Egbert Warnderink "E. W." Swackhamer Jr. (January 17, 1927 – December 5, 1994) was an American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

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 ...

Career

Swackhamer's credits included ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', '' Bewitched'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

'', ''

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...

'', and ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. Of the 27 pilots for

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

directed by Swackhamer, 18 went into regular production, including ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American comedy-drama/sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 15, 1977, to May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight childre ...

'', '' Quincy, M.E.'', '' S.W.A.T.'' and ''

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudo ...

''. Swackhamer was the stage manager for the original Broadway production of ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

''. He went to Hollywood in 1961, after working on and

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and for national companies as an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Swackhamer received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for directing the six-hour

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' The Dain Curse'' during the 1977–78 season. He was the father of Ten Eyck Swackhamer and Elizabeth Swackhamer with his first wife, Gretchen Shane. He married actress Bridget Hanley on April 26, 1969 and they had two daughters, Bronwyn (born March 3, 1971) and Meagan.YoLike
Biography He was working as a director on '' Star Command'' at the time of his death, of a ruptured

aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. Typically, there are no symptoms except when the aneurysm dissects or ruptures, which causes sudden, severe pain in the abdomen and lower back ...

, on December 5, 1994.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Cosby Mysteries ''The Cosby Mysteries'' is an American mystery comedy television series starring Bill Cosby that aired on NBC from September 21, 1994, to April 12, 1995. 19 episodes were made. It was the first television series to star Cosby since ''The Cosby ...

'' (2 episodes, 1994) * '' MacShayne: The Final Roll of the Dice'' (1994) (TV) * ''

'' (8 episodes, 1990–1993) * '' The Secret Passion of Robert Clayton'' (1992) (TV) * ''

Are You Lonesome Tonight "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (sometimes stylized as Are You Lonesome To-night?) is a song written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927, first by Charles Hart, but also with successful versions by Vaughn De ...

'' (1992) (TV) * '' Lookwell'' (1991) (TV) * '' Columbo: Columbo Goes to College'' (1990) (TV) * ''

Jake and the Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. Created by Dean Hargrove and Joel Steiger, the ser ...

'' (8 episodes, 1987–1990) * '' H.E.L.P.'' (1990) TV series (unknown episodes) * '' In the Heat of the Night'' (2 episodes, 1989) * '' Christine Cromwell'' - "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (1989) TV episode * '' Desperado: The Outlaw Wars'' (1989) (TV) * ''

'' - "Deadpan" (1988) TV episode * '' Desperado: The Return of Desperado'' (1988) (TV) * '' The Wizard'' (3 episodes, 1986) * ''

'' - "The House of the Rising Flan" (1986) TV episode * '' Bridge Across Time'' (1985) (TV) * '' The Rousters'' (1983) (TV) * '' Malibu'' (1983) (TV) * '' Cocaine and Blue Eyes'' (1983) (TV) * ''

Carpool Carpooling is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) serv ...

'' (1983) (TV) * ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

'' - "Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang" (1982) TV episode * '' The Oklahoma City Dolls'' (1981) (TV) * '' Longshot'' (1981) * '' Tenspeed and Brown Shoe'' - "Pilot" (1980) TV episode * '' The Death of Ocean View Park'' (1979) (TV) * ''

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

(1979) (TV) * '' The Winds of Kitty Hawk'' (1978) (TV) * '' The Dain Curse'' (1978) TV mini-series * ''

Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

'' (2 episodes, 1977) * ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (1977) (TV) * ''

'' - "Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense" (1977) TV episode * '' The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' - "The Mystery of Pirate's Cove" (1977) TV episode * '' Once an Eagle'' (1976) TV mini-series * '' Quincy, M.E.'' - "Go Fight City Hall... to the Death" (1976) TV episode * '' Death at Love House'' (1976) (TV) * '' McCloud'' (4 episodes, 1975–1976) * ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

'' (2 episodes, 1975) * '' S.W.A.T.'' - "S.W.A.T.: Part 1" (1975) TV episode * ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...

'' (11 episodes, 1972–1975) * ''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

'' (1974) * '' Chopper One'' (2 episodes, 1974) * '' The New Perry Mason'' (2 episodes, 1973) * '' Roll Out'' - "The Paper Caper" (1973) TV episode * '' The Girl with Something Extra'' - "No Benefit of Doubt" (1973) TV episode * ''

'' (8 episodes, 1970–1973) * ''

Anna and the King ''Anna and the King'' is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant. Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes loosely based their screenplay on the 1944 novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'', which gives a fictionalized a ...

'' - "The Chimes" (1972) TV episode * ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' - "Stallion" (1972) TV episode * '' Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law'' - "The Trouble with Ralph" (1972) TV episode * ''

'' - "Chief Surgeon Who?" (1972) TV episode * '' Bewitched'' (8 episodes, 1965–1972) * '' Gidget Gets Married'' (1972) (TV) * ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' (1971) TV episode (segment "Love and the Reincarnation") * '' The Young Rebels'' - "Fort Hope" (1970) TV episode * '' Here Come the Brides'' (6 episodes, 1968–1969) * '' The Outcasts'' (2 episodes, 1968–1969) * ''

'' (9 episodes, 1967–1968) * '' Love on a Rooftop'' (12 episodes, 1966–1967) * ''

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

'' (7 episodes, 1965–1966) * '' Gidget'' (8 episodes, 1965–1966) * ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...

'' (5 episodes, 1965–1966) * ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'' (2 episodes, 1965) * ''

The Lieutenant ''The Lieutenant'' is an American television program, television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. An hour-long drama, it aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963–1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Product ...

'' - "O'Rourke" (1964) TV episode

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swackhamer, E.W. 1927 births 1994 deaths American television directors People from Middletown Township, New Jersey Film directors from New Jersey