David A. Goodman

David A. Goodman (born December 13, 1962) is an American writer, producer, and president of the Writers Guild of America West. He has been a writer for several television series, such as The Golden Girls,[1] his first job; Futurama, where he was also a co-executive producer and wrote the notable Star Trek parody episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"; and Star Trek: Enterprise.[2] Goodman produced Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, and is the writer of Fred: The Movie, a 2010 film based on the Fred Figglehorn YouTube series, as well as the sequel, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred.

David A. Goodman
Born
David Avram Goodman

(1962-12-13) December 13, 1962
New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
OccupationProducer, writer
Years active1986–present
TitlePresident of the Writers Guild of America West
Term2017–present

Biography

Goodman is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he earned a BA in 1984.

During commentary for the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", which he wrote, Goodman mentioned that he is a dedicated Star Trek fan, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the original series, and correctly identified every episode number and name mentioned in dialogue. He also states in the commentary that his work for Futurama for the Star Trek episode was partly what gained him a job writing for Star Trek: Enterprise, after Futurama.[3]

He was an executive producer of Family Guy, beginning in its fourth season, after joining the show as a co-executive producer[4] in season three.

Goodman is known for his deep voice, which has been the subject of jokes numerous times in Family Guy audio commentaries, particularly by the creator Seth MacFarlane and writer Alec Sulkin, who both believe his voice is similar to that of Ray Romano. Goodman has voiced parodies of Romano in Family Guy episodes by simply talking, without performing an impression.[5]

In 2011, Goodman left Family Guy to produce the animated Fox series Allen Gregory. After Allen Gregory was cancelled, he then became an executive producer of another MacFarlane show, American Dad!. In 2017, he worked with MacFarlane, on The Orville, as an executive producer, and was also elected as president of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW).

He has written several books set in the Star Trek Universe, including The Autobiography of James T. Kirk (2015), The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard (2017), and The Autobiography of Mr. Spock (2020).

Writers Guild of America West presidency

Elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2019 as WGAW president, Goodman oversaw the negotiating committee for the "WGA-Agency Agreement", and joined other Writers Guild of America (WGA) members in firing his agents as part of the guild's stand against the Association of Talent Agents (ATA), after the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new "Code of Conduct" that addressed the practice of packaging, which had been deemed unfair by the WGA.[6]

References
  1. Harry Huryk, The Golden Girls: The Ultimate Viewing Guide. New York: Lulu.com (2007): 55
  2. David A. Goodman's profile from startrek.com
  3. Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: David A. Goodman On 'The Orville' As Sci-Fi Gateway And How 'Futurama' Landed 'Enterprise' Job". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  4. Steve Callaghan, Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1 - 3. New York: HarperCollins, (2005): 158. David Goodman, identified as "co-executive producer," is quoted talking about a practical joke "fellow writer Gene Laufenberg" played on him.
  5. "Family Guy Executive Producer David Goodman Q&A". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  6. "WGA: More Than 7,000 Writers Have Fired Their Agents". Deadline.
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