Gil Ripley

Who is Gil Ripley?

Gil Ripley was born May 23, 1976 in Kitchener, Ontario and grew up in Waterloo. The Canadian-born American television writer and producer has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States.

Gil Ripley studied English and psychology at York University, where he also honed his skills as a playwright and graphic designer. He transferred to University of Arizona in 1995 and graduated in 1997 with a BA, English. He spent several years post-graduation as a free agent among various advertising firms, designing and producing book covers, corporate logos, and dot-commabilia. He worked within the world of Public-access television cable TV, honing his skills at technical direction and writing. During this time, Gil's work with an experimental multi-media theatre group allowed him to blossom as a writer and director of farcical stage material.

In July, 1999, Toronto's Star Ray TV aired MasterStroke, a comic soap opera written & directed by Gil. It was on the set of this project that Gil met Dave Roberts, an actor visiting from New York who had been cast as the lead. Gil and Dave began writing together as a team and soon relocated to New York where they established KanDu Productions in 2000 as a hub for their performance-based creative efforts. Gil's latest effort is the reality show The Ultimate, Ultimate Challenge.