John Rich
Director
About This Interview
John Rich (1925-2012) was interviewed for nearly seven hours in Los Angeles, CA. Rich talks about getting his start in television - as a stage manager for NBC's The Colgate Comedy Hour - and describes his big break into directing on The Ezio Pinza Sho w. He discusses numerous shows he directed throughout his career, including I Married Joan, The Ray Bolger Sho w, Our Miss Brooks, Gunsmoke, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch , and All In the Family , on which he also served as producer. Rich shares his experiences directing the pilot episodes of Maude, The Jeffersons, Barney Miller , and Newhart and speaks of his role as executive producer of Benson and MacGyver. To conclude, Rich details his thoughts on the state of television directing in the 1990s and offers advice to aspiring directors. Henry Colman conducted the interview on August 3, 1999.
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Highlights
On mentally trying out solutions for directing problems while waiting for his big break
Clip begins at: 18:02, Duration: 00m 49s
John Rich on directing Gunsmoke and James Arness
Clip begins at: 00:34, Duration: 02m 22s
Director John Rich on the creation of the classic "ottoman" opening of The Dick Van Dyke Show
Clip begins at: 19:00, Duration: 01m 55s
John Rich on the development and casting of the 3rd (and final) pilot and early seasons of All in the Family
Clip begins at: 13:26, Duration: 15m 33s
John Rich on insisting that "MacGyver" would solve every problem without a gun and making an enemy of the NRA
Clip begins at: 16:24, Duration: 00m 30s- John Rich on telling the truth in his work
Clip begins at: 27:46, Duration: 00m 21s
Interview
- Part 1
- On his childhood and early influences; on his love of reading, radio and plays
Clip begins at: 0:64 - On writing for his high school newspaper; on attending college at the University of Michigan and entering the service during World War II; on studying with Professor Garland Garrison - NBC radio director
Clip begins at: 10:51 - On working for radio station WHRV in Michigan
Clip begins at: 24:57 - Part 2
- On reporting basketball for WHRV; on moving to New York and starting the radio program Wanted
Clip begins at: 0:42 - On F.B.I involvement with Wanted; on the Willy Sutton episode of Wanted
Clip begins at: 21:04 - Part 3
- On becoming a stage manager at NBC television; on his union activities and working in Hollywood
Clip begins at: 0:58 - On working in live television on The Colgate Comedy Hour; On how working on the West Coast differed from the East Coast
Clip begins at: 23:30 - Part 4
- On his efforts to promote the Director's Guild of America; On directing The Ezio Pinza Show and The Dennis Day Sho w
Clip begins at: 0:47 - On the new story, "Let's Watch Florence Chadwick Leave Catalina Island at Midnight and Watch her Swim Across the Channel"
Clip begins at: 14:46 - On directing I Married Joan
Clip begins at: 21:04 - Part 5
- On the first broadcast of the Academy Awards; On directing I Married Joan
Clip begins at: 0:38 - On directing The Ray Bolger Show; on union minimums in the 1950s; on directing Our Miss Brooks
Clip begins at: 11:09 - On sitcoms in the 1950s
Clip begins at: 27:13 - Part 6
- On directing Gunsmoke; on the challenges of directing Westerns; on being in the editing room
Clip begins at: 0:38 - On directing Elvis Presley; On the cast of Gunsmoke
Clip begins at: 16:47 - Part 7
- On directing episodes of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Bat Masterson and The Twilight Zone
Clip begins at: 0:34 - On the 1955 live broadcast of the opening of Disneyland ("Dateline: Disneyland")
Clip begins at: 09:58 - On guild strikes and negotiations for pension plans and 1948-1960 movie royalties
Clip begins at: 20:00 - Part 8
- On the Hollywood Blacklist (and witnessing an actor being fired during a reading of an episode of I Married Joan)
Clip begins at: 0:36 - On getting hired to direct The Dick Van Dyke Show; on Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard; on banning set visitors on the first 3 days of rehearsals
Clip begins at: 03:51 - On the visual aspects of The Dick Van Dyke Show; On Dick Van Dyke's physical comedy and the creation of the classic "ottoman" opening
Clip begins at: 12:38 - On negotiating his deal on The Dick Van Dyke Show with Sheldon Leonard; on his directing style on The Dick Van Dyke Show
Clip begins at: 20:55 - Part 9
- On the writing staff and memorable episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show; on leaving The Dick Van Dyke Show to make feature films
Clip begins at: 0:36 - On feature films, Gilligan's Island and I Spy
Clip begins at: 13:44 - Part 10
- On directing the first three episodes of Gilligan's Island; on the talents of creator Sherwood Schwartz and the cast
Clip begins at: 0:54 - On directing the first six episodes of The Brady Bunch; on working with the cast and the casting process
Clip begins at: 04:30 - On directing episodes of Gomer Pyle (briefly)
Clip begins at: 12:32 - On the development and casting of the 3rd (and final) pilot and early seasons of All in the Family
Clip begins at: 13:26 - Part 11
- On the casting of Sherman Hemsley as "George Jefferson" on All in the Family; on dress rehearsals of All in the Family; on rehearsing eating scenes
Clip begins at: 0:31 - On problems with Standards and Practices; on breakthrough episodes of All in the Family
Clip begins at: 19:56 - Part 12
- On Fred Silverman; on the "Sammy's Visit" episode of All in the Family; on Gloria's pregnancy and All in the Family's only music cue
Clip begins at: 0:38 - On leaving All in the Family; on working with Henry Fonda; on directing Barney Miller
Clip begins at: 13:54 - On directing the pilot of Maude; On The Jeffersons
Clip begins at: 22:13 - On being executive producer on Benson
Clip begins at: 26:00 - Part 13
- On directing and executive producing Benson; On directing the pilot of Newhart
Clip begins at: 0:36 - On producing and directing Mr. Sunshine; On producing MacGyve r and his favorite episodes of MacGyver
Clip begins at: 07:21 - On ending his producing partnership with Henry Winkler; on directing an episode of Murphy Brown
Clip begins at: 19:56 - On his thoughts on the industry today; on television shows he watches; on advice to aspiring directors
Clip begins at: 23:06 - Part 14
- On doing a pilot with Walter Slezak on which there was a major problem with the set
Clip begins at: 0:39 - On television directing today and the future of television; on career highlights and regrets; on how he'd like to be remembered
Clip begins at: 05:44 - On the final shot of the movie The New Interns
Clip begins at: 14:13 - On thoughts on people with whom he's worked
Clip begins at: 16:01
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If you want to be a film/TV director, this is the interview to watch.
RIP John Rich. I loved your work.
This interview is priceless! John will be missed and it's nice to see his story and genius will live on. Thank you.
RIP John Rich
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