Patric Verrone | |
|---|---|
 Verrone at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego. | |
| Born | (1959-09-29)September 29, 1959 (age 66) Glendale, Queens,New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | President ofWriters Guild of America, West Television writer Historical figurine sculptor |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Boston College (JD) |
| Spouse | Maiya Williams (m. 1989) |
| Children | 3 |
Patric Miller Verrone (born September 29, 1959) is an Americantelevisionwriter andlabor leader. He served as a writer and producer for severalanimated television shows, most notablyFuturama.
Verrone graduatedmagna cum laude fromHarvard College in 1981 where he was an editor of theHarvard Lampoon. He graduated fromBoston College Law School in 1984 after serving as editor of theBoston College Law Review. He practiced law inFlorida andCalifornia before becoming a television writer.
Verrone began his career as avariety show writer, which included a late 1980s job as a monologue writer forThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[1] Shortly after his work onThe Tonight Show, Verrone wrote for the popular animated programRugrats in 1991. From there, he worked for the entirety ofThe Critic's run on television, before moving on to write forMuppets Tonight (for which he won anEmmy[2]) andPinky and the Brain. Eventually, Verrone became a major contributor forFuturama. Subsequently, he wrote an episode ofThe Simpsons (Milhouse of Sand and Fog (2005)), developed the Cartoon Network seriesClass of 3000 (including writing the pilot episodeHome (2006)), and co-executive produced all four feature- lengthFuturama direct-to-DVD movies.
While editor ofThe Harvard Lampoon, Verrone met writersAl Jean andMike Reiss. Jean and Reiss, who had just served as co-show runners forThe Simpsons, were creating a new animated show calledThe Critic. They asked Verrone to work on it and, as he says, "[He] could hardly refuse."[1]
While working on two seasons ofThe Critic, Verrone would serve asco-producer and writer of three episodes:
Verrone has written forFuturama since the first season. Thefourth season episode "The Sting," written by Verrone, garnered nominations for anEmmy Award,Annie Award and aWriters Guild of America Award.[3] In the original series, Verrone served asproducer for fifty-nine episodes, but has been co-executive producer since the series'fifth season. Verrone has also scripted seven issues ofFuturama Comics, published byBongo Comics.
Verrone's writing credits forFuturama include:
On October 23, 2002, The Animation Writers Caucus (AWC) of theWriters Guild of America, West awarded Verrone a Lifetime Achievement honor of the Animation Writing Award.[4]
In 2005, Verrone was elected president of the Writers Guild of America, West with 68 percent of the vote, after pledging to devote up to 30 percent of the Guild's budget to organizing writers in reality television, animation, cable, and independent film. He had previously served as secretary-treasurer for the organization and on the board of directors.[5]
Reelected president with more than 90 percent of the vote in September 2007, Verrone subsequently led the Writers Guild through a strike from November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008.
Verrone could not seek reelection in 2009 due to term limits under union rules.John Wells, a former WGAw president from 1999 to 2001, won the election to succeed him. In 2011, Verrone ran for a third term for president, and lost to Chris Keyser by a 20 percent margin. In 2013, Verrone ran for and was elected to a seat on the union's board of directors.[6]
In 2019, Verrone was on the negotiating committee for the "WGA-Agency Agreement", and joined otherWGA members in firing his agents as part ofthe guild's stand against theATA after the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new "Code of Conduct" that addressed the practice ofpackaging.[7]
Aside from his work with the WGA and on television, Verrone also sculpts, paints, and sells historical figurines. His LinkedIn bio states:
I spend eight hours a day running a Hollywood labor union, eight hours making a living writing and producing television animation or sculpting and selling historical figurines on eBay, leaving eight hours to eat, sleep, and spend time with my wife and kids.[8]
The figurines are made to match sets made byLouis Marx and Company in the 1950s and 1960s.
Verrone has crafted the associate justices currently serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as all the other Chief Justices, and a few historically significant and recent justices. He says his long term intention is to create a figurine of each of the 110 justices in the Court's history.
He also has sculpted figurines of the eight U.S. Presidents that Marx never made, every major party presidential nominee since 1944, and a series of famous American figurines includingBenjamin Franklin,Alexander Hamilton,Mark Twain, andFrederick Douglass.
In 1989, Verrone married television writer and novelistMaiya Williams. They have three children and live inPacific Palisades, California.[9]
In March 2014, Verrone became a candidate for California State Senate inSD 26 on thewest side of Los Angeles. Other candidates included former assembly memberBetsy Butler and women's reproductive rights advocate Sandra Fluke. Verrone lost in the primary toBen Allen (D) andSandra Fluke (D).[10]
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