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Jim BrochuAmerican actor, screenwriter, director and playwright
Date of Birth: 16.08.1946
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Jim Brochu
Jim Brochu is an American actor, writer, director, and playwright. He was born on August 16, 1946, in Brooklyn. He studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and obtained a bachelor's degree from St. Francis College.
Early Career
Brochu's theatrical debut was in a production of William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." He became a close friend of comedy queen Lucille Ball and wrote her unauthorized biography, "Lucy in the Afternoon." He also appeared as the author of this book in an episode of the show "MythBusters." At the age of 13, Brochu directed his first show, a charity revue featuring local talent. By the age of 17, he was already working on Broadway, selling orange beverages during intermissions of "Hello, Dolly!" at St. James Theatre.
Acting Career
After studying acting at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he was classmates with composer and director Stephen Schwartz, Brochu returned to New York. He made his Broadway debut in a poorly received production of "Taming of the Shrew." In addition to Broadway, he appeared in plays such as Robert Lowell's "Endicott And The Red Cross" at American Place Theatre, Ephraim Kishon's "Unfair To Goliath" at Cherry Lane Theatre, "Skye" at Lincoln Center, and Frank Loesser's "Greenwillow." Brochu also had roles in television commercials, including a dancing raisin for "Post Raisin Bran" and a lemon from outer space in a Palmolive commercial. He appeared in 11 television shows, with his first role in the 1976 TV movie "Law and Order" and his last role as Terry in the comedy series "Bram and Alice" in 2002. He also appeared in soap operas like "All My Children" and "The Young and The Restless," as well as the cult American soap opera parody "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and the sitcom "Sirota's Court" with Michael Constantine. Although his first film role was small, he can boast that his film debut, the crime comedy "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight," coincided with the first notable role of another newcomer, Robert De Niro.
Playwriting Career
Despite mainly pursuing acting, Brochu's career shifted toward playwriting. He worked in regional theaters across the country, including Washington Theatre Club in D.C., Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, two seasons at Goodspeed Opera House, where he originated the role of Flint in "Something's Afoot," Theatre Building Chicago, Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, Trinity Arts Center in Dallas, and DejaVu Theatre in Los Angeles, where he won the "Backstage West Award" for Best Actor. While playing Tevye in Kansas City, Missouri, he wrote his first play, "Cookin' With Gus," which was immediately published by Samuel French and has since been performed successfully in the United States, Canada, and other countries. One play followed another, and soon Brochu almost left his acting career to focus on playwriting. His musical "The Last Session" earned him nominations for the "Drama Desk" and "Outer Critics Circle" awards, as well as the "Oscar Wilde Award," "GLAAD Media Award," a second "Backstage West Award," this time for Best Director, and the "Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award."
Current Life
Jim Brochu currently resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to work actively in theater and travels on cruise ships around the world, giving lectures about Broadway, Hollywood, and the stars he has had the privilege to meet.
