Noam Pitlik
Encyclopedia
Noam Pitlik was an American television director
and actor
. In 1979
, Pitlik won an Emmy
for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
for his work on the ABC-TV
sitcom Barney Miller
.
, Pitlik directed episodes of 29 different series including situation comedies
Barney Miller
(102 episodes), Wings (27 episodes), Night Court
(1 episode), Mr. Belvedere
(44 episodes), Off the Rack
(6 episodes), Taxi
(4 episodes) and One Day at a Time
(18 episodes).
As an actor, he appeared on 82 different TV series (making multiple appearances in several series) including Sanford and Son
in 1972 where he played Officer Swanhauser (aka "Swany") a white cop whose partner was Officer Smith (aka "Smitty") played by Hal Williams
(who later went on to do 227
). In the second season, he was replaced by Officer Hopkins (aka "Hoppy") played by Howard Platt
.
Other acting credits include Hogan's Heroes
, where he appeared in various roles as American and German
characters (including a spy
pretending to be a new POW
in the seldom-seen series pilot
). He appeared in The Bob Newhart Show
as Mr. Gianelli, one of Dr. Robert Hartley's patients. That character was taken over by Daniel J. Travanti until Mr. Gianelli was crushed to death by a truckload of zucchini. He also played the role of a milkman named Wilbur in one episode All in the Family
,a villain brought around by the title character in the show The Flying Nun
, an English teacher on Gidget
, and had an uncredited role in the film The Graduate
as a gas-station attendant. Noam can also be seen in the movie Fade In
and has a good deal of screen time in the Dick Van Dyke movie Fitzwilly
.
Pitlik's next marriage was to Linda Hirsch on June 23, 1974, but they divorced on April 25, 1977. Pitlik then married Susan Whittaker on January 18, 1986. They would remain married until his death from lung cancer
on February 18, 1999.
, the eponymous characters meet a gnome named "Mr. Pitlik."
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 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...
. In 1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, Pitlik won an Emmy
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is an Emmy presented to the best directing of a television comedy series.-1960s:*1960: Ralph Levy / Bud Yorkin – Jack Benny Hour Specials...
for his work on the ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
.
Early life and career
Born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pitlik directed episodes of 29 different series including situation comedies
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
(102 episodes), Wings (27 episodes), Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
(1 episode), Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, until July 8, 1990. The series was based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty...
(44 episodes), Off the Rack
Off the Rack (TV series)
Off The Rack was a comedy television series set in the Los Angeles garment industry that aired on ABC between 1984 and 1985. The series starred Ed Asner and Eileen Brennan and was originally directed by Noam Pitlik. Its taping location was the Warner Bros...
(6 episodes), 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...
(4 episodes) and One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
(18 episodes).
As an actor, he appeared on 82 different TV series (making multiple appearances in several series) including Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
in 1972 where he played Officer Swanhauser (aka "Swany") a white cop whose partner was Officer Smith (aka "Smitty") played by Hal Williams
Hal Williams
Harold "Hal" Williams is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as the black cop Officer Smith on Sanford and Son, and as the patriarch Lester Jenkins, the husband of Marla Gibbs's character, on 227....
(who later went on to do 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
). In the second season, he was replaced by Officer Hopkins (aka "Hoppy") played by Howard Platt
Howard Platt
Howard Platt is an American stage and television actor, singer and director, best known for his role as "Officer Hopkins", or"Hoppy" in the hit NBC-TV comedy series Sanford and Son from 1973-1977...
.
Other acting credits include Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, where he appeared in various roles as American and German
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...
characters (including a spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
pretending to be a new POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in the seldom-seen series pilot
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...
). He appeared in The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
as Mr. Gianelli, one of Dr. Robert Hartley's patients. That character was taken over by Daniel J. Travanti until Mr. Gianelli was crushed to death by a truckload of zucchini. He also played the role of a milkman named Wilbur in one episode All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
,a villain brought around by the title character in the show 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...
, an English teacher on Gidget
Gidget
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
, and had an uncredited role in the film The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
as a gas-station attendant. Noam can also be seen in the movie Fade In
Fade In
Fade In is a national consumer movie magazine that has covered the film industry since 1994. The magazine is released six times per year.- History :...
and has a good deal of screen time in the Dick Van Dyke movie Fitzwilly
Fitzwilly
Fitzwilly is a 1967 film by Delbert Mann, based on Poyntz Tyler's novel, A Garden of Cucumbers, adapted for the screen by Isobel Lennart...
.
Personal life and death
Pitlik was married three times; his first marriage was to Jesse Blostein. The couple married on February 11, 1967, and then divorced on September 29, 1970.Pitlik's next marriage was to Linda Hirsch on June 23, 1974, but they divorced on April 25, 1977. Pitlik then married Susan Whittaker on January 18, 1986. They would remain married until his death from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
on February 18, 1999.
Pop culture references
In an episode of The SmurfsThe Smurfs (1981 TV series)
The Smurfs is an American animated television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1981 to August 25, 1990...
, the eponymous characters meet a gnome named "Mr. Pitlik."