Anthony Happel

Anthony was born in Milwaukee, WI. In 5th grade he played Ebenezer Scrooge in a school production of A Christmas Carol. On the strength of that performance he was cast as the Balloon King in the Milwaukee Public Television production of The Hide & Seek Odyssey of Madeline Gimple. While attending Ashwaubenon High School in Green Bay, WI he co-produced/co-hosted a music show on cable local access television, playing rock-a-billy and oldies with his partner. He also performed several famous monologues as part of an experimental student theater program.

At the Univ. of WI/Green Bay he worked as a stage manager on student productions. He also attended Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga, TN where he worked as technical director on student video projects. He graduated from the Univ. of TN/Chatt. with a B.A. in philosophy and a minor in mass media and while there wrote and performed in guerilla theater productions, acted in Kiss Or Make Up at the Backstage Playhouse in Chattanooga, TN, and co-produced/co-hosted an experimental overnight radio show on WUTC-FM, entitled “UnRadio,” writing/performing in several comedic sketches with his partner friends.

As a contributing writer to the Chattanooga News-Free Press newspaper, Shredding Paper magazine, and Impose magazine in New York City he did extensive film writing and criticism. He began writing screenplays in the late 90s while living in a trailer in Tunnel Hill, GA and working on a road crew. After moving to Los Angeles and doing a crash course in film and television, he acted in a feature film entitled, The Ghosts Of Edendale, directed by Stefan Avalos, and worked for agencies doing television work of various kinds at ABC, NBC and Tribune Studios. He was also one of the First Assistant Directors on a feature film entitled, The Switch, starring Stacey Keach, directed by Damian Chapa. He even auditioned for Comedy Central’s Beat the Geeks game show as the music geek.

While working as a music buyer at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, he developed the idea for a documentary film project on Watts and South Central Los Angeles entitled, Watts: Burning Inside, and successfully pitched the project to HBO as part of the America Undercover series. He left his job as a buyer at Amoeba Music in Hollywood and did nine months of research and pre-production. HBO, ultimately, decided to drop the project, and a shorter version was completed and has screened at a couple festivals.

Since returning to Wisconsin, he co-produced/co-directed a 24-Hour Pet Massage Marathon (with Jessica Dragan), and shot the "behind the scenes" footage for a short film entitled, Bitch, directed by the Thornton Brothers, which screened at the Milwaukee International Film Festival. In 2013, he wrote and directed an experimental short entitled, The Cliché Café. He recently completed work on a new feature script entitled, The Vegas Project. He also wrote and directed another experimental short film entitled, Frankenstein Cooks Pasta!, currently doing the festival circuit. He is now developing a TV/web mini-series about Alexander The Great and a feature film with his producing partner.