Steven Levitan
Levitan in 2010
Born
Steven E. Levitan

(1962-04-06) April 6, 1962
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison (B.A.)
Occupations
Years active1990–present
Notable workJust Shoot Me!
Modern Family
Spouses
  • Krista Levitan
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1992; div. 2018)​
  • Kristina McElligott
    ​
    (m. 2022)​
Children3

Steven E. Levitan (born April 6, 1962) is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter. He has created many television series such as Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Stacked, Back to You, Modern Family, and Reboot.

Early life and education

Levitan was raised Jewish in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2] He attended Glenbrook South High School and University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1980 to 1984, graduating with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Career

Levitan worked as a WKOW-TV on-air news reporter and morning anchorman in Madison, Wisconsin,[3] and as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago. He moved to Hollywood in 1989.

As executive producer, Levitan won an Emmy Award in 1996 for Frasier in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. He was also nominated in that same year for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series category for The Larry Sanders Show. He was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category for Just Shoot Me! and two more as executive producer. Levitan won the Humanitas Prize (for writers whose work best communicates and encourages human values) in 1996 for the Frasier episode titled "Breaking the Ice". Levitan has also won a CableACE Award and a Writers Guild nomination for The Larry Sanders Show. He also garnered a Producers Guild Award and a Television Critics Association Award for Frasier, a People's Choice Award for Stark Raving Mad and a Golden Globe nomination for Just Shoot Me!

His company, Steven Levitan Productions, has produced the series Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Greg the Bunny, Oliver Beene and Stacked.

Levitan and television writer/producer Christopher Lloyd joined as partners in 2006 and together created a production company named "Picture Day". It is under this company that they produced their co-creations Back to You and Modern Family. In 2010, Modern Family won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, as well as two other Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series for Eric Stonestreet, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd.[4] He has also earned Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series nominations for Modern Family episodes "See You Next Fall" (2011) and "Baby on Board" (2012), winning the latter.[5]

On June 19, 2018, Levitan, along with Seth MacFarlane and Judd Apatow, announced he was considering leaving 20th Century Fox as protest of Fox News's reporting of Donald Trump's family separation policy which is at odds with Modern Family's programming.[6]

Personal life

Levitan was married to his wife Krista from 1992 to 2018.[1] They have three children, two daughters Hannah and Allie, and a son, Griffin.

In July 2021, Levitan became engaged to Kristina Maria McElligott.[7] They married on September 17, 2022. The wedding was a reunion for many members of the Modern Family cast.[8]

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerCreator
1990–1991 Max Glick No No Yes No
1991–1995 Wings No Yes Yes No
1994–1996 Frasier No Yes Yes No
1994 The Critic No Yes No No
1995 The Larry Sanders Show No Yes Yes No
1997 Men Behaving Badly No Yes Yes No
1997–2003 Just Shoot Me! Yes Yes Yes Yes
1999–2000 Stark Raving Mad Yes Yes Yes Yes
2000 Yes, Dear Yes No No No
2002–2004 Greg the Bunny No Yes Yes Yes
2003–2004 Oliver Beene No Yes Yes No
2005–2006 Stacked Yes Yes Yes Yes
2007–2008 Back to You No Yes Yes Yes
2009–2020 Modern Family Yes Yes Yes Yes
2018 LA to Vegas Yes No Yes No
2022 Reboot Yes Yes Yes Yes

Writer

Director

References

  1. 1 2 Levitan, Steven (December 12, 2004). "Hollywood's 'elite': We're not villains". USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2021. I was raised Jewish, my wife was raised Catholic.
  2. ↑ Berrin, Danielle (September 23, 2012). "Politics, gender and Jewishness loom large at Emmys". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. ↑ Weintraub, Joanne (August 20, 2002). "Wisconsinites walkin' tall this fall with major TV gigs". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ MacIntyre, April (August 30, 2010). "Emmy Awards 2010 Winners List, Surprises and Omissions". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series Nominees / Winners 2012". Television Academy. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ Bradley, Laura (June 19, 2018). "Fox Creators Revolt as Fox News Condones Trump's Immigration Policy". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ stevelevitan (July 16, 2021). "Steve Levitan on Instagram: "My new fiancé"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ Richardson, Randi (September 20, 2022). "'Modern Family' cast members reunite at a wedding (again)". Today.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.