USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 Presents: FRASIER - 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Make Reservations » November 3, 2018, 4:00 P.M. The Frank Sinatra Hall at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts and USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative

invite you and a guest to attend

Frasier: 25th Anniversary Celebration





A Panel Discussion Featuring:



Peter Casey (co-creator) David Lee (co-creator) Anne Flett (writer/producer) Joe Keenan (writer/producer) James Burrows (director) Kelsey Grammer ("Dr. Frasier Crane") Peri Gilpin ("Roz Doyle") Jane Leeves ("Daphne Moon")



Moderated by Bill Prady, co-creator of The Big Bang Theory

4:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 3rd, 2018



The Frank Sinatra Hall at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex

3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007



FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVPs REQUIRED.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP



Presented during the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4, taking place from November 2nd - 4th, 2018.



Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USCComedy

Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Instagram: @USCComedy

Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Twitter: @USCComedy



The USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 is dedicated to the memory of Paul Junger Witt, visionary film and television producer, and guiding force behind USC Comedy.



About Frasier: 25th Anniversary Celebration



An all-star panel, anchored by series co-creators Peter Casey and David Lee, and star Kelsey Grammer, reminisce about this long-running, brilliant Cheers spin-off in which psychiatrist Frasier Crane returns to his native Seattle to host a call-in radio show and spar with his fussy brother, their ex-cop father and dad's physical therapist. Impeccable performances and polished scripts are the hallmarks of this sitcom, Emmy's most honored series. Moderated by Bill Prady, co-creator of The Big Bang Theory.

About the Guests



PETER CASEY, Co-Creator

Peter Casey began his television career in 1979 when he and writing partner, David Lee, finally sold a freelance script to The Jeffersons. Soon after, they joined the show as staff writers. In 1985, Casey and Lee became writer/producers on the highly acclaimed comedy series, Cheers. Along with fellow Cheers alum, David Angell, formed Grub Street Productions. The first show they created was the popular NBC sitcom, Wings, and in 1993 Frasier. The series ran for 11 seasons on NBC garnering a record 37 Emmy Awards. If you happened to miss it, it’s still running in syndication.

DAVID LEE, Co-Creator

David Lee began a long career writing, directing and producing television comedy in 1978. With writing partner Peter Casey he wrote and produced The Jeffersons and Cheers. With the late David Angell they created Wings and Frasier. Besides directing many episodes of his own series, David has directed several pilots and was a repeating guest director for Everybody Loves Raymond. He is also an accomplished theater director, staging (and sometimes writing) critically acclaimed revivals and new works at major regional theaters across the country. Most recently he directed Wonderful Town for LA Opera and Dear World starring Tyne Daly at the Valley Performing Arts Center.

KELSEY GRAMMER, Cast - "Dr. Frasier Crane"

Kelsey Grammer has excelled at the highest level in theater, television and film as an actor, producer and director. An initial role as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers developed into the cornerstone of the Juilliard-trained actor’s career; he played the celebrated character in three different television series (Cheers, Wings and Frasier) over a span of 20 years, tying the record for longest-running television character. He has won six Emmys, three Golden Globes, a SAG and a Tony Award. In 2012, he was honored with his most recent Golden Globe for his portrayal of Mayor Tom Kane in the Starz drama Boss, in which he was also executive producer. He starred in La Cage aux Folles on Broadway in 2010, earning a Tony nomination, and returned to Broadway in 2015 for Finding Neverland. He has played the iconic character Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons since 1990 and last season won an Emmy for his character Blinky in the Netflix animated series Trollhunters. He recently starred in the Netflix feature Like Father and is currently filming the FOX drama series Proven Innocent premiering in January 2019.

PERI GILPIN, Cast - "Roz Doyle"

Peri is best known for her role as Roz Doyle on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning Frasier. Peri most recently appeared onstage at The Old Globe in San Diego as Virginia Butley in Karen Zacarias’ insightful Native Gardens. She’s played numerous roles on TV and onstage and is thrilled to join members of her Frasier family here tonight at USC!

JAMES BURROWS, Director

James Burrows is one of television’s most respected and honored creative talents. Over his distinguished career, Burrows has been the recipient of ten Emmys, four Directors Guild of America Awards and the 1996 American Comedy Awards’ Creative Achievement Award. 2006 was a busy year for Mr. Burrows, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Science’s Hall of Fame and was honored by the US Comedy Arts Festival with their Career Tribute award. He has been the recipient of 21 nominations for the Director’s Guild of America Award, thus bestowing him the honor of being the most nominated director in the history of television at the Guild.



Burrows’ success as the director of television pilots is legendary. He has just completed a successful pilot season that will add three comedies to this year’s schedule.He is currently at the helm of the new hit CBS comedy, “The Millers.” The current primetime television schedule features five shows- “Big Bang Theory,” “Mike and Molly,” “Sean Saves the World,” “The Millers,” and “Two and a Half Men” – whose pilot episodes Burrows directed. They will be joined by a sixth mid-season, “Friends with Better Lives.”



