Alan Ball

Alan Ball is the creator and executive producer of Six Feet Under. Ball was awarded an Emmy and a DGA award for directing the pilot of Six Feet Under, his directorial debut. His first produced feature film screenplay was American Beauty, for which he received the 1999 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, among others. His other television credits include Oh Grow Up, Cybill, and Grace Under Fire. Prior to moving to Hollywood, Ball was a noted comedic playwright in New York. Among his numerous credits are Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, which premiered February in 1993 at Manhattan Class Company and The M Word, which premiered at the inaugural Lucille Ball Festival of New American Comedy in 1991.