Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'' and several episodes of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. Kulik went on to direct made-for-TV movies, such as ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo ( James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer, focusing on his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ( Billy Dee Williams) ...

''. After leaving the army as a first lieutenant after World War II, Kulik went to work in the mail room at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in New York. He eventually saw a notice at work that they were looking for people to direct programs for a new medium called television, and Kulik responded. A lifelong baseball fan, he started directing the cameras at Yankee Stadium before starting a career directing live television programming such as ''Playhouse 90'' and ''Lux Video Theater''. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 and eventually began directing some of the landmark series of the 1950s and 1960s including ''Perry Mason'', ''Gunsmoke'', ''Have Gun Will Travel'', ''Wagon Train'', ''Rawhide'', ''Dr. Kildare'' and ''The Defenders'' (for which he directed the pilot episode). He directed a dozen episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'', which brought him lasting fame and recognition among the legion of fans who religiously watch the ''Twilight Zone'' marathons that continue to air on holidays to this day. Kulik also began directing feature films in the 1960s including ''Explosive Generation'' with William Shatner, ''Warning Shot'' with David Jansen, ''Villa Rides'' with Robert Mitchum, Yul Brynner, and Charles Bronson, and ''Riot'' with Gene Hackman and Jim Brown. He directed the first television mini-series, Vanished, with Richard Widmark and James Farentino. In 1971, he directed what many critics and fans feel is the greatest television film ever made, Brian's Song, for which he received "Best Director" honors from the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

. For several years in a row the lead actors in the films he directed won "Best Actor" of the year including Peter Ustinov for ''A Storm in Summer'', James Caan for ''Brian's Song'', Alan Alda for ''Kill Me if You Can'', Susan Clark for ''Babe'', and Anthony Hopkins for ''The Lindbergh Kidnapping''. Some of the prominent long-form mini series he directed were ''From Here to Eternity'' with Natalie Wood and William Devane, ''Around the World in 80 Days'' with Pierce Brosnan and Peter Ustinov, and ''Kane and Abel'' with Peter Strauss. In the 1970s and 1980s he also directed feature films including ''To Find a Man'', ''Shamus'' with Burt Reynolds, and ''The Hunter'' with Steve McQueen. Over the course of a career that lasted more than 40 years, Buzz Kulik established himself, and is remembered today, as one of the greatest television directors of all time.

Filmography

Film * ''

The Explosive Generation ''The Explosive Generation'' is a 1961 film directed by Buzz Kulik. It stars William Shatner and Patty McCormack. Plot The story is about Peter Gifford, a teacher who wants to teach high school students to think for themselves and express thems ...

'' (1961) * ''

The Yellow Canary ''The Yellow Canary'' is a 1963 American thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Pat Boone and Barbara Eden. It was adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson, who also wrote the novel that was the basis for Orson Welles' '' ...

'' (1963) * ''Ready for the People'' (1964) * '' Warning Shot'' (1967) * '' Sergeant Ryker'' (1968) (shot in 1963 as a television feature) * '' Villa Rides'' (1968) * ''

Riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

'' (1969) * ''A Storm in Summer'' (1970) * '' To Find a Man'' (1972) * '' Shamus'' (1973) * '' The Hunter'' (1980) * '' The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper'' (1981) (uncredited) TV series *
Perry Mason Case of the Pint-Sized Client
' (1958) *
Perry Mason Case of the Dangerous Dowager
' (1959) * ''

Kentucky Jones ''Kentucky Jones'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Dennis Weaver which centers around a widowed Southern California veterinarian and rancher raising an adopted Chinese boy. Original episodes aired from September 19, 1964, u ...

'' (1964–1965 TV series) Miniseries * ''Vanished'' (1971) * '' From Here to Eternity'' (1979) * ''

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

'' (1984) * '' Kane & Abel'' (1985 ) * '' Around the World in 80 Days'' (1989) * '' Lucky Chances'' (1990) TV movies * ''Collector's Item'' (1958) * ''Kings of Broadway'' (1962) * ''Campo 44'' (1967) (pilot) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Crawlspace'' (1972) (Uncredited) * '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1972) * '' Incident on a Dark Street'' (1973) * ''Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John'' (1973) * ''Pioneer Woman'' (1973) * ''Remember When'' (1974) * '' Bad Ronald'' (1974) * '' Cage Without a Key'' (1975) * ''Babe'' (1975) * '' The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case'' (1976) * ''Never Con a Killer'' (pilot for TV series '' The Feather and Father Gang'') (1977) * ''Corey: For the People'' (1977) * ''Kill Me If You Can'' (1977) * '' Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women'' (1978) * ''

Rage of Angels ''Rage of Angels'' is a novel by Sidney Sheldon published in 1980. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker; as she rises as a successful lawyer, she gets into a series of ongoings that lead to intrigue with the mob and a rival ...

'' (1983) * '' Women of Valor'' (1986) * ''Her Secret Life'' (1987) * '' Too Young the Hero'' (1988) * ''Miles from Nowhere'' (1992)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulik, Buzz 1922 births 1999 deaths People from Kearny, New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey American television directors Directors Guild of America Award winners 20th-century American businesspeople Film directors from New Jersey