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 (00m 49s)
John Rich on directing Gunsmoke and James Arness (02m 22s)
Director John Rich on the creation of the classic "ottoman" opening of The Dick Van Dyke Show (01m 55s)
John Rich on the development and casting of the 3rd (and final) pilot and early seasons of All in the Family (15m 33s)
John Rich on insisting that "MacGyver" would solve every problem without a gun and making an enemy of the NRA (00m 30s)- John Rich on telling the truth in his work (00m 21s)
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- On his childhood and early influences; on his love of reading, radio and plays
- 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
- On working for radio station WHRV in Michigan
- Chapter 2
- On reporting basketball for WHRV; on moving to New York and starting the radio program Wanted
- On F.B.I involvement with Wanted; on the Willy Sutton episode of Wanted
- Chapter 3
- On becoming a stage manager at NBC television; on his union activities and working in Hollywood
- On working in live television on The Colgate Comedy Hour; On how working on the West Coast differed from the East Coast
- Chapter 4
- On his efforts to promote the Director's Guild of America; On directing The Ezio Pinza Show and The Dennis Day Sho w
- On the new story, "Let's Watch Florence Chadwick Leave Catalina Island at Midnight and Watch her Swim Across the Channel"
- On directing I Married Joan
- Chapter 5
- On the first broadcast of the Academy Awards; On directing I Married Joan
- On directing The Ray Bolger Show; on union minimums in the 1950s; on directing Our Miss Brooks
- On sitcoms in the 1950s
- Chapter 6
- On directing Gunsmoke; on the challenges of directing Westerns; on being in the editing room
- On directing Elvis Presley; On the cast of Gunsmoke
- Chapter 7
- On directing episodes of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Bat Masterson and The Twilight Zone
- On the 1955 live broadcast of the opening of Disneyland ("Dateline: Disneyland")
- On guild strikes and negotiations for pension plans and 1948-1960 movie royalties
- Chapter 8
- On the Hollywood Blacklist (and witnessing an actor being fired during a reading of an episode of I Married Joan)
- 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
- 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
- On negotiating his deal on The Dick Van Dyke Show with Sheldon Leonard; on his directing style on The Dick Van Dyke Show
- Chapter 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
- On feature films, Gilligan's Island and I Spy
- Chapter 10
- On directing the first three episodes of Gilligan's Island; on the talents of creator Sherwood Schwartz and the cast
- On directing the first six episodes of The Brady Bunch; on working with the cast and the casting process
- On directing episodes of Gomer Pyle (briefly)
- On the development and casting of the 3rd (and final) pilot and early seasons of All in the Family
- Chapter 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
- On problems with Standards and Practices; on breakthrough episodes of All in the Family
- Chapter 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
- On leaving All in the Family; on working with Henry Fonda; on directing Barney Miller
- On directing the pilot of Maude; On The Jeffersons
- On being executive producer on Benson
- Chapter 13
- On directing and executive producing Benson; On directing the pilot of Newhart
- On producing and directing Mr. Sunshine; On producing MacGyve r and his favorite episodes of MacGyver
- On ending his producing partnership with Henry Winkler; on directing an episode of Murphy Brown
- On his thoughts on the industry today; on television shows he watches; on advice to aspiring directors
- Chapter 14
- On doing a pilot with Walter Slezak on which there was a major problem with the set
- On television directing today and the future of television; on career highlights and regrets; on how he'd like to be remembered
- On the final shot of the movie The New Interns
- On thoughts on people with whom he's worked
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RIP John Rich. I loved your work.
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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