{{short description|American playwright, producer, and director}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Braddon Mendelson | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|8|23}} | birth_place = Northridge, California | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = Playwright, director, producer | nationality = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = California State University, Northridge (BA) | years_active = 1997–Present | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | political_party = Democratic | spouse = Heather Westcott Mendelson (m. 1998) | children = 1 | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = {{URL|www.BraddonMendelson.com/}} | module = {{Infobox writer |embed=yes | genre = Comedy, satire, children's literature, sitcom}} }}
'''Braddon (/ˈbræd-ənˈ/) Mendelson''' is an American playwright, director, and producer. He is the author of seven full-length plays, including ''Rembrandt Perfected''—winner of the 2022 Long Beach Playhouse New Works Festival; ''Gallows Falls'', a ghost story set in Vermont; and ''Provenance'', the story of an 18th century French game table's journeys back through time. His short one-act plays, ''Old Friends'' and ''Juneteenth'', have been presented at festivals in New York City and Pelham, NY, respectively.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-10-ca-30241-story.html "LA TIMES | 'Riot Act' Energy Gives Sketches a Lift"]</ref> He produced the 1998 cult classic film "Boogie Boy,"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160306175049/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/175589/Boogie-Boy/credits " New York Times | Boogie Boy (1997)"]</ref> which was directed by Craig Hamann and executive produced by Academy Award winner Roger Avary (both of whom were collaborators on Quentin Tarantino's first film "My Best Friend's Birthday").
As a music video producer, Mendelson worked with some of the top R&B and Rap artists of the late 1990s, including Xzibit,<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429253/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast "IMDB | Xzibit: Restless Xposed "]</ref> Outkast, Bizzy Bone, Mo Thugs and Ice Cube. He frequently collaborated on music videos with his former screenwriting partner Brian Smith.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Feature Films: Street Hearts |publisher=Drama-Logue |date=January 26 – February 1, 1989 |pages=7}}</ref> As a consequence of producing Outkast's 1998 music video for their song "Rosa Parks," Mendelson in 2005 was added as a defendant to the Rosa Parks v. LaFace Records lawsuit, but was subsequently dismissed from the case by the presiding judge.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
Mendelson co-created the video poetry series, "CineVerses" with poet/composer Jerry Danielsen. In 2010, he wrote and illustrated the children's book "Have You Seen the Tickle Bug?" and is the director and on-camera host for the children's YouTube show, "[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC13orQVX8op0E8Il3LFVkZQ Read Me a Story with Brad Mendelson]." He also publishes the award-winning<ref>[http://www.humorfeed.com/press/20100127davis.html "HumorFeed Satire Awards"]</ref> satirical website TheSkunk.org.
Mendelson is also a progressive political activist, who was elected as a delegate to the California Democratic Party in 2013 and 2015.<ref>[http://sundial.csun.edu/2013/01/csun-alumni-elected-as-local-delegates/ "Daily Sundial | CSUN alumni elected as local delegates"]</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-pol-ca-kamala-harris-loretta-sanchez-convention-20160226-story.html "LA Times | Winning the party endorsement is 'like trying to win an Iowa caucus' ... but in California"]</ref>
== Published works == * Mendelson, Braddon (2010). ''Have You Seen the Tickle Bug?'', Cuckoo Concertos, 40 pages. {{ISBN|978-1-453-66912-9}} * Mendelson, Braddon, & Goodbody, J.B. (editor), et al. (2012). ''Net's Best Satire, Vol 1 [Kindle Edition]'', News Roast, LLC, 175 pages. ASIN: B007T7PO6W * Mendelson, Braddon (2021). ''Rembrandt Perfected'', Noisivision Studios, 107 pages. {{ISBN|9798748650120}} * Mendelson, Braddon (2024). ''Gallows Falls,'' Next Stage Press.
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Work ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Ref heading}} |- ! scope="row" | 2009 |Humorfeed Annual Satire News Competition |Best Internet Satire Article | |{{won}} | style="text-align:center;" | |- ! scope="row" | 2022 |Players Theatre Short Play Festival |Official Selection |''Old Friends'' |{{won}} | style="text-align:center;" | |- ! scope="row" | 2022 |Long Beach Playhouse New Works Festival |Best New Play |''Rembrandt Perfected'' |{{won}} | style="text-align:center;" | |- ! scope="row" | 2022 |Austin Film Festival, Stageplay Division |Best Stage Play Script |''Rembrandt Perfected'' |{{nominated|Placed}} | style="text-align:center;" | |- ! scope="row" | 2023 |Vintage Theatre New Play Festival |Best New Play |''Gallows Falls'' |{{nominated|Finalist}} | style="text-align:center;" | |- ! scope="row" | 2025 |The Main Theatre, Element Award |Playwriting |''Provenance'' |{{won}} | style="text-align:center;" | |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://BraddonMendelson.com/}} * {{IMDb name|0578870}} * [http://www.TheTickleBug.com/ Have You Seen the Tickle Bug?] * [http://www.theskunk.org/ The Skunk: "Tasteless America Satire for the Ill-Informed"] * CineVerses: Poetry That Moves * [https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=24461 Boogie Boy Blu-ray]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelson, Braddon}} Category:Living people Category:Film producers from California Category:1961 births