Lowell Ganz | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1948-08-31)August 31, 1948 (age 76) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, producer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Lowell Ganz (born August 31, 1948) is an American writer and producer. He is the long-time writing partner ofBabaloo Mandel and has written for television, film, and theatre.
Ganz grew up in a Jewish family inQueens, New York, attending Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village.[1] He dropped out of college and moved toLos Angeles, California to pursue a career writing forsitcoms, starting withThe Odd Couple. From there, he moved on to writing for the TV seriesHappy Days and created two of its spin-off series,Laverne and Shirley andJoanie Loves Chachi.
In 1982, Ganz and Mandel teamed up withHappy Days actorsRon Howard andHenry Winkler to make their first film, the low-budget comedyNight Shift, which was also actorMichael Keaton's first film; Howard signed on because he wanted to start directing while Winkler wanted to move away from his image asthe Fonz. Ganz's second film outing,Splash, made stars ofTom Hanks andDaryl Hannah and earned him anAcademy Award nomination forBest Original Screenplay.
Ganz and Mandel went on to write several other films, four more of which were also directed by Howard, and one of which hadPenny Marshall, who starred inLaverne and Shirley, as director. Four of their films have featuredBilly Crystal, three have featuredMichael Keaton, two have featuredTom Hanks, and two are aboutbaseball. Ganz and Mandel are also widely used as Hollywoodscript doctors, known for their reliability and fast turnaround time.
Ganz lives in Los Angeles with his wife of more than 45 years. They have three children.
