Rick Cleveland Solo, My Buddy Bill, Debuts On Comedy Central

Comedy Central will air the Rick Cleveland solo, My Buddy Bill, which concerns his relationship with former President Bill Clinton and Clinton's canine companion Buddy.Recorded from performances (June 15, 2007) at New York City's 92nd Street Y, the one-man comedy will debut in a one-hour special on the cable network (late Thursday night) Feb. 8 at midnight.

In My Buddy Bill, "Six Feet Under" and "The West Wing" writer Cleveland "spills the dirt on his relationship with former President Bill Clinton... from touring the White House to playing catch with the First Dog Buddy and flying in George Harrison's jet to Amsterdam... discovering that he and the former President have much in common," according to production notes.

The work debuted at the Geffen Playhouse in 2005 and was later featured at the 12th annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2006. Peter Birkenhead directed the solo play. Cleveland is currently working on the followup, My Pal George, based on current President George W. Bush — which will be workshopped at the upcoming Berkshire Theatre Festival.

Cleveland served as executive producer and writer for all five seasons of the HBO drama "Six Feet Under" and garnered an Emmy and a Writer's Guild Award in 2000 for his writing on NBC's "The West Wing." His work on the latter television series inspired My Buddy Bill. Other credits include his play Jerry and Tom (later adapted for the 1998 film) and his screen adaptation of John Grisham's "Runaway Jury." He is also a commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered" and is working on a new monologue play, The Nauseated Traveler.