History Creator / KenKwapis

Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American filmmaker and writer.

A native of the Illinois section of suburban UsefulNotes/StLouis, Kwapis earned a bachelor's degree at Northwestern University and enrolled at the University of Southern California's film school, where his thesis film ''For Heaven's Sake'' won a Student Academy Award. After directing acclaimed episodes of the ABC ''Series/AfterschoolSpecial'' and its CBS counterpart ''Afternoon Playhouse'', at age 27 Kwapis was hired for his first major project, directing the first ''Series/SesameStreet'' movie, ''Film/FollowThatBird''. While it was a disappointment at the box office, the film was almost universally praised (even ''[[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave Cahiers du Cinema]]'' loved it), and Kwapis has worked at a steady pace since then, specializing in comedy and bouncing freely between film and television. In fact, his TV work is probably his biggest legacy. He was a frequent director on ''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'' and ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', and was a major force in adapting ''[[Series/TheOfficeUS The Office]]'' to American television, directing the pilot and establishing much of the show's unique style, followed by directing most of the first two seasons. He directed the 100th episode ("Company Picnic") and the GrandFinale as well.

* ''Film/FollowThatBird'' (1985)

A native of the Illinois section of suburban UsefulNotes/StLouis, Kwapis earned a bachelor's degree at Northwestern University and enrolled at the University of Southern California's film school, where his thesis film ''For Heaven's Sake'' won a Student Academy Award. After directing acclaimed episodes of the ABC ''Series/AfterschoolSpecial'' and its CBS counterpart ''Afternoon Playhouse'', at age 27 Kwapis was hired for his first major project, directing the first ''Series/SesameStreet'' movie, ''Film/FollowThatBird''. While it was a disappointment at the box office, the film was almost universally praised (even ''[[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave Cahiers du Cinema]]'' loved it), and Kwapis has worked at a steady pace since then, specializing in comedy and bouncing freely between film and television. In fact, his TV work is probably his biggest legacy. He was a frequent director on ''Series/TheLarrySandersShow'' and ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', and was a major force in adapting ''[[Series/TheOfficeUS The Office]]'' to American television, directing the pilot and establishing much of the show's unqiue style, followed by directing most of the first two seasons. He directed the 100th episode ("Company Picnic") and the GrandFinale as well.