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encyclopedia of volume television film directors 1 jerry roberts

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encyclopedia of television film directors volume 1 jerry roberts the scarecrow press inc lanham maryland · toronto · plymouth uk 2009

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scarecrow press inc published in the united states of america by scarecrow press inc a wholly owned subsidiary of the rowman littlefield publishing group inc 4501 forbes boulevard suite 200 lanham maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com estover road plymouth pl6 7py united kingdom copyright © 2009 by jerry roberts all rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher british library cataloguing in publication information available library of congress cataloging-in-publication data roberts jerry 1956­ encyclopedia of television film directors jerry roberts p cm includes bibliographical references and index isbn-13 978-0-8108-6138-1 cloth alk paper isbn-10 0-8108-6138-0 cloth alk paper isbn-13 978-0-8108-6378-1 ebook isbn-10 0-8108-6378-2 ebook 1 television producers and directors united states biography dictionaries 2 made-for-tv movies united states i title pn1992.4.a2r63 2009 791.4502 33092 dc22 2008032673 tm the paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of american national standard for information sciences permanence of paper for printed library materials ansi/niso z39.48-1992 manufactured in the united states of america.

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i dedicate this book to my lovely wife joanne mallillin who has tolerated my three years of immersion in this project her warmth toughness and understanding have been great inspirations for me.

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contents volume 1 preface acknowledgments introduction directors a­l vii ix xiii 1 volume 2 directors m­z appendix a awards chronology appendix b the great directors appendix c top 100 movies miniseries and shows appendix d genres writers historical figures actors and actresses appendix e anthology titles appendix f british imports bibliography name index title index about the author 355 645 681 687 695 711 715 721 725 767 839 v

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preface this book contains the videographies and/or filmographies brief biographical details and career assessments of directors who have made stand-alone television shows of more than an hour in length inside some assessments are brief discussions of key shows movies and other productions the directors guild of america and the industry at large have often referred to these individuals as long-form directors essentially these are the directors of feature-length tv ostensibly offering visual and verbal storytelling to compare with or rival the viewer s theatrical movie-going experience these directors made shows on film or videotape or prior to videotape live broadcast for immediate consumption and lost forever except in memory like a stage piece a few of these 1950s broadcasts were captured by kinescopes the actual filming of a performance from a video monitor some of them used two or three videotape cameras to capture an unbroken stage performance by one actor and later others used two dozen film cameras to recreate scenes of world war ii despite the equipment costs personnel and other differentiating story factors every show in the book is ostensibly the same in that a coordinating intelligence behind the camera has worked to present a collage of images for the mind s eye of the viewer to transport him or her into and through the feature-length story being told this book collects and examines those coordinating intelligences to completely define the book s content it s instructive to say exactly what is in it and what is not in the book is an entry on any and hopefully every director who has made in the english language a network cable or publictv movie or miniseries any stand-alone drama comedy or musical special of more than 60 minutes and any similar show not labeled special and any hour-long-plus show aired under an anthology banner such as playhouse 90 or net playhouse directors of movie-length pilot films for series are included since those films were designed as shows in and of themselves even though their purpose was to launch characters for continuing consumption however directors who made shows of more than an hour about continuing series characters are not included these include such 90-minute shows as banacek mcmillan and wife and mccloud which were aired under the banner of nbc mystery movie so-called reunion movies which brought back familiar characters from discontinued series usually for ratingsgrabbing nostalgia s sake in a movie format return of mod squad return to fantasy island are included here since they are about new and reimagined adventures some of these characters such as columbo and perry mason survived in multiple tv movies not new series and are included the rise of independent films in the 1980s and 1990s along with the exponential proliferation of cable channels producing and airing films bought from independent producers led to a blurring of the theatrical feature with the madefor-tv movie and made-for-cable movie for the purposes of this book a film or show was included if it was telecast or cablecast before its theatrical run no straight-to-video films are included no compilations for overseas theatrical release or video and dvd-market consumption are included like the pairing of two or three episodes of western series bonanza laredo under another title if a single show has had different titles throughout its life efforts were made to include those titles so they can be found for home-viewing network tv movies of the 1980s and afterward often carried after-colon subtitles as opposed to onscreen subtitles which were then retitled for later airings sometimes on other networks or for foreign distribution and then renamed for the video and dvd markets particularly in the united kingdom and other european countries vii

