Brook, Vincent 1946–

views updated

Brook, Vincent 1946–

PERSONAL: Born February 4, 1946, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Rudy (a landscape architect and real estate broker) and Eva (a kindergarten teacher; maiden name, Eger) Brook; married Rosamund Murphy, 1975 (divorced, 1978); married Karen Thompson (a kindergarten teacher), August 17, 1980. Ethnicity: "Jewish." Education: University of California, Berkeley, B.A. (history), 1967; California State University, Hayward, B.A. (art), 1972; California State University, Chico, M.A. (art), 1974; University of California, Los Angeles, M.A. (film and television), 1997, Ph.D., 2001. Politics: "Green-Democrat." Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Home—913 North Robinson St., Los Angeles, CA 90026. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: International Television Film Production, Hollywood, CA, documentary film editor and writer, 1976–80; Family Home Entertainment, Canoga Park, CA, film editor, 1980–84; Los Angeles Pierce College, Woodland Hills, CA, adjunct professor, 1986–. Argus Entertainment, screenwriter, 1991–95; film editor for feature films Unknown Powers, 1978, and Aliens from Spaceship Earth, 1979, and for television documentaries World of the Unknown, Unknown Force, and Underground Doctors, all 1978. Watterson College, instructor, 1994–96; adjunct professor at Columbia College, Tarzana, CA, 1986–93, Los Angeles City College, 1989–90, California State University, Los Angeles, 1999–, California State University, Fullerton, 2000–01, Pasadena City College, 2000–02, California State University, Northridge, 2001, and University of Southern California, 2003–; guest lecturer at other institutions. Music Box Steps Day (children's film festival), organizer, 1995–2002; Silver Lake Film Festival, advisor, 2000–02. Silver Lake Improvement Association, president, 1997–2003; Gateway to Silver Lake Project, cochair, 1997–; Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, organizer, 2000–.

MEMBER: Society for Cinema Studies, University Film and Video Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Gold Medal in film editing, Miami International Film Festival, 1978; award of excellence for film editing, Film Advisory Board, Hollywood, CA, 1978; Gold Venus for film editing, Cine Film Festival, 1979; blue ribbon in film editing, Renaissance Film Festival, 1979; first prize, student writing awards, Society for Cinema Studies, 1998; Jack Sauter Writing Award, University of California, Los Angeles, 1999.

WRITINGS:

Something Ain't Kosher Here: The Rise of the "Jewish" Sitcom, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 2003.

Contributor to books, including Leaving Springfield: "The Simpsons" and the Possibilities of Oppositional Culture, edited by John Albert, Wayne State University Press (Detroit, MI), 2003; and Changing Channels: Multicultural Studies in American Television, edited by Charles Krinsky and Jon Panish, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), in press. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including CineAction, Emergences, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Television and New Media, Velvet Light Trap, Cinema Journal, Journal of Film and Video, and Jump Cut. Editor, Silver Lake Improvement Association News, 1994–2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Editing You Should See Yourself!, on Jewish identity in postmodern American culture, publication by Rutgers University Press expected in 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Vincent Brook told CA: "I consider myself a socially conscious person with a strongly progressive political bent. This ethical concern has driven much of my writing, my teaching, and my life. My first published work was an essay on the uncommonly progressive 1960s television series East Side/West Side. Much of my other work, including my first book and anthology in progress, has inflected this political concern with a renewed interest in my Jewish roots. I see my Jewish identity as springing from a social activist strand in Judaism and Jewish social formation. I am committed to furthering this progressive aspect of Jewishness through my ongoing and future pursuits."