Joan Darling
Encyclopedia
Joan Darling is an actress, film and television director
and a dramatic arts instructor.
Joan "Joni" Kugell began her career with the New York improvisational theater troupe "Premise Players", and soon graduated to off-Broadway and Broadway productions. She gravitated to feature films and television in the 1970s. She was a regular on the law series, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
, playing office secretary to Arthur Hill
, Lee Majors
, Reni Santoni, and David Soul
.
Darling directed episodes of the television series Rhoda, Doc
, Taxi
, Hizzonner
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
, Magnum, P.I.
, and Steven Spielberg
's Amazing Stories
, as well as the feature film The Check is in the Mail, and a number of made-for-television films.
She directed the famous "Chuckles Bites the Dust
" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, and received a 1976 Emmy nomination for her efforts.
In 1976 she broke new ground when she directed the feature film, First Love
, starring Susan Dey
. At the time, this made Darling part of a tiny circle of women directors to direct a major Hollywood studio feature film. Only such Hollywood icons as Ida Lupino
and Dorothy Arzner
preceded her in doing so. She was one of the pioneering women directors (along with Karen Arthur
, Gabrielle Beaumont
, and Sharron Miller
) who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s.
Darling was married three times. Her first husband was physicist Robert Klein; her second. musician Eric Darling; and her present husband is Bill Svanoe, a writer and a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.
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:...
and a dramatic arts instructor.
Joan "Joni" Kugell began her career with the New York improvisational theater troupe "Premise Players", and soon graduated to off-Broadway and Broadway productions. She gravitated to feature films and television in the 1970s. She was a regular on the law series, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen 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...
, playing office secretary to Arthur Hill
Arthur Hill (actor)
Arthur Edward Spence Hill was a Canadian actor best known for appearances in British and American theater, movies and television...
, Lee Majors
Lee Majors
Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
, Reni Santoni, and David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
.
Darling directed episodes of the television series Rhoda, Doc
Doc (TV series)
Doc is a medical drama/family drama with strong Christian undertones starring Billy Ray Cyrus as Dr. Clint "Doc" Cassidy, a Montana doctor who takes a job in a New York City medical clinic. It ran from March 11, 2001 to November 28, 2004 on PAX...
, Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, Hizzonner
Hizzonner
Hizzonner is an American sitcom that aired on NBC on Thursday night from May 10, 1979 to June 14, 1979. The actress who played Annie Cooper, Kathy Cronkite, was the daughter of former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite.-Synopsis:...
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
, Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
, and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, as well as the feature film The Check is in the Mail, and a number of made-for-television films.
She directed the famous "Chuckles Bites the Dust
Chuckles Bites the Dust
"Chuckles Bites the Dust" is an episode of the television situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show which first aired October 25, 1975. The episode's plot centers on the fictictious WJM-TV staff's humorous reaction to the absurd death of Chuckles the Clown, an often-mentioned but seldom seen...
" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, and received a 1976 Emmy nomination for her efforts.
In 1976 she broke new ground when she directed the feature film, First Love
First Love (1977 film)
First Love is a 1977 romance film. It stars Susan Dey and William Katt and was directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon the story Sentimental Education by Harold Brodkey...
, starring Susan Dey
Susan Dey
Susan Dey is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in film and television. Her more prominent parts came as elder daughter, Laurie Partridge, on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, and as Grace Van Owen, a California assistant district attorney and judge on the dramatic series, L.A...
. At the time, this made Darling part of a tiny circle of women directors to direct a major Hollywood studio feature film. Only such Hollywood icons as Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
and Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was an American film director. Her directorial career in feature films spanned from the late 1920s into the early 1940s, a time period in which there were very few—if any—other women working in the field.- Biography :Born in San Francisco, California, Arzner grew up in Los...
preceded her in doing so. She was one of the pioneering women directors (along with Karen Arthur
Karen Arthur
Karen Arthur is an American film director, producer, and actress. She has directed two feature films, Lady Beware and The Mafu Cage , but the majority of her work has been in television, where she has had a long and prolific career directing television movies and series...
, Gabrielle Beaumont
Gabrielle Beaumont
Gabrielle Beaumont is a British film and television director.Her directing credits range from Hill Street Blues to Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is best known for directing, writing and producing the TV special Diana: The People's Princess...
, and Sharron Miller
Sharron Miller
Sharron Miller is an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has also worked as a sound editor and film editor. Miller was the first woman ever to win the coveted Directors Guild of America Award for directing drama....
) who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s.
Darling was married three times. Her first husband was physicist Robert Klein; her second. musician Eric Darling; and her present husband is Bill Svanoe, a writer and a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Partial filmography as director
- Hiroshima Maiden (1988) (TV movie)
- Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories (TV series)
- Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
(1980) (TV series) - Willa (1979) (TV movie)
- TaxiTaxi (TV series)Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
(TV series) - First Love (film)First Love (1977 film)First Love is a 1977 romance film. It stars Susan Dey and William Katt and was directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon the story Sentimental Education by Harold Brodkey...
(1977) - M* A* S* H (TV series)
- Mary Hartman, Mary HartmanMary Hartman, Mary HartmanMary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
(TV series) - PhyllisPhyllis (TV series)Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...
(TV series) - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
(TV series) - Rhoda (TV Series)