A. Whitney Brown

A. Whitney Brown
Birth name	Alan Whitney Brown
Born	(1952-07-08) July 8, 1952 Charlotte, Michigan, U.S.
Medium	Actor, comedian, writer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Cynthia Swanson (1976–2011) Carolyn Wonderland (2011–present)
Children	1
Notable works and roles	Saturday Night Live The Daily Show

Alan Whitney Brown (born July 8, 1952) is an American writer and comedian best known for work on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. In addition to writing for the program, he appeared opposite Dennis Miller in a biting satirical Weekend Update commentary segment called "The Big Picture." He won a 1988 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, along with Al Franken, Tom Davis, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Lorne Michaels and Conan O'Brien. He was also one of the original correspondents on Comedy Central's The Daily Show from 1996 to 1998.

Career

Brown began his career as a street juggler, and became a stand-up comedian after entering the 1975 San Francisco Comedy Competition. He became a member of the Writer's Guild when he was hired by Lorne Michaels to join the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 1985; he was also a featured performer. He left for personal reasons six years later. He worked briefly for the liberal radio network Air America Radio during its start-up period in early 2004 and remains active in online political discourse.

He also wrote the screenplay for an episode of HBO's horror anthology show Tales From the Crypt named Collection Completed (Season 1, Episode 6; first aired in America on 28 Jun. 28, 1989).

Personal life

On March 4, 2011, Brown married Carolyn Wonderland, a blues singer and guitarist, in Austin, Texas. The marriage was officiated by Michael Nesmith of The Monkees. Brown was previously married to Cynthia Swanson, a New York newspaper designer, from 1976 to 2011. He has a daughter, Serena, and a granddaughter, Thea Lenore.

Works

• The Big Picture: An American Commentary. HarperCollins, 1991. ISBN 0-06-096825-7

External links

• A. Whitney Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Blog at Daily Kos