Bruce Kimmel

Acting

As an actor, Kimmel appeared in many TV shows, such as The Partridge Family (multiple episodes), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Alice, M*A*S*H, Dinah and her New Best Friends (series regular), Donny and Marie (four guest shots), Playboy on the Air (series regular), as well as many pilots. He also appeared in the films The Apple Dumpling Gang, First Family, and Racquet.

Film director

He is the writer and director of The First Nudie Musical (1976), The Creature Wasn't Nice (1983), Prime Suspect (1989). Currently writing and directing a new web series, Outside the Box, an exclusive web series at Broadway World (www.broadwayworld.com). The first two seasons (six episodes each) have been aired, and season three begins shooting in April 2013.

Theater director

He has also written many plays/musicals, including a thriller, Deceit (2006), and the musical, The Brain From Planet X (2006). The Brain is a spoof of 50's alien invasion movies and was featured in 2008's Festival of New American Musicals with a run at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, California. Other plays and musicals include The Good One, Stages, Together Again, a musical version of The Comedy of Errors, Start at the Top, Feast, all of which were produced in Los Angeles. In 2004 he wrote most of and directed all of a hit musical revue called What If, at the Hudson Theater. In 2011 he directed a new musical revue, Lost and Unsung, based on his albums Lost in Boston and Unsung Musicals. More recently he directed two critically acclaimed productions, Li'l Abner and Inside Out. In 2016 he created a new musical revue, L.A. Now and Then, a love-letter to Los Angeles, the city that was and the city that is. He wrote many of its songs and a few of its sketches, and other writers included Bruce Vilanch, Richard M. Sherman, Adryan Russ, Shelly Markham, Grant Geissman, David Wechter, Paul Gordon, Doug Haverty, Michele Brourman, and Karen Gottlieb. Lanny Meyers, one of Kimmel's longtime collaborators, provided the orchestration. The two-CD cast album was released on Kritzerland and the show received rave reviews.

Record producer

Kimmel became a record producer in 1993, producing many cast albums (Broadway and off-Broadway), Broadway singers, and musical theater concept albums, first for the Varese Sarabande label, and then for a company he founded Fynsworth Alley. He was nominated for a Grammy for the revival cast album of Hello, Dolly!. To date, he has produced well over 180 CDs, including such beloved albums as the Unsung Musicals and Lost in Boston series, Unsung Sondheim, The Stephen Schwartz Album, The Alan Menken Album, The Stephen Sondheim Album, Sondheim at the Movies, a classic series of Sondheim shows in jazz with Terry Trotter, vocal albums with Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Liz Callaway, Laurie Beechman, Rebecca Luker, Jason Graae, Brent Barrett, Michelle Nicastro, cast albums for The King and I, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Bells Are Ringing, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (with Ann-Margret), Little Me (with Martin Short), and many, many others.

His current label is Kritzerland, which has issued cast albums, singers, and a series of reissues of limited edition soundtracks.

Kimmel, who is also a songwriter, recently produced his third album with singer Sandy Bainum (the first two were entitled This Christmas and Simply) – this album, "It Might Be Fun" features all Kimmel original songs, including his collaboration with Oscar-winning Richard M. Sherman (of the Sherman Brothers), "Two Roads." At the 2015 Mac Awards, Kimmel's song Simply won the award for Best Song of the Year.

Author

Kimmel has written twelve novels – his coming-of-age trilogy, Benjamin Kritzer, Kritzerland, and Kritzer Time, the mysteries Writer's Block and Rewind, and a mystery series featuring fifteen-year-old protagonist Adriana Hofstetter – Murder at Hollywood High, Murder at the Grove, Murder at the Hollywood Historical Society, Murder at The Masquers, Murder at the School Musical, and his latest, Murder at the Hollywood Division." In 2014 he wrote his first western, "Red Gold". He has also written a book of short fiction called How To Write A Dirty Book and Other Stories.

He published his memoir of his acting, writing, and directing days, There's Mel, There's Woody, and There's You, in mid-2010.

He published the new Adriana Hofstetter mystery, Murder at the Masquers, in 2011. In the fourth book in the Hofstetter series, Adriana turns sixteen.

In April 2012 Kimmel's new book, Album Produced By, was published. It's a follow-up memoir that picks up where There's Mel, There's Woody, and There's You left off.

In May 2013, the fifth in the Adriana Hofstetter series will be published – Murder at the School Musical.

In March 2014, Red Gold a western about a ten-year-old Jewish boy living in a boom town circa 1880, was published, his fourteenth book.

In March 2015, the sixth book in the Adriana Hofstetter series, Murder at the Hollywood Division was published.

In March 2016, Kimmel's sixteenth book was published - the comic novel, "Patrick Bronstein Presents" Patrick Bronstein, the lead character, appears in the Adriana Hofstetter mysteries starting with the third book.

Haines His Way Popular Daily Blog

Since November 9, 2001, Kimmel has written a daily blog, having never missed a day since that time, making his blog at haineshisway.com one of the longest-running if not the longest-running daily blog of its type.