Why is it that the actor gets the fame and accolades, but they are purely a puppet of a writer?.

Should a writer be more revered than the actor?.

Same deal with directors.

Writers come up with the brilliant concept, yet it's the directors who get the creative accolades and the actors who get the fame and glory.
Sure, they both have important jobs too and deserve credit for that - but it seems pretty unreasonable that the writers hardly ever get a mention.
It certainly should be more balanced, but it isn't and I can't see how the status quo can change. People are always going to want to see their scripts on screen.

It depends on the writer and on the actor. There's Shakespeare, Wilde,
Tolstoy,and many others too numerous to mention... including - J.K.Rowling... - Then there's Helen Mirren, Judy Dench, Joan Plowright,Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, and again many others, too numerous to mention - who do credit to the writer, and deserve being recognised for their own unique craft and skill.

Both deserve to be recognised in their own write (ooops - sorry)
right!

Yeah, but foxy - your post actually just highlights how undervalued the writers of performances (films/television/plays) are.

Harry Potter was a novel, not a film, it just became one later. Shakespeare died hundreds of years ago.

How many famous writers of screenplays can you name?

The only one I can think of is M Night Shyamalan, and he's hardly up there with the likes of the mega-stars.

When a brilliant movie is created, the original concept came from a writer... but how many people remember the writers, when compared with the stars and directors?

Well, TRTL, Charlie Kaufman would be as famous as many actors. But I would tend to think that writers generally tend to be introverted and do not particularly care for the curse of fame, as long as they get paid and recognised within the community that matters most to them. Which apparently they do, and the community that matters most is not us. Boohoo.

http://www.internationalscreenwritingawards.com/

When I consider the question I think of shows like Friends, Desperate Housewives etc etc where the actors become MEGA-STARS earning MILLIONS of dollars per episode, but where they are totally a product of the writer's whim. They become famous for the character they portray and it's usually just comedy...trash tele.

Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchet, Densel Washington, Robert Deniro, Anthony Hopkins etc are people who have outgrown a particular role and have created a fame storm on their own. Are they bigger than any role?.

Hmmm, let me see - famous great authors/playwrights - who are just as well known as the actors who interpret their works? Well what about -
Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Jean Giraudoux, Joe Orton, our own -
David Williamson. Then there's Alan Bennett (The History Boys), who's caused quite a stir and brought audiences to their feet the world over and been lavished with awards...

As someone who is both I think you're all kinda right. I also think it depends on the medium.

Apart from docos I have only ever written for stage and radio - and there the writer certainly gets the kudos. I have to admit that at times I have been horrified at who has been chosen to play some of the roles I've written. But then you hear/see them at work and you suddenly see facets of your own script that you didn't even realise were in
there.

As an actor I have, once or twice, been given a script that I thought was absolutely terrible - as have the rest of the cast. Yet those have sometimes been the greatest success of all when they are actually produced.

As for things like "Friends" etc. well strictly speaking there is no one actual writer for many teleplays. Anyone can send in a script for many of them, other employ teams of writers; some "brainstorm" with a group of disparate people and still others have a general outline which they, in concert with the actors, develop as they go along.

The really great story-tellers of the screen are, by and large, very well known and revered - and certainly carry a lot of weight, money and kudos as a result of their talent.

But as for writers being shy introverts who shun the limelight? Yeah.
In yer dreams.