Boris Sagal (October 18, 1917 - May 22, 1981) was an American
televisionA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
and
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
.
Born in
DnipropetrovskDnipropetrovsk is Ukraine's third largest city with 1.1 million inhabitants. There is also another name for the city - Sicheslav...
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, Sagal emigrated to the United States where he attended the
Yale School of DramaThe Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre...
. Probably best known for directing the cult classic film
The Omega ManThe Ωmega Man is an English language science fiction film directed by Boris Sagal and released in 1971. Starring Charlton Heston, it is based on the novel I Am Legend by American writer Richard Matheson. The screenplay is by John William and Joyce Corrington, and it was filmed in Technicolor...
and the 1965
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
vehicle
Girl HappyGirl Happy is a 1965 musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style, starring Elvis Presley.-Plot:Rusty Wells and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club...
, Sagal had a long and relatively undistinguished career in Hollywood as a television director. His many TV credits include episodes of
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
,
"T.H.E.
Boris Sagal (October 18, 1917 - May 22, 1981) was an American
televisionA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
and
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
.
Born in
DnipropetrovskDnipropetrovsk is Ukraine's third largest city with 1.1 million inhabitants. There is also another name for the city - Sicheslav...
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, Sagal emigrated to the United States where he attended the
Yale School of DramaThe Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre...
. Probably best known for directing the cult classic film
The Omega ManThe Ωmega Man is an English language science fiction film directed by Boris Sagal and released in 1971. Starring Charlton Heston, it is based on the novel I Am Legend by American writer Richard Matheson. The screenplay is by John William and Joyce Corrington, and it was filmed in Technicolor...
and the 1965
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
vehicle
Girl HappyGirl Happy is a 1965 musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style, starring Elvis Presley.-Plot:Rusty Wells and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club...
, Sagal had a long and relatively undistinguished career in Hollywood as a television director. His many TV credits include episodes of
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
,
"T.H.E. Cat", Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers and mysteries...
,
Columbo,
Peter GunnPeter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
, and
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international law-enforcement agency called...
He also directed the 1972 television adaptation of
Percy MacKayePercy MacKaye was an American dramatist and poet.He was born in New York City, New York. He studied at Harvard , before returning to New York City to teach...
's play
The ScarecrowThe Scarecrow is a play by Percy MacKaye, written in 1908, but first presented on Broadway in 1911, with Frank Reicher in the title role. It is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Feathertop", but greatly expands upon the tale...
, for PBS. He was nominated for Emmys for his direction of the miniseries
Rich Man, Poor ManRich Man, Poor Man was a 1976 American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT on Monday night for twelve weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced by Universal Television and was the first time programming of this nature had been attempted...
and, posthumously,
MasadaMasada was an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in April 1981. Advertised by the network as an "ABC Novel for Television," it was a fictionalized account of the historical siege of the Masada citadel by legions of the Roman Empire in 73 A.D.. The TV series' script is based on the...
.
Sagal was killed in a freak accident during production of the
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
World War III, when he was nearly
decapitatedDecapitation is the separation of the head of an animal from its body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by means of a guillotine...
after walking into the tail rotor blades of a helicopter in the parking lot of the Timberline Lodge in Oregon - the same lodge used for the exterior aerial shots of the
Overlook HotelThe Overlook Hotel is the fictional hotel from Stephen King's novel The Shining and its adaptations. The hotel is an amalgamation of parts of real hotels across the United States...
in
The ShiningThe Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Though it had mixed reviews from the critics upon its release it was wildly popular with moviegoers and financially successful...
. Sagal was replaced with another director the next day.
Sagal's death is eerie in that among his directorial credits was the pilot episode of the popular TV series
Combat!. This series starred
Vic MorrowVictor "Vic" Morrow was an American actor, whose credits include a starring role in the 1960s TV series Combat!, prominent roles in a handful of other television and cinema dramas, and numerous guest roles on television...
, who also died from being struck by the rotor blade of a helicopter a little over a year after Sagal's death while shooting
Twilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 film produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1950s and 60s TV series created by Rod Serling. It starred Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Kathleen Quinlan, and John Lithgow...
.
He is the father of
Katey SagalKatey Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter, best known for portraying Peggy Bundy on Married... with Children, Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, Turanga Leela on Futurama and Gemma Teller Morrow on Sons of Anarchy.-Early life:Sagal was born Catherine Louise Sagal in Hollywood,...
,
Joe SagalJoe Sagal is an American actor. He has sometimes been billed as Joey Sagal.Sagal was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Sara Macon, a writer, singer, and director, and Boris Sagal, a noted producer and director...
, and twins
Jean SagalJean Sagal is an American television actress and director. In the 1980s, she co-starred with her twin-sister Liz Sagal in the 16-episode television series Double Trouble. She has since appeared on such shows as Picket Fences, Knots Landing, Quantum Leap and 21 Jump Street...
and
Liz SagalLiz Sagal is an American television professional, active as an actress, screenwriter and film editor. In the 1980s, she co-starred with her twin-sister Jean Sagal in the 16-episode television series Double Trouble. She has since appeared on such shows as Knots Landing and Picket Fences...
by his first wife, Sara Zwilling, who died in 1975. His second wife was
Marge ChampionMarge Champion is an American dancer choreographer, and pedagogue. In addition, she also worked in film and appeared in a number of television variety shows.-Early years:...
, to whom he was married from January 1, 1977 until his death.
There is a directing fellowship in his name at the
Williamstown Theatre FestivalWilliamstown Theatre Festival, located on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, is one of America's preeminent regional summer stock theatres. Founded in 1955 by Ralph Renzi and David C...
in Massachusetts.