Tony Winner Fogler is Kinison in Upcoming HBO Bio Pic

Sam Kinison's specials on HBO made him a comic superstar, and now the pay cable channel will memorialize his life and death with "Brother Sam," a film Tom Shadyac is set to direct.

Variety reports that Tony Winner Dan Fogler will play the brilliant but doomed comic.

Basis for the telepic is "Brother Sam: The Short, Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison," a memoir written by his brother and manager, Bill Kinison, and Steve Delsohn. A brand new script has been written by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the writer/director team of American Splendor.

David Permut is producing in a co-production of Permut Presentations and Shadyac's Shady Acres. Steve Longi is co-producer and Bill Kinison is executive producer.

Fogler won a 2005 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, he was also seen in the film ‘Balls of Fury".

Photo of Dan Fogler by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.