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viii preface some defining of the term miniseries is in order a miniseries is essentially a very long single-story movie told in episodes as opposed to a series a series for the most part tells the continuing adventures of a character or sets of characters miniseries has been used in this book with regard mostly to two differing yet similar types of presentations one is the brand of mostly british-made limited series of primarily literary adaptations that were produced from the 1960s forward this was prior to the entry of the term miniseries into the american tv lexicon the other brand of miniseries is the mostly american network-produced type that capitalized on the term after the success of such 1970s blockbusters as rich man poor man and roots directors of miniseries as the term is defined here are included from those who helmed shows for the variously named incarnations over three decades of walt disney s sunday night forum to the shepherds of various british-made programs that aired on pbs s masterpiece theatre in america not included here are considerations of directors who helmed sequel season-long miniseries that were produced based on the success of the initial season s miniseries the sequels were often products of tv s exploitation of the initial miniseries success and therefore became creations based on characters thus then defined as series and not single-story undertakings in and of themselves included here are the directors of the first cycle of any miniseries such as upstairs downstairs not included are considerations of the directors of any of their sequel seasons splitting hairs on individual productions offers a closer examination of consideration both of dan curtis s world war ii epics the winds of war 1983 and war and remembrance 1989 are included because both were based entirely on existing literary works by herman wouk even though the second was produced after the great tv success of the former an exception to the above definition is roots ii which was certainly produced because of the enormous success of roots however roots ii was not produced to carry characters into an ongoing series while the book is about the long-form tv work mentions of sitcoms and hour-long shows occur only to fully identify a director john rich directed clarence darrow but 90 percent of his notoriety was for sitcoms jack smight directed a superb tv version of frankenstein but he was also the director of the features harper and midway the book is about director identity with regard to long-form shows but it mentions directors extra-long-form accomplishments hundreds of directors on the following pages moved easily between series tv features and long-form tv with alacrity and success some of them were primarily known as actors writers and producers and not necessarily directors efforts were made to underscore each director s primary identity behind the entries is an awards chronology to put the directors and their shows in historical context included are emmy awards dga awards and other accolades appendices are included on identification of anthology titles chronology of british imports by pbs and the impacts of directors on various decades as well as several lists that help frame the information in the rest of the book the bibliography includes primary research sources the files logs clips books and other resources used to obtain information prior to 1960 made the effort only as definitive as possible any additions or clarifications can be forwarded to the author through the publisher.

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acknowledgments this book was considered in various forms for more than a decade before it became a reality i decided to undertake this task because television history still lacks details and tv directors are often overlooked in the realm of the entertainment industry the medium has been perceived as having belonged more to writers-producers than directors which often has not been the case plus long-form tv directors are overlooked in the sphere of directing in general in the entertainment world at large feature film directors are deemed artists masters and the elite while tv directors get short shrift historically and generally tv directors are perceived to have worked fast and cheap on a mission of expedience rather than in service to the story and the best way to tell it some managed to have it both ways others are among the great unsung masters of not only the medium but of the industry directing and american storytelling the news story feature profile or obituary on any one of the hundreds of directors who were at home in both media nearly always recounted feature films and rarely or never the tv work but sometimes these directors presentations on the small screen dwarfed those on the big one in terms of content style performance grace pictorial quality and overall artistry conversations with many film and television industry veterans shaped or informed my understanding of the director s role in the making of tv productions and movies in general i am indebted to many people who were helpful and spirited in their recollections with me about directors and direction many directors graciously allowed me their time and insight while i was primarily an entertainment journalist for three decades i want to thank them first my time spent independently with richard bare and john rich was both instructive and entertaining primarily sitcom directors for whom i edited and placed memoirs confessions of a hollywood director and warm up the snake respectively they illuminated for me many aspects of directing and corners of tv history bare s vast experience and tv pioneering on the hollywood landscape are truly remarkable and includes 40-plus series including every episode of green acres i so enjoyed my time with rich an emmy award­winner for directing the dick van dyke show and all in the family at lunches and edit sessions that my laughter was a constant interference with note taking of the other directors in my experience i particularly enjoyed the conversations with and learned from paul bartel john boorman jack cardiff jack clayton roger corman clint eastwood blake edwards milos forman john frankenheimer lasse hallström monte hellman walter hill agnieszka holland peter jackson burt kennedy sir david lean delbert mann ronald f maxwell john milius philip noyce alan j pakula ivan passer mark pellington daniel petrie joe pytka harold ramis carl reiner john sayles paul schrader joel schumacher quentin tarantino gus van sant andrzej wajda john waters and robert wise i also want to thank the following directors for lending pieces of experience that filtered their ways into this book jon amiel ken annakin david anspaugh michael apted sir richard attenborough larry auerbach roger avary john g avildsen earl bellamy jerry belson robert benton claude berri radha bharadwaj tony bill jeff bleckner budd boetticher peter bogdanovich ted bonnitt kenneth branagh martin brest burt brinckerhoff albert brooks charles burnett robert butler christopher cain james cameron bob caminiti glenn gordon caron gilbert cates michael cimino graeme clifford joel coen larry cohen chris columbus wes craven and sean s cunningham along with joe dante gordon davidson tamra davis eames demetrios brian de palma tom dey tom donovan bill duke roland emmerich peter farrelly mike figgis richard franklin william friedkin frank d gilroy arne glimcher raja gosnell lee grant jack n green christopher guest stephen gyllenhaal taylor hackford tom hanks james b harris john harrison kayo hatta buck henry arthur hiller stephen hopkins ron howard peter hyams john ix

