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Alan Ball

Former playwright-turned-filmmaker Alan Ball left behind the rather anonymous and distressing world of sitcom writing to make his breakthrough as the screenwriter of the Academy Award-winning film "American Beauty" (1999). Prior to that success, Ball penned off-Broadway productions, including "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress," before cutting his teeth on sitcoms like "Grace Under Fire" (ABC, 1993-98) and "Cybill" (CBS, 1994-98). Because of his fascination with dysfunctional families, he created "Six Feet Under" (HBO, 2001-05), a darkly comic drama about a family that runs a funeral home in Los Angeles after the untimely death of their patriarch (Richard Jenkins). With its morbidly funny take on mortality and those who deal with it on a daily basis, "Six Feet Under" quickly became a flagship series for HBO, while earning numerous awards and nominations. For his part, Ball established himself as one of the pre-eminent talents on television and on the big screen, earning a reputation for unflinching drama tinged with a dark sense of humor.