Andrew John Nicholls (born 14 July 1957) and Darrell Vickers (born 17 July 1957) are an English-born Canadian writing team. They were head writers of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1988 to 1992. Both their families moved independently from England to the same town in Canada, and they met in junior high in 1969, where they began collaborating almost immediately. The duo moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to continue their careers, and are members of WGA, WGC, SACD, SOCAN, ACCT, and ATAS.
Andrew Nicholls | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew John Nicholls (1957-07-14) 14 July 1957 (age 65) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, television writer, executive producer, playwright, musician, poet |
| Known for | Film, television, animation, radio, stand-up comedy, comic strips |
| Children | 1 |
Darrell Vickers | |
|---|---|
| Born | Darrell Vickers (1957-07-17) 17 July 1957 (age 65) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, television writer, executive producer, playwright, musician |
| Known for | Film, television, animation, radio, stand-up comedy, comic strips |
| Children | 1 |
Nicholls and Vickers began writing music and comedy together while at Ridgeway Junior High School (now École élémentaire Antonine Maillet or Antonine-Maillet Elementary School) in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. After high school they wrote for stage, radio, TV, syndicated cartoonists, and stand-up comedians.
From 1979 to 1982 they performed in Southern Ontario as Nobby Clegg and the Civilians, after having received airplay at Brampton alternative station CFNY-FM with home-recorded songs. The band found some success with the singles "Essay - Me Dad" and "I Wanna Be in Commercials", which were also included in the 1981 compilation Toronto Calling. Nicholls and Vickers later used the band's name for a character on the Showtime show Rude Awakening. In that series, the Nobby Clegg character was played by Roger Daltrey, best known as the lead singer of The Who.
From 1986 to 1992 they helped write 770 hours of produced material for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, earning four Emmy nominations, and were the show's head writers from December 1988 until Carson's retirement on 22 May 1992.
In 1997, the pair received a Genie nomination, Best Animated Series, for Ned's Newt (Nelvana). They also received a WGC nomination for the series in 1999. The title character was voiced by Harland Williams and was cited in several interviews as one of the favorite TV shows of legendary cartoonist Ed Gorey.[1]
In 2001, the two received a Gemini nomination for "Best Comedy Series" for their work developing, writing the pilot, and serving as story editors on John Callahan's Quads!.
The duo were nominated for a Pulcinella Award, Best Animated Episode, at the 2003 Cartoons on the Bay Festival in Positano, Italy, for both The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and The World of Tosh. They were again nominated for the Pulcinella for Best Kids Series at the 2015 festival, for Pumpkin Reports.
In 2008, Will & Dewitt was awarded a Gemini Award for Best Pre-School Series. Nicholls & Vickers wrote the series bible and 28 episodes, and served as story editors.
Vickers co-founded a music band in 2008 called Death of the Author Brigade — which was formed through the internet (none of the band members have met in person). The band broke up in 2013. See Solo Projects (Vickers) for additional details.
In 2010, Nicholls wrote a revealingly honest exposé about the entertainment industry and the life of a Television writer and showrunner, Valuable Lessons: How I Made (And Lost) Seven Million Dollars Writing For Over A Hundred Shows You Never Heard Of.[2] See Solo Projects (Nicholls) for additional details.
Since 2012, Nicholls has published short fiction in Black Clock, The Santa Monica Review, Cosmonauts Avenue,[3] The Boiler Journal,[4] New World Writing,[5][6] Literature For Life,[7] Kugelmass, The Sherman Oaks Review of Books, Shark Reef,[8] and elsewhere.
Between 2015 and 2017, Vickers commenced on several solo television projects: executive producing the first season and writing two episodes of Hitting The Breaks (2015–16); writing the sitcom pilot for Chasing Tail (2017); creating and writing the pilot for the reality cooking show, Feast of a Lifetime, starring Lynn Crawford (2017); creating the reality show, You're the Boss (2017); and writing for the hour-long comedy drama, Marley Roberts (2017).
