Tuggelin (Tug) Yourgrau is an American

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 ...

and TV producer. He is the President of

Powderhouse Productions Powderhouse Productions is an American television production company established in 1994. Origins As early as 1986, Powderhouse co-founders Joel Olicker and Tug Yourgrau met while working to produce a documentary for WGBH, the public television ...

in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Early life and education

Yourgrau was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and moved to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

at the age of 10. He graduated from Denver South High School, then from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

with a degree in philosophy, and received a master's in history from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

Career

After periods of odd jobs, he became a producer at

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of ...

where he met Joel Olicker. Together they formed their TV production company,

Works

Film

*''Thy Kingdom Come... Thy Will Be Done'' (1988)- Associate Producer

Television

*''Southie Rules'' (2013)_ Executive Producer *''Red, White & New'' (2013)- Executive Producer *''Cats 101'' (2012)- Executive Producer *''Must Love Cats'' (2012)- Executive Producer *''Pets 101'' (2012)- Executive Producer *''America's Cutest Pet'' (2012)- Executive Producer *''America's Cutest Cat'' (2011)- Executive Producer *''Dogs 101'' (2011)- Executive Producer *''America's Cutest Dog'' (2011)- Executive Producer *''America's Cutest Dog'' (2010)- Executive Producer *''Dogs vs. Cats'' (2010)- Executive Producer *''Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus'' (2008)- Voice *''Build it Bigger'' (2007)- Executive Producer *''Engineering the Impossible'' (2002)- Consultant *''Secrets, Lies and Atomic Spies'' (2002)- Producer, Director, Writer *''Inside the U.S Mint'' (2000)- Director, Narrator, Producer *''Killer's Trail'' (2000)- Consultant *''Mummies: The Real Story'' (1999)- Producer, Director *''Machine That Changed the World'' (1992)- Narrator *''Discovering Psychology'' (1991)- Producer *''Living Against the Odds'' (1991)- Writer, Producer, Director

Honors and awards

For his play ''

The Song of Jacob Zulu ''The Song of Jacob Zulu'' is an American play that debuted on Broadway in 1993. Written by Tug Yourgrau, with lyrics by Tug Yourgrau and Ladysmith Black Mambazo and music by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ...

'', he was nominated for 1993 Tony Awards in two categories, as the author of the play and as lyricist for the award for best score of a musical.Tony Awards
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, accessed Dec. 29, 2009