Linwood Boomer
Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama Little House on the Prairie, and for creating the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.
Linwood Boomer | |
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Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | October 9, 1955
Occupation | Actor, writer, producer, director |
Years active | 1978–present |
Spouse(s) | Tracy Katsky |
Children | 4 |
Early life
Boomer was born into a lower-middle class family in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the third of four sons. He was enrolled in a gifted program at school. His mother is named Eileen. He was the middle child in his household. Boomer made a show based on his life story called Malcolm in the Middle, which ran from 2000-2006.
Career
Boomer began his career as an actor. After playing Adam Kendall on Little House on the Prairie, Boomer began focusing his talents on the behind-the-scenes aspects of television.
Boomer's writing and executive producing credits include Night Court, Flying Blind, The Boys Are Back, Townies, 3rd Rock from the Sun and God, the Devil and Bob. He also created and executive produced the pilots Family Business, Nice Try, and the U.S. version of Red Dwarf, and served as an executive producer under James L. Brooks for the pilot of Big. He also owns his own production company Satin City.
Boomer negotiated with CBS on a pilot order for a project that reunited him with Gail Berman, the exec who shepherded Malcolm during her tenure at Regency TV and as programming chief at Fox. Boomer wrote the script and exec produced along with Berman and Lloyd Braun for their BermanBraun shingle and Universal Media Studios, where BermanBraun is based. Dubbed The Karenskys, the multi-camera comedy would revolve around a daughter's return to the fold of her large, eccentric, ethnic family after her husband takes a job in her hometown. It was directed by Pamela Fryman and starred Annie Potts, Desi Lydic, Jack Thompson, Mather Zickel, Sasha Alexander, Tinsley Grimes, & Todd Stashwick.[1]
Malcolm in the Middle
Although Boomer has created, produced and acted in many television series, he is best known for creating the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which was based on his life story. The debut episode of the series was watched by 22.5 million viewers, and the second episode was watched by 26 million viewers. The series ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006 and in total had 151 episodes. Boomer wrote two episodes, starting with "Pilot" and then "Francis Escapes" and directed five episodes -- "Opera," "Stilts," "Reese vs. Stevie," "Bride of Ida," and the series finale, "Graduation." Boomer received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the pilot episode.
Awards and nominations
Wins
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series for Malcolm in the Middle ("Pilot")
Nominations
- Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series for Malcolm in the Middle (2001)
- Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series for Night Court (1984)
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1978 | Suddenly, Love | Dave Busby | TV movie |
1980 | Hawaii Five-O | Nick Zano | episode: The Flight of the Jewels |
1978-1981 | Little House on the Prairie | Adam Kendall | 35 episodes |
1982 | The Love Boat | Doug Bridges | episode: The Return of the Captain's Lady/Love Ain't Illegal/The Irresistible Man |
1983 | Fantasy Island | Alex Weston | episode: Eternal Flame/A Date with Burt |
1983 | Voyagers! | Dr. Thomas A. Watson | episode: Barriers of Sound |
1985 | The Young and the Restless | Jared Markson | Episode dated 8 April 1985 |
2006 | Malcolm in the Middle | Loan Shark (as Enzo Stussi) | episode: Graduation |
2018 | Santa Clarita Diet | Mr. Whetherton | episode: The Queen of England |
References
- Littleton, Cynthia (September 7, 2008). "Boomer back on track with Berman". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2018.