Andy Ackerman | |
---|---|
Born | Robert Andrew Ackerman September 19, 1956 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | Santa Clara University |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1979–present |
Spouse | Betsy Ackerman |
Children | 4 |
Robert Andrew Ackerman (born September 19, 1956) [1] is an American director, producer, and script editor who is best known for his work on Seinfeld , The New Adventures of Old Christine and the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm .
Ackerman was born in Los Angeles, California. His father Robert was a lithographer, and his mother Rosemary was a substitute teacher and homemaker. [1] He was raised in Glendale. [1] He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles before graduating from Santa Clara University in 1978 with a degree in general humanities. [2]
Ackerman began his career as a videotape editor on WKRP in Cincinnati (1979–82) and Newhart , winning an Emmy for the former. He also was an assistant editor on Welcome Back, Kotter . [1] He replaced Tom Cherones as director of Seinfeld starting in its sixth season, ultimately directing 89 episodes.
Ackerman directed every episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine , and has directed or guest directed such series as Everybody Loves Raymond , Becker , Cheers , Wings , Frasier , Two and a Half Men , Andy Richter Controls the Universe , Perfect Couples , Whitney and The Ellen Show . He also directed the pilot episode of the 2006 Fox series Happy Hour .
Ackerman has received 15 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, winning three. [3]
Ackerman is a Catholic. [4] He and his wife Betsy, also a Santa Clara University graduate, are the parents of four children. [2]
Year | Title | Role | Additional Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Indebted | Director/Executive producer | |
2019 | Mr. Iglesias | Director | Episode: "Some Children Left Behind" |
2019 | Santa Clarita Diet | Director | Episode: "More of a Cat Person" |
2018 | The Conners | Director | 2 episodes |
2018–2019 | Happy Together | Director | 6 episodes |
2018 | Living Biblically | Director/Executive producer | 12 episodes |
2017 | Marlon | Director/Executive producer | |
2016–2017 | The Great Indoors | Director/Executive producer | |
Grace & Frankie | Director | 2 episodes | |
2014–2015 | Mulaney | Director | |
2011–2013 | Whitney | Director/Executive producer | |
2010–2011 | Perfect Couples | Director/Executive Producer | |
2009 | The Big D | Director | |
2008 | Starting Under | Director/Executive Producer | |
2007–2008 | Rules of Engagement | Director/Executive Producer (2007–10) | |
2007 | The Hill | Director | |
2006–2010 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Director/Executive Producer | |
2006 | Happy Hour | Director | |
2006 | Separate at Worth | Director | |
2005 | Hot Properties | Director | |
2005 | Life on a Stick | Director | |
2005 | Uncommon Sense | Director | |
2005 | Peep Show | Director | |
2004–2005 | Center of the Universe | Director | |
2004 | Listen Up | Director | |
2004 | Come to Papa | Director/Executive Producer | |
2004 | Spellbound | Executive Producer | |
2003 | Two and a Half Men | Director/Executive Producer | |
2003 | The O'Keefes | Director | |
2003 | Watching Ellie | Director | |
2002–2003 | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Director/ Executive Producer (2002–04) | |
2001 | The Ellen Show | Director/Producer | |
2001 | Raising Dad | Director | |
2000–2009 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Director | |
2000–2005 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Director | |
2000–2001 | The Trouble with Normal | Director/Producer | |
1999 | It's Like, You Know... | Director | 1999 Producer |
1998–2003 | Becker | Director/Producer (1998-2001) | |
1998 | LateLine | Director/Producer | |
1997 | Jenny | Director | |
1996 | Public Morals | Director | |
1996 | Suddenly Susan | Director | |
1996 | Ellen | Director | |
1996 | Good Company | Director | |
1995 | Almost Perfect | Director | |
1995 | Dweebs | Director | |
1994–1998 | Seinfeld | Director | 1996-1998 Producer |
1994 | Muddling Through | Director | |
1993–1995 | Frasier | Director | |
1993 | Big Wave Dave's | Director | 1993 Producer |
1991–1994 | Wings | Director/Producer (1991-1993) | |
1991 | Roc | Director | |
1988–1991 | Cheers | Director/Co-Producer (1989–91)/Editor (1986–91) | |
1980–1982 | WKRP in Cincinnati | Editor |
Jay Scott Greenspan, known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe Awards. He gained stardom for his role as George Costanza in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and was nominated for seven consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and four Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Television.
