Mark Saltzman Biography

This page uses content from the Mark Saltzman biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

A native of Yonkers, NY, Mark Saltzman began his career in New York
City as a script writer and songwriter for "Sesame Street", where he earned
himself seven Emmy awards. For that tv show, he created the Muppet
character of Placido Flamingo and wrote more than 50 songs, including
"Caribbean Amphibian" and "I 've Got a New Way to Walk." At that time,
Mark was also writing cabaret shows and musicals that played at The
Ballroom, Soho Rep, 13th Street Theater, and the Village Gate, where he
co-wrote the long-running revue "A, My Name is Alice."

For CBS, Mark wrote "Mrs. Santa Claus", the holiday musical movie which
starred Angela Lansbury and had songs written by Broadway legend Jerry
Herman. For the movies, he wrote "The Adventures of Milo and Otis" and
"Three Ninjas Kick Back" and has written screenplays for SONY,
Universal, and Disney. His TV movie, "The Red Sneakers", directed by
and starring Gregory Hines, aired on Showtime in 2004 and was nominated for
a Writers Guild Award. For cable tv's Here! network Mark wrote the
screenplay for "Third Man Out", based on the novel by Richard
Stevenson.

Mark's musical play, "The Tin Pan Alley Rag" presented a 1915 meeting
between Scott Joplin and a very young Irving Berlin. 'Tin Pan' opened
at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1997 and was nominated for five Los Angeles
Ovation Awards, including Best Musical. The show continued on to many
U.S theaters, including Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse, Goodspeed
Musicals, and The Cleveland Playhouse. Mark’s stage musical, "Romeo and
Bernadette", played at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami and New
Jersey’s State Theater, The Paper Mill Playhouse. Mark's comedy, "Mr.
Shaw Goes to Hollywood", based on the true story of George Bernard
Shaw's 1933 visit to MGM, premiered at the Laguna Playhouse in April
2003. His newest play, "Clutter", had its world premier at the Colony
Theater in Burbank on February 7 of 2004. In 2002 he adapted the
musical classic "Show Boat" for a Hollywood Bowl performance.

For many years, Mark has been a mentor in the Blank Theatre Company’s
Young Playwrights’ Festival, held annually in Los Angeles. He is the
president of the Arnold Glassman Fund, a charitable foundation that
provides grants for film and theater projects. Mark is a graduate of
Cornell University's English and Theater Departments.

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