David Fury

Most stand-up comics who graduate to success on the small screen typically wind up starring in a show that is designed to showcase their particular comedic perspective. But in the case of the New York City Brain Trust comedy troupe founder David Fury, he has managed to carve out an impressive career as a writer-producer of hit TV shows that have absolutely no connection to the funny bone. He first cut his teeth as a writer-producer on a pair of Joss Whedon shows: the sci-fi fantasy that follows a teenage girl bravely battling the forces of darkness in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," a spin-off of "Buffy" primarily focused on the vampire Angel and his new life in Los Angeles. But it was his contributions in this capacity to the inaugural 2004-2005 season of the ABC-TV labyrinth "Lost" that brought him his finest hour of individual distinction, leading to a Writers Guild Award. From there, he quickly moved on to another masterpiece of serialized paranoia, "24," starring Kiefer Sutherland. Given Fury's pedigree and the fact that his wife, Elin Hampton, was a producer on the NBC-TV smash sitcom "Mad About You," a domestic romantic comedy about a married couple living in New York City, it would not be surprising if one or more of their three children eventually follow in the family's scintillating TV writer-producer footsteps.