BIO

BRUCE VILANCH is an actor (occasionally an actress), writer (occasionally a re-writer), comedian (occasionally for money, often for causes) and sex surrogate (seasonal).  He co-authored the last twenty-three Academy Award spectacles, winning two writing Emmys in the process (almost as good a nominee/win ratio as Meryl Streep’s).  He has also been nominated for seven other Emmys -- one of them was for his participation on the celebrity panel of HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, where he resided for six years just to the left of Whoopi on your screen.  

​​For two years, he starred on Broadway and the road as Edna Turblad, Baltimore’s most glamorous plus-sized tootsie, in the musical HAIRSPRAY.  His one-man show, ALMOST FAMOUS – he had that title first, dammit – was a big hit a few years before that.  He is so well-known as a provider of comic material for other performers that Harvey Weinstein made a documentary about it (during the Miramax years).  GET BRUCE features comic deconstructions by such Vilanch collaborators as Bette Midler, Billy Crystal,  Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and a roster of others from Michael Douglas to Nathan Lane to Paul Reiser to Lily Tomlin to Shirley MacLaine.  

​​In addition to the Oscars, he has co-written many Tonys, Emmys, Grammys, Peoples Choice, American Comedy Awards, TV Land Awards,  SAG Awards, and a ton of other pageants, roasts, tributes and various trumped-up reasons for people to enjoy t&a on a red carpet.  Many of his collaborators have gone to Broadway with his material, including Diana Ross, Michael Feinstein and Michael Buble’ and the late Peter Allen, whose stage shows he wrote and subsequently re-wrote for Hugh Jackman when he played Peter in THE BOY FROM OZ.  He has co-authored multiple dozens of variety television shows and actually put words in the mouth of Cher.  

​​People recognize him a lot – some think he’s Michael Moore, but no – from his appearances on MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER, CELEBRITY FIT CLUB (where he lost 21 lbs, which he subsequently found), THE WORLD’S DUMBEST CRIMINALS, THE 100 MOST SHOCKING MOMENTS IN SHOW BUSINESS, LIVE WITH REGIS & ELLY (where he shaved his beard to play Edna), JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, THE VIEW, THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, MATCH GAME (a special version hosted by Ricki Lake) and a raft of others.  He’s also a lyricist, scoring gold and platinum records for disco songs he wrote for Eartha Kitt (WHERE IS MY MAN?) and Village People. Pre-HAIRSPRAY,  geeks of all ages will remember him as Weird Wendon, the evil emperor with a big head but no body, in ICE PIRATES, or in THE MORNING AFTER (with Jane Fonda).  Musical theatre geeks will remember him as the co-author of the Broadway misfire called PLATINUM, which was revived off-Broadway last season for reasons which continue to mystify Bruce.

His book, It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time, which will be released in March 2025, is a lifetime reflection on what Vilanch has experienced, learned, forgotten, dismissed, and embraced in decades of working in show business, specifically the south forty acres known as comedy. It involves very famous people and people who were not very famous but should have been.  And it explains to the person in the audience who says to himself, once he has gotten his jaw off the floor, “How did this ever get made?”

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