In 2016, MOJAVE! The Musical — featuring the tagline: "Go Ahead And Run...It Loves Fast Food," with book, music, and lyrics by Nicholls and Vickers — was directed by Mindy Cooper at its first reading on May 25, 2016, in the Della Davidson Studio, UC Davis, California.[9]
In 2019, Nicholls' full-length stage play {LOVE/Logic}, directed by Josy Miller, had its world premiere at the Wyatt Theater Pavilion, UC Davis, California.[10]
Nicholls published a how-to book in 2020 about the work and art of creating comedy for print, TV and stage: Comedy Writer: Craft advice from a veteran of sitcoms, sketch, animation, late night, print and stage comedy.[11] That same year, Nicholls began publishing poetry in the online journal Light: a journal of light verse since 1992.[12][13]
In 2021, Nicholls mounted his play, A Bee in a Jar, with the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank, virtually using OBS Studio and Zoom to cast in three time zones.[14]
In 2022, Vickers wrote the pilot script for the television series, Mama Zen.
As a writing team, Vickers and Nicholls have over 1200 hours of produced television credits, including creating twenty TV series, writing and producing 38 television and radio pilots, and writing and producing over 400 episodes of children's TV (as of 2022).
| Year | Title | Credits | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Noises Off | Additional Material by | Touchstone Pictures | |
| 2004 | A Year Off | Screenplay by | Dor Film / DOR Film Productions (Vienna) | unreleased film |
| 2006 | Casper's Scare School | Screenplay by | Cartoon Network | |
| Year | Title | Credits | Network/Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–1978 | We're Only Joking | Writers | CHCH | |
| 1978 | Screech | Writers | CHCH, Megamedia TV | |
| 1979–1980 | Golden Horseshoe Theatre | Writers | CHCH | |
| 1980 | Flappers | Writers | CBC | |
| 1983 | K-KID TV | Writers | Olympic Films | |
| Thicke of the Night | Writers | MGM Television, Metromedia | syndicated talk show | |
| 1984 | The Love Boat | Writers | ABC | |
| George Carlin's Apt. 2-C aka Apt. 2C | Writers | HBO, Cablestuff | ||
| 1985 | Danger Bay | Writers | CBC Television, Disney Channel | |
| 1985–1988 | Check it Out! | Story Editors, Writers (11 eps) | CTV, USA Cable, D.L. Taffner | |
| 1986–1992 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Writers (1986-1992), Head Writers (1988-1992) | NBC, Carson Tonight | |
| 1989–1991 | The Tonight Show Anniversary Specials | Writers (26th), Head Writers (27-29th) | NBC, Carson Tonight | |
| 1990 | This World Now | Writers | CHCH, Megamedia TV | |
| Doghouse | Writers | YTV | ||
| 1991–1992 | Drexell's Class | Created by, Creative Consultants, Writers (4 eps) | Fox | Starring Dabney Coleman |
| 1992 | Have Mercy | Wrote pilot, Executive Producers | CBS, Lorimar | Starring Isabella Hoffman and Patrick Warburton |
| 1993 | The Mighty Quinns | Wrote pilot, Executive Producers | Warner Bros., CBS | Starring Robert Urich |
| Death and Taxes aka Death + Taxes | Wrote pilot, Executive Producers | NBC, Lorimar | Starring Teri Garr and Craig Bierko | |
| It Had To Be You | Wrote pilot, Executive Producers | CBS, Warner Bros. | Starring Faye Dunaway | |
| The Trouble with Larry | Created by, Executive Producers | CBS, Warner Bros. | Starring Bronson Pinchot and Courteney Cox | |
| 1994 | The George Carlin Show | Writers (2 eps) | Fox, Warner Bros. | |
| 1994–1995 | The Parent 'Hood | Created by, Executive Producers | The WB | Starring Robert Townsend |
| 1995–1996 | Campus Cops | Executive Producers | Universal, USA Network, John Landis | |
| 1996 | Love And Marriage | Writers | Fox | |
