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1986 John F. Kennedy High School
3000 Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, New York 11710
Kennedy Cougars Yearbook
Doug Ellin Entourage HBO
Screenwriter, producer, director
Kenny Dichter CEO
Wheels Up. He also co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records, Marquis Jet, & Tequila Avión
Doug Ellin
Douglas Reed Ellin (born April 6, 1968) is an American podcaster, screenwriter and film and TV director, known best for creating the HBO television series Entourage. Ellin also served as executive producer, director, head writer and supporting actor for the series, and wrote, directed and produced its 2015 film adaptation. He attended Tulane University.
Doug Ellin
April 6, 1968 (age 55)
Brooklyn, New York, United producer, director
Ellin was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of June and Marvin Ellin. He grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School (Bellmore, New York).
Before producing and writing for Entourage, Ellin served as a staff writer for Life with Bonnie, which starred Bonnie Hunt. The series ran from 2003-2004. Ellin has also written screenplays for two films, Kissing a Fool and Phat Beach. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s to be a stand-up comedian and soon got a job in the mail room at New Line Cinema. It was there where he befriended film producer Mike DeLuca who funded Ellin's first short film The Pitch, starring then unknown actor David Schwimmer. That short film got Ellin accepted to the American Film Institute, where he graduated from in 1994. In 1996, he directed the independent comedy film Phat Beach. The film was made on a very low budget, and Ellin has called it "Probably the worst movie ever made". Two years later, Ellin made another independent comedy film Kissing a Fool, starring David Schwimmer, who was now known due to his role on Friends which was in its fourth season.
Kissing a Fool was sold for distribution and Ellin subsequently sold a few screenplays to Miramax. One, The Pledge was never produced although Ellin was paid seven figures for the script and was set to direct. He sold another unproduced screenplay for mid-six figures.
Ellin's real success came in 2004 with Entourage. The HBO show ran for eight seasons and Ellin made an eight-figure pact with HBO to continue producing television.
Additionally, Ellin serves on the board of the Greenwich International Film Festival.
Ellin wrote and directed the 2015 film adaptation of Entourage.
Ellin is currently one of the co-hosts to the “Victory!” podcast, which was created and produced by Action Park media.
Awards and nominations
Ellin has been nominated for three Emmy Awards, four Writers Guild of America Awards, three PGA Awards and a BAFTA, and has won a BAFTA and a PGA award.
1993 The Waiter Writer Independent film
1993 The Pitch Writer Credited as Douglas Ellin
1996 Phat Beach Screenwriter
1998 Kissing a Fool Screenwriter
2002–2004 Life with Bonnie Staff Writer Number of written episodes unknown
2004–2011 Entourage Head Writer Also Creator
2015 Entourage Screenwriter
Producer
Year Title Role Notes
2004–2011 Entourage Executive Producer 96 Episodes
2022 Discussion Materials (film) Producer
Actor
Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Pitch Unknown Credited as Douglas Ellin
1998 Kissing a Fool Bartender/Springer guest
2004–2011 Entourage Doug/Director 3 Episodes guest star
Director
Year Title Notes
1993 The Waiter Independent (Indie) film
1993 The Pitch Credited as Douglas Ellin
1996 Phat Beach
1998 Kissing a Fool
2015 Entourage
Kenny Dichter is an American entrepreneur and founder of publicly traded aviation company, Wheels Up. He also co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records, Marquis Jet, and Tequila Avión.
Kenny Dichter
Alma mater
University of Wisconsin (B.A., 1990)
Occupation(s)
Founder of Wheels Up, City Sports Records
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1990, Dichter founded Alphabet City Sports Records with friend Jesse Itzler. The label focused on creating and selling songs that were frequently heard in sports stadiums and arenas. The firm was eventually sold to SFX Entertainment in 1998 for $4.3 million in cash and stock.
Marquis Jet
Dichter founded Marquis Jet in 2001, the first fractional card jet program. By 2007, the firm was turning over more than $700 million per year from its 3,500 customers. In November 2010, Dichter sold Marquis Jet to NetJets, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
Tequila Avión
Tequila Avión, a brand of tequila, was founded by Dichter and Ken Austin.[9] The brand was named the 'Best Tequila in the World' and 'Best White Spirit in the World' at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The company was acquired by Pernod Ricard for $100 million.
Wheels Up
A few years after the sale of Marquis Jet, Dichter re-entered the private aviation industry by founding Wheels Up. Rather than a fractional card program, Wheels Up is a membership-based business that charges users per flight hour without spending requirements or time commitments. In July 2021, Wheels Up became the first private-aviation company to publicly trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
