Alan E. Ball is a multi-talented American creative professional, exceling in various mediums such as film, theatre, and television. Notably, he is credited with writing the critically acclaimed films American Beauty and Towelhead, as well as creating the groundbreaking television series Six Feet Under and True Blood, which garnered him numerous prestigious awards and nominations.
Born in Marietta, Georgia, Ball's early life was marked by a tragic event when his older sister, Mary Ann, was killed in a car accident when he was just 13 years old. This experience had a profound impact on his life and work.
Ball's educational background includes attending the University of Georgia and Florida State University, where he graduated in 1980 with a degree in theater arts. He began his career as a playwright with the General Nonsense Theater Company in Sarasota, Florida.
His breakthrough in television came as a writer and story editor on the situation comedies Grace Under Fire and Cybill. As a filmmaker, Ball has written and produced two notable films, American Beauty and Towelhead, the latter of which he also directed.
Ball is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the acclaimed HBO drama series Six Feet Under and True Blood. He served as showrunner for True Blood during its first five seasons. His other notable projects include the television adaptation of Charlie Huston's novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, which was unfortunately cancelled by HBO after several months of pre-production.
In addition to his work on True Blood, Ball is also an executive producer of the Cinemax series Banshee. Furthermore, his period musical drama Virtuoso had a pilot ordered by HBO in 2015, with Elton John set to executive produce and a talented cast including Peter Macdissi, Iva Babic, Francois Civil, Lindsay Farris, Nico Mirallegro, and Alex Lawther.
Throughout his career, Ball has received widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds.
