- Carmen Finestra
Carmen Finestra (born 1947) is an American producer and TV writer who currently is partnered with Matt Williams and
David McFadzean inWind Dancer Films , a production firm which Finestra also co-owns. For Wind Dancer, he has produced or executive produced "Where the Heart Is", "Firelight", "Soul Man", "Thunder Alley " and "Home Improvement ".Finestra was born to Italian immigrants in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , and initially attended a seminary college for two years to become aCatholic priest before transferring toPennsylvania State , where he earned his BA in 1971.After a stint as an Off-Broadway actor, Finestra turned to writing for the likes of
Johnny Cash (for one of Cash's summer series) andSteve Martin . Finestra's big break came when he began writing for the "The Cosby Show " in 1984, where he would remain until 1990, leaving the show as supervising producer. Finestra received twoEmmy nominations as one of the producers of "The Cosby Show" and another Emmy nomination for co-writing an episode of the hit series. He also did three guest star appearances on the Cosby Show (episodes 4.17, 6.2 and 6.14).In 1991, Finestra became a writer and co-executive producer for "Home Improvement", capacities he performed until the series' end in 1999. His work on the popular sitcom would land him three Emmy and two
Golden Globe nominations.Finestra was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Penn State in 1998.
References
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0277716/ Carmen Finestra] on
IMDb
* [http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Finestra__Carmen.html]
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