Jason Gelles '96 (Writer, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN)
By Sean O'Rourke MAT '68
As an undergraduate, Jason Gelles '96 was a percussionist. He played in the marching band and the jazz band, which resulted in invitations to play with other groups, so many that he frequently had to refuse. However one contact he made in college enabled him to start his career, and others made later have helped him advance it.
A summer job as a production assistant on "American Buffalo" led Jason to consider a career in the entertainment industry. Through the jazz band he knew Myra Mayman, then director of the Office for the Arts. With her help he found a job as a writer's assistant on "Nash Bridges", a show run by Carlton Cuse '81.
Jason then served as a production assistant on "Everybody Loves Raymond", where he again found his way into the writers' room. He was the only Harvard alum on the show, and people were impressed. "You went to Harvard!" Then he made a couple of mistakes in spelling and punctuation, and the reaction was, "You went to Harvard?"
Although he worked on "Raymond", Jason was not a member of the writing staff. The Writers Guild contract requires producers to pick up two scripts a season from writers who are not staff members. During his time on the show, Jason wrote three episodes.
The same company produced both "Raymond" and "The Late Show with David Letterman", and in 2002 Jason moved to a new job. According to the Guild contract, "The Late Show" hires writers for thirteen weeks at a time. The work involves a lot of stress, and people burn out quickly. Many contracts are not renewed. Jason's was.
His first day on the show, David Letterman called Jason into his office to review his submission packet, which contained a few Top Ten lists and some sketch ideas. He took out a list of Ten Worst Fortune Cookie Fortunes and began reading it aloud as though he were on the show. He liked #6 but did not like #2. "So," he said, "the lesson here is more #6 and less #2." Jason has tried to follow this advice ever since.
He next worked on "Married to the Kellys", a show about an only child from New York who moves to Kansas with his wife and must learn to deal with her large family. His agent had sent a writing sample, but more importantly, the producer knew people from "Raymond". The show ran for an entire season but, despite its clever premise, was not renewed.
Jason spent some time freelancing and writing pilots. When one of his colleagues from "The Kellys" went to work on "All That", produced by Nickelodeon, Jason joined him as a staff writer. Then they both moved to "Zoey 101", which was produced by the same company.
In 2007 Ellen DeGeneres was looking for writers for her talk show. Jason submitted a packet and was hired. The format of "Ellen" is similar to that of a late night talk show, in which the staff write the first fifteen or twenty minutes of comedy material and are responsible for remote segments, such as the one in which Ellen and Britney Spears went door to door Christmas caroling.
In addition Jason participates in the Harvardwood Writers Program, helping beginners to master their craft, sharing his experiences and providing the encouragement that others gave him.