Charles Michael Lorre (/ˈlɔːri/ LOR-ee;[1] né Levine; born October 18, 1952)[2][3] is an American television producer, writer, director, and composer.

After graduating from high school, Lorre attended State University of New York at Potsdam, dropping out after two years to pursue a career as a songwriter.

In 2011, he admitted to drinking heavily in his past, telling Entertainment Weekly (EW) that he "led a dissolute youth until 47" and also stating he was in addiction recovery at the time.

[14] He wrote the song "French Kissin'", which Deborah Harry later recorded for her 1986 Rockbird album[14] and which became a UK Top 10 hit.

Despite gaining support from ABC, he was immediately shunned by developer John Kricfalusi and practically everyone else involved for the quality of his work and lack of passion.

He was fired after an argument with original creator Bob Clampett's widow and son on this matter for this regard after complaints by other crew members.

Though he was fired over "irreconcilable creative differences",[citation needed] Lorre's time on Roseanne impressed producers, and led to his creating his first show, Frannie's Turn.

[3] It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as the title characters, whose personalities were complete opposites—Dharma's world view being more spiritual and 'free spirit'-style, instilled by "hippie" parents, contrasted with Greg's world view of structure, social status requirements, and "white collar duty" instilled by his generations of affluent parents/ancestors.

[3][14] In 2011, CBS put the show on hiatus following a series of incidents of production shutdowns due to Charlie Sheen's personal problems related to drug and alcohol abuse and greed, which culminated in the verbal attacks directed at Lorre during a radio interview.

It follows two genius physicists, Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, with few social skills who befriend their neighbor, an attractive, outgoing young woman with average intelligence and no college education.

Released to mostly negative reviews, United States of Al and its makers were criticized for the show's humor, use of antiquated tropes, and in particular, the casting of a South-African-born Indian actor to play an Afghan lead and his use of an inauthentic accent.

Typically, on the end of every episode of his productions, Lorre includes a different message that usually reads like an editorial, essay, or observation on life.

A typical card might include a range of topics as diverse as what the Bee Gees never learned, the cancellation of Dharma & Greg, his support of Barack Obama, the competence of AOL Time Warner management, and the genesis of Two and a Half Men.

Lorre published a compilation of his vanity cards in a coffee table book titled What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter, released on October 16, 2012.

Card #493 on March 5, 2015, was a tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy, who had guest-starred on the show as the voice of Sheldon's conscience three years earlier.

[42] When Channing Dungey, chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios discussed the reemergence of the sitcom in a February 2023 Deadline article, Deadline opined "There are fewer and fewer younger writers that are attracted to the form, however, making finding the next Chuck Lorre trickier," with Dungey commenting "I worry that it’s becoming a bit of a lost art".

[44] Lorre created a special, unnumbered vanity card for Bookie, his first show released exclusively to streaming television.

[47][48] Later in the season, he used the vanity card to express his gratitude to the Los Angeles Fire Department for saving his home during the 2025 California wildfires.

[54] Three months later, Lorre received an honorary degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and gave a keynote address at the graduation.

[63] [64] He has publicly discussed his decades of struggle with the autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis, along with depression, anxiety, and bouts of anger or rage, saying, "Put me in paradise and I will focus on the one thing that will make me angry."