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x acknowledgments irvin james ivory henry jaglom craig janoff steve james norman jewison jeremy kagan irvin kerschner steve kloves john landis mimi leder spike lee sheldon leonard dimitri logothetis and sidney lumet as well as john madden stuart margolin frank marshall garry marshall penny marshall peter medak don medford chris menges jiri menzel errol morris nancy myers mira nair hal needham mike nichols jack nicholson marcel ophuls euzhan palcy chazz palminteri alan parker arthur penn wolfgang petersen frank pierson sidney poitier sydney pollack alan poul albert pyun bob rafelson christopher reeve rob reiner ivan reitman gene reynolds kevin reynolds michael ritchie martin ritt george a romero keva rosenfeld alan rudolph and richard rush along with mikael salomon george schaefer jerry schatzberg fred schepisi john schlesinger barbet schroeder arnold schwarzenegger martin scorsese tony scott david seltzer tom shadyac melville shavelson jack shea edwin sherin george sidney don siegel alain silver joan micklin silver eliott silverstein alexander singer jerzy skolimowski jack smight steven soderbergh paul sorvino steven spielberg roger spottiswoode steven hilliard stern george stevens jr oliver stone howard storm wesley strick mel stuart kiefer sutherland bertrand tavernier paolo taviani vittorio taviani jud taylor betty thomas j lee thompson billy bob thornton robert towne buddy van horn paul verhoeven robert weide forest whitaker billy wilder irwin winkler john woo peter yates lili fini zanuck robert zemeckis howard zieff and edward zwick i owe personal gratitude to two great filmmakers who were particularly kind to me appreciation that was not enough expressed while they remained among us john frankenheimer and robert mitchum operated on opposing sides of the camera and earned rather crusty reputations doing it but they were both forthcoming and explanatory for me on issues of directing and both extremely opinionated on the craft and art they were open to all questions i appreciated their hospitality humor good faith long memories occasional sharp veers into crustiness and a trait for which neither gentleman was particularly known patience the creative symbioses on movie sets to produce screen results connect along a wide gamut of synapses among dozens of people but the actors are up there emotionally naked their select feelings for the world to see although he was a man of many dimensions and he enthusiastically talked about individual directors lee marvin expressed for me his general credo in dealing with directors it s you on your side of the camera saving your ass from them on the other side mostly actors and especially stars are chosen and seen as collaborators but directors vision and strength of vision and the influence and tenacity it sometimes takes in dealing with headstrong if brilliant actors cinematographers art directors and other contributors in the total community of a film set all coalesce with the director into getting the shot punctuating the scene making the movie better some information about directors and directing distilled from actors and into the nooks and crannies of this book of the actors who allowed information about specific directors and direction i would like to particularly thank these folks claude akins john carradine willem dafoe matt damon robert davi sammi davis clint eastwood morgan freeman james garner ben gazzara danny glover gene hackman tom hanks richard harris kathryn harrold arliss howard barnard hughes holly hunter raul julia arthur kennedy george kennedy deborah kerr ben kingsley bruno kirby kay lenz joe mantegna lee marvin roddy mcdowall elizabeth mcgovern helen mirren christopher mitchum robert mitchum gary oldman chazz palminteri river phoenix joan plowright cch pounder oliver reed kurt russell theresa russell gary sinise james stewart sharon stone imogen stubbs meg tilly m emmet walsh and alfre woodard gratitude also goes to f murray abraham joan allen don ameche maria conchita alonso jane alexander julie andrews alan arkin john ashton dan aykroyd ellen barkin drew barrymore emmanuel beart helena bonham carter carole bouquet sonja braga beau bridges jeff bridges lloyd bridges matthew broderick bryan brown ellen burstyn david carradine keith carradine tia carrere seymour cassel dennis christopher toni collette jennifer connelly sean connery bill cosby tom cruise macaulay culkin billy crystal rodney dangerfield ted danson geena davis judy davis patrick dempsey johnny depp laura dern danny de vito kirk douglas michael douglas brad dourif richard dreyfuss michael dudikoff steve durham robert duvall fred dryer buddy ebsen lisa eichhorn and lisa eilbacher as well as dennis farina sherilyn fenn sally field joseph fiennes ralph fiennes laurence fishburne carrie fisher frances fisher joe flaherty louise fletcher jane fonda peter fonda joan fontaine harrison ford william forsythe jodie foster michael j fox andy garcia teri garr caroline goodall dexter gordon john gordon-sinclair hugh grant ellen greene charles grodin kevin peter hall victoria hamel linda hamilton nigel havers ethan hawke glenne headly gregory hines dustin hoffman tom hulce linda hunt john hurt anjelica huston kathy ireland samuel

