Alan Ball Biography

Alan Ball is the creator and Executive Producer of "Six Feet Under," the critically acclaimed drama series on HBO. The series, about a family-run funeral home in Los Angeles, has garnered unprecedented ratings for the network, two Golden Globes (including Best Drama Series) and six Emmy awards. Alan was awarded an Emmy and a DGA award for directing the pilot of "Six Feet Under", his directorial debut.

Alan's 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, he was a noted comedic playwright in New York. Among his numerous credits are "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress," which premiered February 1993 at Manhattan Class Company, starring Thomas Gibson, Ally Walker and Allison Janney; "The M Word," which premiered at the inaugural Lucille Ball Festival of New American Comedy in 1991; "Made For a Woman;" "Bachelor Holiday;" "The Amazing Adventures of Tense Guy;" and "Your Mother's Butt."

Born in Atlanta, Ball was raised in Marietta, Georgia. He attended Florida State University, where he majored in theater, with an emphasis in acting and playwriting. After college, he moved to New York, where he first worked as an art director for various trade publications.