Mel Damski

Last updated
Mel Damski
Born
Melvin Damski

(1946-07-21) July 21, 1946 (age 77)
Education Colgate University (BA)
American Film Institute (MFA)
Occupation(s)Film director, television director, producer
Years active1978-present

Melvin Damski (born July 21, 1946 in New York, New York [1] ) is an American director and producer of film and television. [2]

Contents

Life and career

Mel Damski (born in New York, New York) is an American film director and film producer. Damski has Northern European Jewish heritage, one of four children of German refugee parents. Damski grew up in Roslyn, Long Island, New York and attended Colgate University on a football scholarship. [3] He was a reporter for Long Island Newsday before moving to Los Angeles to attend the AFI Conservatory in 1972. [4]

Damski was the Producing-Director of Psych. [5] In addition to his long directing career, including 29 movies and scores of episodes, he has taught film and television at NYU, USC and AFI. [6] He is also President of Lyrique Wine Company, a small family owned winery.

In 1998, Damski, along with Andrea Blaugrund, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Documentary for the film Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies . [7] [8]

In 1981, Damski was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding directing in a drama series for American Dream . [9]

In 1979, Damski was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding directing in a drama series for the television series Lou Grant (1977) for the episode "Murder". [9]

Damski's column "If I Ran The Zoo" runs every Wednesday in the La Conner Weekly News and a week later on his blog.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Film Institute</span> Nonprofit educational arts organization

The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin J. Schaffner</span> American director (1920–89)

Franklin James Schaffner was an American film, television, and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Patton (1970), and is known for the films Planet of the Apes (1968), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). He served as president of the Directors Guild of America between 1987 and 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Brooks</span> American actor, comedian and filmmaker (born 1926)

Melvin James Brooks is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, songwriter, and playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Bancroft</span> American actress (1931–2005)

Anne Bancroft was an American actress and director. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of only 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Pollack</span> American filmmaker and actor (1934–2008)

Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack is known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films. Over his forty year career he received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and six BAFTA Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimi Leder</span> American film/television director and producer (born 1952)

Miriam Leder is an American film and television director and producer; she is noted for her action films and use of special effects. She has directed the films The Peacemaker (1997), Deep Impact (1998), Pay It Forward (2000), and On the Basis of Sex (2018). She was the first female graduate of the AFI Conservatory, in 1973. She has been nominated for ten Emmy Awards, winning two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Duke</span> American actor and director

William Henry Duke Jr. is an American actor and film director. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. Frequently a character actor, he has starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando and Predator, and has appeared in films like Car Wash, American Gigolo, No Man's Land, Bird on a Wire, Menace II Society, Exit Wounds, Payback, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Mandy. In television, he is best known as Agent Percy Odell in Black Lightning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristen Johnston</span> American actress

Kristen Angela Johnston is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun. She starred as divorce attorney Holly Franklin on The Exes, and as recovering addict Tammy Diffendorf on Mom. She has also appeared in the films Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000), Music and Lyrics (2007), and Bride Wars (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Lembeck</span> American actor and director

Michael Lembeck is an American actor and television and film director. He is best known as Max Horvath in One Day at a Time (1979–1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Engler</span> American theatre director

Michael Engler is an American theater director, and a Directors Guild of America and Emmy nominated television director and producer.

"Spellingg Bee", also known as "The Spellingg Bee", is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama detective television series Psych. It was written by series creator and co-executive producer Steve Franks, and was directed by co-executive producer and director Mel Damski during November and December 2005. The episode originally aired on USA Network in the United States on July 14, 2006. The installment features guest appearances by Kirsten Nelson, Alexander Calvert, Kyle Pejpar, and Jeremy Loheir, among others. It also features an appearance by sportscaster Bud Collins.

Lev L. Spiro is an American film and television director. His TV episodic work includes multiple Emmy Award-winning shows such as Modern Family, Weeds, Arrested Development, My Name Is Earl, Ugly Betty, Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek, The O.C. and Everybody Hates Chris. His film directing includes the DGA Award nominated Minutemen, the Emmy Award-winning Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, and the Lionsgate feature Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Theatre (Palm Springs, California)</span> Historic venue in Riverside County, California

The Plaza Theatre is a historic theater located at 128 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California. It is an anchor of La Plaza, a streetside collection of shops, one of the first planned shopping centers in Southern California, opened in 1936. From 1990 through 2014 the theatre housed The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies which was featured on ABC's 20/20, The Today Show, the New York Times, NPR and other media since its founding. There is currently a fundraising campaign to raise money to restore the historic building to its former glory and make it a theater that meets theatrical needs for today and tomorrow.

<i>Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies</i> 1997 American short documentary film

Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies is a 1997 American short documentary film directed by Mel Damski. It was nominated at the 70th Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short Subject. It features The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, which was formerly staged at the Palm Springs, California Plaza Theatre.

George Cooper Stevens Jr. is an American writer, playwright, director, and producer. He is the founder of the American Film Institute, creator of the AFI Life Achievement Award, and co-creator of the Kennedy Center Honors. He has also served as Co-Chairman of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

<i>Psych</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Psych originally aired in the United States on the USA Network television network between July 7, 2006 and March 2, 2007. Produced by Universal Cable Productions and Tagline Television, the series was created by Steve Franks, who served as executive producer with Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze.

Rachel Morrison is an American cinematographer and director. For her work on Mudbound (2017), Morrison earned a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, making her the first woman ever nominated in that category. She has twice worked with director Ryan Coogler, working on the films Fruitvale Station (2013) and Black Panther (2018).

Rare Bird Films started in 2008 as a collaboration between Cristan Crocker Reilly and Andrea Blaugrund Nevins. Reilly had read Punk Rock Dad written by childhood friend Jim Lindberg of the punk band Pennywise and approached Nevins about creating a documentary. The meeting led to the production of The Other F Word exploring punk rockers who moved on to fatherhood. It was Nevins' feature length directorial debut.

Andrea Blaugrund Nevins is a writer, director, and producer living in Los Angeles.

References