| Malcolm & Eddie | Creative Consultants | Columbia TriStar, UPN | ||
| 1996–1997 | Pearl | Creative Consultants | CBS, Witt-Thomas Productions | |
| 1997–1998 | The Magic Hour | Writers | Fox | |
| 1998 | Hollywood Dog | Wrote pilot | HBO Independent Productions | Starring William H. Macy |
| Bob and Margaret | Creative Consultants (1999) | Nelvana, Comedy Central, Channel 4 | also wrote 1 story (2001) | |
| Ned's Newt | Developed by (1997–99) | Teletoon Nelvana, Fox Kids | ||
| You Wish | Co-Executive Producers, Wrote 1 ep | ABC, Disney | ||
| Smart Guy | Creative Consultants, Wrote 1 ep | The WB, Disney | ||
| Rude Awakening | Wrote 3 eps | Showtime, Mandalay TV | ||
| 1999 | The Blob | Wrote pilot | MTV, John Landis | |
| Divorced on Mars | Wrote pilot | Salter Street TV | ||
| 2000 | Kevin's Castle | Co-Created by, Executive Producers | Disney Channel, Family Channel Canada | |
| 2000–2001 | John Callahan's Quads! | Developed by, Wrote pilot, Story Editors | Nelvana, Teletoon, SBS | |
| 2001–2002 | John Callahan's Pelswick | Developed by, Wrote pilot, Story Editors | Nelvana, Nickelodeon, CBC | |
| 2002 | Inspector Gadget | Wrote live-action pilot | PAX, DIC Entertainment | |
| The World of Tosh | Story Editors (2002) | Nickelodeon | ||
| 2002–2003 | The Cube | Created by, Wrote pilot (2002–2003) | The WB, MTV, Triage | reality-series |
| 2002–2004 | The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius | Wrote 9 eps | Nickelodeon | |
| 2003 | Rocketship Bedroom | Created by, Written by, Produced with Bob Staake | Disney Channel | |
| Last Girls | Wrote pilot | Happy Life of Sweden | defunct production company | |
| Mr. Magoo | Wrote live-action pilot | Classic Media | ||
| The Fairly OddParents | Wrote 3 eps | Nickelodeon | ||
| Strange Days at Blake Holsey High | Wrote 1 ep | Discovery Kids, Fireworks | aka Black Hole High | |
| 2004 | Super Cooper | Co-wrote pilot script, Developed Series | Disney TVA, Disney Channel | with creator Steve Billnitzer |
| W.I.T.C.H. | Developed Series, Executive Producers | Disney Channel, Fox Kids UK, ABC Family, France 3, Jetix | also wrote pilot and 10 episodes | |
| Futz! | Wrote 2 eps | 9 Story Entertainment | ||
| 2005 | The Office Temps | Created by | Global TV, Lone Eagle Entertainment | |
| Super Chicken | Developed pilot | Classic Media | ||
| 2006 | George of the Jungle | Developed pilot, Wrote 15 eps | Cartoon Network, Classic Media | |
| 2007 | Will & Dewitt | Created bible, Developed by, Story Editors | YTV, Kids' WB | also wrote 28 episodes |
| Back at the Barnyard | Wrote 1 ep | Nickelodeon | ||
| Rocky and Bullwinkle | Wrote 4th season DVD promo shorts | Classic Media | ||
| Monster Buster Club | Wrote 2 eps | Toon Disney, Marathon | ||
| Kid vs. Kat | Created series bible | YTV, Studio B | ||
| Gerald McBoing-Boing (TV series) | Wrote 8 eps | Cartoon Network, Teletoon | ||
| 2008 | Casper's Scare School | Created bible, Wrote 18 eps | TF1 (France) | |
| League of Super Evil | Wrote 3 eps | YTV, Cartoon Network, Nerd Corps Entertainment | ||
| Walter and Tandoori | Developed by, Wrote 3 eps | Image Entertainment (Montreal) | ||
| Noonbory and the Super Seven | Wrote 5 eps | Daewon Media | ||
| The New Adventures of Nanoboy | Wrote 2 eps | Scrawl Studios (Singapore) | ||
| K-9 (TV series) | Original development | Jetix UK, Park Entertainment, Network 10 (Australia) | ||
| Chateau Hofstadter | Wrote series bible, Developed by | ARTE France, One Film, Maha Film | ||
| Mr. Quaver | Developed series | Mastran Music Group | ||
| 2009 | Dreamkix | Writers | Design Storm (Korea) | |
| Shaking Dance Squad Force | Created series bible, Wrote pilot | Cookie Jar | ||
| Rated A for Awesome | Wrote 2 eps | Nerd Corps Entertainment | ||
