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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|image =
| image = Tom Fontana at Montclair Film Festival.jpg
| caption = Fontana at the [[Montclair Film Festival]] in 2014
|imagesize =
| imagesize =
| name = Tom Fontana
| name = Tom Fontana
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|09|12}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|09|12}}
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| othername =
| othername =
| alma_mater = [[Buffalo State College]]
| alma_mater = [[Buffalo State College]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Sagan Lewis]]|1982|1993|end=div}}<br />{{marriage||2015|2016|end={{abbr|died}}}}
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Sagan Lewis]]|1982|1993|end=div}}
* {{marriage||2015|2016|end=died}}
}}
| occupation = Screenwriter, playwright, producer
| occupation = Screenwriter, playwright, producer
| children = 1
| children = 1
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==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==


Fontana was born on the west side of [[Buffalo, New York]], and is the fourth of five children in an Italian-American family;<ref>{{Cite web|last=Doyle|first=Paula|url=http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0305/judaswriter_text.htm|title='What if Judas almost got it?'|work=[[The Tidings (newspaper)|The Tidings]]|date=April 5, 2004|access-date=2010-10-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502192336/http://the-tidings.com/2004/0305/judaswriter_text.htm|archive-date=May 2, 2005|df=mdy-all}}</ref> he is a cousin of actress [[Patti LuPone]]. He attended [[Cathedral School]], [[Canisius High School]], and [[Buffalo State College]]. He worked at the [[Studio Arena Theater]] in Buffalo in various capacities before moving to New York City in 1973. Fontana struggled with substance abuse for much of his early adulthood.<ref> https://crimestory.com/2019/12/30/episode-80-the-twelve-days-of-crime-story-day-8-tom-fontana-homicide-and-oz/</ref>
Fontana was born on the west side of [[Buffalo, New York]], and is the fourth of five children in an Italian-American family;<ref>{{Cite web|last=Doyle|first=Paula|url=http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0305/judaswriter_text.htm|title='What if Judas almost got it?'|work=[[The Tidings (newspaper)|The Tidings]]|date=April 5, 2004|access-date=2010-10-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502192336/http://the-tidings.com/2004/0305/judaswriter_text.htm|archive-date=May 2, 2005|df=mdy-all}}</ref> he is a cousin of actress [[Patti LuPone]]. He attended [[Cathedral School]], [[Canisius High School]], and [[Buffalo State College]]. He worked at the [[Studio Arena Theater]] in Buffalo in various capacities before moving to New York City in 1973. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://crimestory.com/2019/12/30/episode-80-the-twelve-days-of-crime-story-day-8-tom-fontana-homicide-and-oz/ | title=Episode 80: The Twelve Days of Crime Story – Day 8: Tom Fontana, Homicide and Oz | date=December 30, 2019 }}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
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===Television===
===Television===


Having started out as a playwright, Fontana was hired by [[Bruce Paltrow]] as a writer for ''[[St. Elsewhere]]''. Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as ''Oz'' (which he also created), ''[[Copper (TV series)|Copper]]'', ''[[The Jury (TV series)|The Jury]]'', ''[[The Beat (TV series)|The Beat]]'', ''[[The Bedford Diaries]]'', ''Homicide: Life on the Street'', and ''[[The Philanthropist (TV series)|The Philanthropist]]''.
Having started out as a playwright, Fontana was hired by [[Bruce Paltrow]] as a writer for ''[[St. Elsewhere]]''. Fontana has been the creator/showrunner for ''[[OZ (TV series)|OZ]]'', ''[[Copper (TV series)|Copper]]'', ''[[The Jury (TV series)|The Jury]]'', ''[[The Beat (TV series)|The Beat]]'', ''[[The Bedford Diaries (TV series)|The Bedford Diaries]]'', ''[[The Philanthropist (TV series)|The Philanthropist]]'' and he was also the showrunner on ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''.


