David G. Knappe

After graduating with a BA and MA from William Paterson University, Writer/Producer David G. Knappe was hired as a young producer for DuPont's External Affairs Division working with BBDO on Stainmaster and Teflon spots. He provided production support for the company's signature events such as the Tour DuPont for CBS Sports and LPGA coverage for ABC Sports. Knappe started his film company, Glencross Films while directing for many clients including BMW, Conoco Phillips, Morgan Stanley and Yahoo Finance. He also wrote, produced and directed a five part UK series featuring renowned "out of the box thinking" creator, Edward De Bono on Lateral Thinking. Knappe wrote and co-produced the launch of the IQVC e-shopping site for QVC and consulted for the AT&T "Net.working" and "website services" campaigns. 2006 was a banner year for Knappe, contributing several of the most closely watched cases for America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988), most notably Cop killer Ralph "Bucky" Phillips and the case of the "Machete Monster". The latter story centered on a woman who was hacked nearly to death by her ex-husband. In twist worthy of a TV crime drama, the suspect was identified by none other than his former cell mate who saw the first segment in which the surviving mother described her ordeal. Viewers of the program were set back by would-be killer's casual answer "it is what it is", when Knappe asked him if he had anything to say to his family now that he was caught. In the end the family was safe and were able to move on with their lives. Also in 2006, Knappe led an international production for Deutsche Bank as Executive Producer and Director for their on-line project "2006: Move to Alpha". He also conducted the interviews and directed beauty shots of the cities the firm has a presence; including London, Paris, Milan, Zurich, Luxembourg, Warsaw, Vienna, Madrid, Frankfurt and many other locations. He served as online editor as well. Next, Knappe executive produced the social networking site, grandparents.com for G2 Direct and Digital. This is a site with great human potential that delivers an online community experience for new grandparents. Knappe also oversaw Phase 1 of the agency's site re-design for their parent firm, Grey.com. As an actor, Knappe appeared in many stage productions and did extra work as well as being a stand in in for Tom Hanks in the celebrated film, Philadelphia (1993). Knappe played an IRS agent in "Karoke Nights" and the fly-fisherman in Piggie (2003), the directorial debut of Alison Bagnall who co-wrote Buffalo '66 (1998) with Vincent Gallo. On stage Knappe has played leading roles in "Amadeus", "The Crucible", "Charley's Aunt", "The Importance of Being Earnest", "The Mousetrap" and sang the roles of Pish-Tush and The Sergeant in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas "The Mikado" and "The Pirates of Penzance". An accomplished screenwriter as well, his Irish political thriller, Games Without Frontiers (2012) is a period IRA thriller about a former IRA leader orchestrates sectarian violence for his own political gain. R.A.M., a futuristic thriller also written by Knappe is set to star Ray Park, Dan Cade and Jack Mulcahy best known for his star turn in The Brothers McMullen (1995) which won the Best Picture Selection at Sundance in 1995. "Heartbroken in Hoboken" a romantic comedy taking place in the famous waterfront town (set to the tunes of Sinatra) and "The Relevance of Remaining Earnest", the sequel to "The Importance of Being Earnest" round out Knappe's writing slate.