True, Cynthia 1969–

PERSONAL: Born 1969.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 E. 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Writer. Has served as script supervisor/coordinator for several television films on the Nickelodeon Network, including The Fairly OddParents: Abra-Catastrophe (released on video as The Fairly OddParents Movie), 2003; Danny Phantom, 2004; The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour, 2004; and The Fairly OddParents: Channel Chasers, 2004. Also appeared on TV's Most Censored Moments, USA Cable Network, 2002.

WRITINGS:

(With others) The Fairly OddParents (television series, animated), Nickelodeon Network, 2001.

American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story (biography), HarperEntertainment (New York, NY), 2002.

(With others) My Life as a Teenage Robot (television series, animated), Nickelodeon Network, 2003.

(With others) O'Grady (television series, animated), Noggin television network, 2004.

Contributor to publications, including TimeOut New York, Texas Monthly, Glamour, Rolling Stone, and Harper's Bazaar.

SIDELIGHTS: Cynthia True's first book is a biography of a comedian known for his radical and profane view of society and its many institutions and who died at the age of thirty-two from cancer. In American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story True traces Hicks's life from his upbringing by strict Baptist parents in a middle-class home to his forays onto the stage as a comedian at the age of fourteen. Hicks established a career as a comedian who, although relatively unknown by the general public, achieved an underground cult status. True delves into Hicks's relationships and discusses the many insecurities that both made him funny and caused him to battle with depression, alcoholism, and various forms of debauchery. Ironically, shortly before he died, Hicks was starting to make headway into the mainstream with personal appearances on the David Letterman Show. His last appearance on the show was never seen, however, because his material was deemed too controversial for network television. The book also includes segments from some of Hicks's stage performances.

In a review of American Scream for Kirkus Reviews, a contributor commented, "True neatly describes, in this peculiarly American tale, the inbred atmosphere of the counter-culture comedy world." Josh Wolk, writing in Entertainment Weekly, felt that the author "never digs deep enough to unearth the origins of Hicks' bilious point of view," but Booklist contributor Will Hickman wrote: "Biographies rarely capture the uniqueness and vitality of a performer as deftly as this hilarious and touching chronicle." Writing on SheckyMagazine.com, Traci Skene noted that, despite being "an obvious fan of her subject," True "doesn't soften his more unflattering qualities," and went on to write: "If anything, she uses his negatives to make a stronger case for his genius." David M. Lisa commented in Library Journal that American Scream is "a fascinating portrait of this unique individual."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2002, Will Hickman, review of American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story, p. 981.

Entertainment Weekly, March 29, 2002, Josh Wolk, review of American Scream, p. 68.

Guardian (Manchester, England), May 4, 2002, Yohann Hari, "Comic Burn," review of American Scream, p. 9.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2002, review of American Scream, p. 95.

Library Journal, March 15, 2002, David M. Lisa, review of American Scream, p. 82.

ONLINE

Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/ (March 30, 2005) "Cynthia True."

SheckyMagazine.com, http://www.sheckymagazine.com/ (June 7, 2002), Traci Skene, review of American Scream.

Vanguard Online, http://www.vanguard-online.co.uk/ (June 7, 2002), Shaun Doane, review of American Scream.