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Mark Frost

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Mark Frost
Born (1953-11-25) November 25, 1953 (age 70)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Pen nameEric Bowman[nb 1]
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • television producer
  • director
NationalityAmerican
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Genre
  • Mystery
  • supernatural
SubjectAmerican sports history
Years active1975 (1975)–present
Notable works
SpouseLynn Frost
Children1
Relatives
Website
bymarkfrost.com

Mark Frost (born November 25, 1953) is an American novelist, screenwriter, film and television producer and director. He is the co-creator of the mystery television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017) and was a writer and executive story editor of Hill Street Blues (1982–1985).

Early life

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Mark Frost was born on November 25, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City,[2] to Mary Virginia Calhoun and actor Warren Frost. He is the elder brother of actress Lindsay Frost and writer and photographer Scott Frost.[3] During his childhood, Frost was raised in Los Angeles, California[1] and spent his adolescence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he attended Marshall-University High School.[4] As a high-school student, he spent two years on an internship program studying and working at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater.[2]

Frost subsequently enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying acting, directing and playwriting.[1] During his time in college, he worked as a member of the lighting crew on PBS' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood alongside actor Michael Keaton.[4] Frost graduated from CMU in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[5] After his graduation, he returned to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where he was a literary associate until 1978.[6]

Career

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Frost was a writer for the NBC television series Hill Street Blues. He co-created the ABC television series Twin Peaks with David Lynch. The show developed from the initial setup of Lynch having been hired by Warner Bros. to develop a film basedo on the life of Marilyn Monroe that saw Lynch and Frost write a screenplay. While it didn't lead anywhere, they became good friends and it was Lynch who eventually got an "idea of a small-town thing", before Frost expressed interest in doing "a sort of Dickensian story about multiple lives in a contained area that could sort of go perpetually." First pitched during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, the show eventually premiered in 1990. They maintained control of the show for the first season but each had varying control over the second season, in which both later expressed regret at resolving the murder. The show first ended on June 10, 1991; Frost was not involved with the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992).[7][8][9] They then developed On the Air, which aired from June 20 to July 4, 1992. He co-wrote and directed the film Storyville, co-wrote Fantastic Four (2005) and wrote The Greatest Game Ever Played, based on his 2002 book of the same name.[2]

His other books on golf are The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, about a 1956 match pitting pros Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, and The Grand Slam, about the 1930 golf season of Bobby Jones. His fictional works include The List of Seven, The Six Messiahs, and The Second Objective.

Frost returned to co-write the third season of Twin Peaks alongside Lynch that aired in 2017.

Personal life

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Frost has lived in Ojai, California, since 2011 with his wife Lynn and their son, Travis.[2]

His nephew is Major League Baseball player Lucas Giolito.[10]

Bibliography

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Fiction

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Non-fiction

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  • The Greatest Game Ever Played: A True Story (2002)
  • The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf (2006)
  • The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever (2007)
  • Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series (2009)

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Credit Notes
1987 The Believers Writer and associate producer Uncredited cameo: Locker Room Cop
Scared Stiff Co-writer
No Man's Land Writer Uncredited
1990 Nightbreed Writer Uncredited
1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Executive producer
Storyville Director and co-writer
Once Upon a Time Executive producer Documentary film
2005 Fantastic Four Co-writer
The Greatest Game Ever Played Writer and producer Adaptation of Frost's book of the same name
2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Co-writer

Television

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Year Title Credit Notes
1975 Lucas Tanner Writer
Sunshine Writer
The Six Million Dollar Man Writer 2 episodes
1982 Gavilan Writer 2 episodes
1982–1985 Hill Street Blues Writer, story editor and executive story editor 28 episodes (as writer)
21 episodes (as story editor)
22 episodes (as executive story editor)
1986 The Equalizer Writer Episodes: "Washed Up" and "No Conscience"
1990–1991 Twin Peaks Co-creator, writer, director and executive producer 11 episodes (as writer)
"Episode 7" (as director)
Uncredited cameo appearances: "Pilot" (voice only) and "Episode 8"
1990 American Chronicles Creator, writer, director and executive producer 13 episodes (as writer)
Episode: "Farewell to the Flesh" (as director)
1992 On the Air Co-creator, writer and executive producer 2 episodes (as writer)
1998 The Repair Shop Creator, writer and executive producer Unaired pilot
Buddy Faro Creator, writer and executive producer 11 episodes (as writer)
1999 Forbidden Island Writer and executive producer Unaired pilot
2000 The Deadly Look of Love Co-writer and co-executive producer Television film
2001 All Souls Writer and executive producer Episode: "Bad Blood"
2017 Twin Peaks Co-creator, co-writer and executive producer 18 episodes
Cameo: "Part 15"

Accolades

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Bram Stoker Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
2017 Twin Peaks Superior Achievement in a Screenplay (for "Part 8") Nominated [11]
Deauville American Film Festival
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
1992 Storyville Prix de la Critique Internationale (International Critics Award) Nominated [12]
Golden Globe Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
1991 Twin Peaks Best Television Series – Drama Won [13]
Primetime Emmy Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
1984 Hill Street Blues Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Grace Under Pressure") Nominated [14]
1990 Twin Peaks Outstanding Drama Series Nominated [15]
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Pilot") Nominated [16]
2018 Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special Nominated [17]
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
2005 Fantastic Four Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million Won [18]
Writers Guild of America Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
1985 Hill Street Blues Episodic Drama (for "Grace Under Pressure") Won [19]
Episodic Drama (for "Death by Kiki") Nominated
Episodic Drama (for "Parting Is Such Sweep Sorrow") Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Before I Wake was published under the pseudonym Eric Bowman.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Biography | Mark Frost – novelist, television/film writer, director, producer". Mark Frost. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Bradigan, Bret (March 16, 2018). "The Storyteller — From 'Twin Peaks' to Ojai". Ojai Hub. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Jennings, Matt, ed. (2017). "Class Acts: In Memoriam". Middlebury Magazine. Vol. 91, no. 3 (Summer 2017 ed.). Middlebury College. p. 96.
  4. ^ a b "Almanac | Mark Frost's New Novel". PBS. October 23, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "CMU School of Drama | Notable Alumni". Carnegie Mellon University. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Sparber, Max (May 6, 2011). "Twin Peaks and the Twin Cities: The forgotten local connection to the classic TV show". MinnPost. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Frost, Mark (2002). The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vandon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf. Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-0-786-8692-06.
  8. ^ Rodley, Chris (1997). Lynch on Lynch. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-19548-2.
  9. ^ "Inside Twin Peaks: Mark Frost Interview Live After Episode 9 Aired In 1990 (Video)". WelcomeToTwinPeaks.com. October 11, 2014. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  10. ^ Swartz, Tracy (December 8, 2016). "From 'Seinfeld' to 'Twin Peaks,' a look at new Sox prospect Lucas Giolito's famous family". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "2017 Bram Stoker Award® Winners & Nominees". Bram Stoker Awards. Horror Writers Association. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "Deauville Film Festival 1992". MUBI. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "Twin Peaks". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Nominees/Winners | 1984 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "Outstanding Drama Series Nominees/Winners | 1990 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Nominees/Winners | 1990 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or a Special Nominees/Winners | 2018 Emmy Awards". Primetime Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  18. ^ "2005 Winners". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  19. ^ "Writers Guild of America, USA (1985)". IMDb. Amazon. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
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