E.W. Swackhamer
Encyclopedia
Egbert Warnderink "E. W." Swackhamer Jr. (January 17, 1927, Middletown
, New Jersey
– December 5, 1994, Berlin
, Germany
) was an American television
and film director
.
Swackhamer's credits included M*A*S*H, L.A. Law
, Murder, She Wrote
, Bewitched
, The Partridge Family
and The Flying Nun
. Of the 27 pilots
for television series
directed by Swackhamer, 18 went into regular production
, including Law & Order
,Eight Is Enough
, Quincy
, S.W.A.T and Nancy Drew
.
Swackhamer was the stage manager for the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
. He went to Hollywood in 1961, after working on and off Broadway and for national companies as an actor
, stage manager
and director. Swackhamer received an Emmy Award
for directing the six-hour mini-series
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. He was working as a director on Star Command
at the time of his death, of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, on December 5, 1994.
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 66,522...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
– December 5, 1994, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) was an American television
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Swackhamer's credits included M*A*S*H, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
and The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
. Of the 27 pilots
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
directed by Swackhamer, 18 went into regular production
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
, including Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
,Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
, Quincy
Quincy
-People:*Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, Norman nobleman*Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, Norman nobleman*Quincy Jones , American record producer and musician-Places:France*Quincy, Cher, a commune in the Cher département in France...
, S.W.A.T and Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
.
Swackhamer was the stage manager for the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
. He went to Hollywood in 1961, after working on and off Broadway and for national companies as an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, stage manager
Stage management
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...
and director. Swackhamer received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for directing the six-hour mini-series
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
The Dain Curse
The Dain Curse
The Dain Curse is a novel written by Dashiell Hammett and published in 1929.- Plot summary :The detective known only as The Continental Op investigates a diamond heist that looks like an inside job. He is told of a supposed curse on the Dain family, said to inflict sudden and violent deaths upon...
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
Bridget Hanley
Bridget Ann Elizabeth Hanley, professionally known as Bridget Hanley, is an American actress, known for her starring and supporting roles in TV comedy, western, adventure and drama programs, including Candy Pruitt on the Western dramedy Here Come the Brides. She also starred in Harper Valley...
on April 26, 1969 and they had two daughters, Bronwyn (born March 3, 1971) and Meagan. He was working as a director on Star Command
Star Command (film)
Star Command is a 1996 made-for-TV film written by Melinda M. Snodgrass and directed by Jim Johnston.-Plot Outline:A crew of space navy cadets on a training mission find themselves forced to fight an enemy fleet for real. They lose their senior officers in the opening battle, then through luck and...
at the time of his death, of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, on December 5, 1994.
Selected filmography
- The Cosby MysteriesThe Cosby MysteriesThe Cosby Mysteries is a American television mystery series that starred Bill Cosby. It was the first television series to star Cosby since The Cosby Show and lasted only one season...
(2 episodes, 1994) - MacShayne: The Final Roll of the Dice (1994) (TV)
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(8 episodes, 1990–1993) - The Secret Passion of Robert Clayton (1992) (TV)
- Are You Lonesome Tonight (1992) (TV)
- LookwellLookwellLookwell was a television pilot written and produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel. It starred Adam West as a washed-up TV action hero—who at the peak of his career was ceremonially deputized by local law enforcement—who falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life. His student, Jason,...
(1991) (TV) - Columbo: Columbo Goes to College (1990) (TV)
- Jake and the FatmanJake and the FatmanJake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series...
(8 episodes, 1987–1990) - H.E.L.P.H.E.L.P.H.E.L.P. was a United States ABC television drama series which appeared for only one season, as a mid-season replacement in March 1990. John Mahoney starred as Chief Patrick Meacham of the New York City Fire Department...
(1990) TV series (unknown episodes) - In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night (TV series)In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995...
(2 episodes, 1989) - Christine Cromwell - "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (1989) TV episode
- Desperado: The Outlaw Wars (1989) (TV)
- Murder, She WroteMurder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
- "Deadpan" (1988) TV episode - Desperado: The Return of Desperado (1988) (TV)
- The WizardThe Wizard (TV series)The Wizard is a live-action, family friendly, action/adventure series created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Paul B. Radin...
(3 episodes, 1986) - L.A. LawL.A. LawL.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
- "The House of the Rising Flan" (1986) TV episode - Bridge Across Time (1985) (TV)
- The RoustersThe RoustersThe Rousters is a 1983 NBC television series about a group of modern-day bounty hunters who are descendants of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. Despite advertising claims that this series would "sink The Love Boat" in the ratings, it ran for only one season of 13 episodes.-Premise:Wyatt Earp III works...
(1983) (TV) - MalibuMalibu (film)Malibu is a 1983 television film, based on a novel by William Murray. Featuring Kim Novak, Susan Dey, Troy Donahue and James Coburn, the all star miniseries involves a young couple from Milwaukee, who move into the fabled, high-society Malibu beach community, and become involved with the lives of...
(1983) (TV) - Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983) (TV)
- Disneyland - "Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang" (1982) TV episode
- The Oklahoma City Dolls (1981) (TV)
- Longshot (1981)
- Tenspeed and Brown ShoeTenspeed and Brown ShoeTenspeed and Brown Shoe is an American detective/comedy series originally broadcast by the ABC network between January through June 1980. The series was created and executive produced by Stephen J. Cannell.-Synopsis:...
