John Markus

Emmy Award-winning writer John Markus began his career in high school, supplying jokes about his rural Ohio hometown to Broadway columnist Earl Wilson. After graduating from Stanford University he moved to Los Angeles where he landed a job writing a revival of the animated “Mighty Mouse.” Accepted into Paramount’s apprentice program, he was a staff writer on Working Stiffs, a sitcom starring Michael Keaton and Jim Belushi.

After an assignment on Paramount's Taxi, Markus joined the original writing staff of The Cosby Show. He became the supervising producer for the series after six episodes and was promoted to co-executive producer for the second season. He remained as show runner with the acclaimed series until 1990. During his tenure, he wrote or co-wrote 67 episodes, earning an Emmy, a Peabody and two Humanitas prizes.

He also co-created the Cosby spin-off A Different World, which ran for six seasons on NBC.

Markus next co-created the critically acclaimed Lateline with Al Franken for Paramount Network Television and NBC.

He was consulting producer on The Larry Sanders Show, co-writing the Emmy-nominated Ellen Degeneres episode, “Ellen: Is She Or Isn't She?” His play Sons of Liberty, a prototype for an NBC television series, was produced at the American Place Theater and directed by Jerry Zaks. Markus is currently working with Joan Cusack on a new comedy to be filmed in Chicago.