| 2009–2010 | Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 | Wrote 3 eps | Mattel, Nelvana | |
| Peter Pepper's Pet Spectacular | Created series bible, Story Editors, Writers | Cookie Jar Entertainment, Clockwork Zoo | ||
| 2011 | Decidedly Debra aka Debra! | Writers | Cookie Jar, Family Channel | |
| Health Nutz | Rewrote episodes (2 seasons) | APTN | ||
| 2015 | Pumpkin Reports | Wrote 50 eps | Boing (France) | internationally syndicated |
| 2018 | Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures | Wrote 3 episodes, Staff (season 1) | Netflix, Mattel | |
| Year | Title | Credits | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Alleged Report | Additional Material by | syndicated comedy series | |
| The Continuing Adventures Of... Adventureman! | Created and Written by | CBC Radio | comedy series | |
| Countless Travels of Matthew Matics | Created and Written by | CBC Radio | comedy series | |
| 1981 | Great Canadian Characters | Created and Written by | CBC Radio | series |
| 1983 | This Day in History | Material by | CBC Radio | series |
| Year | Title | Credits | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–2006 | Frank & Ernest | Written by | United Media | syndicated comic strip |
| Year | Name | Credits | Songs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–1982 | Nobby Clegg and the Civilians | Co-founders, Music and Lyrics by |
|
punk-folk songs (Apple Music, Amazon Music), video for "Essay, Me Dad" on YouTube |
| Year | Title | Credits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2005 | Fezgod.com | Created and Developed by — Design, Graphics, and Art by Bob Staake (his official site) | online humour site |
| Year | Title | Credits | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | MOJAVE! The Musical | Music, Lyrics, and Book by | UC Davis – Della Davidson Studio | world premiere May 25, 2016[9] |
| Year | Medium | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | ebook | Valuable Lessons (updated Kindle Edition) | How I Made (And Lost) Seven Million Dollars Writing For Over A Hundred Shows You Never Heard Of[2] |
| 2012– | short fiction | (published in various journals)[3][4][5][6][7][8] | see main article for journal titles |
| 2019 | stage play | {LOVE/Logic} | world premiere May 16, 2019[10] |
| 2020 | book | Comedy Writer | Craft advice from a veteran of sitcoms, sketch, animation, late night, print and stage comedy[11] |
| 2020– | poetry | (published in Light)[12][13] | "America's oldest and best-known journal of light verse" |
| 2021 | stage play | A Bee in a Jar | virtual world premiere February 19, 2021[14] |
| Year | Medium | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–2013 | music | Death of the Author Brigade | Co-founded internet band (none of the musicians have met in person) |
| 2015–2016 | television | Hitting The Breaks | Executive Produced, Wrote two episodes (Pureflix Entertainment) |
| 2016 | television | Chasing Tail | Wrote sitcom pilot (Chockstone Pictures) |
| 2017 | television | Feast of a Lifetime | Created, Wrote pilot for reality cooking show (Bell Media, Team Thicke) starring Lynn Crawford |
| television | You're the Boss | Created reality show (Wilshire Productions, Team Thicke) | |
| television | Marley Roberts | Writer for comedy-drama (Chockstone Pictures) | |
| 2017 | television | Bu House | Created and wrote pilot script (Chockstone Pictures) |
| 2022 | television | Mama Zen | Wrote pilot script (Pink Light Productions) |
| 2022 | television | Snow Dogs! | Pilot Development (Steve Gerbson Productions) |
| 2022 | television | Sisterhood of Surreypur | Cowrote Pilot and bible (Pink Light Productions/Baweja Productions) |