Maxine Lapiduss

Maxine's career has truly exemplified the word "hyphenate." For the past 15 years, Maxine has had many accomplishments as an entertainer, TV comedy writer and producer, New Media entrepreneur, and now she adds the title of Reality Show Diva. Currently, Maxine is producing and co-hosting an 8-hour reality series for BRAVO called Situation: Comedy - a documentary in the style of Project Green Light about writing sitcoms. Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) created the series to air on Bravo in late Spring, and Maxine and Stan Zimmerman are Executive Producing and supervising the two pilots at the center of the Series for NBC. Also for television, Maxine is currently developing an animated series with cult artist Shag and actress/producer Lisa Kudrow (Friends), and a mock-reality show co-produced with Ben Silverman's company, Reveille. In addition, she completed her first feature film, a dark comedy entitled BOY MEETS GIRL. One of the most successful television writer/producers in Hollywood, Maxine has worked on some of the most influential half hour comedies of the past decade including the final season of Ellen (Three Emmy nominations), Roseanne, (Emmy nomination as Best Comedy Series and a Golden Globe award the years Maxine was there), Home Improvement (People's Choice Award for Best Comedy Series) and the last season of Dharma and Greg, to name a few. In 1999, Maxine turned her attention away from the daily sitcom grind to focus on New Media. She co-founded VOXXY, Inc., a highly acclaimed interactive network and multimedia entertainment company aimed at teen girls. Maxine raised the initial two rounds of financing herself (over two million dollars) and convinced some of the most influential women in entertainment, business and sports to step up and participate in giving teen girls a voice and a community on the web. She was also responsible for convincing some of the biggest names in show business to star in and create the interactive entertainment for VOXXY including superstar Jennifer Aniston, who not only starred in a show Maxine co-created for her on Voxxy, but was also the company's spokesperson; comedienne Caroline Rhea (Rosie's talk show replacement), Melissa Etheridge and over thirty of the best writers, producers and directors in Hollywood. Maxine served as Co-President of the company, from 1999- 2001, overseeing talent relations and negotiations, programming, finance, public relations, strategic relationships and corporate affairs. VOXXY garnered awards for design and programming and had tremendous exposure in the press. The company and profiles of its founders, was featured in many trade and consumer magazines including The Wall Street Journal, US Weekly, Talk magazine, Detour Magazine, The Industry Standard, Time Digital, Seventeen Magazine, TV Guide and People Magazine to name a few. VOXXY also received extensive television coverage appearing on CNN-FN, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Extra. Prior to VOXXY Maxine combined her writing and performing talents to wow critics, as well as Los Angeles theater audiences, with SITUATION TRAGEDY: Observations on 10 years in Hollywood...with Bongos. A behind the scenes glimpse of the ins and outs of working in television, the innovative production, complete with dancing boys, an all-girl band and Maxine's infamous Liza tribute, ran to sold out houses at the Globe Playhouse in Hollywood. The show won fourteen Dramalogue Awards and was nominated for the coveted Ovation Award (The LA "Obie") for best New Musical. Having begun her career at the age of fourteen doing stand-up comedy in Pittsburgh at small clubs, Maxine received encouragement from headliner Dennis Miller to go to New York and try her luck. Instead, she finished eighth grade, working to perfect her isosceles triangle. After high school, Maxine attended the prestigious Carnegie Mellon Drama School where she graduated with her B.F.A. in acting and playwriting. Then it was off to New York where she sang and performed her stand up at such landmark clubs as the Duplex, Caroline's, Freddy's Supper Club, The Improvisation, Catch a Rising Star and The Bottom Line. During many successful years touring the country as a headliner, she also appeared in several TV shows including A&E's Evening at the Improv and in the film about female comediennes, Wisecracks. Maxine has also written comedy material for fellow comedians Joan Rivers, Andrea Martin, Lily Tomlin and Joley Fisher.