Dean Pitchford

Headshot of Dean Pitchford
"I’ve always attributed my varied career to an intense curiosity and a short attention span."
Dean Pitchford
"I’ve always attributed my varied career to an intense curiosity and a short attention span."
Dean Pitchford

Born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from Yale University, Dean Pitchford performed off- and on-Broadway (Godspell; Pippin) before turning to songwriting, screenwriting and directing.

Dean was nominated for four Academy Awards (winning the 1981 Best Song Oscar for “Fame,” co-written w/ Michael Gore), three Golden Globes (winning for “Fame”), eight Grammys and two Tonys; his songs – recorded by such artists as Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Cher, Peter Allen, LL Cool J, Kenny Loggins, Hugh Jackman, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler and Martina McBride – have sold over 70 million records.

The musical stage adaptation (with Walter Bobbie) of his original screenplay for Footloose ran for more than 700 performances on Broadway and is now seen all over the world. Dean also provided the lyrics for Carrie: The Musical, which was produced in 1988 by the Royal Shakespeare Company — first in England and then on Broadway — and was revived in 2012 by New York’s MCC Theater.

Dean’s middle-grade novels, The Big One-Oh and Captain Nobody, are published by Putnam/Penguin; his performances of their audiobook recordings (Listening Library/Random House) were both nominated for Grammys. His third novel, Nickel Bay Nick, was published to acclaim in 2013, and Dean voiced that audiobook for Audible.com.

In 2019, the musical adaptation of his first novel, The Big One-Oh!, premiered at New York’s Atlantic Theatre with lyrics by Dean, music by Doug Besterman and a libretto by Timothy Allen McDonald.

CARRIE the musical and FOOTLOOSE the musical are available for theatrical licensing through Concord Theatricals.

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