Ellie Kanner, sometimes credited as Ellie Kanner-Zuckerman, is an American film and television director and former casting director.

Career

Kanner grew up in Bloomfield,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. From a young age, she wanted to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career in entertainment. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. She attended

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

before transferring to

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

. She dropped out of school and was hired as an agent by Irvin Arthur Associates, a talent agency that represented

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

Marsha Warfield Marsha Francine Warfield (born March 5, 1954) is an American actress and comedian. She grew up on Chicago's South Side, graduating from Calumet High School. She is best known for playing tough, no-nonsense bailiff Roz Russell on the NBC sitcom ...

Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer. He was awarded three gold records for his comedy albums and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy recor ...

and Dick Shawn. She soon left the company to become a casting director and cast the pilot episodes of ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'', ''

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appea ...

'', '' Two Guys and a Girl'', ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' and ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

''. She won a

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as the Casting Society of America (CSA), is a professional association of about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors for film, television, theatre, and commercials in Canada, Europe, Austral ...

award for her work on ''Friends''. Kanner's other television casting credits include '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', ''

The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century ''The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century'' is a 1996 documentary series that aired on PBS. It chronicles World War I over eight episodes. It was narrated by Salome Jens. In the UK, the programme was renamed ''1914-18'' and was narra ...

'', '' Clueless'', '' Time Trax'', ''

Special Unit 2 ''Special Unit 2'' is an American science fiction comedy television series that aired on UPN for two seasons from April 11, 2001 through February 13, 2002. The series focused upon the exploits of a top-secret Chicago police division known as Sp ...

'' and '' The Dead Zone''. She also cast the films '' High Strung'' (1991), ''

Sleep with Me ''Sleep with Me'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Rory Kelly and starring Meg Tilly, Eric Stoltz and Craig Sheffer, who play good friends that become involved in a love triangle, a relationship complicated by the marriage of T ...

'' (1994), '' Kicking and Screaming'' (1995), '' MVP: Most Valuable Primate'' (2000) and '' Air Bud: World Pup''. In 2001 Kanner directed her first film, entitled ''Rachel's Room''. It featured

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series '' Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The T ...

's first major role and

Liz Tigelaar Rachel Elizabeth Tigelaar (born October 4, 1975) is an American television writer, Television producer, producer, and author. She has worked on the series ''Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series), Brothers & Sisters'', ''American Dreams'', ''Once ...

's first screenplay credit. Her next film, ''Italian Ties'' (2001), starred

Scott Baio Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...

and

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. ...

. Other film directing credits include ''Crazylove'' (2005) starring

Reiko Aylesworth Reiko M. Aylesworth (born December 9, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for playing Michelle Dessler in the action television series '' 24''. Early life, career start Aylesworth was born December 9, 1972, in Evanston, Illinois, and is ...

and Bruno Campos, '' Wake'' (2009) starring Bijou Phillips and

Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder ( ; born December 8, 1978) is an American former actor and current business owner. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in American Broadcasting Company, ABC's science fiction adventure drama television series ''Lost (2 ...

, '' For the Love of Money'' (2012) with

Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and former teen idol. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminato ...

and

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

, and '' Authors Anonymous'' (2014) starring

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. She starred as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom '' 8 Simple Rules'' (2002–2005), Penny on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and as the title ch ...

, Dylan Walsh, Chris Klein, and

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor and Chicago police detective. Known for his roles as mobsters or police officers, his involvement in the entertainment industry began through his asso ...

. She has directed television episodes of ''

The Division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. Th ...

'', '' The Dead Zone'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'', ''

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

'' and ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

''.

Personal life

Kanner was married to television producer and writer David Zuckerman and is currently a single mom to their two teenaged sons, Zachary and Adam. She belongs to the Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation of Pacific Palisades.Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation of Pacific Palisades Bulletin
MAY-AUGUST 2012 , Iyar/AV 5772 - Volume 61 , Issue 9

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanner, Ellie American television directors American casting directors American women casting directors American women film directors American Reconstructionist Jews American women television directors Living people People from Bloomfield, Connecticut Southern Connecticut State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Film directors from Connecticut 21st-century American women