Fred Northup, Jr.

Infobox actor
name = Fred Northup, Jr.


imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1973|1|21
location = flagicon|USA Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
height = 5'9" (175cm)
birthname = Frederick Bowen Northup, Jr.
spouse =
othername =
notable role =

Fred Northup, Jr. is a comedy improvisor, emcee, writer, director, and producer living in Seattle, Washington. He is the President and founder of Southdown Creative.

Biography

Early life

Fred Northup, Jr. was born in Jackson, Mississippi to Fred Northup, Sr., an Episcopal minister, and Julie Northup, an employment lawyer. Northup's family moved frequently during his youth - by the time he'd entered high school, his family had already lived in Memphis, Tennessee, Paris, France, Rye, New York, and Lake Charles, Louisiana. He attended his Freshman year of high school as a boarding student at The McCallie School, and when his family moved to Seattle he completed his three remaining years at Lakeside School.

Northup became interested in both performing and video production at a young age. He starred as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol while in Lake Charles, and later starred as Motel Kamzoil in Fiddler on the Roof at Lakeside School. It was at Lakeside where Northup also began making short films. After graduating from Lakeside School in 1991, he enrolled at New York University in the Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied Film and Television Production and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1995.

Professional career

While at New York University, Northup was offered an internship at "Saturday Night Live" in its Film Unit, the unit primarily responsible for creating the fake commercials. During the course of the internship, Northup was offered a full-time staff position, and he took a leave of absence from NYU to work at "Saturday Night Live". It was also at NYU that Northup met Ryan McFaul, a fellow student who would become an important creative partner with Northup years later.

Northup left "Saturday Night Live" when the show went on hiatus and re-entered NYU. It was then that he was offered an internship with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, California. Northup moved to Los Angeles to work for Warner Bros. Television as part of this internship, first shadowing Senior Vice President Steve Pearlman, and later working in production on the television show "Living Single". Upon the completion of the internship, Northup finished his degree and graduated in 1995. He returned to Warner Bros. Television immediately after his graduation, where he worked in the network research department.

Northup left Warner Bros. Television in 1997 to return home to Seattle. It was there that he began improvising with Unexpected Productions, becoming a regular in its TheatreSports shows. He was hired by Microsoft Game Studios to work as a creative writer, and was responsible for the creative scripting, music, story, voice-over, and casting in numerous projects, including Midtown Madess 3, Project Gotham Racing 2, and Forza Motorsport.

In 2005, Northup left Microsoft to found his own film and video production company, Southdown Creative. He partnered with film-school friend Ryan McFaul, and the two have co-created a number of award-winning, commercial projects. Additionally, Northup directs and produces "The Local Music Show", a Seattle Channel television show featuring local artists and music videos, hosted by KEXP's John Richards. He also serves as the assistant director of Adult Swim's "Fat Guy Stuck in Internet".

He is the host of popular trivia nights at the Red Hook brewery in Woodinville, Wash., and Finn MacCool's bar in Seattle's University District.

Awards

In addition to the awards won by Southdown Creative, Northup won the 2005 Seattle Works "Volunteer of the Year" award, and the 1998 Seattle Police Department "Good Citizen" award for his work against domestic violence.

External links

* [http://www.SouthdownCreative.com Southdown Creative]
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