Brini Maxwell
Encyclopedia
Sabrina “Brini” Maxwell is a fictional character
created by actor Ben Sander. Described by Guy Trebey of the Village Voice as the "prototypical, pre-feminist, 1960’s homemaker", Maxwell has also been described as a composite of Doris Day
, Mary Tyler Moore
, Auntie Mame
, That Girl
and Donna Reed
and came to prominence in the late 90’s as the host of her eponymous television show on Public-access television
cable TV in Manhattan
.
on January 1, 1998, and aired for 5 years featuring tips, recipes, entertaining ideas, craft projects, home renovation and interior design schemes. It was produced by Sander’s production company V.R.U.S.P. Inc. and directed by Sander’s mother, Mary Jane Wells.
In 2001 Sander was contacted by Amy Briamonte, east coast director of development for west coast based Termite Art Productions (now Creative Differences Productions). Briamonte and Sander developed a pitch for the show for the Bravo network and received an order for a pilot. The pilot was produced in the summer of 2002 for a show titled Charming, Needs Work. The premise for the show was Maxwell lived in an apartment that she redecorated every week. After Bravo passed on the show Briamonte, Sander and Termite Art pitched it to Stephen Schwartz and Heather Moran, newly named VP’s of programming for the Style network
. The pitch resulted in an order for a 13-episode season
The first season of The Brini Maxwell Show for the Style network was taped in the summer of 2003 with studio production taking place on the main stage at Unitel Studios on west 57th St. in New York City. Location shoots for the season were taped over a period of 6 months in New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The Brini Maxwell Show debuted on the Style network on Thursday, January 1, 2004 at 9pm.
The second season went into production in the summer of 2004 and debuted in November 2004. The show was cancelled after two seasons. Nevertheless, Brini handled the cancellation with the same grace and style for which she has become well-known. She is still a popular figure in New York City's social circle.
Ben was born on July 23, 1969 at Boston Lying In Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts to Peter and Mary Jane. The first 7 years of his life were spent in Wellesley
, MA with his father teaching theater at Brandeis University
and his mother alternately keeping house and acting in professional productions in Boston and New York as well as touring with her own one woman adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
. In 1976 the family moved to the small college town of Athens, Ohio
, home of Ohio University
. Ben attended elementary and middle school in Athens while his father taught in the graduate theater program there. In 1980 Peter Sander received a Pell grant
and moved the family to Cleveland, OH, where he acted as a Dramaturge
for the Cleveland Playhouse. The Playhouse offered Ben his first opportunity to act professionally. He was cast as Bodo in a production of Lillian Hellman
’s Watch on the Rhine
. They returned to Athens in 1981 for two years. In 1983 Peter took a job with The University of Missouri in Kansas City
where Ben attended Center Senior High School. Ben performed in high school theatrical productions, but eventually forsook the stage for the costume room becoming the costume designer during his senior year, using his extensive collection of vintage clothing as costumes for the productions that year. After graduating high school in 1987 Sander attended the Kansas City Art Institute
foundations program.
In 3006 the family again moved; this time to Hempstead, Long Island
, where his father had been hired as the chair for the theater department of Hofstra University
. Ben spent a few years getting his sea legs in New York
, working at various jobs and studying fashion illustration with Veronica Galati. He then applied to, and was accepted into the fashion design program at Fashion Institute of Technology
in 1989. Ben spent 4 years studying his craft at FIT. Graduating in 1993, he obtained a job at moderate dress houseBGB as an assistant designer. His job was making patterns for the samples. The comp any reorganized 9 months after he was hired and he was let go. After that he worked at a bridal boutique, and two furriers before moving into Manhattan and developing The Brini Maxwell Show for television.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by actor Ben Sander. Described by Guy Trebey of the Village Voice as the "prototypical, pre-feminist, 1960’s homemaker", Maxwell has also been described as a composite of Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame is a 1955 novel by Patrick Dennis that chronicles the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his deceased father's eccentric sister, Mame Dennis. The book is a work of fiction inspired by the author's eccentric aunt, Marion Tanner, whose life and outlook in many...