Fontana wrote the HBO film ''[[Strip Search (film)|Strip Search]]'', directed by [[Sidney Lumet]], and contributed two pieces to the September 11 special, ''[[America: A Tribute to Heroes]]''. He was the executive producer of ''[[American Tragedy (film)|American Tragedy]]'' for CBS, ''[[Shot in the Heart]]'' for [[HBO Films]], the independent film ''[[Jean (film)|Jean]]'', and the documentary ''[[The Press Secretary]]'' for [[PBS]]. Fontana also created the historical drama TV series ''[[Borgia (TV series)|Borgia]]'' for the French premium-pay channel [[Canal+]], produced by [[Atlantique Productions]] and [[EOS Entertainment]]. The series recounts the Borgia family's rise to power and subsequent domination of the Vatican during the Renaissance. Fontana also co-created ''Copper'', an 1860s police procedural set in the turbulent [[Five Points, Manhattan|Five Points]] neighborhood of New York.
Fontana wrote the HBO film ''[[Strip Search (film)|Strip Search]]'', directed by [[Sidney Lumet]], and contributed two pieces to the September 11 special, ''[[America: A Tribute to Heroes]]''. He was the executive producer of ''[[American Tragedy (film)|American Tragedy]]'' for CBS, ''[[Shot in the Heart]]'' for [[HBO Films]], the independent film ''[[Jean (film)|Jean]]'', and the documentary ''[[The Press Secretary]]'' for [[PBS]]. Fontana also created the historical drama TV series ''[[Borgia (TV series)|Borgia]]'' for the French premium-pay channel [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]], produced by [[Atlantique Productions]] and [[EOS Entertainment]]. The series recounts the Borgia family's rise to power and subsequent domination of the Vatican during the Renaissance. Fontana also co-created ''Copper'', an 1860s police procedural set in the turbulent [[Five Points, Manhattan|Five Points]] neighborhood of New York.


Fontana has received three [[Emmy Awards]], four [[Peabody Awards]], three Writers' Guild Awards, four Television Critics Association Awards, the Cable Ace Award, the [[Humanitas Prize]], an [[Edgar Award]], and the first prize at the [[Cinéma Tout Ecran]] Festival in Switzerland. In 2003, Fontana was the recipient of the [[Austin Film Festival]]'s Outstanding Television Writer Award.
Fontana has received three [[Emmy Awards]], four [[Peabody Awards]], three Writers' Guild Awards, four Television Critics Association Awards, the Cable Ace Award, the [[Humanitas Prize]], an [[Edgar Award]], and the first prize at the [[Cinéma Tout Ecran]] Festival in Switzerland. In 2003, Fontana was the recipient of the [[Austin Film Festival]]'s Outstanding Television Writer Award.
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Fontana does not own or use a computer, and writes all of his scripts longhand on a yellow legal pad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tomfontana.com/email.html|title=Email}}</ref>
Fontana does not own or use a computer, and writes all of his scripts longhand on a yellow legal pad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tomfontana.com/email.html|title=Email}}</ref>

Tom Fontana was the graduation speaker at Buffalo State College in 1983.


==Membership==
==Membership==
He is a member of the [[Dramatists Guild]], the [[Producers Guild of America]], and the [[Writers Guild of America, East]], from which he received the [[Evelyn F. Burkey]] Award for lifetime achievement. Fontana served as vice president of the Writers Guild of America, East from 2005 to 2007. He is president emeritus of the WGAE Foundation, commonly known as the Writers Guild Initiative, and serves on the boards of the Acting Company, the [[Williamstown Theatre Festival]], DEAL, the New York City Police Museum, and Stockings With Care, among others.
He is a member of the [[Dramatists Guild]], the [[Producers Guild of America]], and the [[Writers Guild of America, East]], from which he received the [[Evelyn F. Burkey]] Award for lifetime achievement. Fontana served as vice president of the Writers Guild of America, East from 2005 to 2007. He is president emeritus of the WGAE Foundation, commonly known as the Writers Guild Initiative, and serves on the boards of the Acting Company, the [[Williamstown Theatre Festival]], DEAL, the New York City Police Museum, and [[Stockings with Care]], among others.


Detective [[Joe Fontana (fictional character)|Joe Fontana]], [[Dennis Farina]]'s character on ''[[Law & Order]]'', was named for Tom Fontana, who became close friends with ''Law & Order'' creator [[Dick Wolf]] while working as writers in the same building, at the same time, on the series ''St. Elsewhere'' (Fontana) and ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' (Wolf).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/dick-wolf |title=Dick Wolf Interview |work=[[Archive of American Television]] |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |date=2013-04-21 |access-date=2016-05-10}}</ref>
Detective [[Joe Fontana (fictional character)|Joe Fontana]], [[Dennis Farina]]'s character on ''[[Law & Order]]'', was named for Tom Fontana, who became close friends with ''Law & Order'' creator [[Dick Wolf]] while working as writers in the same building, at the same time, on the series ''St. Elsewhere'' (Fontana) and ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' (Wolf).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/dick-wolf |title=Dick Wolf Interview |work=[[Archive of American Television]] |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |date=2013-04-21 |access-date=2016-05-10}}</ref>
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!Producer
!Producer
|-
|-
| 1985 || ''[[The Fourth Wise Man]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
| 1985 || ''[[The Fourth Wise Man]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|-
|-
| 1993 || ''New Year'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
| 1993 || ''New Year'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|-
|-
| 1996 || ''The Prosecutors'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
| 1996 || ''The Prosecutors'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|-
|-
| 1997 || ''[[Firehouse (1997 film)|Firehouse]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
| 1997 || ''[[Firehouse (1997 film)|Firehouse]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|-
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street|Homicide: The Movie]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
| 2000 || ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street|Homicide: The Movie]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|-
|-
| 2004 || ''[[Judas (2004 film)|Judas]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
| 2004 || ''[[Judas (2004 film)|Judas]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
⚫
|-
⚫
| 2004 || ''[[Strip Search (film)|Strip Search]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} ||
|-
|-
⚫
| 2004 || ''[[Strip Search (film)|Strip Search]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||
|}
|}


