---
name: "David Odell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-odell"
fi1m_id: "david-odell"
imdb_id: "nm0643973"
tmdb_id: 58337
wikidata_id: "Q5238185"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "12 February 1934"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T17:58:38.178527+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Odell

## Identity

David Odell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-odell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-odell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0643973
- **TMDB ID:** 58337
- **Wikidata ID:** Q5238185
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Odell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5238185, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0643973/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58337

Writer. Born 12 February 1934 in Merced, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 12 February 1934, Merced, California, USA
- **Active:** 1982–2019
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 78 (1), 2010s 76 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Odell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5238185, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0643973/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58337

## Streaming the US now

- **Peacock:** [*The Dark Crystal*](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

David Odell is an American screenwriter and film director. He began working with Jim Henson on *The Muppet Show* from its third season and contributed to *The Muppet Movie*. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1981, shared with Jerry Juhl and Chris Langham, following a nomination the previous year.

Odell wrote the screenplay for the 1982 film *The Dark Crystal*, collaborating with Henson and Frank Oz. He later received a story credit on the 2019 Netflix series *The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance*. His other screenwriting credits include *Supergirl* (1984), *Masters of the Universe* (1987) and episodes of *Tales from the Darkside* and *Monsters*. He also directed the 1990 comedy *Martians Go Home*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, muppet.fandom.com, darkcrystal.fandom.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance* (2019), Fi1m 76, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistance.md)
- *The Dark Crystal* (1982), Fi1m 78, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md)

## Complete filmography (20)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance* (2019), series, Story — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistance.md)
- *The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3* (2001), Writer
- *The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2* (1999), Writer
- *The Very Best of the Muppet Show* (1999), Writer
- *Martians Go Home* (1989), Director
- *Monsters* (1988), series, Writer
- *The Yattering And Jack* (1987), Director
- *Masters of the Universe* (1987), Writer
- *Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff* (1985), Writer
- *Tales from the Darkside* (1984), series, Writer, Director
- *Supergirl* (1984), Screenplay
- *Nate and Hayes* (1983), Writer
- *The Dark Crystal* (1982), Screenplay — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-dark-crystal.md)
- *Running Scared* (1980), Screenplay
- *The Muppet Show* (1976), series, Writer
- *Fore Play* (1975), Writer
- *Between Time and Timbuktu* (1972), Writer
- *Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues* (1972), Writer
- *Cry Uncle!* (1971), as Angry Man in Parking Lot (uncredited) · Screenplay
- *Fiend of Dope Island* (1960), Producer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-odell