- "Pilot" (1980) TV episode - The Death of Ocean View Park (1979) (TV)
- The Winds of Kitty Hawk (1978) (TV)
- The Dain CurseThe Dain CurseThe Dain Curse is a novel written by Dashiell Hammett and published in 1929.- Plot summary :The detective known only as The Continental Op investigates a diamond heist that looks like an inside job. He is told of a supposed curse on the Dain family, said to inflict sudden and violent deaths upon...
(1978) TV mini-series - FamilyFamily (TV series)Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
(2 episodes, 1977) - The Amazing Spider-Man (1977) (TV)
- Eight Is EnoughEight Is EnoughEight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
- "Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense" (1977) TV episode - The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC...
- "The Mystery of Pirate's Cove" (1977) TV episode - Once an EagleOnce an EagleOnce An Eagle is a nine hour American television mini-series directed by Richard Michaels and E.W. Swackhamer. The picture was written by Peter S...
(1976) TV mini-series - Quincy M.E. - "Go Fight City Hall... to the Death" (1976) TV episode
- Death at Love HouseDeath at Love HouseDeath at Love House is a 1976 made-for-tv horror film directed by E.W. Swackhamer. Part of the ABC Movie of the Week, the film stars Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson.- Plot :...
(1976) (TV) - McCloud (4 episodes, 1975–1976)
- SwitchSwitch (TV series)Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation...
(2 episodes, 1975) - S.W.A.T.S.W.A.T. (TV series)----S.W.A.T. is a 1970s American television series about the adventures of the WCPD's Olympic Division Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city....
- "S.W.A.T.: Part 1" (1975) TV episode - The RookiesThe RookiesThe Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...
(11 episodes, 1972–1975) - Chopper OneChopper OneChopper One was a short-lived ABC drama/adventure television series in early 1974 depicting the activities of a California police helicopter team. The program aired in a half-hour time slot on Thursdays at 8 p.m. Eastern....
(2 episodes, 1974) - The New Perry Mason (2 episodes, 1973)
- Roll OutRoll OutRoll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973-1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley, Jr...
- "The Paper Caper" (1973) TV episode - The Girl with Something ExtraThe Girl with Something ExtraThe Girl with Something Extra is an American fantasy-based sitcom that aired on NBC for one season during 1973-1974. The series was created by Bernard Slade and produced by Screen Gems Television.-Synopsis:...
- "No Benefit of Doubt" (1973) TV episode - The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
(8 episodes, 1970–1973) - Anna and the KingAnna and the King (TV series)Anna and the King is a short-lived sitcom broadcast in the United States by CBS as part of its 1972 fall lineup.-Overview:Anna and the King is a non-musical adaptation of the 1956 film of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I, which was in turn based on the novel Anna and the King of Siam by...
- "The Chimes" (1972) TV episode - BonanzaBonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
- "Stallion" (1972) TV episode - Owen Marshall: Counselor at LawOwen Marshall: Counselor at LawOwen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
- "The Trouble with Ralph" (1972) TV episode - M*A*S*H - "Chief Surgeon Who?" (1972) TV episode
- BewitchedBewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
(8 episodes, 1965–1972) - Gidget Gets MarriedGidget Gets MarriedGidget Gets Married is a 1972 television film produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It was written by John McGreevey and directed by E.W. Swackhamer and starred Monie Ellis as Gidget.-Plot:...
(1972) (TV) - Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
(1971) TV episode (segment "Love and the Reincarnation") - The Young RebelsThe Young RebelsThe Young Rebels is an American adventure series that was broadcast by ABC as part of its 1970 fall lineup.-Plot:The Young Rebels was the story of a group of youthful guerrillas fighting on the Patriot side in the American Revolutionary War. They were part of the fictional "Yankee Doodle Society",...
- "Fort Hope" (1970) TV episode - Here Come the BridesHere Come the BridesHere Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970...
(6 episodes, 1968–1969) - The OutcastsThe Outcasts (TV series)The Outcasts is a short-lived Western genre television series, appearing on ABC in the 1968-69 season. The series co-starred Don Murray and Otis Young, and is probably most notable for being the first television Western with a Black co-star and the first bi-racial Western action...
(2 episodes, 1968–1969) - The Flying NunThe Flying NunThe Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
(9 episodes, 1967–1968) - Love on a RooftopLove on a RooftopLove on a Rooftop is an American sitcom about a newlywed couple, Dave and Julie Willis, and their humorous struggles to survive in San Francisco on Dave's apprentice architect's salary of $85.37 a week...
(12 episodes, 1966–1967) - HazelHazel (TV series)Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...
(7 episodes, 1965–1966) - GidgetGidget (TV series)Gidget is an American sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966...
(8 episodes, 1965–1966) - I Dream of JeannieI Dream of JeannieI Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
(5 episodes, 1965–1966) - The Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
(2 episodes, 1965) - The LieutenantThe LieutenantThe Lieutenant is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963-1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most successful in-house production companies of the 1960s. Situated...
- "O'Rourke" (1964) TV episode