Home   >   Movie Stars   >   B   >   A. Dean Bell
A. Dean Bell
  • Biography

A. Dean Bell

A. Dean Bell is an award-winning filmmaker who graduated from the prestigious Purchase College film school. There he received the program's first-ever completion grant for his thesis film, I'M ONLY THERE... The half-hour film, starring Melissa Leo (Homicide), went on to garner awards at film festivals around the world and premiered on the PBS series, Independent Focus. The Melbourne Australia Festival described it as a "brilliantly black comic look at the suburban teenage malaise."

Mr. Bell proceeded to write and direct for Comedy Central television doing a series of sketches with actor/comedian Denis Leary. His work has also been seen on USA Networks, Nickelodeon, PBS, and ESPN2. He wrote and directed two pilot episodes of This Is Your Life, an experimental television sit-com which was shot live before a studio audience at One Dream Theatre in Tribeca. Mr. Bell was also a writer/director in residence developing new stage works at The Shooting Gallery's Gallery Rep Company. There he wrote the one-act play A Passion For Christine later produced at One Dream Theatre.

Mr. Bell cut his teeth on the feature film spoof comedy BACKFIRE!, which he wrote and directed for New York's Corman-esque producer Chris Ingvordson. The film stars Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas, Shelley Winters and Kathy Ireland. In BACKFIRE!, Bell cast Kristen Johnston (Third Rock from the Sun) and Mary McCormack (PRIVATE PARTS, MYSTERY, ALASKA) in their first screen roles.

As a writer, Mr. Bell has sold several feature length screenplays, one to director Ralph Bakshi (FRITZ THE CAT), with whom Mr. Bell then developed several scripts under a development deal with Paramount Pictures. His screenplay CRAZY FOR LOVE was optioned by then-Shooting Gallery partner Eli Kabillio.

Mr. Bell is currently the executive producer/writer/director of ESPN's SportsFigures, an educational television series. The show has won numerous awards including the prestigious Clarion Award for the best Children's Program ages 14 and up for '99 and '00. The program was honored last year at the U.S. Capitol.

Mr. Bell teaches in the Dramatic Writing program at Purchase College and is currently underway with his next films THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD and PRESIDENT-EX.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

A. Dean Bell Facts

OccupationDirector, Writer

Selected Filmography

Not available.