Steve Burrows Biography
Steve Burrows is a comedic storyteller.
The multiple award-winning writer/director/performer has been making people laugh professionally in film, television, commercials and theatre for well over a decade.
Steve was weaned and reared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Beer Capital of the World. After his father won it all by playing the saw on The Gong Show, Steve's future in show business was a lock.
Graduating from the University of Wisconsin with two useless majors and a four-year hangover, Steve moved to Chicago and joined Second City Director Del Close to become an original member of the critically acclaimed, groundbreaking improvisational comedy group, Baron's Barracudas.
Meeting his future wife at O'Hare Airport while wearing a cabana suit and marrying her in Vegas one year later, Steve relocated to L.A. where he made his first film, The Soldier of Fortune - a short about his actual appearance and subsequent humiliation on The Wheel of Fortune game show. The film went on to win 29 film fests but was forced out of competition when Steve was sued by Merv Griffin.
From there, Steve became a full-time writer/performer for the famed comedy troupe, The Groundlings, where his shameless mugging led to stints on everything from Seinfeld to America's Funniest Home Videos to over 200 TV spots - including perhaps his best known performance as the "jowly guy with psoriasis" in Super Bowl XXXI.
After optioning several scripts and writing a feature for 20th Century Fox, Steve turned his increasingly cringe-worthy show biz experiences into his directorial feature film debut with Chump Change (Fame, Fortune, Cheese and Beer) starring Tim Matheson, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Fred Willard, Clancy Brown, Abe Vigoda and Traci Lords (yes, that's right - Abe Vigoda and Traci Lords).
Bowing at the prestigious AFI Film Festival to rave reviews, Chump Change then played to sellout crowds at the HBO Comedy Fest in Aspen, going on to win a litany of awards including the Audience Award / Best Feature as well as Best Actress (Traci Lords). It is there Miramax Films acquired Chump Change for distribution.
(Check out www.chumpchangethemovie.com)
Recently, while winning over 50 awards for writing and/or directing television commercials on over five continents, Steve turned his latest career trials and tribulations into the Glass Nickel Anthology starring convicted felon Joey Buttafuoco, which is subsequently turned into The King Kaiser Show - an award-winning sitcom about a variety show starring a fella weaned and reared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Beer Capital of the World - and his somewhat dubious career on the outer fringes of show biz.
Steve's bowling average is 189.
Steve Burrows Resume
WGA • DGA • SAG
Motion Pictures |
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Chump Change |
Miramax Films |
writer/ director/ performer |
Awards include: |
HBO / U.S. Comedy Arts Festival |
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The Soldier of Fortune |
Winner - 29 Film Festivals |
writer/ director/ performer |
Hook & Ladder |
20th Century Fox |
writer |
Commercials |
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Great Guns USA |
writer/director |
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Wilfrid Park/Mustard/MTP |
writer/director |
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Budweiser, Texaco, McDonald's, Digiorno's, Kraft, Ball Park Franks, Delta, Quaker State, Ford, Wachovia, 21st Century, Six Flags, Velveeta, PGA, Coldwell Banker, Subway, ING-Direct, Campbell's, Knorr, Irn-Bru, Coca Cola... |
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Worldwide shoots include; |
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London, Rome, Tokyo, Bangkok, Sydney, Glasgow, Toronto, New Zealand, South Africa... |
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Over 50 awards from '01 - '08 |
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Television |
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The King Kaiser Show |
PILOT |
writer/ director/ performer |
Awards include: |
LA Independent Television Festival |
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Seinfeld |
NBC |
guest star |
America's Funniest Home Videos |
ABC |
writer/ director/ performer |
Alien Avengers |
SHOWTIME |
lead |
The George Wendt Show |
CBS |
recurring |
The Second Half |
NBC |
recurring |
Life is Funnier |
HBO |
writer/performer |
Woodstock '94/Apple Guy |
Pay Per View |
writer/performer |
Theatre |
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The Groundlings |
Los Angeles |
writer/performer |
The Stephen Sagal Show |
Los Angeles |
writer/ director/ performer |
Baron's Barracudas |
Chicago |
writer/ director/ performer |
Education
Bowling Green State University |
Beatles/Badminton/Beer |
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University of Wisconsin |
B.A. Political Science/Film Criticism |
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ImprovOlympic |
Del Close |
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Special Skills
ukulele, saw, nose whistle
bowling average
189