- Joel Surnow
Infobox Actor
imagesize = 150px
name = Joel Surnow
birthdate = birth date and age|1955|12|18
location =Michigan , USA
birthname =
emmyawards = Outstanding Writing - Drama Series
2002 "24:" "Midnight - 1:00 A.M."Joel Surnow is an American writer and producer best known for being the creator of the
Emmy winning television series "24", and the cult-following hit series La Femme Nikita. He also produced theFox News Channel "The Half Hour News Hour ".Biography
Surnow was born to Jewish parents in
Michigan , and his family moved toLos Angeles when he was ten years old. His father was anitinerant carpet salesman from Odessa, Ukraine, his mother a clothing retailer of Lithuanian descent. He graduated from Beverly Hills High in 1972 and attended UC Berkeley before transferring to theUCLA School of Theater Film and Television in 1975 after a year and a half at Berkeley.Soon after graduation, he began writing for film; he then switched to television. His breakthrough came when he began writing for "
Miami Vice ", in 1984. By the end of the year,Universal Studios , which owned the show, assigned Surnow to "The Equalizer ", as Supervising Producer, about aCIA officer turnedvigilante .He has five daughters, two from a previous marriage and three with his current wife.
Career
His most recent work is the very popular and award-winning TV series "24", which he co-created and also executive produced with
Robert Cochran . In 2006, "24" wonEmmy award s as outstanding drama series for Surnow and his fellow producers, including Robert Cochran and outstanding lead actor Emmy award and Golden Globe award winnerKiefer Sutherland . Surnow and Cochran had previously won an Emmy for "24" in 2002, for their writing of the series' pilot episode. Surnow quit his role in production of "24" February 12, 2008.Surnow was also the creator and executive consultant of the
1997 –2001 television series "La Femme Nikita", which was the top-rated drama on basic cable its first two seasons. In addition to being Supervising Producer and writing for "The Equalizer " and serving as executive story editor on the first season of "Miami Vice ", he has written scripts for a number of other TV series, including "Nowhere Man" and "Wiseguy ".Politics
Surnow has described himself as a supporter of the Republican Party, donating money to the campaign of
Rick Santorum and expressing particular admiration for former PresidentRonald Reagan . He is also a close friend of conservative radio hostRush Limbaugh . However, Surnow is a self-described "isolationist" and has stated that he has "no faith in nation building". He is the owner of an American flag that flew over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was sent to him as a gift from one of the regiments stationed there. [ [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer "Whatever it Takes: The Politics of the Man Behind '24' "] by Jane Mayer in "The New Yorker" (19 Feb. 2007)]References
External links
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