Sharron Miller

Sharron Miller is an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. She is one of the pioneering women directors who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s (along with Elaine May, Lee Grant, Joan Darling, Joan Micklin Silver, Karen Arthur, Gabrielle Beaumont, Lela Swift, Gwen Arner, and Kim Friedman).[1] In 1984 she was the first woman ever to win the coveted Directors Guild of America Award (DGA Award) for directing a narrative (non-documentary) work.[2][3][4]

Sharron Miller
Born
OccupationDirector, screenwriter, producer

Career

Born in Enid, Oklahoma and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, Miller began writing and directing short films as a teenager.[5] After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1971 with a degree in Theatre, she attended graduate school in Film at Northwestern University. In 1972, she went to Hollywood and worked as a script supervisor, sound editor, and film editor before becoming a professional director in 1976 when she was hired to direct the NBC television series, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. This made her one of the handful of women directing in Hollywood at that time.

She has written and directed several short films, but the majority of her work has been in television where she has had a long and prolific career directing television movies and series. Early in her career she studied with acting teachers Jack Garfein, Harold Clurman, and Jeff Corey, and has demonstrated an ability to elicit strong performances from actors. Sharon Gless, Cloris Leachman and Peggy McCay all won Emmy Awards under her direction, and James Stacy received an Emmy nomination.

In 1983 Miller won the DGA Award, two Emmy Awards,[6] the Peabody Award[7] and the Christopher Award[8][9] for the Afterschool Special she produced and directed, The Woman Who Willed a Miracle.[10][11] This true-life drama is the story of Leslie Lemke, the blind and mentally retarded boy with cerebral palsy who became world-famous as a savant pianist.[12] It is one of the most well-known and honored of all Afterschool Specials, receiving Emmy Awards in all the major categories, in addition to numerous other awards.

In 1987 she was nominated for the DGA Award and an Emmy Award for directing two different episodes of the series, Cagney & Lacey (Turn, Turn, Turn part 1 and Turn, Turn, Turn part 2)[13][14]

Selected filmography

Film
Year Title Notes
1981 Cradle Song Director, producer, writer, editor
1978 The House of the Dead Director
1976 Deportee Director, producer, writer, editor
1971 Felice Director, producer, writer, editor
Television
Year Title Notes
2002 The District Director
2001–2002 That's Life Director, multiple episodes
1999 Hyperion Bay Director, multiple episodes
1998 Any Day Now Director
1997 Fame L.A. Director, multiple episodes
1996 The Client Director
1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Director
1995 Christy Director
1994 Hotel Malibu Director, the pilot
1993 Second Chances Director, the pilot, multiple episodes
1992–1993 Homefront Director, multiple episodes
1993 Sisters Director
1990–1992 The Trials of Rosie O'Neill Director, multiple episodes
1991 Father Dowling Mysteries Director
1990 The Outsiders Director, the pilot
1989 China Beach Director
1988 Little Girl Lost Director, TV movie
1988 Pigeon Feathers Director, PBS American Playhouse Drama
1984–1988 Cagney & Lacey Director, multiple episodes
1986–1987 L.A. Law Director, multiple episodes
1986 Pleasures Director, TV movie
1984 The Paper Chase Director
1984 Maximum Security Director, Editor, multiple episodes
1983 The Woman Who Willed a Miracle Producer, Director, ABC Afterschool Special
1979–81 In Search of ... Producer, Director, Writer, Editor
1976–78 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams Director, multiple episodes

Awards

Year Award Result Category Series
1983 Peabody Award Won Television Special ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
1983 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Direction in Children's Programming ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
Outstanding Children's Entertainment Special ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
1983 Christopher Award Television Special ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
1983 Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence Television Special ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
1983 New York International Film and TV Festival[15][16] Gold Medal This Is the Life
(Episode "Bon Voyage and Shalom")
1984 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows – Daytime ABC Afterschool Special
"The Woman Who Willed a Miracle"
1984 New York International Film and TV Festival[17] Gold Medal This Is the Life
(Episode "Reprise for the Lord")
1985 New York International Film and TV Festival[18] Gold Medal This Is the Life
(Episode "The Face of Gabriel Ortiz")
1987 Viewers for Quality Television Award Best Director in a Quality Drama Series Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2)
1987 Humanitas Prize Certificate

For Humanizing Achievement in Television

Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2)
1988 Women in Film Award Lillian Gish Award for Excellence in Episodic Directing Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Don't I Know You?")
1988 Humanitas Prize Certificate

For Humanizing Achievement in Television

Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Don't I Know You?")
1987 Primetime Emmy Award Nominated Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2)
1987 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series Cagney & Lacey
(Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 1)

Memberships

References

Further reading

  • "CAGNEY & LACEY ... and Me" by Barney Rosenzweig, iUniverse, Inc. 2007; ISBN 978-0-595-67878-5
  • Sixth Annual International Edition of Film Directors: a Complete Guide (USA), 1988, pg. 10–13, by: Michael Singer; ISBN 0-943728-26-6
  • Los Angeles Times (USA) Calendar section, 17 March 1984, pg. 1 + 6, by: Judith Michaelson, "The Girl Who Wanted to Be Like Kazan"
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