We recently had the chance to connect with Billy Van Zandt and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Billy, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
People starting out in the entertainment business are always looking for the easy formula to success. There is no formula. There are no rules. It’s a tough business. And it changes every year. You need to make up your own rules as you go.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
New Jersey native Billy Van Zandt met Wyoming-born Jane Milmore at the Barn Theater’s high school drama competition in Rumson, NJ. A month later they were cast together in Neil Simon’s Star Spangled Girl, and worked together for the next forty-six years.
Known for their combination of physical comedy and adult humor, they’ve been called the “masters of modern farce.” (NY TIMES). Their 24 plays, all introduced in their home state of New Jersey and published worldwide with Concord Theatricals (formerly Samuel French, Inc.) have been translated into multiple languages and performed all over the globe. Their Off-Broadway hit You’ve Got Hate Mail ran four and a half years at the Triad Theater and has continued with multiple ongoing productions around the world, including Mexico’s 2014 Play of the Year; Billy’s The Property Known as Garland, written for Adrienne Barbeau, broke house records at the Actors Playhouse; and the classic summer stock perennial Love, Sex, and the IRS is making people laugh somewhere every IRS season. Their works have been directed by the likes of Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis (Drop Dead! and Do Not Disturb), and film icon Burt Reynolds (The Property Known as Garland tour), and performed by such actors as Eva Longoria, Rashida Jones, Richard Kind, Caroline Aaron, Rose Marie, Craig Bierko, Julia Duffy, Nana Visitor, and Donny Most. For the last ten years Billy has been touring the country in The Boomer Boys Musical, the last play he and Jane wrote before her untimely passing in 2020.
On television, their careers began with Bob Newhart and Larry, Darryl, & Darryl on Newhart. Since that time, they have written and produced countless hours of television comedy, including shows for Don Rickles, Richard Lewis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Andrew Dice Clay, the Wayans Bros., Brooke Shields, DL Hughley, Olympia Dukakis, Michael McKeon, Richard Mulligan, Jean Smart, and John Goodman.
They have received Emmy nominations for their CBS special I Love Lucy: The Very First Show which unveiled I Love Lucy’s pilot episode and was the highest-rated program on network television that season; The Hughleys, where they received a Multi-Cultural Prism Award and were nominated for People’s Choice and NAACP Image Awards; and Martin Lawrence’s ground-breaking Martin, which won them a People’s Choice Award and an NAACP Image Award for “Best New Series.”
On film, Billy and Jane co-wrote and co-starred in A Wake in Providence, which was a critical favorite at the Boston Film Festival and won the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival’s Audience Award. In addition, Billy co-starred in several films, including the blockbuster sequel Jaws 2; the military school drama Taps with Tim Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise and George C Scott; and with the crew of the USS Enterprise in Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. On TV, Billy and Jane have appeared as guest-stars on multiple sit-coms, and as regulars on Anything But Love with Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis.
Billy’s best-selling memoir Get in the Car, Jane (Adventures in the TV Wasteland), which chronicles their life making TV sit-coms was #1 on Amazon (“briefly, for like a minute and a half”). His new book, Because It’s Funny!, which covers the creation of the plays and working with their legendary Unofficial Van Zandt/Milmore Company, launched November 18 – again peaking at #1 on Amazon (“this time for, maybe, a minute forty-five”).
Giving back to the community they grew up in, Billy and Jane put over 30 New Jersey students through college with their Van Zandt-Milmore scholarship; received the Clara Barton Award by the Red Cross for their humanitarian work; and were celebrated three times by the New Jersey General Assembly.
On April 26, 2024, Billy’s hometown of Middletown, NJ, and the the New Jersey Hall of Fame dedicated the street he grew up on as Van Zandt Way, honoring Billy and his brother, legendary rock and roll Hall of Fame musician, Little Steven Van Zandt.
Billy is married to actress Teresa Ganzel (The Toy), and father to platinum-record music producer Will Van Zandt (Freddy Kreuger, Expensive), street-wear designer Walker Van Zandt (Mine Until Mourning), and step-father to composer Cody Carpenter (the Halloween movies). Billy and Teresa live in Los Angeles.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
Who taught me the most about my work? The audiences. They’re the only truth- tellers in the entertainment world. Well, the audiences and the camera operators. If they aren’t laughing, you’re screwed.
As for work ethic? I got mine from my ex-marine father. He instilled in me and my siblings to always give everything you’ve got, in whatever it is you’re doing. I love working that way. And I expect it from anyone who works for me.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I never saw anything in my career as a failure. They were learning experiences, not to be repeated.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
There isn’t a single script I’ve written that is “finished” – I’ll always look for ways to make things better. That’s a lifelong commitment for every single project I do.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
I’ll let you know if it ever happens. The best things I’ve ever done seemed out of my league and scared me to death as I started each project. Luckily – so far – I’ve always met the challenge. I wrote a musical without any music training. I wrote a silent movie performed live on stage. I wrote play told through emails. They all seemed like insane ideas until they all worked. I always look for the scary projects and dig right in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vanzandtmilmore.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bvz1213/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyVanZandt
