Chuck Lorre

Charles Michael Lorre ( ; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film and television director, writer, producer, composer, and actor. Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, Mom, Young Sheldon, The Kominsky Method, Disjointed, Bob Hearts Abishola, B Positive, United States of Al, and How to Be a Bookie. He also served as an executive producer of Roseanne. He won Golden Globe Awards for Roseanne (1993) and Cybill (1996), and won the 2019 Golden Globe Award for The Kominsky Method. In the 1990s, he founded Chuck Lorre Productions. Early life and education Lorre was born in Plainview, New York, to a Jewish family and given the Hebrew name Chaim. His father, Robert, opened a luncheonette that did poorly, which caused financial problems. After graduating from high school, Lorre attended State University of New York at Potsdam, dropping out after two years to pursue a career as a songwriter. During his two years at college he "majored in rock 'n' roll and pot and minored in LSD". In 2011, he admitted to drinking heavily in his past, telling Entertainment Weekly (EW) that he "led a dissolute youth until 47." He was in recovery at the time. Substance-related issues are also a recurring theme in his work. He changed his surname from Levine to Lorre at age 26.