Edward Mori Griles (November 18, 1945 – October 22, 2024) was an American television producer and music video

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 ...

Background

Griles was born to Pearl "Corky" Griles (née Hirsch) and Daniel Griles (born Greilshiemer) in New York City, and was raised in Astoria and

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

. Griles later suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. He died at the Actors Fund Home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, on October 22, 2024, at the age of 78.

Career

After graduating from

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in New York City, Griles began his professional career in 1965 in advertising at Doyle, Dane, Bernbach Advertising (

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

) as an Art Director. In 1972 he became creative director for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and served as editor and creative director of Goal Magazine and Executive Producer of NHL Films. In 1975 he created People and Properties, a sports and entertainment marketing company and in 2002 he founded Timing Is Everything Productions, a multi-media creative marketing company. In 1979 he began directing music videos for musical groups such as

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

. He also directed videos for a group called Blue Angel, which included band member

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

. In 1983, Griles directed Lauper's first video release as a solo artist; "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a single made famous in 1983 by the American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard in 1979, with some of the lyrics changed by Lauper. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's debut s ...

". In 1984 he was nominated as director of the year at the

MTV VMA The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

's for his video for " Time After Time". Also in 1984, he was awarded the title, director of the year, at the

Billboard Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

for the video "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

Television producer

Griles produced the first

ESPY Awards The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

in 1993 and the first and second

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

(1984, 1985). Griles was also the producer for the TV show ''Welcome Home America'' featuring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, and

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

performing in front of Presidents

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

and a contingent of 4500 returning troops from the 1991

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. American Heroes - A Sunday evening anthology series centered on sports topics and personalities. In 1996 Griles began a three-year stint as producer of

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

, and

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...

. At that time the show was owned by

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, a division of

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

. To help boost ratings, Griles hired

Marla Maples Marla Ann Maples (born October 27, 1963) is an American singer, television personality, model, actress and presenter. She was the second wife of U.S. president Donald Trump. They married two months after the birth of their daughter, Tiffany, i ...

Trump as the host of the shows. Griles was instrumental in the sale of Miss Universe to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and worked for him in 1998. In 1998 Griles co-executive produced the 26th Anniversary of Catch a Rising Star. In 2004 he created and produced AutoRox, the first Automotive Awards show ever televised. In 2004 he also created and produced the ''Ultimate Chop'', the

Biker Build-Off ''Biker Build-Off'' is a reality television series for the Discovery Channel. Created and narrated by Thom Beers, the series was originally conceived as a single special called ''The Great Biker Build-Off''. The show proved so popular that more e ...

Awards. He produced ''30 Seconds Over Washington'' for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

an interstitial series starring

Bill Maher William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...

and

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American political commentator, stand-up comedian, talk show host, writer, actor and former sportscaster. Miller was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' fro ...

. He served as co-executive producer with Rick Newman on Comedy Central's "USO Comedy Tour". This series appeared in 1991 and 2002. Directed an episode of

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (July 7, 1949 – July 11, 2024) was an American actress and producer. She is known for her distinctive screen presence, her portrayals of eccentric characters, and her later productions in children's programming. Her acco ...

's ''

Tall Tales & Legends ''Tall Tales & Legends'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends'') is an American folklore anthology television series of 9 episodes created by television and film actress Shelley Duvall, who also served as executive producer and p ...

''. ''

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is an 1820 short story by American author Washington Irving contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Irving wrote the story while living in Bi ...

'' starring

Ed Begley, Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. He has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series '' St. Elsew ...

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

, and

Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the '' National Lampoon's Vacation'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ...

. He was co-Executive Producer of the animated feature "Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw". Griles was a co-executive producer of the 1988 tv movie film adaptation of

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author. He published fifteen novels, many of them historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize in fiction. ...

