Bryan Gordon is an American film and television director, writer and producer who is primarily known for directing comedy television shows.

Early life

Gordon was born and raised in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

. He graduated from Dover High School. He graduated from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

in 1969. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Career

After college, Gordon moved to

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 U ...

and started his career as a comedy writer on the ABC late night variety show ''

Fridays Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

'' in the early 1980s. He became an independent filmmaker, writing and directing the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-winning short film ''

Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall ''Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall'' is a 1987 American short comedy film directed by Bryan Gordon. At the 60th Academy Awards, held in 1988, it won an Oscar for Best Short Subject. Cast * John Achorn as George Scurry * Tim Choate as Phil ...

'' (1987). His other film directing credits include his full-length directorial debut '' Career Opportunities'' (1991), written by John Hughes and starring Frank Whaley and

Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...

and '' Pie in the Sky'' (1996) starring

Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wor ...

, Anne Heche and

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, a ...

. Gordon has directed episodes on such TV series as ''

Grace and Frankie ''Grace and Frankie'' is an American comedy television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the eponymous Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women who fo ...

'', '' The Office'', '' Weeds'', ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner Br ...

'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Scho ...

'', '' Sports Night'' (also starring Josh Charles), ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...

'' (created, written by and starring Larry David, Gordon's co-worker on ''Fridays''), ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near ...

'' and ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Supe ...

''. He has directed numerous

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dis ...

s — among them ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'' — setting the look and design for the series. He directed and produced the TBS pilot ''The Wedding Band'' that premiered in 2012. Also in 2012, he directed the

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...

documentary short for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, "The Arnold Palmer", which was nominated for a

Sports Emmy The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

for Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming in 2013. In 2009 and 2010, he directed and produced the series ''

Party Down ''Party Down'' is an American sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States in 2009 and 2010. The series follows a group of caterers in Los Angel ...

'' for the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

Network. In 2015, he co-created, executive produced, and directed Yahoo Screen original series '' Sin City Saints''.

Honors and awards

Gordon has been nominated three times for the

Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Cate ...

. In 2002, he received its Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. He also been nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

twice — both for his work on the HBO series ''

'', which he directed numerous episodes over its entire run. He is a member of his alma mater the University of Delaware’s Wall of Fame.

Personal life

Bryan Gordon is married to filmmaker

Jessie Nelson Jessie Nelson is an American film producer, director, and writer. Career Nelson began her career acting with the theater group Mabou Mines at the Public Theater in New York and she went on to perform in Shakespeare In The Park. Nelson began ...

. They reside in Los Angeles and have a daughter, actress Molly Gordon (born c. 1995).

Filmography

Film

Television

Acting Work

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bryan American male film actors American male television actors American television directors American television producers American television writers American male television writers University of Delaware alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Directors Guild of America Award winners People from Dover, Delaware Film directors from Delaware Screenwriters from Delaware