TV Director Who Worked With Music Legends Dies at 85

In case you watched music on TV at any level within the final 50+ years, you probably skilled the work of Don Mischer, who directed and/or produced tons of of hours of programming, together with six Tremendous Bowl halftime exhibits and selection specials headlined by such icons as Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson. Mischer, who amassed 15 Primetime Emmys for his work, died on Friday (April 11) in Los Angeles. He was 85.

Mischer produced and directed Motown 25: Yesterday, Immediately, Ceaselessly, the star-studded 1983 particular on which Michael Jackson launched his Moonwalk. Mischer additionally produced and directed a 1985 sequel, Motown Returns to the Apollo. In 1993, he reunited with Jackson when the famous person headlined the Tremendous Bowl halftime present. That efficiency is credited with elevating the halftime present to its present standing because the world’s high platform for a music performer.

Mischer labored on 5 extra Tremendous Bowl halftime exhibits, headlined by Paul McCartney (2005), The Rolling Stones (2006), Prince (2007), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (2008) and Bruce Springsteen & the E Avenue Band (2009). Probably the most memorable of those was the present which Prince headlined amid a downpour. It commonly tops lists of the best halftime performances of all time.

Mischer directed The Kennedy Middle Honors throughout 4 a long time (1978-86 and 1992-2005). He additionally produced and/or directed three of the 4 EGOT-level awards exhibits — engaged on three Tonys telecasts, three Oscars telecasts and 9 Primetime Emmys telecasts. He by no means labored on the Grammys, however he served as govt producer of the Billboard Music Awards thrice (2011-13).

He produced and directed the 1996 Summer time Olympics opening ceremony and served as govt producer of the 2002 Winter Olympics ceremony.

He labored on many famous person specials, together with Goldie & Liza Collectively (1981), the place Oscar winners Goldie Hawn and Liza Minnelli memorably teamed up. Others included Willie Nelson: Texas Model (1989), Sonny & Cher: Cher Remembers (1999), Barbra Streisand: Timeless (2000) and James Taylor: One Man Band (2007). He additionally labored on dance specials headlined by Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines, and comedy specials starring Eddie Murphy and Don Rickles.

Mischer labored on many “occasion” TV specials, keyed to anniversaries or re-openings. Amongst them: Irving Berlin’s a hundredth Birthday at Carnegie Corridor (1988), Carnegie Corridor: Dwell at 100 (1991), Bob Hope: The First 90 Years (1992), To Life: Israel’s fiftieth Anniversary Celebration (1998) and Nationwide September 11 Memorial & Museum Dedication (2014).

Mischer’s first main credit score in TV was directing Nice American Dream Machine on PBS (1970-71). That led to directing In Live performance, a late-night music sequence on ABC (1973-75).

Mischer produced the 2004 Democratic Nationwide Conference, which led to a uncommon, if comprehensible, slip on his half. After John Kerry’s speech accepting the nomination for president, balloons had been imagined to drop from the ceiling onto the delegates under. Nevertheless, the balloons received caught and didn’t fall. Mischer misplaced his mood and set free a string of expletives — which went out stay on CNN.

In January 2009, Mischer had a happier expertise when he produced and directed We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration on the Lincoln Memorial, which featured performances by Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen.

Mischer obtained 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, a document 10 Administrators Guild of America Awards for excellent directorial achievement, two NAACP Picture Awards, and a Peabody Award (for Motown 25: Yesterday, Immediately, Ceaselessly). In 2012, he obtained the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Tv from the Producers Guild of America. In 2014, he obtained a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame. In 2019, he obtained a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Administrators Guild of America (DGA).

In November 2023, Mischer printed his memoir :10 Seconds to Air: My Life within the Director’s Chair. Kirkus Opinions referred to as it “a frank, insightful recollection of an completed profession.”

“Don was merely iconic,” Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the DGA, mentioned in an announcement. “His mastery of directing stay occasions was a fast-paced symphony of meticulous planning mixed with on-the-spot decision-making that elevated our nation’s best cultural occasions, at all times capturing the human spirit behind them. … Don’s ability as a director elevated the feelings, pleasure and significance of those stay worldwide moments, creating lifelong reminiscences for audiences all over the world.”

After directing and producing tons of of hours of stay tv, Mischer knew what he was doing and felt at peace when a present went stay.

“There’s nothing like that feeling that the clock is ticking down and also you’re sitting within the truck, after which all of the sudden it’s time, and all people will get quiet,” he informed the Los Angeles Instances in 2010. “That’s after I get calm.”

Mischer is survived by his spouse, Suzan; 4 youngsters, Heather, Jennifer, Charlie and Lily; and two grandchildren, Everly and Tallulah.