Chris Sarandon: Cooking By Heart with special guest John Markus
Emmy Award-winning writer John Markus began his career in high school, supplying jokes about his rural Ohio hometown to Broadway columnist Earl Wilson. After graduating from Stanford University, his dream of writing for television saw him move to Los Angeles, where he landed his very first writing gig: a revival of the animated “Mighty Mouse.” Soon after, accepted into Paramount’s apprentice program, he became a staff writer on Working Stiffs, a sitcom starring Michael Keaton and Jim Belushi.
After an assignment on Paramount's Taxi, Markus joined the original writing staff of The Cosby Show. He became the supervising producer for the series after six episodes and was promoted to showrunner, remaining at the helm of the acclaimed series for six seasons. During his tenure, he wrote or co-wrote 67 episodes, earning an Emmy, a Peabody and two Humanitas prizes.
He also co-created A Different World, a hit series lasting six seasons on NBC.
Markus next co-created the critically-acclaimed Lateline with Al Franken for Paramount Network Television and NBC.
He was consulting producer/writer on The Larry Sanders Show, co-writing the Emmy-nominated Ellen Degeneres episode, “Ellen: Is She Or Isn't She?” Turning to playwriting, Markus co-authored The Fabulous Lipitones, the story of a competitive barbershop quartet that loses its lead singer to a high B-flat held for too long in front of the judges. Lipitones has been produced in 21 cities, often with Markus directing.
In 2008, Markus’ hobby of cooking low and slow barbecue led to the creation of “BBQ Pitmasters” on TLC. Fourteen years later, the series, after spawning copies on other networks, still appears in reruns on Discovery’s Destination American. He is a 2022 inductee into The Barbecue Hall of Fame.
A Biography Postscript from John Markus
So, how on earth did an Ohio-raised boy, the son of European Jewish immigrants, find himself so immersed in this culinary art form, created and perfected in the American South and Deep Midwest? I may have developed a passion, but I’d never really considered the why’s of it all. Until one day when, finally, my psychoanalyst spoke up and in his puzzled voice wondered, “Why the hell are you doing this?” So we explored it. For about a year. At his normal rate.
Here’s what we arrived at: low and slow, wood-fired outdoor cooking is my community. Spending entire days, even nights, in lingering smoke allows for friends and guests to gather for hours around the cook site, smell the aromas of rendering proteins and, well, talk. Drink. Anticipate. And when this meal is served, hopefully, the beef or pork ribs, or brisket are unrivaled in their taste and tenderness. Folks are feasting on food they’d have to get on a plane to find. The meal unfolds as a purely communal experience. And, then, I’m back in my small Ohio town once again.
After an assignment on Paramount's Taxi, Markus joined the original writing staff of The Cosby Show. He became the supervising producer for the series after six episodes and was promoted to showrunner, remaining at the helm of the acclaimed series for six seasons. During his tenure, he wrote or co-wrote 67 episodes, earning an Emmy, a Peabody and two Humanitas prizes.
He also co-created A Different World, a hit series lasting six seasons on NBC.
Markus next co-created the critically-acclaimed Lateline with Al Franken for Paramount Network Television and NBC.
He was consulting producer/writer on The Larry Sanders Show, co-writing the Emmy-nominated Ellen Degeneres episode, “Ellen: Is She Or Isn't She?” Turning to playwriting, Markus co-authored The Fabulous Lipitones, the story of a competitive barbershop quartet that loses its lead singer to a high B-flat held for too long in front of the judges. Lipitones has been produced in 21 cities, often with Markus directing.
In 2008, Markus’ hobby of cooking low and slow barbecue led to the creation of “BBQ Pitmasters” on TLC. Fourteen years later, the series, after spawning copies on other networks, still appears in reruns on Discovery’s Destination American. He is a 2022 inductee into The Barbecue Hall of Fame.
A Biography Postscript from John Markus
So, how on earth did an Ohio-raised boy, the son of European Jewish immigrants, find himself so immersed in this culinary art form, created and perfected in the American South and Deep Midwest? I may have developed a passion, but I’d never really considered the why’s of it all. Until one day when, finally, my psychoanalyst spoke up and in his puzzled voice wondered, “Why the hell are you doing this?” So we explored it. For about a year. At his normal rate.
Here’s what we arrived at: low and slow, wood-fired outdoor cooking is my community. Spending entire days, even nights, in lingering smoke allows for friends and guests to gather for hours around the cook site, smell the aromas of rendering proteins and, well, talk. Drink. Anticipate. And when this meal is served, hopefully, the beef or pork ribs, or brisket are unrivaled in their taste and tenderness. Folks are feasting on food they’d have to get on a plane to find. The meal unfolds as a purely communal experience. And, then, I’m back in my small Ohio town once again.