David Crane (born in Nappanee, Indiana) is a video game designer and programmer.
Crane started his programming career at Atari, making games for the Atari 2600. After meeting up with co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller discussed with him a plan he had to leave and found a company that would give game designers more recognition. From this meeting, he left Atari in 1979 and co-founded Activision, along with Miller, Jim Levy, Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan. His games have won many awards while he was at Activision. At Activision, he is best known as the designer of Pitfall!, a game that stayed at the top of the charts for 64 weeks. He used to have a personalized license plate that had Pitfall as the letters on it.
In 1986, he left Activision to co-found Absolute Entertainment with Garry Kitchen. They left mostly because of Jim Levy's departure, and the way the newly appointed CEO of Activision, Bruce Davis, treated video games more like commodities and not as creative products. Although he worked for Absolute, he did all of his programming at his home in California. For Absolute Entertainment, he was known for A Boy and His Blob, and Amazing Tennis. In 1995, Absolute Entertainment was dissolved, and became a defunct company.
In 1995, he co-founded Skyworks Technologies and currently is that organization's Chief Technical Officer.
David Crane (born August 13, 1957 in Philadelphia) is an American writer and producer. He was one of the creators of the TV sitcom Friends, along with his longtime friend Marta Kauffman. He is primarily known for his comedic writing.
Crane attended Harriton High school in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and received his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University.
He lives with his partner, Jeffrey Klarik. Together, they have created the ensemble sitcom, The Class.
David Crane read history and English at Oxford University before becoming a lecturer at universities in Holland, Japan, and Africa. He lives in northwest Scotland.
He has written three books; two about Lord Byron and his family:-
and most recently a biography of explorer Robert Falcon Scott