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acknowledgments xi l jackson l q jones tommy lee jones michael keaton sally kellerman patsy kensit nicole kidman harvey kietel val kilmer alan king sally kirkland harley jane kozak christine lahti martin landau jessica lange sheryl lee jack lemmon ray liotta lucy liu jon lovitz and lisa lu along with karl malden john malkovich stuart margolin steve martin frances mcdormand russell means donna mills demi moore dudley moore rick moranis joe morton liam neeson jack nicholson leslie nielsen nick nolte chuck norris france nuyen chris o donnell lena olin jason patric jack palance mary-louise parker gregory peck joe pesci michelle pfeiffer sidney poitier michael j pollard bill pullman anthony quinn james rebhorn robert redford christopher reeve keanu reeves judge reinhold fernando rey jason robards tim robbins julia roberts cliff robertson mimi rogers zelda rubenstein and meg ryan as well as eva marie saint diana scarwid greta scacchi roy scheider arnold schwarzenegger tom selleck charlie sheen martin sheen jenny shimizu sab shimono carrie snodgress camilla soeberg paul sorvino james spader eric stoltz sherri stoner kiefer sutherland tamlyn tomita daniel j travani kathleen turner cathy tyson mamie van doren jim varney max von sydow robert wagner j t walsh fred ward lesley ann warren sigourney weaver peter weller forest whitaker robin williams james woods teresa wright and roxana zal i had the privilege to discuss with cinematographers the many aspects of working with directors i once spent a morning at the american society of cinematographers with the late great harry l wolf who was a camera operator on gone with the wind i enjoyed talking to lifelong friends and native hungarians laszlo kovacs and vilmos zsigmond about their experiences as dissident filmmakers defying the soviets to smuggle film from behind the iron curtain they both became among the finest directors of photography of their time jack n green was particularly generous with his time his memories and explanation of methods i would like to also thank the following cinematographers for explaining how they worked particularly with their directors remi adafarasin thomas burstyn stephen h burum jack cardiff russ carpenter alan caso richard crudo dean cundey roger deakins caleb deschanel george folsey jr david franco ron garcia michael goi richard greatrex robbie greenberg shane hurlburt shelly johnson janusz kaminski victor kemper darius khondji philip lathrop emmanuel lubezki woody omens bill pope robert richardson owen roizman mikael salomon john seale bing sokolsky mike southon dante spinotti ueli steiger vittorio storaro john toll kees van oostrum amy vincent bill wages and peter woeste among the writers who discussed with me their ways of working with directors i want to singularly thank horton foote who offered insight into his particular contributions to the direction of movies made from his writings i also want to thank marshall brickman brian helgeland richard lagravanese and the team of albert brooks and monica johnson as well as roger avary ethan coen naomi foner bob gale steve gaydos larry gelbart william goldman buck henry hal kanter daphna kastner david koepp tom mankiewicz mardik martin chuck pfarrer neil simon gore vidal and rudy wurlitzer singular thanks go the late great martin manulis for his memories of playhouse 90 producers to whom i m grateful include samuel z arkoff harve bennett david brown robert daly dino de laurentiis michael douglas gray frederickson arne glimcher brian grazer robert halmi sr joe hyams mark johnson kathleen kennedy howard w koch alan ladd jr lindsay law jennie lew tugend branko lustig frank marshall ismail merchant gerald r molen milt moritz barry reardon fred roos albert s ruddy edgar scherick george stevens jr david valdes jac venza robert k weiss gareth wiggin jim wilson frank yablans saul zaentz lili fini zanuck and richard zanuck among the industry people who helped me understand filmmaking were edward aiona stuart baird jenny beavan marilyn bergman henry bummy bumstead joel cox mike fenton dan ford jim gavin michael hausman lennie hirschan phyllis huffman cleve landsberg dennis murren priscilla nedd-friendly conrad palmisano charlie picerni glenn h randall jr mic rodgers tom rooker ann roth gary rydstrom gene schwam tom stern douglas trumbull theadora van runkle partrizia von brauchenstein and jerry ziesmer my experiences as a regular writer for dga magazine the main oracle of the directors guild of america included interviews with many of the above-listed directors ted elrick was the editor-in-chief of the magazine throughout most of my affiliation with it and his editing skills diplomacy good humor sheer humanity and our shared western pennsylvania heritage went a long way with me i was fortunate to work for him other dga personnel or affiliates past or present to whom i owe gratitude include jay roth gina blumenfeld scott sawyer carol stogsdill darrell hope chuck warn morgan rumpf robert markowitz and tomm carroll this book would not have been possible without don lechman an editor at the torrance california daily breeze for 40 years most of those as features or life/arts editor as my supervisor mentor and great friend don encouraged my

