Ian Gurvitz
Lecturer
Film and Media Arts, Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
Email: gurvitz@chapman.edu
Biography
Ian Gurvitz is a native New Yorker who has lived in Los Angeles for the last 30 years
working as a TV writer/director/executive producer. He’s produced over 300 episodes
of television on shows such as Wings, Becker, The Wonder Years, Get a Life, and Frasier,
along with creating three shows that went to series. Between staff jobs, he’s had
studio term deals at New World/Tri-Star, NBC Studios, and Paramount.
In addition to working in television, Gurvitz has written about politics and culture for The Huffington Post and Attn.com. He’s also written four books: Hello, Lied the Agent—a behind-the-scenes account of TV development; Deconstructing God—A Heretic's Case For Religion); Welcome to Dumbfuckistan—The Dumbed-Down, Disinformed, Dysfunctional, Disunited States of America; and Freak-Out—The 2016 Election and the Dawn of the American Democalypse. He also published a book of original drawings in 2016, entitled Talking Heads.
Before Hollywood, he earned a BA in Philosophy from Ithaca College, graduating cum laude, and worked toward an MA in Buddhist Studies from Colgate University, which included a year living in Japan, teaching English and studying Japanese.
In addition to working in television, Gurvitz has written about politics and culture for The Huffington Post and Attn.com. He’s also written four books: Hello, Lied the Agent—a behind-the-scenes account of TV development; Deconstructing God—A Heretic's Case For Religion); Welcome to Dumbfuckistan—The Dumbed-Down, Disinformed, Dysfunctional, Disunited States of America; and Freak-Out—The 2016 Election and the Dawn of the American Democalypse. He also published a book of original drawings in 2016, entitled Talking Heads.
Before Hollywood, he earned a BA in Philosophy from Ithaca College, graduating cum laude, and worked toward an MA in Buddhist Studies from Colgate University, which included a year living in Japan, teaching English and studying Japanese.