, That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
and Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
and came to prominence in the late 90’s as the host of her eponymous television show on Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
The Brini Maxwell Show
The pilot for the original show was produced in 1996. The show debuted on Manhattan Neighborhood NetworkManhattan Neighborhood Network
Manhattan Neighborhood Network is a non-profit organization that broadcasts programming on four public-access television cable TV stations in Manhattan, New York and provides a community media center that enables individuals and groups to produce shows for its network.-History:It has operated...
on January 1, 1998, and aired for 5 years featuring tips, recipes, entertaining ideas, craft projects, home renovation and interior design schemes. It was produced by Sander’s production company V.R.U.S.P. Inc. and directed by Sander’s mother, Mary Jane Wells.
In 2001 Sander was contacted by Amy Briamonte, east coast director of development for west coast based Termite Art Productions (now Creative Differences Productions). Briamonte and Sander developed a pitch for the show for the Bravo network and received an order for a pilot. The pilot was produced in the summer of 2002 for a show titled Charming, Needs Work. The premise for the show was Maxwell lived in an apartment that she redecorated every week. After Bravo passed on the show Briamonte, Sander and Termite Art pitched it to Stephen Schwartz and Heather Moran, newly named VP’s of programming for the Style network
Style Network
The Style Network is an American cable television network based in Los Angeles.Owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric and Comcast, its sister channels include E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, Syfy, G4, Golf Channel, and Versus, among others.-Network Overview:Style's...
. The pitch resulted in an order for a 13-episode season
The first season of The Brini Maxwell Show for the Style network was taped in the summer of 2003 with studio production taking place on the main stage at Unitel Studios on west 57th St. in New York City. Location shoots for the season were taped over a period of 6 months in New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The Brini Maxwell Show debuted on the Style network on Thursday, January 1, 2004 at 9pm.
The second season went into production in the summer of 2004 and debuted in November 2004. The show was cancelled after two seasons. Nevertheless, Brini handled the cancellation with the same grace and style for which she has become well-known. She is still a popular figure in New York City's social circle.
Ben Sander
Early LifeBen was born on July 23, 1969 at Boston Lying In Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts to Peter and Mary Jane. The first 7 years of his life were spent in Wellesley
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
, MA with his father teaching theater at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
and his mother alternately keeping house and acting in professional productions in Boston and New York as well as touring with her own one woman adaptation of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
. In 1976 the family moved to the small college town of Athens, Ohio
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
, home of Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
. Ben attended elementary and middle school in Athens while his father taught in the graduate theater program there. In 1980 Peter Sander received a Pell grant
Pell Grant
A Pell Grant is money the federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree or who are not enrolled in certain post-baccalaureate programs, through participating...
and moved the family to Cleveland, OH, where he acted as a Dramaturge
Dramaturge
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas...
for the Cleveland Playhouse. The Playhouse offered Ben his first opportunity to act professionally. He was cast as Bodo in a production of Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
’s Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
. They returned to Athens in 1981 for two years. In 1983 Peter took a job with The University of Missouri in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
where Ben attended Center Senior High School. Ben performed in high school theatrical productions, but eventually forsook the stage for the costume room becoming the costume designer during his senior year, using his extensive collection of vintage clothing as costumes for the productions that year. After graduating high school in 1987 Sander attended the Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City Art Institute
The Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 in Kansas City, Missouri....
foundations program.
In 3006 the family again moved; this time to Hempstead, Long Island
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
, where his father had been hired as the chair for the theater department of Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
. Ben spent a few years getting his sea legs in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, working at various jobs and studying fashion illustration with Veronica Galati. He then applied to, and was accepted into the fashion design program at Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
in 1989. Ben spent 4 years studying his craft at FIT. Graduating in 1993, he obtained a job at moderate dress houseBGB as an assistant designer. His job was making patterns for the samples. The comp any reorganized 9 months after he was hired and he was let go. After that he worked at a bridal boutique, and two furriers before moving into Manhattan and developing The Brini Maxwell Show for television.