Early career Neuwirth began his career as a staff artist in an ad agency, Carluth Studios, where he prepared print ads for
United Artists feature films. As a freelancer, he drew editorial cartoons, illustrated magazine articles and animatics for TV commercials, designed posters for New York City's Phoenix Theatre's 1981–1982 season.
Television and film In 1979 through 1983, Neuwirth worked at The Studios of Diamond & Diaferia, an animation film production company. As a staff designer and director he created show openings, logos and motion graphics for television series including
ABC News Nightline,
This Week with David Brinkley,
20/20,
ABC News Closeup,
The Today Show and the
ESPN network. After leaving Diamond & Diaferia, Neuwirth served as Art Director for all five seasons of the
Lifetime Television Network series about parenting, ''Mother's Day'', hosted by Joan Lunden. In 1984, Neuwirth wrote jokes for television host
Regis Philbin's nightclub act. Partnering with comedy writer Gary Cooper, Neuwirth continued to write material for Philbin's shows at supper clubs and hotel casinos. During this period, he also launched an independent production company, Neuwirth Design. For the next several years, Neuwirth produced TV commercials, created animated scoreboard graphics for the
New York Yankees' 1986 and 1987 seasons, designed opening titles for TV movies including ''King's Ransom'', and continued to partner with Cooper writing film scripts. In 1995, Neuwirth and Cooper were hired by veteran children's television producer Nina Elias-Bamberger to co-develop
Big Bag a puppet/animated TV series co-produced by
The Jim Henson Company and
Sesame Workshop. The show aired on
Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998. Neuwirth and Cooper stayed on to associate produce, story edit and write many of the series’ animated shorts. Their claymation Koki cartoons for
Big Bag were featured in the Sixth International Children's Television Festival at The Museum of TV & Radio (1997), and won Prix Jeunesse and New York Film Festival awards. (their script Mystery of Winna-Bango Falls was nominated for a 1998 Writers Guild Award),
Courage the Cowardly Dog,
Gadget & the Gadgetinis,
Dragon Tales and season two of
Fix and Foxi, a European cartoon series based on
Rolf Kauka’s popular comic books, during which they served as head writers. In the summer of 2001, Neuwirth relocated to
Sydney, Australia for several months to continue as supervising producer of the show, overseeing post-production. In 2002, Neuwirth embarked on a solo writing and producing career. His credits include scripts for
Paramount+’s reboot of
Rugrats (2021), head writing Season 6 of Nickelodeon’s
Bubble Guppies (2021), developing, executive producing and story editing
The Bug Diaries (2019) on Amazon Prime, developing, head writing and producing two seasons of
Space Racers (2014), an award-winning animated TV series
[25] created with the participation of NASA and airing on
PBS Kids,
Universal Kids,
Netflix and
Amazon Prime, scripting and story editing
The Octonauts (2010), and writing episodes of
Arthur (2008), including "Is That Kosher?", in which he created the character "Bubbe" for guest star
Joan Rivers. Additional writing credits include scripts for
Weather Hunters (2025),
Donkey Hodie (2021),
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt (2020),
Tumble Leaf (2015),
Tickety Toc (2014),
Jelly Jamm (2011),
Cyberchase (2010),
Jungle Junction (2009),
Martha Speaks (2009),
Speed Racer: The Next Generation (2009),
Between the Lions (2009),
WordWorld (2007), and scripts and songs for ''
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies'' (2006). In 2004, he began directing a feature-length musical documentary, ''What's the Name of the Dame?'', which was completed seven years later. The film, which examined the fusion of two modern cultural phenomena,
ABBA songs and the art of drag, made its debut at the
Atlanta Film Festival in March 2011. It was subsequently selected by numerous festivals across the US, including New York's Newfest, and Canada. and on director Luca Guadagnino's acclaimed indie film
Call Me by Your Name, which premiered to raves at the
Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics for release in 2017, winning an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award, both for Best Adapted Screenplay. Neuwirth served as associate producer. Other projects currently filming and/or in development include the political documentary feature
State of Dispute, dramatic limited TV series
The Yank and
Shadow Cast, and a feature film,
Boy From Berlin, inspired by the young gay Jewish WWII hero Gad Beck's memoir
An Underground Life. Throughout his involvement in feature films, Neuwirth continued to work in animated television as an artist and writer. He drew storyboards for commercials and TV series, including Cartoon Network's
Courage the Cowardly Dog. In 2011, he wrote the
Hallmark Channel’s stop-motion Christmas special,
Jingle All the Way, In 2012, he wrote the screenplay for the sequel,
Jingle & Bell’s Christmas Star, and the animated short film
Polariffic (2014), also for the Hallmark Channel.
