JERRY COLKER

Bio

​Jerry Colker is best known for writing the book and lyrics for the award-winning Off-Broadway Musical about stand-up comics “3 Guys Naked From the Waist Down."  He won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical and co-starred in the New York production.  He also wrote the book and lyrics for “Mail” which set box office records at the Pasadena Playhouse before opening on Broadway.
 
Born in Los Angeles, he attended Harvard University where he competed in gymnastics and performed in the Hasty Pudding Show, was spotted by a New York agent and was soon performing on Broadway working with Bob Fosse in “Pippin,” Michael Bennett in “A Chorus Line” and in the role of “Riff” with Jerome Robbins’ in the Broadway revival of “West Side Story.”
 
Moving back to Los Angeles, Jerry was hired by Disney Animation to write the first drafts of “Aladdin” and the first treatment of “Rapunzel” which later became “Tangled.”  Moving into live action, he developed features for Touchstone Pictures, Tri-Star, and Trans World Entertainment for stars as diverse as Bette Midler, Steven Seagal, and Cheech and Chong among others.
 
For television, he executive produced and wrote a full season of the cult classic kids’ show for adults, “JohnnyTime!” for USA Network starring John Kassir.  One of the original writers of Nickelodeon’s “All That,” he also wrote episodes for “Kenan & Kel,” “The Jersey,” “100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd,” “Bing” and The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
 
For Network and Cable T.V., he wrote for “Growing Pains,” “In the House” and HBO’s “Arliss.”   For PBS, “The Steven Banks Show” and the docudrama adaptation of the acclaimed Alzheimers-themed best-seller, “The Forgetting”.

For his development company "Wordsmithery Productions, Inc.," he directed and shot a staged reading at the Hudson Theatre of the new musical "1989" about that magical year of revolutionary events in the Soviet Union, China, South Africa, and the true story of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He wrote the book & lyrics with music by Saverio Rapezzi and Aaron Kenny. 

Inspired by the gifted cast and his collaboration with Saverio Rapezzi, Jerry produced, directed, and shot another staged reading at the Hudson Theatre of another new musical, "Tycho & Kepler," about the tempestuous relationship between two giants of Astronomy in the 16th Century.  He wrote the book & lyrics with music by Saverio Rapezzi.

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He produced, directed, and shot a staged reading of the play "Save As Draft Or Send It At Your Own Peril" about miscommunications with those we care about the most.

Maintaining his connection to the film world, he is developing with Tom Wright and Gary "Litefoot" Davis, "Thunder Dreamer," the story of Crazy Horse from the Indigenous point of view and the truth about George Armstrong Custer and what really happened at then Battle of the Little Bighorn.

He just finished a novel entitled "Kenzo & Taint," a story of professional tennis, international espionage, and the most unlikely of friendships. 

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With several new plays and musicals in development, and a non-fiction tell-all memoir in the works, he ain't slowin' down,

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