Dean Pitchford

Dean Pitchford: In 1979, Dean Pitchford, then a Broadway and cabaret songwriter best known for his collaborations with Peter Allen, read a news article about Elmore City, an Oklahoma town that had just ended an 80-year ban on dancing. The story inspired Pitchford to write the screenplay that would become 'Footloose' five years later. In the meantime, his work with songwriter Michael Gore on the 1980 film 'Fame' (they co-wrote three of its tunes) led to a Best Song Oscar for the movie's theme song. That and the Grammy recognition for his pop songwriting gave him the clout to make 'Footloose,' for which he also co-wrote all nine of the songs. The 'Footloose' soundtrack would go on to sell 17 million copies, spawn six hit singles and rule the Billboard album chart for 10 weeks. The title track and 'Let's Hear It for the Boy' would earn Pitchford two more Oscar nominations. In the years that followed, Pitchford would enjoy continued success as a pop songwriter and earn one more Oscar nomination (for the song 'After All,' from 1989's 'Chances Are'). As with 'Footloose,' he wrote the screenplay and all the songs for the film 'Sing,' but the movie went nowhere. Same with his re-teaming with Gore on the Broadway musical 'Carrie,' a legendary flop. For years, Pitchford struggled to bring 'Footloose' to Broadway (he and 'Let's Hear It...' co-composer Tom Snow wrote nine more songs for the stage version), an effort that finally paid off in 1988. The show ran for two years in New York and spent the next decade touring the globe. In 2007, Pitchford embarked on a new career as a children's author, writing the novels 'The Big 1-0' and 'Captain Nobody.' The 60-year-old will publish his next book, 'Nickel Bay Nick,' in 2013, and next spring will see an Off-Broadway revival of 'Carrie.'