David Mirkin
David Mirkin (born September 18, 1955) is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up comedian, and then moved into television writing. He wrote for the sitcoms "Three's Company", "It's Garry Shandling's Show" and "The Larry Sanders Show" and served as showrunner on the series "Newhart". After an unsuccessful attempt to remake the British series "The Young Ones", Mirkin created "Get a Life" in 1990. The series starred comedian Chris Elliott and ran for two seasons, despite a lack of support from many Fox network executives, who disliked the show's dark and surreal humor. He moved on to create the sketch show "The Edge" starring his then-partner, actress Julie Brown.
David Phiri
David Phiri, or 'DARP', as he was affectionately known, was born in Zimbabwe, on 22 May 1937, to Abel Masewera Phiri and Elizabeth Sibanda. Abel Masewera Phiri had decided to leave Kapela village near Chadiza, Northern Rhodesia, in what is now known as the Eastern Province of Zambia, to find work in the mines of Northern Rhodesia. Abel Masewera Phiri had the firm belief that the traditional village life of the African was going to end and turned down a Chewa chiefdom to enter the 'new world'. He left Kapela village on foot with two companions and headed South eventually ending up in a mine town called Kwekwe, where he found work at the Globe and Phoenix Mine. Abel Phiri married a local of the Shona people, Elizabeth Sibanda, and David was born in the Globe and Phoenix mine compound, the only child of this marriage.