Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore are two of the most often-produced playwrights in the world.  ("The masters of modern farce.” New York Times) They are also accomplished stage actors, producers, and writers for film and television where they’ve received Emmy nominations, People’s Choice Awards, and won International Film Festival awards.

Billy Van Zandt was born and raised in New Jersey where his family has resided since the mid 1600s.  A love for Lucille Ball and her brand of physical humor started Billy on a career in the theater where he starred in a series of his own plays (“If you’ve never seen this clown at work, you should be ashamed of yourself.”  Asbury Park Press)

After making his film debut in “Jaws 2” Billy moved to Hollywood to pursue his acting career where the success of his plays (written with partner Jane Milmore) caused Bob Newhart to hire him to write for his “Newhart” television series. 

A twenty year career producing and writing for television has followed.  Between TV assignments, Billy produces, co-writes and stars in his plays, including the acclaimed Off-Broadway productions of “The Property Known as Garland,” “Silent Laughter” and “Drop Dead!,” and the West Coast premiere of “Moon Over Buffalo” with JoAnne Worley at the Pasadena Playhouse. 

Billy’s biggest career thrill was working with his idol Lucille Ball on her final series.  Then a year after Lucy’s passing, Billy and Jane won an Emmy nomination for a television special where they unveiled the original pilot episode of “I Love Lucy” for the first time in forty years. 

Billy is married to actress Adrienne Barbeau.  They live in New Jersey and California with their twin sons Walker and William, and Adrienne’s son Cody.

Jane Milmore began her career in entertainment as a commercial actress.  After several major national campaigns, she became a recurring regular on television’s “Anything But Love,” and “Sydney,” as well as guest-starring on “Bless This House,” “Newhart,” “Martin,” “The Hughley’s,” and “The Wayans Bros.”  And in such TV movies as “Desperate Lives” with Oscar nominee Helen Hunt and “If Things Were Different” with Suzanne Pleshette. 

Jane began her writing collaboration with Van Zandt with their first play “Love, Sex, and the I.R.S.” in 1979.  After the success of the play, Jane moved to Los Angeles to write for Bob Newhart.  Since that time she has created and developed television series for Brooke Shields, Martin Lawrence, Don Rickles, Richard Lewis, Jamie Lee Curtis, DL Hughley, Jean Smart, John Goodman, Olympia Dukakis, Richard Mulligan, Penny Marshall, David Krumholtz, Valerie Bertinelli, Andrew Dice Clay, Cathy Moriarty, and The Wayans Bros.

On her television hiatuses Jane travels back to New Jersey to introduce a new original play with her Van Zandt/Milmore Unofficial Repertory Company.  To date the twenty Van Zandt/Milmore plays have been produced in over 20,000 theaters worldwide.

Jane is the oldest of five girls, born in Laramie Wyoming and raised in New York and New Jersey.   She is married to Emmy and Golden Globe nominated writer-producer Richard Vaczy (“Golden Girls”).  Her sister Maureen is VP of Production for the CW Plus.  Her sister Kathy is an elementary school teacher and romance novelist.   Her sister Janet is also an author.  Her sister Jennifer is an actress (TV’s “Jesse”).  Jane and Richard live in California, New York and New Jersey.

Billy and Jane have been honored by the Red Cross for their humanitarian work, and the NJEA for working with high school theater students.  They also sponsor full and part-time scholarships for students of technical theater at Brookdale College in New Jersey having put over 25 students through college since the scholarship’s 1997 inception.