{{Short description|American actor, producer and screenwriter}} {{BLP sources|date=July 2013}} {{Infobox person |name = Dustin Lee Abraham |alma_mater = [[Arizona State University|ASU]] |occupation = Screenwriter }}
'''Dustin Lee Abraham''' is an American actor, producer and [[screenwriter]]. He wrote the 2001 cult film ''[[How High]]'' for [[Method Man]] and [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]]. As of 2009, he produced and writes for ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]''.
==Biography== Abraham was born to a [[American Jews|Jewish]] family and attended [[Chaparral High School (Arizona)|Chaparral High School]] in [[Las Vegas, NV]] where he was friends with [[Anthony Zuiker]] who encouraged him to enroll in Speech and Forensics ([[Dramatic Interpretation]]) coursework. He eventually won the state championship in Dramatic Interpretation which led to a scholarship at [[Arizona State University]]. Zuiker who wrote him some scripts that he used to win the national championship in Dramatic Interpretation and won a scholarship to attended [[California State]]'s graduate school and also teach their Speech and Forensics team. A friend of his introduced him to ''[[Law & Order]]'' star [[Angie Harmon]] who then introduced him to [[Russel Simmons]] and his agent [[Stan Lathan]] who liked his monologues. Jenny Delaney from the [[William Morris Agency]] then started to market him to various casting directors including Francine Maisler at [[Paramount Pictures]] who signed him; his first check was for $30,000. Although he was auditioning and getting paid, he did not win any roles. His agent encouraged him to write. He called Zuiker, who at the time was operating a tram in Las Vegas, and they decided to write a script about the Jewish mob in Las Vegas (Abraham had run numbers for the Jewish mob while in high school); the final product was called ''The Runner.'' After initially failing with the [[William Morris Agency]], they sold the script to a Showtime director for a mere $25,000; unfortunately, before the [[Creative Artists Agency]] had reviewed it. CAA had found a lucrative buyer but the director refused to sell and instead what he felt was a lackluster movie, ''[[The Runner (1999 film)|The Runner]]'', was produced in 1999 (although it starred [[John Goodman]], [[Courteney Cox]], and [[Ron Eldard]]).<ref name=MasApp>[https://massappeal.com/how-high-script-method-man-redman-dustin-lee-abraham/ Mass Appeal: "How a Speech & Forensics Coach Wrote the Script for ‘How High’ - Featuring Jewish mobsters, Russell Simmons, a softcore porn director and Sticky Fingers stealing weed" by Eric Ducker] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112021246/https://massappeal.com/how-high-script-method-man-redman-dustin-lee-abraham/ |date=2017-11-12 }} May 18, 2017</ref>
Abraham wrote his first script, which he calls boilerplate, for [[John Wells (filmmaker)|John Wells]] which got him some exposure. Abraham then received a call from his agent that [[Method Man]] and [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]] wanted him to write ''[[How High]]'' which was released in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ech |first=Joey |title=Method Man & Redman Release the Film 'How High' – Today in Hip-Hop |url=https://xxlmag.com/method-man-redmans-film-how-high-premieres-today-in-hip-hop/ |work=XXL |date=2018-12-21 |access-date=2025-11-24}}</ref> Abraham then worked on the ''[[CSI (franchise)|CSI]]'' franchise as a writer for nine years.<ref name=MasApp /> In 2007, he ventured into production and produced his first episode of ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'', "[[Cockroaches (CSI episode)|Cockroaches]]", directed by [[William Friedkin]].<ref>[https://www.csifiles.com/content/2011/07/interview-dustin-lee-abraham/ CSI Files: "Interview: Dustin Lee Abraham" by Rachel Trongo] July 1, 2011</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0008935}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Dustin Lee}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]] [[Category:American male screenwriters]] [[Category:American male television writers]] [[Category:American television producers]] [[Category:American television writers]] [[Category:Jewish American screenwriters]]