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xii acknowledgments projects as much as anyone rebecca jo tubb betty czachowski jeannie grand sam gnerre and sandra kreiswirth also regularly and generously offered encouragement as a contributor to variety and its subsidiary magazines i had the good fortune to write for steve gaydos had steve not been astute or generous or both this book again would never have existed i wrote for him at the hollywood reporter first then at daily variety steve and his editors deserve special thanks particularly steve chagollan ramino zahed anne bergman stuart levine pat saperstein gregory solmon and bob hofler conversations that i enjoyed with film and tv critics and scholars certainly informed this work especially those with charles champlin ted elrick roger ebert jim emerson steve gaydos kirk honeycutt leonard maltin joseph mcbride james robert parish jonathan krampner peter rainer anthony slide doug list bob fisher henry sheehan gene siskel kevin thomas and michael wilmington ted hicks the administrative coordinator of the christopher awards deserves special thanks the best of those in the publicity and representation business who helped in my access to many of the above individuals included jennifer allen marco barla vivian boyer greg brilliant andre caraco ronni chasen harry clein mickey cottrell jan craft steve elzer suzanne fritz flo grace margaret grohne eddie hill cece horwitch stacy ivers angela johnson laura kim pat kingsley melody korenbrot susan levin frank lomento arlene ludwig vivian mayer pat mcqueeney harry medved carol stone morrison julian myers dawnette norris catherine olim mark pogachefsky fredell pogodin anne reilly michelle robinson ed russell tammy sandler lisa st amand heidi schaefer robin sherr gail silverman bumble ward and elizabeth wolfe among the friendships that have kept me sane through this project have been those with doug list don lechman kevin morris and wil haygood i also thank my wife joanne mallillin to whom this book is dedicated and my family including my late father alexander roberts who kept tabs on the books i was doing this family includes my mother ann l roberts and brother and sister-in-law mark and patty roberts of staunton virginia as well as my sister-in-law maria kolfschoten and nephews kyle and tyler kolfschoten along with my cousin carol grabowski who occasionally has been the soul of understanding for me i would also like to thank the patient stephen ryan my editor at scarecrow press because as an acquisitions editor myself i have a certain fraternal appreciation for his odd jack-of-all-trades profession stephen made this book happen after it was started and stopped several times thanks also go to kellie hagan at scarecrow for her editing advice i also have to thank my associates at arcadia publishing whose understanding good humor and good will have gone a long way with me christine talbot devon weston scott davis john poultney julie albright debbie seracini katie kellett richard joseph kate everingham david mandel rob kangas ryan easterling sarah higginbotham kelly reed hannah carney kristie kelly jared jackson julie rivers kai oliver-kurtin p j norlander lynn ruggieri tim goldman tim killian and ariel richardson as well as mark weisman jane elliot and frank travell.

