Vance Elliott DeGeneres (born September 2, 1954)[1][2] is an American actor, comedian, musician, film producer and screenwriter, known for his work in television and movies.
Early life[]
DeGeneres was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana to Betty and Elliott DeGeneres.[1] He is the older brother of comedian Ellen DeGeneres.[3]
Career[]
After a two-year period in the Marine Corps, during which he reached the rank of corporal, DeGeneres hosted a radio program called New Wave New Orleans in the late 1970s, broadcast on WQUE-FM.
He played bass guitar and was a songwriter in the band The Cold, a new-wave band founded in New Orleans in the late 1970s.[4] The Cold was inaugurated into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2018.[5]
He was the original "Mr. Hands" of "The Mr. Bill Show."[6]
In 1991, DeGeneres was a staff writer on Eerie, Indiana, on NBC.[6] In 1993, DeGeneres co-created, with Karl Schaefer, a pilot script for ABC called Lost Angels, he wrote an episode for Diagnosis Murder.[6] In 1994–95, DeGeneres wrote and produced 9 Line. In 1995, he and Emily Cutler co-created and co-hosted Movies Schmoovies, a movie review pilot.
In 1995, DeGeneres and Alex Herschlag co-created and co-hosted a comedy show called The 4th Floor Show, a mock talk show. The pilot episode aired on E! In 1996/97, DeGeneres was a writer on Ellen.[6] In 1998, DeGeneres was a writer on the UPN sitcom Hits.[6]
DeGeneres has been a writer on The Academy Awards, The Emmy Awards, and The Grammy Awards.[6]
In the mid-1980s, DeGeneres co-founded the rock band House of Schock with The Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock on Capitol Records.
In 1998, he played keyboards and guitar for the New Orleans-based band Cowboy Mouth. In March 2006, he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Cowboy Mouth to perform their song "The Avenue".
DeGeneres was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2001.[7]
In 2002, he co-created, with Andy Lassner at Fox, a comedy pilot called Your Local News. DeGeneres also hosted.
DeGeneres was co-president of Carousel Productions at Warner Bros. for six years, Steve Carell's production company, developing comedy movies, including Crazy Stupid Love and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.[8] He was an executive producer on both films.
DeGeneres was an executive producer on the Showtime series Inside Comedy, hosted by David Steinberg, for four seasons.
He currently has a television development deal at Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros.[citation needed]
During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, DeGeneres and Rick Springfield created the online series, Rick Springfield & Vance DeGeneres Present the Miniseries: the 60 Second Guide to Songwriting with a Partner. The comedic series resulted in two songs: "The Wall Will Fall" and "Welcome to Your Bright New World", with proceeds benefitting Feeding America.[9]
He was an executive producer on Ellen's Game of Games, which aired on NBC in 2020.
Personal life[]
DeGeneres married his wife Joanna in 2013 in a small ceremony at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, and actor Steve Carell were among the guests.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DeGeneres, Betty (1999). Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey (1st ed.). New York: Rob Weisbach Books. pp. 66, 70. ISBN 9780688162740. OCLC 40489091.
- ↑ Mallegg, Kristin, ed (2011). Almanac of Famous People. 1 (10th ed.). Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale/Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781414445489. OCLC 659753779. "About this person: Born: 1954 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States"
- ↑ "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Vance DeGeneres, Correspondent". n.d.. http://www.comedycentral.com/dailyshow/bio_degeneres.tin.
- ↑ Lien, James (March 1, 1998). "A Brief History of New Orleans Rock". New Orleans, Louisiana. https://www.offbeat.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-new-orleans-rock/.
- ↑ "The Cold". 2018. https://louisianamusichalloffame.org/the-cold/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Vance DeGeneres". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0214699/.
- ↑ Yahr, Emily (5 August 2015). "How 'Indecision 2000' changed everything for Jon Stewart and 'The Daily Show'". Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/08/05/how-indecision-2000-changed-everything-for-jon-stewart-and-the-daily-show/.
- ↑ Fleming, Michael (January 13, 2009). "Steve Carell's Carousel forms TV arm". https://variety.com/2009/scene/markets-festivals/steve-carell-s-carousel-forms-tv-arm-1117998469/.
- ↑ Spera, Keith (May 2, 2020). "Vance DeGeneres, Rick Springfield's 'The Wall Will Fall': a goof that grew into a fundraiser". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. New Orleans, Louisiana. https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/article_755561be-939f-11ea-a25a-8b055a708e39.html.
External links[]
- Cowboy Mouth official website
- Vance DeGeneres at AllMusic
- Vance DeGeneres discography at Discogs
- Vance DeGeneres at the Internet Movie Database
The original article can be found at Vance DeGeneres and the edit history here.