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. Its ensemble cast stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor from across the hall, Cosmo Kramer.
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedian. Often described as one of the greatest performers in television history, she is widely known for her roles as various characters on Saturday Night Live (1982–1985), Elaine Benes on Seinfeld (1990–1998), Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010), and Selina Meyer on Veep (2012–2019). Her list of accolades makes her one of the most award-winning actresses in American television history, and she has received more Primetime Emmy Awards and more Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other performer.
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom Seinfeld from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special, and went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays.
George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also relatively lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen".
Jimmy L. Smits is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s–1990s legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s–2000s police drama NYPD Blue, and Matt Santos on the political drama The West Wing. He appeared in Switch (1991), My Family (1995), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), and In the Heights (2021). He also appeared as Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the main cast of Sons of Anarchy, in the role of Nero Padilla. Smits also portrayed Elijah Strait in the NBC drama series Bluff City Law.
Jeffrey Lee Probst is an American television presenter and producer and young adult fiction writer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of the American version of the reality television show Survivor since 2000. He was also the host of The Jeff Probst Show, a syndicated daytime talk show produced by CBS Television Distribution from September 2012 to May 2013.
"The Contest" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American television sitcom Seinfeld, and the 51st episode overall. Written by Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones, the episode originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1992. In the episode, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hold a contest to determine who can go for the longest time without masturbating.
Thomas Harry Cherones, Jr. is an American director and producer of several TV series. He is best known for his work on Seinfeld, where he directed 81 of the 86 episodes of the first five seasons. For his work directing the series, he won a Directors Guild of America Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as producer.
Robert Stanton Butler was an American film and Emmy Award-winning television director. He is best known for his work in television, where he directed the pilots for a number of series including Star Trek, Hogan's Heroes, Batman and Hill Street Blues.
Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series M*A*S*H.
Andrew William Sidaris was an American television and film director, producer, screenwriter. After a pioneering career directing televised sports beginning in the 1960s, Sidaris wrote and directed a successful series of action B-movies from 1985 to 1998—dubbed the "Bullets, Bombs, and Babes" series—that featured Playboy Playmates and Penthouse Pets in starring roles. In 2014, Paste magazine named one such picture, Hard Ticket to Hawaii, the best B-movie of all time.
Danny Woodburn is an American actor, comedian, and activist for the disability rights movement linked to his dwarfism.
"The Race" is the 96th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, the tenth episode of the sixth season. The episode first aired on December 15, 1994. The story follows Jerry as he meets an old rival, who suspects that he cheated in a high school race and wishes to re-run it. Elaine is put on a "blacklist" and finds out her boyfriend is a communist. George responds to a personal ad in the Daily Worker and Kramer, who is working as a department store Santa Claus, is convinced to become a communist by Elaine's boyfriend.
Jay Henry Sandrich was an American television director who primarily worked on sitcoms. In 2020, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
William Lindsey Erwin was an American film, stage and television actor with over 250 television and film credits. A veteran character actor, he is widely known for his 1993 Emmy Award-nominated performance on Seinfeld, portraying the embittered, irascible retiree Sid Fields. He also made notable appearances on shows such as I Love Lucy and Star Trek: The Next Generation. In cinema, his most recognized role is that of Arthur Biehl, a kindly bellman at the Grand Hotel, in Somewhere in Time (1980).
George Richard Yanok was an American screenwriter, television producer, actor, and jazz drummer. He is noted for winning Primetime Emmy Awards in 1974 and 1976.
Neal Baer is an American pediatrician and television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the television shows Designated Survivor, ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Pamela Gail Fryman is an American sitcom director and producer. She directed all but twelve episodes of the television series How I Met Your Mother.
Andy Cowan is an American writer and script consultant for television and other media. He is the creator and host of the comedy/therapy podcast, The Neurotic Vaccine, launched in 2022 from Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks. The Neurotic Vaccine wound up landing among the top comedy interview podcasts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, and Romania, and in 2023 was a multiple final Quill (podcasting) Award nominee for Best New Podcast and Best Comedy Podcast. From 2010–2011, he co-hosted his radio comedy therapy talk show, Up & Down Guys, on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles.
'Andy is a good Catholic boy and he assured me it was going to be very respectful,' Goethals said recently.