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introduction george schaefer is to television as the giants ford huston and wyler are to movies los angeles times television critic cecil smith once wrote his [hallmark hall of fame productions are lofty islands in the sea of television mediocrity the critic made it a point to emphasize the late schaefer s outstanding success in feature-length tv otherwise most readers wouldn t recognize his name and not accord him status as one of the most successful directors of all time even if his overall recognition factor doesn t merit the solely surname standing of ford et al and thousands of tv productions have transcended that sea of mediocrity as the shapers and purveyors of the twentieth century s great art form feature film directors have been accorded thousands of book-length studies from biographies and autobiographies to career collations and biographic encyclopedias critical studies and scholarly theses the books on ford eclipse two dozen but schaefer and most tv directors are rarely known outside their own business in a medium that often has been dominated by writers and producers or hyphenates of the two disciplines the directors of tv movies miniseries and feature-length single-story dramas comedies and musicals get short shrift even as many have directed the most outstanding versions known by the public of famous books novels and plays many of their tv shows can stand beside the best movies of their day in the quality of presentation and performance and in audience impact more people across two generations may have watched schaefer s productions than those of any feature director of the postwar era mostly because of the powerful and immediate international reach of the tv medium and the perennially great reputation of hallmark hall of fame as the principal director of the hallmark hall of fame and the architect of other milestone tv dramas schaefer has won four directors guild of america awards and been nominated 15 times by the guild for excellence in direction as well he has won five emmys and been nominated for emmys on 22 occasions his shows have reaped more than 135 emmy nominations actors who won emmys under his direction include some of the most distinguished performers of all time anthony hopkins melvyn douglas trevor howard alfred lunt lynn fontanne judith anderson julie harris and maurice evans schaefer may be arguably the greatest tv drama director however he is one of hundreds of outstanding directors whose bodies of work nurtured influenced and portrayed history and drama for america s tv generation and its progeny these directors imprinted their visions of the past present and future on generations of ready human receptors viewers grew up with witnessed and accepted these visions on the pioneering drama anthologies during the golden age of television in the 1950s great drama specials of the 1960s tv-movies of the 1970s miniseries of the 1980s and cable movies of the 1990s and the twenty-first century as the tv landscape has changed and shifted long-form directors were always there to bring audiences the best of what the medium had to offer some of these directors went on to films notably arthur penn sidney lumet john frankenheimer robert mulligan franklin j schaffner daniel petrie sr george roy hill arthur hiller and later robert altman tom gries joseph sargent and steven spielberg others stayed in tv and occasionally found security in series with continuing characters or returned to the tube on a freelance basis after flings with features but the work they did in tv made a huge impact their collective legacy is important to the medium to popular culture and to the arts some of the shows they worked on were emmy and peabody award-winning benchmarks xiii

