Alan Spencer

Alan Spencer (* around 1960) is an American producer and television writer , famous for the satirical police series Sledge Hammer! . He began writing for television at 15 and was one of the youngest people to ever join the Writers Guild of America . His services as a script doctor are also in demand.

Life

At the age of 14, Spencer sneaked onto the grounds of the 20th Century Fox film studios and made his way to the filming location of Frankenstein Junior to see his idol, Mel Brooks . Marty Feldman noticed the troublemaker and took him under his wing as a guest. Spencer was a huge fan of Feldman and also had a great deal of knowledge of his work for British television, which was a rarity as Americans actually knew little about Feldman's versatility. Feldman recognized Spencer as a soul mate because he had also started writing at the age of 15.

Amazingly, almost 20 years later, Mel Brooks asked Spencer to co-produce the short sitcom The Nutt House . Brooks only knew his hit series Sledge Hammer! , but didn't know that Spencer had shown up as a kid filming Frankenstein Junior .

Marty Feldman later died of a heart attack while filming Dotterbart , and in May 1984 Spencer lost another friend, legendary comedian Andy Kaufman . He had once invited Spencer to his home and forced him to a 48-hour TV session to show him the series The People's Court , which he himself conscientiously oversaw. The loss of these two people had a terrible effect on Spencer. He himself vowed to honor their influence and to work unconventionally himself.

Although Spencer received heavy criticism from the Washington Post and was labeled a "nutcase," he still had a serious side. He wrote a two-hour science fiction television film The Tomorrow Man with Julian Sands , which had an environmental theme.

Privately, Spencer works for an organization that cares for the homeless in Los Angeles , and he also supports cancer research .

Web links

• Alan Spencer in the Internet Movie Database (English)