Theodore J. Flicker
Encyclopedia
Theodore Jonas "Ted" Flicker (born June 6, 1930) is an American
playwright
, theatrical producer
, television
and film director
, actor
, screenwriter
, author
, and sculptor.
, Flicker attended Admiral Farragut Academy
in Tom's River, New Jersey from 1947 to 1949. From 1949 to 1951, he studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in London, alongside fellow drama students Joan Collins
and Larry Hagman
.
. Together, they set the form's official rules, which are still followed by contemporary humorists. Eventually, he worked as producer, director, and performer with the Compass Players in St. Louis. The company was such a success that he was able to raise money to establish the Crystal Palace Theater, then the only monthly repertory stage in the country.
In 1959 he wrote the book and directed the Broadway musical The Nervous Set. Fran Landesman
provided the lyrics, and Tommy Wolf the musical score. The only 'beat musical', it was the source of the standard tune "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." The show was revived in 2006. In 1960, he established The Premise on New York's Bleecker Street
in a basement venue, where he cast performers such as Buck Henry
, Joan Darling
, Gene Hackman
, George Segal
, and James Frawley
. The show eventually transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. A follow-up improvisational satire, The Premise in Living Color, targeted racism and featured Godfrey Cambridge
, Diana Sands
, and Al Freeman Jr.
(1967) with James Coburn
, although he cites Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang
(1978) among his personal favorites.
An occasional actor, he is the first victim in Beware! The Blob! (1972), directed by Larry Hagman. He also rides at full gallop as Buffalo Bill Cody in The Legend of the Lone Ranger
(1981), debut-directed by cinematographer William A Fraker, who shot The President's Analyst
.
As the writer of the pilot for the television series Barney Miller
(1975), he became the show's co-owner, and also wrote and/or directed episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show
, The Andy Griffith Show
, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
, Night Gallery
, and The Streets of San Francisco
, and I Dream of Jeannie
. Flicker also appeared as the Devil in a 1971 episode of Night Gallery he had written called Hell's Bells.
and how it applies to his own art, and is the author of the epic novel The Good American, one of the first books to be marketed exclusively on the Internet.
A documentary biopic screened in 2007 at the Santa Fe Film Festival
. Directed by David Ewing, Ted Flicker: A Life in Three Acts had its world premiere at Santa Fe's Film Center on October 17, 2008. Among the interviewees are George Segal
and Tom Arledge, as well as Henry and Darling.
since 1986. Their northside home abuts a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) sculpture garden displaying his own works as well as those of Allan Houser
, Paul Moore, Tony Price
, Michael Bergt, and others. Flickers extensive sculpture collection can be viewed at tedflicker.com.
On May 13, 1994, Flicker legally changed his name to Ted Flicker.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, theatrical producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
, television
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 film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, 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...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and sculptor.
Early life
Born in Freehold Borough, New JerseyFreehold Borough, New Jersey
Freehold is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,052. It is the county seat of Monmouth County....
, Flicker attended Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy is a college preparatory school with Naval training founded in 1933 in Pine Beach, New Jersey by, among others, Admiral Samuel Robison, one-time President of RCA, and former Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is named after Admiral...
in Tom's River, New Jersey from 1947 to 1949. From 1949 to 1951, he studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
in London, alongside fellow drama students Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
and Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
.
Theatre career
In 1954, he became a member of Chicago's Compass Theater, America's first theater of improvisational comedy, a sub-genre he founded along with fellow comedy pioneer Elaine MayElaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
. Together, they set the form's official rules, which are still followed by contemporary humorists. Eventually, he worked as producer, director, and performer with the Compass Players in St. Louis. The company was such a success that he was able to raise money to establish the Crystal Palace Theater, then the only monthly repertory stage in the country.
In 1959 he wrote the book and directed the Broadway musical The Nervous Set. Fran Landesman
Fran Landesman
Fran Landesman was an American lyricist and poet.-Early life:Born Frances Deitsch in New York City, her father was a dress manufacturer, her mother was a journalist...
provided the lyrics, and Tommy Wolf the musical score. The only 'beat musical', it was the source of the standard tune "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." The show was revived in 2006. In 1960, he established The Premise on New York's Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is a street in New York City's Manhattan borough. It is perhaps most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street is a spine that connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was once a major center for American bohemia.Bleecker...
in a basement venue, where he cast performers such as Buck Henry
Buck Henry
Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
, Joan Darling
Joan Darling
Joan Darling is an actress, film and television director and a dramatic arts instructor.Joan "Joni" Kugell began her career with the New York improvisational theater troupe "Premise Players", and soon graduated to off-Broadway and Broadway productions. She gravitated to feature films and...
, Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
, and James Frawley
James Frawley
James Frawley is an American director and actor. Frawley was born in Houston, Texas. He has worked on Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, Judging Amy and The Monkees, as well as many other programs...
. The show eventually transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. A follow-up improvisational satire, The Premise in Living Color, targeted racism and featured Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey Cambridge
-External links:*...
, Diana Sands
Diana Sands
Diana Sands was an American dramatic actress, perhaps most famous for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character in the original film version of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun...
, and Al Freeman Jr.
Film and television career
Moving into motion pictures, Flicker directed and co-wrote (with Henry) the screenplay for his first film The Troublemaker in 1964. As a filmmaker, he is probably best known for his political lampoon The President's AnalystThe President's Analyst
The President's Analyst is a 1967 satirical comedy film written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, starring James Coburn. The widescreen cinematography was by William A. Fraker, and Lalo Schifrin provided the film's musical score...
