Dwight Arlington Hemion Jr. (March 14, 1926 – January 28, 2008) was an American

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

known mainly for music-themed

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

programs of the 1960s and 1970s. He held the record for the most Emmy nominations (47), and won 18 times, putting him at the top of his profession throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and well into the 1980s. He also won the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

's top TV award five times, six

Ace award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...

s and a Peabody award.

Career

Hemion began working in live television in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the 1950s, particularly for the original ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' starring

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

. In the 1960s, Hemion began concentrating on musical-variety shows, working with producer Gary Smith on a popular series of '' Kraft Music Hall'' specials for

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Smith-Hemion Productions arguably defined the fast-paced look and glamorous style of the American comedy-variety genre, and influenced scores of later generations working in television. Hemion had a knack for balancing both visual and musical elements that made him a master of directing concert performance specials. He worked with such major stars as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, Sammy Davis, Jr.,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine, Julie Andrews,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Burt Bacharach,

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

, and Luciano Pavarotti. He also won Emmys for directing the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989 and 1990.

Productions

Among the most memorable specials that Hemion produced and directed were: '' My Name Is Barbra'' (1965), '' Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music'' (1965), ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' (a 1976 version with a new score, not to be confused with the musical starring Mary Martin), '' Baryshnikov on Broadway'' (1980), and '' Barbra Streisand: The Concert'' (1994). Along with producing partner Gary Smith, Hemion later branched out into producing large conventions, including the nomination conventions for the Democratic Party as well as the inaugural ceremonies for Ronald Reagan and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. He is also credited as a executive producer for ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' along with Smith.

Death

Hemion died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in Rectortown, Virginia, at the age of 81.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemion, Dwight 1926 births 2008 deaths American television directors Deaths from kidney failure