Polly Draper

Acting

Polly Draper

Born June 15, 1955 · Gary, Indiana, USA (age 71)

Polly Carey Draper (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She has received several awards, including a Writers Guild of America Award (WGA), and is noted for speaking in a "trademark throaty voice." She is best known for her starring role as Ellyn Warren on ABC's drama Thirtysomething (1987–91), her directing debut is The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, as wel…

Known For

DemolitionDemolition · 2016
Demolition
★ 6.92016
MovieComedyDrama
An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.
Side EffectsSide Effects · 2013
Side Effects
★ 6.62013
MovieThrillerCrime
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
Oh, Hi!Oh, Hi! · 2025
Oh, Hi!
★ 6.22025
MovieRomanceComedy
Iris and Isaac's first weekend away as a couple is going so well — until Isaac mentions he didn’t know they were a couple. Convinced she's met her perfect guy and that he's just confused, Iris goes to increasingly ridiculous and irrational lengths to prove to Isaac that they are meant to be together.
Shiva BabyShiva Baby · 2021
Shiva Baby
★ 7.12021
MovieComedyDrama
College student Danielle must cover her tracks when she unexpectedly runs into her sugar daddy at a shiva - with her parents, ex-girlfriend and family friends also in attendance.
Our Idiot BrotherOur Idiot Brother · 2011
Our Idiot Brother
★ 6.12011
MovieComedyDrama
Everybody has one—the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz, Miranda and Natalie, that person is their perennially upbeat brother, Ned. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned's family comes to realise that Ned isn't such an idiot after all.
Dinner RushDinner Rush · 2000
Dinner Rush
★ 7.02000
MovieDramaAction
One unlucky evening, Louis Cropa, a part-time bookmaker, discovers that his restaurant has become a hotbed of conflicting characters. In addition to having to please a whiny food critic, Louis must fend off a hostile takeover from a pair of gangsters, to whom his sous-chef is in debt. Further, Louis has an argument with his son, the star chef, whose culinary creativity has brought success to the business.
The Pick-up ArtistThe Pick-up Artist · 1987
The Pick-up Artist
★ 5.61987
MovieRomanceComedy
A womanizer meets his match when he falls for the daughter of a gambling addict who is in debt to the mob.
Second BestSecond Best · 2004
Second Best
★ 5.82004
MovieComedy
Jealousy overwhelms a group of friends, particularly struggling writer Elliot, as they prepare for the homecoming of their old friend, a wildly successful L.A. producer.

Filmography

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The Naked Brothers BandThe Naked Brothers Band · 2007
The Naked Brothers Band
★ 6.52007
SeriesDocumentaryComedy
The Naked Brothers Band is an American musical comedy series created by Polly Draper. The show depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a fictional world-renowned rock band from New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is a hyperbole of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is often acknowledged. Lead vocals and instrumentation are provided by the siblings; they wrote the lyrics themselves. The show stars Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, who encounter conflicts with each other that are later omitted. Nat's fictional female admirer and real life preschool friends—including the guitarist who had no prior acquaintance with the family—feature as the band members, with the siblings' genuine father and Draper's husband as their accordion-playing dad and Draper's niece as the group's babysitter. The series is a spin-off of Draper's 2005 film of the same name that was picked up by Nickelodeon, premiering in January 2007. Draper, star of Thirtysomething and her writings The Tic Code and Getting Into Heaven, is the executive producer of the series, and often writer and director. Albie Hecht, affiliated with Nickelodeon and founder of Spike TV, is the executive producer, under his Worldwide Biggies tag. Draper's husband Michael Wolff, of The Arsenio Hall Show fame, serves as the music supervisor and co-executive producer with Draper's brother Tim as the consulting producer.

Production Design

Bar KarmaBar Karma · 2011
Bar Karma
★ 3.82011
SeriesDrama
Bar Karma is the first online community-developed network television series. Online users pitch their own ideas for scenes and twists online, using a tool designed by Will Wright called the Storymaker. Some are eventually chosen by the production staff, and are utilized to help create a new episode every week. The main plot revolves around a bar known as "Bar Karma", a bar that resides someplace in between parallel timelines. Up until now, the typical structure of the shows consists of a patron accidentally walking into or being transported to the bar, where they are shown the consequences of their current life actions, and the potential outcomes for their behavior and choices. This, ultimately, leads to a karmic dilemma, and forces the patron to make a life-altering choice. In the first episode, Doug Jones suddenly walks into the bar after a one-night stand. He is confused, and thinks that he accidentally fell asleep and is dreaming. When he finally realizes that this is some strange form of reality, James and Dayna explain to him why he is in the bar, and is given the chance to alter his fate, and the course of "Bar Karma."

Writer