Biography

Jim began his comedy career in 1973 by joining a popular New York comedy trio, Divided We Stand. Divided We Stand were regulars at the Improvisation Cafe and other New York Clubs (The Bitter End, Catch A Rising Star, The Bottom Line) but spent most of their time touring colleges and other nightclubs. The trio performed at hundreds of colleges in forty-seven states and Europe appearing with Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, The Beach Boys, The Commodores, Jimmy Buffet, The Righteous Brothers, Bill Withers, War, Shanana, and The Temptations to name a few.

In 1980 Jim had the opportunity to write for television in Los Angeles. He made the move with his actress wife Annie Gagen to Hollywood where he wrote and produced popular television shows including Silver Spoons, Punkey Brewster, Mama's Family, Three's Company, Sanford, The Facts of Life, Empire, Kate and Allie, Too Close For Comfort, It's Gary Shandling's Show, Boys Will Be Boys, The Van Dyke Show, Amen and Family Matters. He co-created and executive produced The Suite Life of Zack and Cody for the Disney Channel which later became The Suite Life on Deck. The "Zack and Cody" franchise is about to enter it's seventh record breaking season. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody have brought Jim two Emmy nominations.

Jim also writes for the theater. His critically-acclaimed play Only Kidding ran off-Broadway for 500 performances. The play was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards (including Outstanding New Play), was bought by Home Box Office, published by Samuel French and has been produced at regional theaters across the country including the Cleveland Playhouse, Wisdom Bridge in Chicago, the Asolo and the Odyssey in Los Angeles. His play Light Sensitive premiered at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, was published by Samuel French and has seen over forty productions around the United States. The play was nominated for the coveted Jefferson Theater Award in Chicago, seven Drama-Logue Awards in Los Angeles, an Ovation Nomination and five Bay Area Critics Awards. His play Two Gentlemen of Corona had it's world premiere at the West Coast Ensemble in Los Angeles where it won an LA Ovation Award. It has recently been published by Samuel French. He has written the book and lyrics to UG, a musical comedy about the discovery of theater by cavemen. UG had it's world premiere at the San Jose Stage Company and has been published by Dramatists Play Service.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]