Who

A former TV producer responsible for introducing the world to Bronson Pinchot and the Olsen twins, Boyett now produces for Broadway. As the co-founder of Boyett Ostar Productions, he's put on shows like Spamalot and The History Boys.

Backstory

After working in development for ABC in LA, Boyett moved to Paramount, where he and Thomas L. Miller began co-producing Happy Days in 1974. Following the show's success, Boyett and Miller teamed up on a string of TV hits in the 1970s and 1980s, including Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Perfect Strangers and Full House, parting ways in the late '90s after Two of a Kind failed to take off. Boyett, who had always toyed with the idea of being a playwright, funneled his sitcom earnings into the production of Broadway shows, beginning with Edward Albee's The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? which he produced with Daryl Roth in 2002. The following year, he and producer Bill Haber signed a much-publicized three-year deal with London's famed Royal National Theater that guaranteed them the right to transfer the National's shows to the U.S. Thanks to the deal, which they renewed in 2006, their production company has imported five shows to Broadway in as many years, including Jumpers, Democracy, the Billy Crudup-fronted The Pillowman, and The History Boys, which nabbed the 2006 Tony for Best Play.

Of note

Boyett Ostar's biggest hit has been Monty Python's Spamalot, which Boyett subsequently exported to Las Vegas's Wynn Casino. Alas, even an uproarious show like Spamalot had trouble competing with flashing, beeping slot machines and tall drinks with crazy straws, and the show had to be condensed down to 90 minutes for the boozy crowd. But Boyett has a handful of additional projects in the works. In May 2007, his latest import from the National, Coram Boy, debuted at the Imperial to mediocre reviews ("the play is anything but deep," sighed Charles Isherwood in the Times). Meanwhile, in a deal highly reminiscent of his arrangement with the National, in June 2007 Boyett signed a three-year pact with the buzzy London company the Meiner Chocolate Factory, giving him first right to transfer its shows to Broadway.

Trophy case

Boyett's plays have won four Tonys, including Best Play for 2006's History Boys.

Personal

Boyett lives in Salisbury, Conn.

No joke

His only film production credit: 1982's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.

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