David Crane Bio - David Crane Biography

David Crane: Biography

David was born in 1957. He started his acting career at Brandeis University with Marta Kauffman. They've been a team for over 20 years now. He began working in theater in New York. He and Marta teamed up and worked with Michael Skloff (composer) and produced several musicals. One of those was a stage version of the movie Arthur.

He co-wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Personals with Marta. Personals received an Outer Critics Award and a Drama Desk nomination. They were co-executive producers on Dream On for many years. That show got an Emmy nomination for best comedy series in 1993 and won a Cable Ace Award in 1992.

They created the comedy The Powers That Be which starred John Forsythe, David Hyde Pierce and others. They also created and were executive producers on Family Album, Veronica's Closet and were executive producers on Jesse. They came up with the idea of Friends which lasted for 10 seasons (1994-2004).

David lives with his partner Jeffrey Klarik. Together they created The Clas s which has now ended.

David appeared in the TV documentary, The 100 Most Memorable TV Moments in 2004 as a scene in an episode of Friends made it to the Top 100 ("Ross & Rachel's First Kiss "). (edit)
David himself appeared as a casting director in two episodes of Friends, the sitcom he co-created with Marta Kauffman. (edit)
David and Larry Coen wrote the play Epic Proportions which showed on Broadway in 1999.(edit)
David has also acted in the following shows/movies: Harmony Street, Cathy Come Home, Fortress of Amerikka, Mickey One, and Quatermass and the Pit.(edit)
David created a production company with Kevin Bright and Marta Kauffman called Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions which produced TV shows such as Friends, Veronica's Closet, and Jesse.(edit)
David finished high school at Harriton High School in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.(edit)

David: I'd like to hope that years from now people can look at the reruns (of Friends)... and say 'That is still a really funny show' or 'It's still really sweet.' And if that happens... I'll be thrilled.(edit)
David: I think Friends' success lies partly in the diversity of its characters but mostly Friends enjoyed the benefits of a very weak decade in television entertainment.(edit)
David: (on making "Friends") The thing that was really exciting for us is to approach the show differently, to really make it feel more like life.(edit)
David: There's an emotional component to the show that we can never lose sight of because I think the shows you get tired of the fastest are the ones where you don't really invest on some level.(edit)
David: You know what's interesting is we kind of work in a bubble and we just come here everyday and we're here for like 17-18 hours a day and we do the work and try not to pay attention to what's going on outside of our little world. (edit)
David: (on CBS' response to their idea of "The Class") They were open to anything. They loved the idea, they loved the concept that it wasn't a traditional sitcom, per se, that we'd have a much bigger canvas and a lot more characters.(edit)
David: (on how he was as a kid) I wasn't unlike what I am now -- a lot of energy, goofy and as unathletic as a kid can get.(edit)
David: (on Bradeis University's support of their TV career) The University was incredibly supportive financially, emotionally, and spiritually and I think it gave us the feeling that we could really do this.(edit)
David: We went through more than a thousand applicants for each role. We often thought we were never going to cast the show well.(edit)
David: I learned a lot of stuff, very basic things about theater and acting and drama, which I am still applying to the work I do now.(edit)