In the event you watched music on TV at any level within the final 50+ years, you probably skilled the work of Don Mischer, who directed and/or produced tons of of hours of programming, together with six Tremendous Bowl halftime reveals and selection specials headlined by such icons as Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson. Mischer, who amassed 15 Primetime Emmys for his work, died on Friday (April 11) in Los Angeles. He was 85.
Mischer produced and directed Motown 25: Yesterday, At this time, Perpetually, the star-studded 1983 particular on which Michael Jackson launched his Moonwalk. Mischer additionally produced and directed a 1985 sequel, Motown Returns to the Apollo. In 1993, he reunited with Jackson when the famous person headlined the Tremendous Bowl halftime present. That efficiency is credited with elevating the halftime present to its present standing because the world’s prime platform for a music performer.
Mischer labored on 5 extra Tremendous Bowl halftime reveals, headlined by Paul McCartney (2005), The Rolling Stones (2006), Prince (2007), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (2008) and Bruce Springsteen & the E Road Band (2009). Probably the most memorable of those was the present which Prince headlined amid a downpour. It recurrently tops lists of the biggest halftime performances of all time.
Mischer directed The Kennedy Middle Honors throughout 4 many years (1978-86 and 1992-2005). He additionally produced and/or directed three of the 4 EGOT-level awards reveals — engaged on three Tonys telecasts, three Oscars telecasts and 9 Primetime Emmys telecasts. He by no means labored on the Grammys, however he served as government producer of the Billboard Music Awards 3 times (2011-13).
He produced and directed the 1996 Summer time Olympics opening ceremony and served as government producer of the 2002 Winter Olympics ceremony.
He labored on many famous person specials, together with Goldie & Liza Collectively (1981), the place Oscar winners Goldie Hawn and Liza Minnelli memorably teamed up. Others included Willie Nelson: Texas Fashion (1989), Sonny & Cher: Cher Remembers (1999), Barbra Streisand: Timeless (2000) and James Taylor: One Man Band (2007). He additionally labored on dance specials headlined by Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines, and comedy specials starring Eddie Murphy and Don Rickles.
Mischer labored on many “occasion” TV specials, keyed to anniversaries or re-openings. Amongst them: Irving Berlin’s a centesimal Birthday at Carnegie Corridor (1988), Carnegie Corridor: Reside at 100 (1991), Bob Hope: The First 90 Years (1992), To Life: Israel’s fiftieth Anniversary Celebration (1998) and Nationwide September 11 Memorial & Museum Dedication (2014).
Mischer’s first main credit score in TV was directing Nice American Dream Machine on PBS (1970-71). That led to directing In Live performance, a late-night music collection on ABC (1973-75).
Mischer produced the 2004 Democratic Nationwide Conference, which led to a uncommon, if comprehensible, slip on his half. After John Kerry’s speech accepting the nomination for president, balloons had been alleged to drop from the ceiling onto the delegates beneath. Nonetheless, the balloons obtained caught and didn’t fall. Mischer misplaced his mood and set free a string of expletives — which went out reside on CNN.
In January 2009, Mischer had a happier expertise when he produced and directed We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration on the Lincoln Memorial, which featured performances by Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen.
Mischer acquired 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, a file 10 Administrators Guild of America Awards for excellent directorial achievement, two NAACP Picture Awards, and a Peabody Award (for Motown 25: Yesterday, At this time, Perpetually). In 2012, he acquired the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Tv from the Producers Guild of America. In 2014, he acquired a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame. In 2019, he acquired a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Administrators Guild of America (DGA).
In November 2023, Mischer revealed his memoir :10 Seconds to Air: My Life within the Director’s Chair. Kirkus Opinions known as it “a frank, insightful recollection of an completed profession.”
“Don was merely iconic,” Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the DGA, stated in a press release. “His mastery of directing reside occasions was a fast-paced symphony of meticulous planning mixed with on-the-spot decision-making that elevated our nation’s biggest cultural occasions, at all times capturing the human spirit behind them. … Don’s ability as a director elevated the feelings, pleasure and significance of those reside worldwide moments, creating lifelong recollections for audiences around the globe.”
After directing and producing tons of of hours of reside tv, Mischer knew what he was doing and felt at peace when a present went reside.
“There’s nothing like that feeling that the clock is ticking down and also you’re sitting within the truck, after which immediately it’s time, and everyone will get quiet,” he advised the Los Angeles Instances in 2010. “That’s once I get calm.”
Mischer is survived by his spouse, Suzan; 4 youngsters, Heather, Jennifer, Charlie and Lily; and two grandchildren, Everly and Tallulah.