Burrows is probably best known as co-creator, executive producer and director of the critically acclaimed series, “Cheers.” The hit show, which aired for 11 seasons, is the most nominated series in the Television Academy’s history and is in third place for most Emmys received. Burrows has also received numerous awards for his work on “Will & Grace,” “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Wings,” “Night Court,” “Taxi,” and “Dear John.” For the first time in 25 years, he returned to the stage in the spring of 1998 to direct the highly acclaimed “Man Who Came To Dinner” at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, starring John Mahoney. Burrows learned his trade from the very best, the legendary writer/director Abe Burrows, whose noted career included such classics as “Guys and Dolls,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Cactus Flower.”



Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, Burrows graduated from Oberlin College and continued his education at Yale, where he earned a master’s degree in fine arts. Burrows relocated to Hollywood to work as a dialogue coach for “O.K. Crackerby!,”a short-lived television series starring Burl Ives. When the show ended, he returned to New York and initially worked as a stage manager before directing several off-Broadway shows, such as “The Castro Complex,” and stock productions of “The Odd Couple” and “Never Too Late.” In 1974, Burrows moved back to the West Coast when he was invited to visit MTM Productions in Los Angeles and offered a job directing an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Mr. Burrows and his wife, Debbie, reside in Los Angeles and between them they have a quartet of daughters.

About the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4



The 4th edition of the USC Comedy Festival comes at a time when comedy has emerged as a leader in discourses and causes for social justice and human rights, serving a galvanizing role for change in our fractured and polarized society. Affiliated with the USC Comedy track at the School of Cinematic Arts and the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Foundation, the festival will honor comedy legends, introduce notable emerging artists, address important issues and new developments in comedy form and content, and celebrate the work of our newest generation of USC Comedy students.

The USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 is dedicated to the memory of Paul Junger Witt, visionary film and television producer, and guiding force behind USC Comedy.

Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USCComedy

Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Instagram: @USCComedy

Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 4 on Twitter: @USCComedy

About USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts



In 2010 USC became the first university in the nation to offer a program dedicated to training filmmakers in the art of comedy. USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts offers instruction in the writing, directing, production as well as the history and theory of comedy. Students work with a distinguished, award-winning faculty of comedy professionals to discover and develop their comedic voices, while getting unrivaled access to the field through workshops, internships, demonstrations and screenings and festivals.

USC Comedy boasts an award-winning faculty that includes Jack Epps Jr. (The Secret of My Success, Legal Eagles, Top Gun), Barnet Kellman (Murphy Brown, Mad About You, George Lopez), David Isaacs (Cheers, Frasier, M*A*S*H*), Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory), John Bowman (Saturday Night Live, In Living Color), Dave Goetsch (The Big Bang Theory), Russ Woody (Drew Carrey), Mary Lou Belli (Girlfriends), and Tim Marx (Baby Daddy), to name just a few.

Our students benefit from the expertise and participation of SCA Comedy Alumni such as Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents), Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy), Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Get Smart), Tim Story (Barber Shop, Ride Along), Gabe Sachs (Freaks and Geeks), Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air), and Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off The Boat), among many other luminaries and industry professionals.

For more information, visit: http://cinema.usc.edu/comedy

About USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative



Visions and Voices is a university-wide arts and humanities initiative that is unparalleled in higher education. The initiative was established by USC President C. L. Max Nikias during his tenure as provost in order to fulfill the goals set forth in USC's strategic plan; to communicate USC's core values to students; and to affirm the human spirit. Emphasizing the university's commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, the initiative features a spectacular array of events conceived and organized by faculty and schools throughout the university. The series includes theatrical productions, music and dance performances, conferences, lectures, film screenings and many other special events both on and off campus. Each program invites students to dialogue and interact with artists, writers, professors and special guests. These interactions provide a dynamic experience of the arts and humanities and encourage active exploration of USC's core values, including freedom of inquiry and expression, team spirit, appreciation of diversity, commitment to serving one's community, entrepreneurial spirit, informed risk-taking, ethical conduct and the search for truth.

Visit the Official Visions and Voices Website: www.usc.edu/visionsandvoices

Follow Visions and Voices on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisionsAndVoices

Follow Visions and Voices on Instagram: @visionsandvoices

Follow Visions and Voices on Twitter: @VisionsnVoices

#visionsandvoices



Check-In & Reservations



This event is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors open at 3:30 P.M.

All SCA events are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Parking



The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $12.00 at the USC McClintock Entrance, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Ave. We recommend buying a parking pass from the Gate Entrance, then turning left onto 34th Street and driving down to the USC Royal Street Structure, at the far end of 34th Street.

Contact Information

Name: Alessandro Ago

Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu