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xiv introduction their names are alphabetized in the following pages but some of the people who shaped and influenced the way we experience drama comedy and musicals as well as the way we see and understand the world at large include paul bogart alex segal walter grauman marvin j chomsky herbert wise buzz kulik lamont johnson john korty fielder cook jud taylor roger young ed zwick jerry london norman lloyd lou antonio hy averback earl bellamy paul wendkos don taylor boris sagal waris hussein william a graham james goldstone john erman jerrold freedman gilbert cates robert butler robert day lee h katzin sam o steen richard t heffron robert markowitz leo penn jackie cooper mel damski delbert mann john llewellyn moxey edward sobol max liebman lee philips peter markle peter hall anthony harvey glenn jordan tom donovan gilchrist calder noel black richard a colla david greene kirk browning charles haid robert michael lewis e w swackhamer and jerry paris this book collates the careers of the directors who made tv movies miniseries and specials but it also details the anthology tv careers of penn frankenheimer mulligan hill and any film director who has 60-minutes-plus tv credits spielberg wes craven and william friedkin for instances those who made installments of net playhouse hollywood television theatre cbs playhouse or abc theatre are here along with those who did the 60-minute-plus 1950s anthologies playhouse 90 ford star jubilee the dupont show of the month producers showcase the play of the week etc or stand-alone specials androlcles and the lion joe layton 1967 annie get your gun clark jones and jack sydow 1967 arsenic and old lace robert scheerer 1969 blithe spirit noel coward and fred de cordova 1956 born yesterday garson kanin 1956 carol for another christmas joseph l mankiewicz 1964 the ages of man paul bogart 1965 and so on aficionados might recall that luminaries such as coward kanin and mankiewicz directed for tv and did so with distinction this book would call attention to their tv directing and resurrect the memory of such unique and offbeat events as rod serling s twisted postnuclear war yuletide adventure carol for another christmas which starred sterling hayden in a facsimile of ebeneezer scrooge marked peter sellers s american tv debut and also starred robert shaw ben gazzara eva marie saint richard harris peter fonda britt ekland james shigeta steve lawrence and pat hingle the general impression left by histories profiles and obits was that mankiewicz was tainted by the ordeal of cleopatra 1963 and twentieth century fox all but went belly-up from its red ink and the distraught director didn t work for four years in fact the year after cleopatra mankiewicz directed one of the most ambitious programs of the 1960s carol for another christmas aired once on december 28 1964 and presumably now rests somewhere in a vault the fact that johnny carson s main director de cordova once co-directed a coward play with coward who also starred may count as trivia but it s also remarkable trivia kirk browning s cyrano de bergerac on producers showcase in 1955 starred jose ferrer who had been nominated for a tony award and won an oscar playing the part he was nominated for the emmy for best actor for this performance but was beat out by lloyd nolan in the caine mutiny court-martial on ford star jubilee but under browning s direction ferrer became one of the few performers to be nominated for the same part in all three performance media while the directors are the central subject this book as a matter of course mines from the vaults the memories of great performances and relates these events to younger generations like tv directors work the great actors tv work has been forgotten too not mentioned in profiles or obits with their more well-chronicled movie or stage roles but consider for a moment that john frankenheimer directed richard burton maximilian schell and sydney pollack in ernest hemingway s the fifth column on buick electra playhouse in 1960 delbert mann directed humphrey bogart henry fonda and lauren bacall in robert e sherwood s the petrified forest on producers showcase in 1955 robert mulligan directed laurence olivier judith anderson hume cronyn jessica tandy and geraldine fitzgerald in w somerset maugham s the moon and sixpence in 1959 alex segal directed fredric march claire trevor and geraldine fitzgerald in an adaptation of sinclair lewis s dodsworth on producers showcase in 1956 marc daniels directed laurence olivier george c scott julie harris patty duke keenan wynn roddy mcdowall and mildred dunnock in an adaptation of graham greene s the power and the glory in 1961 icons such as olivier bogart and burton were drawn to the shorter if perhaps more rigorous working schedules in tv as well as the greater opportunities for juicier roles and the burgeoning and vast audiences they could reach via the airwaves they were directed by the outstanding tv craftsmen to come from the golden age of television actors the calibre of lillian gish helen hayes jason robards ethel barrymore arthur kennedy kim stanley melvyn douglas and julie harris made tv a second home and moved easily between it the stage and films this book covers tv directors from the medium s beginnings a framework of the tv landscape is presented here in a decade-by-decade breakdown so that the readers viewers and users of this book understand the programming of the times and the environments in which these directors worked.

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