098: The Value of Writing Jokes for a Living with Kevin Kelton

Kevin Kelton, an Emmy-nominated TV writer-producer with credits on Saturday Night Live, Boy Meets World, Night Court, A Different World, and other network series talks about his career and making money in the entertainment industry.

Guest Biography

Kevin Kelton an Emmy-nominated TV writer-producer, with credits on Saturday Night Live, Boy Meets World, Night Court, A Different World, and other network series. He's also written screenplays for Warner Bros. and articles for National Lampoon. Kevin currently teaches screenwriting for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and hosts The More Perfect Union podcast.

Kevin Kelton is a veteran writer and producer of TV series and interactive e-learning with writing experience in corporate and entertainment environments.

Kelton began his television career as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live, where he wrote for two seasons during the Eddie Murphy-Billy Crystal-Martin Short years, then served as producer and writer for Night Court and Boy Meets World before advancing to Co-Executive Producer for Universal Studios. He has credits on 22 TV series and over 400 episodes, including specials for Steve Martin and Jay Leno. He has also written articles and screenplays for National Lampoon.

In 2004, Kelton was recruited by LRN Corp. to bring his expertise in creative writing to their corporate ethics and compliances training courses as the manager of the LRN writing staff. In that role, Kelton oversaw teams of instructional designers, graphic designers and SMEs to introduce new interactive course formats, simulations and videos. As an instructional designer he has created learning content for Disney, Viacom, Pfizer, Raytheon, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Cheesecake Factory, Amgen, and other global Fortune 500 companies.

Currently, Kelton focuses his time on teaching and mentoring TV writers. He teaches TV comedy writing courses with the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, speaks at seminars on TV production and writing, and offers one-on-one mentoring to writers who prefer to study privately or get his expert feedback on their scripts.

In his spare time, Kelton writes political columns for Examiner.com. He lives in Santa Clarita, CA with his two children.

And by the way, if you didn't guess it, Mr. Kelton wrote this third-person bio.

Show notes: http://www.inspiredmoney.fm/098

In this episode, you will learn:

• The path to becoming a comedy writer, from jokes to game shows to sketch comedy to sitcoms.
• How the creative process works at Saturday Night Live.
• Money tips from Kevin who's investments have helped him gain financial freedom and flexibility.

Find more from our guest:

• kevinkelton.com
• moreperfectunionpodcast.com
• facebook.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:

• Leave a voice message for episode 100: http://inspiredmoney.fm/hello100/
• Bobby Kelton
• Larry David
• Jerry Seinfeld
• Jay Leno
• Joan Rivers
• Ronnie Schell
• Marc Summers
• The Cross-Wits
• The Dating Game
• The Comedy Store
• The Improv
• William Morris Agency
• Face the Music
• Rodney Dangerfield
• Robert Schimmel
• David Letterman
• Fridays (TV Series)
• Michael Richards
• Saturday Night Live (SNL)
• Michael Palin
• Tom Smothers
• Jerry Lewis
• Jim Belushi
• Dick Ebersol
• Eddie Murphy
• Joe Piscopo
• Martin Short
• Billy Crystal
• Chris Guest
• Harry Shearer
• Pamela Stephenson
• Ed McMahon
• Open Fire (politics)™ Facebook Group

 Runnymede Money Tip of the Week:

• Tips for writing a Will

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Special thanks to Jim Kimo West for the music.