Film & TV
Bill Prady
born 1960 · television writer and producer
Detroit-born co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, a Cranbrook graduate who studied at Wayne State, which later gave him an honorary doctorate.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 66- Birth name
- William Scott Prady
- Detroit years
- 1960–c. 1980
- Field
- Film & TV
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Bill Prady was born in Detroit on June 7, 1960. He graduated from Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills and went on to Wayne State University in Detroit before leaving for a career that mixed computer programming and comedy writing. That combination proved golden. After writing for Jim Henson's Muppets and working as an executive producer on Dharma & Greg, Good Morning, Miami and Gilmore Girls, he teamed with Chuck Lorre to create The Big Bang Theory, the CBS sitcom about brilliant, socially awkward young scientists that ran for twelve seasons, from 2007 to 2019, and became one of the most watched comedies on American television; some of its characters drew on programmers Prady had known. In 2022 Wayne State awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. In 2026 he returned with the spin-off Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.
Highlights
- Co-created The Big Bang Theory with Chuck Lorre (2007–2019)
- Executive producer of Dharma & Greg and Gilmore Girls
- Co-creator of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (2026)
- Honorary doctorate from Wayne State University (2022)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1970s
Cranbrook Schools
Prady graduated from the Cranbrook prep school in Bloomfield Hills.
Studied here · late 1970s
Wayne State University
He attended Wayne State, which made him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2022.