John Bowab (born December 22, 1933) is an American
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
and
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
.
Early life
Bowab was born to a
Syrian
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
immigrant family, and grew up in
Pawtucket,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
.
Career
Bowab began his career in theatre, directing a number of stage productions, such as ''
Mame
MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to emulate the hardware of arcade games, video game consoles, old computers and other systems in software on modern personal computers and ...
'' (1983), ''
The Night of the Hunter'' (2003), and most recently ''
70, Girls, 70
''70, Girls, 70'' is a musical with a book by Fred Ebb and Norman L. Martin adapted by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Ebb, and music by John Kander.
The musical is based on the 1958 play ''Breath of Spring'' by Peter Coke, which was adapted for the ...
'' (2010).
John Bowab Directs Girls, MTG’s 15th Season Opener
by Lee Melville, September 20, 2010 of ''LA Stage Times''.com
In the late 1970s, he moved on to television, amassing a number of directing credits. Some of these include ''The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'', '' Benson'', ''Bosom Buddies
''Bosom Buddies'' is an American television sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It aired on Thursday nights for two seasons on ABC from November 27, 1980, to March 2 ...
'', ''Gimme a Break!
''Gimme a Break!'' is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ...
'', '' Small Wonder'', ''Making a Living
''Making a Living'' (also known as ''Doing His Best'', ''A Busted Johnny'', ''Troubles'', and ''Take My Picture'') is the first film starring Charlie Chaplin. A one-reel comedy short, it was completed in three days at Keystone Studios in Los ...
'', ''Full House
''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...
'', ''Who's the Boss?
''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...
'', '' The Facts of Life'', ''Family Matters
''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-of ...
'', '' Double Trouble'', ''Too Close for Comfort
''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' ...
'', ''Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Elle ...
'', among other series.
References
External links
*
*
1933 births
American television directors
American television producers
American theatre directors
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
American people of Syrian descent
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