Billy Van Zandt and his late writing partner, Jane Milmore, are renowned playwrights who have been working together for an impressive 46 years. They met at a high school acting competition in their home state of New Jersey, where they would eventually go on to write and star in 25 plays together. Some of their most notable works include the international hit comedy "You've Got Hate Mail," the Off-Broadway tribute to slapstick comedy "Silent Laughter," and the cult favorite "Drop Dead." They also co-wrote the Marx Bros. musical "A Night at the Nutcracker" and the summer stock perennial "Love, Sex, and the IRS."
Billy's solo play "The Property Known as Garland," starring his ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau, broke box office records at Off-Broadway's Actors Playhouse. The plays have been produced in thousands of theaters worldwide, with notable directors including Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis and film legend Burt Reynolds.
In television, Billy and Jane have produced over three hundred hours of comedy, including "Newhart," "Martin," which won them a People's Choice Award, "The Hughley's," which won them a Prism Award, "Suddenly Susan" for Brooke Shields, "Daddy Dearest" for Don Rickles and Richard Lewis, "Anything But Love" for Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis, "The Wayans Bros.," and "I Love Lucy: The Very First Show," which won them an Emmy nomination.
As an actor, Billy made his film debut in "Jaws 2" and has co-starred with a wide range of talented actors, including George C Scott, Tim Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Giancarlo Esposito, Evan Handler, Karl Malden, and the cast of the popular TV show "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." He has also toured the world in the last Van Zandt/Milmore musical, "The Boomer Boys Musical."
