Don Scardino
Encyclopedia
Don Scardino is an American television director
and producer
and a former actor
.
, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway
credit was as an understudy
in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump
, Godspell
, and King of Hearts
. Off-Broadway
he appeared in The Rimers of Eldritch
, The Comedy of Errors
, Moonchildren
, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road
, he was also the lead in a cult classic B horror movie titled Squirm in 1976. He served as Artistic Director at Playwrights Horizons
from 1991-96. On television
he appeared on the daytime soap opera
s The Guiding Light, All My Children
, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
, and Another World
and the primetime series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
and The Name of the Game
. Feature film
credits include Rip-off, Homer, Squirm
and Cruising
.
, One Life to Live
, and All My Children
. He went on to direct plays on and off-Broadway, including the world premiere of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men
. He has directed extensively in television, most notably NBC's comedy 30 ROCK. Feature film directing work includes Me & Veronica (Venice Film Festival), and Advice From A Caterpillar, winner, best comedy, at Aspen Comedy Festival.
from 1984 to 1991. He is currently married to painter Dana L. Williams.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and a former actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Acting
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credit was as an understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump
Johnny No-Trump
Johnny No-Trump is a play written by Mary Mercier which ran for one performance on Broadway.Johnny No-Trump opened at the Cort Theatre on October 8, 1967 and ran for 5 previews and one regular performance...
, Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
, and King of Hearts
King of Hearts (musical)
King of Hearts is a 1978 musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jacob Brackman, and music by Peter Link, orchestrated by Bill Brohn. It is based on the 1966 anti-war cult film of the same name....
. Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
he appeared in The Rimers of Eldritch
The Rimers of Eldritch
The Rimers of Eldritch is a play by Lanford Wilson. Set in the mid-20th century in Eldritch, Missouri, a decaying Bible Belt town that once was a prosperous coal mining community, it focuses on the murder of aging hermit Skelly by a woman who mistakenly thought he was committing rape when he...
, The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
, Moonchildren
Moonchildren
Moonchildren is a play by Brooklyn-based playwright Michael Weller. The play chronicles a year in the life of the "moonchildren" referred to in the title: eight college students living communally together in an off-campus attic in the mid 1960s.-Performances:The work was first performed in 1971...
, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road
I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road
I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road is an Off Broadway musical, with music by Nancy Ford and book and lyrics by Gretchen Cryer. It was produced by Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival at The Public Theater, opening on June 14, 1978 and running for 1165 performances...
, he was also the lead in a cult classic B horror movie titled Squirm in 1976. He served as Artistic Director at Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
from 1991-96. On television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
he appeared on the daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s The Guiding Light, All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from September 18, 1967 to March 23, 1973. The series was created by Irna Phillips, who served as the first head writer. She was replaced by Jane Avery and Ira Avery in 1968, who were followed by Don Ettlinger,...
, and Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
and the primetime series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series)
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is a situation comedy based on the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was based on the 1945 novel by R.A. Dick. It starred Hope Lange as Carolyn Muir, a young widow who rents Gull Cottage, near the fictional fishing village of Schooner Bay, Maine along with her two...
and The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game (TV series)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
. Feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
credits include Rip-off, Homer, Squirm
Squirm (film)
Squirm is a 1976 "nature-strikes-back" horror film starring Don Scardino and Patricia Pearcy. It was the debut of cult horror director Jeff Lieberman and remains the director's most popular film. Squirm also features early makeup work from Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker...
and Cruising
Cruising (film)
Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
.
Directing
Following his acting on the network soap operas, Scardino began to direct them. He directed episodes of Another WorldAnother World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, and All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. He went on to direct plays on and off-Broadway, including the world premiere of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.It opened on Broadway at the...
. He has directed extensively in television, most notably NBC's comedy 30 ROCK. Feature film directing work includes Me & Veronica (Venice Film Festival), and Advice From A Caterpillar, winner, best comedy, at Aspen Comedy Festival.
Personal life
Scardino was married to actress Pamela BlairPamela Blair
Pamela Blair , known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical A Chorus Line and several appearances on American soap operas.-Early life and career:...
from 1984 to 1991. He is currently married to painter Dana L. Williams.
Award nominations
- 1986 Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy AwardThe Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Outstanding Younger Leading Man in a Drama Series (Another World) - 1994 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Variety or Music Program (Tracey Takes on New York) - 1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program (Tracey Takes On...)
- 1998 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety (Tracey Takes On...)
- 2008 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for producing NBC's comedy "30 ROCK" - 2009 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for "30 ROCK" in 2009. - 2010 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series ("30 ROCK")
Selected directing credits
- Rescue MeRescue Me (TV series)Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
(2007) - 30 Rock30 Rock30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
(2006–Present) - LennonLennon (musical)Lennon is a musical with music and lyrics by John Lennon and book by Don Scardino, who also directed its premiere. The musical is about the life of John Lennon and was notable for Scardino's choice to be almost exclusively-based on Lennon's own words and to focus on Lennon's solo career, with no...
(2005 Broadway musical) - Hope & FaithHope & FaithHope & Faith is an American sitcom that aired for three seasons on ABC from September 26, 2003, to May 2, 2006. For its first two seasons the show was part of a revived TGIF comedy block....
(2004–06) - George LopezGeorge Lopez (TV series)"The George Lopez Show" redirects here. For the late-night program hosted by the same comedian, see Lopez Tonight.George Lopez is an American sitcom starring comedian George Lopez...
(2004) - Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells AllOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells AllOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All is a 1989 first novel by Allan Gurganus which was on the New York Times Best Seller list for eight months. It won the Sue Kaufman Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, and sold over four...
(2003 Broadway play) - Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
(2002–03) - EdEd (TV series)Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
(2002–03) - The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
(2000) - Cosby (1998–2000)
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(1991–2006) - A Few Good Men (1989 Broadway play)
- The Days and Nights of Molly DoddThe Days and Nights of Molly DoddThe Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an NBC/Lifetime comedy-drama that aired from 1987 to 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and starred Blair Brown in the title role.-Premise:...
(1988–1991)
Selected producing credits
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1988–1991)
- Deadline (2000–01)
- "30 ROCK" , NBC-TV (2006–2010)