David Anspaugh (born September 24, 1946) is an American television and film director.

Professional career

After earning a bachelor's degree from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, Anspaugh moved to

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

, where he worked as a substitute teacher and ski instructor for several years. Anspaugh then enrolled in the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC)

School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of talkies, the school descends from America's first program to confer a college degree in ...

. His work as an associate producer on

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

s led to his producing and directing ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

''. He followed this with directing ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'' and ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

''. Anspaugh's

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

directing debut was '' Hoosiers'', a nostalgic sports drama about a small-town team winning the Indiana state basketball title in 1952. The film was nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. It was named best sports film of all time by

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

in 2015 and by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's expert panel and website users in 2005. ''Hoosiers'' also was named to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

. Anspaugh's other feature-film directing credits include '' Fresh Horses'', ''

Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

'', ''

Moonlight and Valentino ''Moonlight and Valentino'' is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by David Anspaugh starring Elizabeth Perkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kathleen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg and Jon Bon Jovi. The screenplay by Ellen Simon is based on her semi-autobiographi ...

'', '' WiseGirls'', '' The Game of Their Lives'', and ''

Little Red Wagon ''Little Red Wagon'' is a 2012 docudrama directed by David Anspaugh and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. The film stars Anna Gunn, Daveigh Chase, Frances O'Connor, and Chandler Canterbury. ''Little Red Wagon'' covers Zach Bonner's philanth ...

''. He also has directed several TV movies. In spring 2015, Anspaugh taught a class at Indiana University in directing for film and TV. In 2015 and 2017, he directed plays for the Bloomington Playwrights Project. Anspaugh made his acting debut in the 2019 BPP production of ''To Quiet the Quiet'', which he also directed. In 2017, he directed the musical '' Spring Awakening'' at Ivy Tech Bloomington.

Personal life

Anspaugh was born in

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest communit ...

, to Lawrence (a portrait photographer) and Marie Anspaugh. He has a younger sister, Jane. He was married from 1974 to 1988 to cruise line sales manager Tamara Kramer. They have a daughter, Vanessa. Anspaugh married ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

'' actress

Roma Downey Roma Downey (born 6 May 1960) is an actress, producer, and author from Northern Ireland. She gained recognition for her role as Monica the angel, in the CBS television series ''Touched by an Angel'', which ran for nine seasons. Downey portray ...

on November 24, 1995. The couple had a daughter, Reilly Marie, on June 3, 1996. In 1997, Anspaugh was diagnosed as

clinically depressed Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introd ...

and was treated at a rehabilitation clinic. The condition ultimately led to a breakdown of his marriage. Downey filed for divorce in March 1998; it was finalized later that year. After living in California for three decades, in June 2014 Anspaugh relocated to Bloomington, Indiana.

Awards

Anspaugh received two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

s for producing ''

'' and a

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 ...

for directing ''Hill Street Blues''. On the night of the world premiere of ''Hoosiers'' in 1986, Anspaugh was named a

Sagamore of the Wabash The Governor of Indiana, Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana can bestow five types of awards: the Sagamore of the Wabash, the Circle of Corydon, the Distinguished Hoosier, the Honorary Hoosier, and the Sachem Award. Given at the Governor's dis ...

. This is Indiana's highest civilian honor, given to those who have rendered distinguished service to the state or governor. He was awarded Indiana's Governor's Arts Award in 1991. In 1996 he received Indiana University's Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion for Distinguished Achievement. The

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies. It describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Stree ...

named Anspaugh an Indiana Living Legend in 2011. In 2013 Anspaugh was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

. He also received the Hall's Silver Medal Award, given in recognition of contributions to Indiana high school basketball by someone other than a high school player or coach."Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Honors 'Hoosiers'"
WBUR, December 28, 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anspaugh, David 1946 births Living people American television directors USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni People from Decatur, Indiana Film directors from Indiana Directors Guild of America Award winners Indiana University Bloomington alumni Television producers from Indiana