Dan Schneider is an American actor, television and film writer, and producer who is best known for inventing several of Nickelodeon’s most famous children’s television programs. He began his career as a supporting actor in films such as ‘Making the Grade,’ ‘Better Off Dead,’ ‘The Big Picture,’ ‘Happy Together,’ and ‘Hot Resort,’ before portraying the witty and cynical computer genius Dennis Blunden for five seasons on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class.’ Then, he began working as a writer and producer on television shows including ‘All That,’ ‘Kenan & Kel,’ ‘The Amanda Show,’ ‘Drake & Josh,’ ‘Zoey 101,’ ‘iCarly,’ ‘Victorious,’ ‘Sam & Cat,’ and ‘Henry Danger,’ among others. He has worked on the motion pictures “Good Burger” and “Big Fat Liar.” He frequently makes cameo cameos on the shows and films he’s involved in. He is the founder and co-president of Schneider’s Bakery, a television production firm. A New York Times story referred to him as the “Norman Lear of children’s television,” and he received the first-ever “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the “Kids’ Choice Awards.”
Youth and Early Life
Dan Schneider was born in Memphis, Tennessee on January 14, 1966, to Harry and Carol Schneider. He has three elder sisters and is the youngest of his parents’ four children.
He attended White Station High School, where he was elected class president in his senior year. After completing high school, he enrolled in Harvard University, his father’s alma mater, but departed after one semester.
He returned to Memphis and enrolled in school at Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis. During this time, he worked as a computer store repairman.
While he was still in school, a film producer observed him and pushed him to audition for a role, which he subsequently won. After relocating to Los Angeles, he began to apply for other roles while working as a pizza delivery boy.
Dan Schneider’s Career
In the 1984 American teen comedy film “Making the Grade,” in which he had a small part, Dan Schneider had his first acting opportunity. He appeared in the films ‘Better Off Dead’ and ‘Hot Resort’ the following year.
In 1986, he was cast as Dennis Blunden on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class,’ which ran for five seasons and was a success.
He appeared in three films in 1989: “Happy Together,” “Listen to Me,” and “The Big Picture.”
In 1993, he starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom Home Free. The following year, he portrayed Shawn Eckhardt in “Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story,” a television film based on the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan affair.
He was hired to work on Nickelodeon’s new sketch comedy show for children, ‘All That’ (1994-2005), by the head of production Albie Hecht, whom he met while co-hosting the second annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 1988. Throughout the subsequent seasons, he assumed the roles of producer, executive producer, and writer for the show.
He penned the screenplay for the 1997 film ‘Good Burger,’ which was based on a popular comedic sketch from ‘All That,’ and also played a supporting role in the film alongside Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Later in 2002, he co-wrote and co-produced the commercially successful picture “Big Fat Liar.”
During the first two seasons (1996-97) of Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom ‘Kenan & Kel,’ he served as an executive producer and writer, and he later served as a consultant.
He produced “Guys Like Us” for the UPN network in 1998, but the show was canceled after its first season owing to poor ratings and reviews.
In 1999, he left ‘All That’ to work on ‘The Amanda Show, starring Amanda Bynes, which he developed, executive produced, wrote, directed, and frequently guest-starred on as an elderly guy upset by prank calls. However, once ‘All That’s ratings began to decline, Nickelodeon called him back to rework the show in 2001, and it went on to have a successful four-season run.
In 2002, he co-created the WB sitcom ‘What I Like About You’ with former ‘Friends writer and producer Wil Calhoun. In addition, he served as executive producer for the first two seasons and as director, writer, and executive consultant for the latter two.
In 2004, he returned to Nickelodeon to establish ‘Drake & Josh with Drake Bell and Josh Peck from ‘The Amanda Show. Miranda Cosgrove, who would later star in another of his projects, ‘iCarly,’ appeared on the show as well (2007-12).
In 2005, he created the Nickelodeon comedy-drama series Zoey 101, starring Jamie Lynn Spears, and made a cameo as a taxi driver in the series finale. It was his first and only single-camera format program in which he first utilized the letterbox format.
Next, he produced the sitcom ‘Victorious,’ starring Victoria Justice, which premiered after the 2010 ‘Kids’ Choice Awards and was an audience favorite. It even defeated ‘iCarly’ to win the ‘Favorite TV Show’ category at the 2012 and 2013 ‘Kids’ Choice Awards’ and was nominated for four ‘Emmys’.
In 2013, he created the teen sitcom Sam & Cat, which was a spin-off of both ‘iCarly’ and ‘Victorious. This program stars Ariana Grande in her breakout role as Cat Valentine alongside Jennette McCurdy for 36 episodes before being canceled.
He co-developed the 2014 Nickelodeon comedy series ‘Henry Danger’ with Dana Olsen, and he also created the 2015 Nickelodeon comedy series ‘Game Shakers’ The January 2018 launch of ‘The Adventures of Kid Danger,’ an animated spin-off of ‘Henry Danger,’ is now in the works.
Dan’s Major Opera
Dan Schneider has developed some of the most influential and popular family-friendly television programs, including ‘All That,’ ‘The Amanda Show,’ ‘Drake & Josh,’ ‘Zoey 101,’ ‘iCarly,’ ‘Victorious,’ and ‘Sam & Cat.’ Numerous young performers, including Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, Miranda Cosgrove, Ariana Grande, Taran Killam, Nick Cannon, Liz Gillies, Josh Peck, and Jace Norman, have benefited from his debut parts.
Awards & Achievements
Dan Schneider has been nominated for numerous accolades over the years, but his first win came for ‘The Amanda Show’ at the 2000 Burbank International Children’s Film Festival.
In 2014, Nickelodeon honored him with the first-ever ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the ‘Kids’ Choice Awards,’ which was presented to him by a number of stars with whom he had previously collaborated.
Personal History and Legacy
Dan Schneider has been married to New York Times best-selling novelist Lisa Lillien since 2002. Lillian is also the inventor of the ‘Hungry Girl’ empire and has her own Food Network show. Schneider frequently visits his relatives in Memphis. They reside in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles with a dog, a cat, and a few rabbits.
Estimated Net Worth
Dan Schneider is an American television actor and producer with a net worth of $40 million. He began his career as an actor before transitioning behind the camera to become a highly successful program creator and producer. Twenty years were spent making hits for Nickelodeon. Dan’s television series include “All That”, “The Amanda Show”, “Drake & Josh”, “iCarly”, “Victorious”, and “Zoey 101”.
Trivia
Schneider’s Bakery is the name of Dan Schneider’s production company, which was named after his father’s bakery in Memphis, Tennessee. Interestingly, there is a bakery in Ohio with the same name as his production company.