(1967) with James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
, although he cites Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang is the title of two films based on a novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.-Synopsis:Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang is about a young boy who strives to be heard. He is nicknamed "Two-Two" for having to say things twice to be heard. One day, he decided...
(1978) among his personal favorites.
An occasional actor, he is the first victim in Beware! The Blob! (1972), directed by Larry Hagman. He also rides at full gallop as Buffalo Bill Cody in The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
(1981), debut-directed by cinematographer William A Fraker, who shot The President's Analyst
The President's Analyst
The President's Analyst is a 1967 satirical comedy film written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, starring James Coburn. The widescreen cinematography was by William A. Fraker, and Lalo Schifrin provided the film's musical score...
.
As the writer of the pilot for the television series Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
(1975), he became the show's co-owner, and also wrote and/or directed episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
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 espionage and law-enforcement...
, Night Gallery
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
, and The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
, and I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. Flicker also appeared as the Devil in a 1971 episode of Night Gallery he had written called Hell's Bells.
Other ventures
Flicker has written extensively on expressionismExpressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
and how it applies to his own art, and is the author of the epic novel The Good American, one of the first books to be marketed exclusively on the Internet.
A documentary biopic screened in 2007 at the Santa Fe Film Festival
Santa Fe Film Festival
The Santa Fe Film Festival is a Non-Profit Organization which presents important world cinema in a non-commercial context that represents aesthetic, critical and entertainment standards highlighting New Mexican film, new American and foreign film including revivals, retrospectives, independent...
. Directed by David Ewing, Ted Flicker: A Life in Three Acts had its world premiere at Santa Fe's Film Center on October 17, 2008. Among the interviewees are George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
and Tom Arledge, as well as Henry and Darling.
Personal life
His only marriage is to Barbara Joyce Perkins, whom he wed in a Los Angeles synagogue on September 30, 1966. The couple have resided in Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
since 1986. Their northside home abuts a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) sculpture garden displaying his own works as well as those of Allan Houser
Allan Houser
Allan Capron Houser or Haozous a Chiricahua Apache sculptor from Oklahoma. He was one of the most renowned Native American painters and Modernist sculptors of the 20th century....
, Paul Moore, Tony Price
Tony Price
Tony Price was a junk artist, painter, sculptor, self-styled "Atomic Artist" and outspoken anti-nuclear activist.- Early life :Price was a born in Brooklyn, New York, who spent some time in the Marine Corps...
, Michael Bergt, and others. Flickers extensive sculpture collection can be viewed at tedflicker.com.
On May 13, 1994, Flicker legally changed his name to Ted Flicker.
Filmography
- The Troublemaker (with Buck HenryBuck HenryHenry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
) (1964) - Many Happy ReturnsMany Happy Returns (TV series)Many Happy Returns is a situation comedy television series that ran on CBS for twenty-six episodes, from September 21, 1964 to April 12, 1965, under the sponsorship of General Foods.-Cast:The show starred character actor John McGiver...
(1964) (TV) - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.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 espionage and law-enforcement...
(1964) (TV) - The Bill Dana ShowThe Bill Dana ShowThe Bill Dana Show was a United States comedy series starring Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris. The plot followed the daily lifestyle of Latin American, Jose Jiminez, as a bellhop in a New York hotel...
(1964) (TV) - The RoguesThe Rogues (TV series)The Rogues is an American television series that appeared on NBC from September 13, 1964 to April 18, 1965, starring David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Gig Young as a related trio of former conmen who could, for the right price, be persuaded to trick a very wealthy and very unscrupulous mark...
(1965) (TV) - The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(1965) (TV) - The Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
(1965) (TV) - I Dream of JeannieI Dream of JeannieI Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
(1965) (TV) - SpinoutSpinoutSpinout is a 1966 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The movie was #57 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1966.-Plot:...
(1966) - The President's AnalystThe President's AnalystThe President's Analyst is a 1967 satirical comedy film written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, starring James Coburn. The widescreen cinematography was by William A. Fraker, and Lalo Schifrin provided the film's musical score...
(1967) - Up in the Cellar (1970)
- Nichols (1971) (TV)
- Night GalleryNight GalleryNight Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
(1971) (TV) - BanyonBanyonBanyon is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of its 1972-73 television schedule, though a standalone two-hour television movie was broadcast first in March 1971. The series was a Quinn Martin Production Banyon is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC...
(1972) (TV) - The Mod SquadThe Mod SquadThe Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...
(1972) (TV) - Streets of San Francisco (1972) (TV)
- Guess Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1973) (TV)
- BanacekBanacekBanacek is a short-lived, light-hearted detective TV series starring George Peppard on NBC from 1972 to 1974. It alternated in its timeslot with several other shows but was the only one to last beyond its first season...
(1973) (TV) - Barney MillerBarney MillerBarney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
(1974-1980) (TV) - Just a Little Inconvenience (1977) (TV)
- Last of the Good GuysLast of the Good GuysLast of the Good Guys is the debut album of the American country music group One Flew South. It was released on Decca Records Nashville on May 27, 2008...
(1978) (TV) - Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded FangJacob Two Two Meets the Hooded FangJacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang is the title of two films based on a novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.-Synopsis:Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang is about a young boy who strives to be heard. He is nicknamed "Two-Two" for having to say things twice to be heard. One day, he decided...
(1978) - Where the Ladies Go (1980) (TV)
- Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)