Tom Fontana Biography (1951-)

Full name, Thomas Michael Fontana; born September 12, 1951, in Buffalo, NY; son of Charles Louis (in sales) and Marie Angelica (a hospital unit coordinator; maiden name, Internicola) Fontana; married Sagan Lewis (an actress), December 18, 1982 (marriage ended). Addresses: Agent: United Talent Agency,9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.; Office: Levinson/Fontana Company, 185 Broome St., New York, NY 10002.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Writer, producer, creative consultant, television series creator
Birth Details: September 12, 1951; Buffalo, New York, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Work
Series
Producer, St. Elsewhere, NBC, 1982-88
Executive producer and creator, Tattinger's (also known as Nick& Hillary), NBC, 1988-89
Executive producer and creator, Home Fires, NBC, 1991-92
Executive producer, Homicide: Life on the Street (also known as H: LOTS and Homicide), NBC, 1993-99
Executive producer, Philly Heat, 1994
Executive producer and creator, Oz, HBO, 1997-2003
Creative consultant, The Hoop Life, Showtime, 1999-2000
Executive producer and series creator, The Beat, UPN, 2000
Executive producer and creator, The Jury, Fox, 2004-2005
Producer and executive producer, The Bedford Diaries, The WB, 2006
Miniseries
Executive producer, American Tragedy, 2000
Movies
Executive producer, The Prosecutors, 1996
Executive producer, Firehouse, 1997
Executive producer, Homicide: The Movie, NBC, 2000
Producer, The Path to War, 2000
Executive producer, Shot in the Heart, HBO, 2001
Executive producer, Judas, ABC, 2004
Executive producer, Strip Search, HBO, 2004
Executive producer, Anytown, USA, Film Movement, 2005
Television Executive Producer
Specials
Barry Levinson on the Future in the 20th Century: Yesterday's Tomorrows (also known as The 20th Century: Yesterday's Tomorrows), 1999
Pilots
New Year, ABC, 1993
Philly Heat, ABC, 1995
The Prosecutors (movie), NBC, 1996
The Family Brood, CBS, 1998
Good Guys, Bad Guys, NBC, 2000
Utopia, Lifetime, 2001
Hudson's Law, CBS, 2001
Bradford, CBS, 2001
Baseball Wives, HBO, 2002
Television Appearances
Specials
Himself, Anatomy of a "Homicide: Life on the Street" (documentary), PBS, 1998
The 70s: The Decade That Changed Television, ABC, 2000
Les Miserable (documentary), The Learning Channel, 2000
Himself, Comedy Central Presents: The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Hugh Hefner, Comedy Central, 2001
Himself, TV's Most Censored Moments, Trio and USA Network, 2002
Himself, Brilliant But Cancelled: Pilot Season, Trio, 2003
Episodic

The Museum of Television and Radio: Influences, Bravo, 2000
Film Work
Executive producer, The Press Secretary, 2001
Film Appearances
Himself, Homicide: Life at the Start (documentary short), A&EHome Video, 2003
WRITINGS
Television Episodes
St. Elsewhere, NBC, 1982-88
Tattinger's, NBC, 1988-89
Nick and Hillary, NBC, 1989
Home Fires, NBC, 1991-92
Homicide: Life on the Street (also known as H: LOTS and Homicide), NBC, 1993-99
Philly Heat, 1994
Under Fire, 1995-96
Oz, HBO, 1997-2003
"The Beat Goes On," The Beat, UPN, 2000
"Bangers," The Jury, Fox, 2004-2005
The Bedford Diaries, The WB, 2006
Television Stories
Episodic
(With John Tinker and Bruce Paltrow) "Madonna and Child Reunion," HomeFires, NBC, 1992
(With John Tinker and Bruce Paltrow) "Sibling Rivalry," Home Fires, NBC, 1992
(With Bradford Winters) "U.S. Male," Oz, HBO, 1999
(With James Yoshimura) "Lamentation on the Reservation," The Jury,Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "The Boxer," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "Too Jung to Die," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "Last Rites," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "Three Boys and a Gun," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "The Honeymoon Suite," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "Mail Order Mystery," The Jury, Fox, 2004
(With James Yoshimura) "Memories," The Jury, Fox, 2004
Also wrote (with Channing Gibson) "Tour of Doody," Tattinger's (also known as Nick & Hillary), NBC; (with John Tinker) "El Sid," Tattinger's (also known as Nick & Hillary), NBC; numerous stories for Homicide: Life on the Streets(also known as H: LOTS andHomicide), NBC; numerous stories for St. Elsewhere, NBC.
Television Movies
Firehouse, 1997
Homicide: The Movie, NBC, 2000
Judas, ABC, 2004
Strip Search, HBO, 2004
Television Specials
The Fourth Wiseman, ABC, 1985
America: A Tribute to Heroes, 2001
Television Pilots
Home Fires, NBC, 1992
New Year, ABC, 1993
Philly Heat, ABC, 1995
The Prosecutors (movie), NBC, 1996
The Family Brood, CBS, 1998
Good Guys, Bad Guys, NBC, 2000
Hudson's Law, CBS, 2001
(And story, with James Yoshimura) The Jury, Fox, 2004
The Bedford Diaries, The WB, 2006
Screenplays
First Thing Monday, 2000
Stage Plays
Johnny Appleseed: A Noh Play (one-act play), Studio Arena, Buffalo, NY, 1970
This Is on Me: Dorothy Parker (two-act adaptation), American Contemporary Theatre, Buffalo, NY, 1971, then Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA, 1979
An Awfully Big Adventure: An Entertainment (two-act play), WritersTheatre, New York City, 1975
One/Potato/More, Direct Theatre, New York City, 1975
Nonsense!, Writers Theatre, 1977
The Underlings (two-act play), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH, 1978, then Writers Theatre, 1979, later Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1980, then Eisenhower College, Elmira, NY, 1981, later Studio Arena,Buffalo, NY, 1982, then Thomas More College, Crestview Hills, KY, 1983, later Friends Theatre Company, New York City, 1984
The Overcoat; or Clothes Make the Man (two-act adaptation from a short story by Nikolay Gogol), Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1978, then Writers Theatre, 1981
Old Fashioned, Chelsea Theatre Center, New York City, 1979, then Linwood Summer Theatre, Linwood, NY, 1980, later Colonnades Theatre Lab, New York City, 1981
The Spectre Bridegroom, Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1981
Movin' Mountains (two-act play), McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ,1981, then Writers Theatre, 1982
Mime (one-act play), One Act Theatre, San Francisco, CA, l982, then One Act Theatre, Los Angeles, 1983
Imaginary Lovers (one-act play), American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, 1982, then One Act Theatre, Los Angeles, 1983, later Writers Theatre, 1984
Graphic Novels
Wrote a Batman graphic novel, Marvel, 2006.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Contemporary Authors, Vol. 130, Gale, 1990

Periodicals

Entertainment Weekly, July 11, 1997, p. 36
New York, July 14, 1997, p. 38
The Writer, March, 2003, p. 33

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