first time director for the film. Throughout those years, she also worked freelance with the

ESPY The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

's, the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, and several commercial productions including Levi Strauss & Co.,

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Toys R Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. She produced and directed a segment of a behind-the-music piece for a collaboration between

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

and

343 Industries Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) is an American video game developer based in Redmond, Washington, part of Xbox Game Studios. Headed by Pierre Hintze, the studio is responsible for the Halo (franchise), ''Halo'' science fiction franchise, ...

featuring

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ...

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "''exhibit''), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, radio personality, and record executive. He began his musical career in 1992, ...

DJ Skee Scott Keeney (born 15 November 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio incl ...

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...

from

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

, and T-Boz aka

Tionne Watkins Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), also known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer. Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC. Early life ...

all discussing the special relationship between music and video games while featuring the newest

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

franchise to be released that year, Halo4. For

Funny or Die Funny or Die, Inc. is a comedy video website and production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a regular staf ...

Tanya, produced, co-wrote and co-directed with Motion Family the comedy film short "Big Tweet" featuring, Brandon T Jackson,

Sydney Tamiia Poitier Sydney Tamiia Poitier ( ; born November 15, 1973) is an American-Canadian television and film actress. Early life and family Born in Los Angeles, Poitier is the daughter of Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier and Canadian actress Joanna Sh ...

and

Jason Beghe Jason Deneen Beghe (; born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Since 2014, he has starred in the NBC TV series '' Chicago P.D.'' as Sergeant Hank Voight. He is also known for starring in the 1988 George A. Romero film '' Monkey Shines'', pla ...

. She produced a couple music videos worth noting, in 2011 Tanya produced and directed a raw indie style music video for blues dynamo Gina Sicilia's hit "Addicted" and in 2012 she produced "Rap'n'Rolla" for the popular Russian Rap Artist, Alexander Stepanov, aka ST, directed by Motion Family. Ryno also ventured into publishing and created the ''New Jersey Production Guide'', claiming to be the first comprehensive resource for film production, commercial productions, and television production in the state of New Jersey. She published this 200 page guide in both 1998 and 2000.

Selected filmography

*''

Coney Island Baby ''Coney Island Baby'' is the sixth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in December 1975 by RCA Records. Music and lyrics The album has been described by Anthony DeCurtis as "perhaps the most romantic album of Reed's ...

'' (2003) is a comedy-drama in which Ryno made her producing debut for a feature-length film. Also see: *'' List of Saturday TV Funhouse segments'' *''

List of Saturday Night Live commercial parodies On the American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), a commercial advertisement parody is commonly shown after the host's opening monologue. Many of the parodies were produced by James Sig ...

'' *'' NYWIFT''

Awards

Publications

* ''Beyond the Ocean Waves'' 2021 Based on a true story, Tanya's real life is included in this "truth is stranger than fiction" memoir written by her good friend T. Edwards Brown.

References

External links

Official Website
at TanyaRyno.com *
Coney Island Baby Clip
on the

.
Tanya Ryno
at IRON HOUSE DESIGN {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryno, Tanya American television producers American women television producers Living people Hampden Academy alumni 21st-century American women 1970 births