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| 1988-1999
| 1988-1999
| ''[[Tattingers]]''
| ''[[Tattingers]]''
|align="center"|[[NBC]]
|align="center"|NBC
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
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| 1992
| 1992
| ''Home Fires''
| ''Home Fires''
|align="center"|[[NBC]]
|align="center"|NBC
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
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| 1993-1999
| 1993-1999
| ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''
| ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''
|align="center"|[[NBC]]
|align="center"|NBC
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Showrunner
|
|-
|-
| 1997-2003
| 1997-2003
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| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Creator/Showrunner
|
|-
|-
| 2000
| 2000
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| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Creator/Showrunner
|
|-
|-
| 2004
| 2004
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| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-created alongside [[Barry Levinson]] and [[James Yoshimura]]
| Co-created alongside [[Barry Levinson]] and [[James Yoshimura]]/Showrunner
|-
|-
| 2009
| 2009
| ''[[The Philanthropist (TV series)|The Philanthropist]]''
| ''[[The Philanthropist (TV series)|The Philanthropist]]''
|align="center"|[[NBC]]
|align="center"|NBC
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-created alongside Charlie Corbin and Jim Juronen
| Co-created alongside Charlie Corbin and Jim Juvonen /Showrunner
|-
|-
| 2012-2013
| 2012-2013
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| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-created with Will Rokos
| Co-created with Will Rokos/Showrunner
|-
|-
| 2011-2014
| 2011-2014
| ''[[Borgia (TV series)|Borgia]]''
| ''[[Borgia (TV series)|Borgia]]''
|align="center"|[[Canal+]]
|align="center"|[[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]]
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Creator/Showrunner
|
|-
|-
|2019-2022
|2019-2022
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| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Showrunner
| Also showrunner
⚫
|-
|2024
|''[[Monsieur Spade]]''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-08 |title=AMC/AMC+ GIVE FIRST-LOOK AT CLIVE OWEN IN MONSIEUR SPADE, LIMITED SERIES DEBUTS EARLY 2024 |url=https://www.amcnetworks.com/press-releases/amc-amc-give-first-look-at-clive-owen-in-monsieur-spade-limited-series-debuts-early-2024/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>
|[[AMC (TV channel)|AMC]] & Canal+
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|Co-creator/Co-showrunner with [[Scott Frank]]
|-
|-
|}
|}
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{{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1980s}}
{{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1980s}}
{{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1990s}}
{{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay 1990s}}
{{Evelyn F. Burkey Award}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Buffalo, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from Buffalo, New York]]
[[Category:Showrunners]]
[[Category:American showrunners]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners]]
[[Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners]]
[[Category:Canisius High School alumni]]

Latest revision as of 23:22, 2 November 2024

Tom Fontana
Fontana at the Montclair Film Festival in 2014
Born (1951-09-12) September 12, 1951 (age 73)
Buffalo, New York, United States
Alma materBuffalo State College
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, playwright, producer
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1982; div. 1993)​
​
​
(m. 2015; died 2016)​
Children1

Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951) is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street and created HBO's Oz.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Fontana was born on the west side of Buffalo, New York, and is the fourth of five children in an Italian-American family;[2] he is a cousin of actress Patti LuPone. He attended Cathedral School, Canisius High School, and Buffalo State College. He worked at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo in various capacities before moving to New York City in 1973. [3]

Career

[edit]

Television

[edit]

Having started out as a playwright, Fontana was hired by Bruce Paltrow as a writer for St. Elsewhere. Fontana has been the creator/showrunner for OZ, Copper, The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, The Philanthropist and he was also the showrunner on Homicide: Life on the Street.

Fontana wrote the HBO film Strip Search, directed by Sidney Lumet, and contributed two pieces to the September 11 special, America: A Tribute to Heroes. He was the executive producer of American Tragedy for CBS, Shot in the Heart for HBO Films, the independent film Jean, and the documentary The Press Secretary for PBS. Fontana also created the historical drama TV series Borgia for the French premium-pay channel Canal+, produced by Atlantique Productions and EOS Entertainment. The series recounts the Borgia family's rise to power and subsequent domination of the Vatican during the Renaissance. Fontana also co-created Copper, an 1860s police procedural set in the turbulent Five Points neighborhood of New York.