's play '' The Caine Mutiny Court Martial'' directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

. In 2008, Griles produced an illumination for the Grand Opening of

Atlantis, The Palm Atlantis, The Palm is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis but includes distinct Arabian elements. Th ...

and the

Palm Islands The Palm Islands consist of three artificial island, artificial archipelagos: Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Islands (formerly known as Palm Deira or Deira Islands), and Palm Jebel Ali, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Palm Islands were ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Music video director

Griles directed the following music videos: ;

- featuring

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

and

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...

*"I Surrender" *"Can't Happen Here" *"Death Alley Driver" *"Stone Cold" ;

Novo Combo Novo Combo was a power pop and New wave music, new wave rock group, active in the early 1980s. Their initial lineup was Pete Hewlett, Stephen Dees, Jack Griffith, and drummer Michael Shrieve (formerly with Santana (band), Santana). The band had m ...

- featuring

Michael Shrieve Michael Shrieve (born July 6, 1949) is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second youn ...

(formerly the drummer of

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

) *"Tattoo" ; Blue Angel - featuring Cyndi Lauper *"Late" *"I Had a Love" *"I'm Gonna Be Strong" ;

" **Winner;

MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of th ...

**Also indications;

MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the most prestigious competitive award and the final award presented at the annual MTV Video Music Awards. The award was created by the U.S. network MTV to honor artists with the best music video ...

, MTV Video Music Award for Best Concept Video,

MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice The MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice was first awarded at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Until 1994, the Viewer's Choice award nominees were the same as the Video of the Year nominees. In 1995 MTV created a separate set ...

, MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance *" Time After Time" **Winner; April 1985 American Video Awards for Best Pop Video and Best Director. **Also indications;

MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly renam ...

She Bop "She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, Gary Corbett, and Rick Chertoff, and produced by the lattermost. It was released on July 2, 1984, via Portrait Records as the third singl ...

" **Indication;

*"Hole in My Heart" (Theme from '' Vibes'') ;

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News (formerly known as Huey Lewis & The American Express) are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singl ...

*" The Heart of Rock & Roll" *" If This Is It" *"

Stuck with You "Stuck with You" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the band's fourth album, ''Fore!''. The song spent three weeks ...

" *''Be-Fore'' - A documentary airing on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

by filmmaker

Les Blank Les Blank (November 27, 1935 – April 7, 2013) was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Life and career Leslie Harrod Blank Jr. was born November 27, 1935, in Tampa, Florida. He atten ...

about the making of "Stuck with You". ;

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

*"Do It for Love" - Marked the debut of a young actor named

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film ''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'' (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association, ...

. Zane went on to star in the 1997 film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

''. *"

Jimmy Mack "Jimmy Mack" is a pop/soul song that in 1967 became a hit single by Martha and the Vandellas for Motown's Gordy imprint. Written and produced by Motown's main creative team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Jimmy Mack" was the final Top 10 pop hit f ...

" - Remake of classic song by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas *"So Far So Good" - From the soundtrack of the 1986 film '' About Last Night...'' ;

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

Party All the Time "Party All the Time" is a song by comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, written and produced by Rick James. It was the lead single from Murphy's 1985 debut musical album '' How Could It Be''. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for ...

" ;

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx ...

*"Oo-Ee-Diddley-Bop!" *"Come as You Are" ;

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer. Active since 1962, he won a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award and he has charted 33 singles on the Hot Country Songs with seven singles reaching the number one. He has ...

God Bless the USA "God Bless the U.S.A." (also known as "Proud to Be an American") is an American patriotic song written and recorded by American country singer Lee Greenwood, and is considered to be his signature song. Released by MCA Nashville on May 21, 1984 ...

" ;

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

*" It's Such a Small World" ;

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Land of a Thousand Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" or "Land of 1000 Dances" is a song written and first recorded by the American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. ...

" - Featuring Cyndi Lauper,

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

Rick Derringer Richard Dean Zehringer (August 5, 1947 – May 26, 2025), known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American musician, producer and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang On Sloopy", ...

, and over 50 wrestlers from the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

References

External links

Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griles, Edd 1945 births 2024 deaths Television producers from New York City School of Visual Arts alumni