Alan Myerson
Encyclopedia
Career
Myerson began working in theatre in New York City, then directing The Second CityThe Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
in Chicago. He founded The Committee
The Committee (improv group)
The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson . The Myersons were both alums of The Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat Cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court...
in San Francisco in 1963. He directed films in the 70's and 80's, and has directed over 200 television episodes for shows such as Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
, The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
, Picket Fences
Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
, Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
, Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
and The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
. He has taught acting at UC Berkeley, SF State
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, and directing at Maine Media Workshops. He is an adjunct professor at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and has received nominations for Emmy, DGA
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Comedy Series
The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series is one of the annual awards given by the Directors Guild of America.-1970s:*1971: John Rich - All in the Family...
and CableACE awards. His son, Lincoln Myerson, is an improvisational
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
performer.
Filmography (as director)
- Steelyard BluesSteelyard BluesSteelyard Blues is a 1973 comedy crime film starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. It concerns the lives of a group of misfits trying to find a happier life against the norms of society. Sutherland plays an ex-con with a passion for demolition derbies. He has wrecked almost every...
(1973) - Private LessonsPrivate Lessons (1981 film)Private Lessons is the title of an American comedy film released in 1980. The film starred Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Eric Brown, and Ed Begley, Jr.The screenplay was written by Dan Greenburg, who wrote the original source novel, Philly...
(1981) - Bayou Romance (1982)
- Police Academy 5Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami BeachPolice Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach is the 1988 installment in the Police Academy series, launched in 1984. The film was given a PG rating for language and ribald humor....
(1988)
Select television credits
- Michael Nesmith in Television PartsTelevision PartsMichael Nesmith in Television Parts was a summer TV series run by NBC in 1985. It was a 30-minute comedy-variety series created by Michael Nesmith as a sort of continuation of his Grammy Award-winning video production Elephant Parts, and earlier series PopClips. The first episode was a stand-alone...
(1985) - Hi Honey - I'm DeadHi Honey - I'm DeadHi Honey - I'm Dead is a 1991 Fox Network made-for-tv film, starring Curtis Armstrong and Catherine Hicks.-Plot summary:Brad Stadler is a dishonest real estate developer, who spends too much time at work. Brad cheats on his wife and has no time for son Josh's baseball games. So one day, the God...
(1991) - Bad Attitudes (1991)
- Holiday AffairHoliday AffairHoliday Affair is a black-and-white 1949 light romantic comedy film starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. This modest film, directed and produced by Don Hartman, saw Mitchum expand from his typical roles in film noir and war films....
(1996)