Polariffic was nominated for Best Animated Special Production at the 42nd Annual Annie Awards, and selected by the 2015 Annecy Film Festival. Neuwirth was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program," for a 2014 episode of
Cyberchase. In 2025, he completed
Flower of the Dawn, a 39-minute independent animated short feature that he co-created, produced, scripted and co-wrote the songs for, featuring the voices of Mel Brooks, Jane Lynch, Matt Lucas, Lilla Crawford, Griffin Puatu, and Broadway legend Jennifer Holliday. The film was selected by the 2025 Soho International Film Festival to make its world premiere.
Chelsea Boys In 1998, Neuwirth teamed with artist/writer
Glen Hanson to create the internationally syndicated comic strip
Chelsea Boys. Two book collections were published:
Chelsea Boys (2003), nominated for Best Humor Book by the 2004 Lambda Literary Awards, and
Chelsea Boys Steppin’ Out (2007).
Chelsea Boys was optioned for television several times, notably in 2001 by Hollywood film company Film Roman, producers of
The Simpsons. Hanson and Neuwirth signed a deal in 2005 with MTV's new Logo Network to develop a TV show based on the comic strip, but after several months of development the network declined to move forward, citing budget concerns. As of 2015, the strip has not been animated.
Chelsea Boys has appeared in anthologies, including ''What's Wrong: Explicit Graphic Interpretations Against Censorship'' (2002). Hanson and Neuwirth also collaborated on projects for DC Comics. They co-scripted the RealWorlds graphic novel
Wonder Woman vs. The Red Menace (2000).
Books and journalism Following the attack in New York City of September 11, 2001, Neuwirth took a hiatus from television work and began writing non-fiction books and articles about the entertainment industry. His first book,
Makin’ Toons (2003), offered an insider's look at the creation of the most popular animated TV shows and movies being developed in the early 1990s. Neuwirth's next book, an oral history titled ''They'll Never Put That On The Air'' (2006), focused on the role of TV comedy in breaking down television's restrictive taboos of the 1950s and 1960s.
Entertainment Weekly magazine placed the book on their "Must List." Throughout the decade, Neuwirth contributed articles about pop culture and cartoons to various entertainment industry publications, including
Animation Magazine and
Emmy Magazine. Several picture books adapted from original scripts Neuwirth wrote for TV series have been published, including ''Martha Speaks: A Pup's Tale'' (2010). As a book illustrator, his credits include
Warner Books' ''Joan Lunden's Mothers' Minutes
(1986), and Golden Books’ Where in America is
Carmen Sandiego?'' (1992). Neuwirth has guest lectured at schools and universities, and appeared on talk radio, TV and other venues to discuss creating animation, television comedy, and comics. He has participated in and moderated panels at MoCCA,
City University of New York (CUNY)
School of Visual Arts, and in museums and bookstores. For the
Archive of American Television, Neuwirth has conducted videotaped interviews with figures in television history such as
Joan Rivers,
Dominick Dunne, and sex therapist
Ruth Westheimer ("Dr. Ruth"). He has also interviewed directors and performers on stage, including British comic and actor
Ricky Gervais, for
BAFTA-New York screenings. == Filmography ==