Doyle, Larry

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Doyle, Larry

PERSONAL:

Education: University of Illinois at Urbana, B.S., 1980, M.S., 1982.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA; Baltimore, MD. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, producer. Served as writer-producer on the television show The Simpsons for four years. Also worked as a reporter for United Press International.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Won two Emmy Awards and an Annie Award.

WRITINGS:

This Sucks, Change It! Giant Inactivity Book with Handy Remote Control, created by Mike Judge, MTV Books/Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Huh Huh for Hollywood, created by Mike Judge, MTV Books/Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

I Love You, Beth Cooper (novel), Ecco (New York, NY), 2007.

TELEPLAYS

"The Final Judgment of Beavis,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1994.

"Safe Driving,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1994.

"Liar! Liar!,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1994.

"Choke,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1994.

"A Very Special Episode,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1997.

"Nosebleed,’ Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV, 1997.

"Too Cute,’ Daria, MTV, 1998.

"Girly Edition,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 1998.

"Treehouse of Horror IX,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 1999.

"Wild Barts Can't Be Broken,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 1999.

"Simpsons Bible Stories,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 1999.

(And producer) ‘Pygmoelian,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 2000.

"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Marge,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 2000.

"Worst Episode Ever,’ The Simpsons, Fox Television Network, 2001.

SCREENPLAYS

(And producer) Duplex (released in Germany as Appartement-Schreck and in the United Kingdom as Our House), Miramax Films, 2003.

(And producer) Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2003.

Also author of two episodes for the television series Rugrats. Contributor to periodicals, including the New Yorker and Esquire.

SIDELIGHTS:

Larry Doyle grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and attended college at the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he majored in biology and minored in psychology. He then went on to earn a master's degree in journalism. Doyle's eclectic education proved useful, as he later began to write for a living, taking his diverse interests and turning them into articles and screen- and teleplays. He wrote for the popular MTV television programs Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria before moving to Los Angeles, California. For four years, Doyle served as a writer-producer for the long-running, popular animated television series, The Simpsons, and he later wrote stand-alone scripts for television and the big screen, including Duplex and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which were released in 2003.

Doyle's love of humor and satire shines through in his television writing, and it also plays a major role in his longer works. He has written a number of books, including This Sucks, Change It! Giant Inactivity Book with Handy Remote Control, Huh Huh for Hollywood, and I Love You, Beth Cooper. Doyle's debut novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper, takes the typical high school story of the nerdy captain of the debate team, complete with bad skin, who falls hard for the beautiful, unattainable head cheerleader, and updates it for a modern, hip audience. Denis Cooverman is the debate captain in question, as well as valedictorian, and since he has the opportunity to stand up in front of the school at the graduation ceremony and deliver a speech, he decides to inform the head cheerleader, Beth Cooper, that he loves her. Playing against type, Beth turns out to be touched by Denis's sentiments; she finds him sweet and brave. However, her boyfriend, a slightly older young man who is home on leave from the Army, is far from understanding, and his violent streak soon makes itself known. Denis must keep moving to keep out of harm's way, and since Beth goes with him, romance is sure to follow swiftly.

Critics had mixed reactions to Doyle's novel, finding fault with his writing, but praising his comedic skills. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that ‘Doyle wrings from his typecast crew just enough teenage agony and ecstasy to keep readers interested.’ Mark Sarvas, in a contribution for the New York Times Book Review, remarked: ‘What Doyle's story lacks in originality … it makes up for in laughs. He is, as his credits suggest, wickedly funny.’ He went on to note that ‘when Doyle nails it, he's hilarious.’ He also praised Doyle's characterizations, stating that ‘Denis and Beth are both rendered with sensitivity and depth. Doyle is especially good at revealing what lies in the heart of the Popular Girl; Beth is no vapid simpleton.’ David Skinner, in a review for the Weekly Standard, remarked: ‘Doyle takes his laughs when he can get them, which is pretty often, and his book has one major virtue: The story's action drives with beguiling speed to its conclusion. The reader never yawns waiting for something to happen.’ He added: ‘What Doyle does best is depict the inner world of a cartoonishly nerdy nerd.’ Charlotte Bradshaw, writing for School Library Journal, stated: ‘This is a quick, funny book with a protagonist readers can root for even as they groan at his geekiness."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 1997, review of Huh Huh for Hollywood, p. 1306; April 15, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 21.

Books, June 23, 2007, ‘A Graduation Speech That Is Sure to Be Remembered,’ p. 6; June 23, 2007, ‘Back from Hollywood: In Fiction and in Real Life, Writer Larry Doyle Revisits His Buffalo Grove Roots,’ p. 6.

Daily Variety, May 15, 2007, ‘Fox Atomic Loves ‘Beth’,’ p. 1.

Entertainment Weekly, May 11, 2007, Tim Stack, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 79.

Esquire, May, 2007, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 28.

Library Journal, May 15, 2007, Kevin Greczek, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 79.

New York Times Book Review, July 1, 2007, Mark Sarvas, ‘Beauty and the Geek,’ p. 19.

Publishers Weekly, March 12, 2007, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 35.

School Library Journal, August, 2007, Charlotte Bradshaw, review of I Love You, Beth Cooper, p. 143.

USA Today, May 31, 2007, ‘Hey, Everybody: Denis Loves Beth,’ p. 05.

Weekly Standard, June 18, 2007, ‘Straight to Video; the Comic Novel as Moviemaking Device."