Fontana has received three Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, three Writers' Guild Awards, four Television Critics Association Awards, the Cable Ace Award, the Humanitas Prize, an Edgar Award, and the first prize at the Cinéma Tout Ecran Festival in Switzerland. In 2003, Fontana was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Outstanding Television Writer Award.

Articles

[edit]

Fontana has written articles for such periodicals as The New York Times, TV Guide, and Esquire, and has taught at Columbia, Syracuse, Rutgers, and the State University College at Buffalo, his alma mater, from which he received the Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary Doctorate of Letters.

Plays

[edit]

Fontana has had numerous plays produced in New York City, where he lives, and at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Buffalo Studio Arena Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and McCarter Theatre Company.

Personal life

[edit]

Fontana's sister is a nun. He lives in New York City's West Village in a building that was formerly a branch of the New York Public Library. The book-lined, two-story main reading room is now a living room where he often hosts fund raisers for arts and civil-rights organizations.

Fontana was married to actress Sagan Lewis for 12 years until their divorce in 1993.[1] Sagan and Fontana remarried on July 10, 2015, and remained together until her death on August 7, 2016.[1][4]

Fontana has a tattoo of the Oz logo on his upper right arm, which he is shown receiving in the opening credits of the series.[5]

Fontana does not own or use a computer, and writes all of his scripts longhand on a yellow legal pad.[6]

Tom Fontana was the graduation speaker at Buffalo State College in 1983.

Membership

[edit]

He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Producers Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America, East, from which he received the Evelyn F. Burkey Award for lifetime achievement. Fontana served as vice president of the Writers Guild of America, East from 2005 to 2007. He is president emeritus of the WGAE Foundation, commonly known as the Writers Guild Initiative, and serves on the boards of the Acting Company, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, DEAL, the New York City Police Museum, and Stockings with Care, among others.

Detective Joe Fontana, Dennis Farina's character on Law & Order, was named for Tom Fontana, who became close friends with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf while working as writers in the same building, at the same time, on the series St. Elsewhere (Fontana) and Hill Street Blues (Wolf).[7]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Credited as Notes
Writer Producer
1985 The Fourth Wise Man Yes Yes
1993 New Year Yes Yes
1996 The Prosecutors Yes Yes
1997 Firehouse Yes Yes
2000 Homicide: The Movie Yes Yes
2004 Judas Yes Yes
2004 Strip Search Yes Yes

Television

[edit]
Year[8] Title Network Credited as Notes
Creator Writer Producer
1982-1988 St. Elsewhere NBC No Yes Yes
1988-1999 Tattingers NBC Yes Yes Yes Co-created with Bruce Paltrow and John Masius
1992 Home Fires NBC Yes Yes Yes Co-created alongside Bruce Paltrow and John Tinker
1993-1999 Homicide: Life on the Street NBC No Yes Yes Showrunner
1997-2003 Oz HBO Yes Yes Yes Creator/Showrunner
2000 The Beat UPN Yes Yes Yes Creator/Showrunner
2004 The Jury Fox Yes Yes Yes Co-created alongside Barry Levinson and James Yoshimura/Showrunner
2009 The Philanthropist NBC Yes Yes Yes Co-created alongside Charlie Corbin and Jim Juvonen /Showrunner
2012-2013 Copper BBC America Yes Yes Yes Co-created with Will Rokos/Showrunner
2011-2014 Borgia Canal+ Yes Yes Yes Creator/Showrunner
2019-2022 City on a Hill Showtime No No Yes Showrunner
2024 Monsieur Spade[9] AMC & Canal+ Yes Yes Yes Co-creator/Co-showrunner with Scott Frank

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Petski, Denise (August 6, 2016). "Sagan Lewis Dies: Actress & Wife Of Emmy-Winner Tom Fontana Was 63". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Doyle, Paula (April 5, 2004). "'What if Judas almost got it?'". The Tidings. Archived from the original on May 2, 2005. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  3. ^ "Episode 80: The Twelve Days of Crime Story – Day 8: Tom Fontana, Homicide and Oz". December 30, 2019.
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/tom.fontana.1238?fref=ts [user-generated source]
  5. ^ "Twelve Astonishing Facts about "Oz," HBO's Original Crime Drama". Paley Matters. October 13, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Email".
  7. ^ "Dick Wolf Interview". Archive of American Television. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. April 21, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  8. ^ Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
  9. ^ "AMC/AMC+ GIVE FIRST-LOOK AT CLIVE OWEN IN MONSIEUR SPADE, LIMITED SERIES DEBUTS EARLY 2024". September 8, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
[edit]
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