Jerry Ziesmer obit

Remembering Jerry Ziesmer

 He is not on the list.

A DGA member since 1969, Ziesmer served six terms on the Western AD/UPM Council including serving two terms as Council Chair from 1993-1996, and as Second Vice Chair from 1996-1998. In recognition of his service to the industry and to the Guild, in 2006 Ziesmer was presented with the Frank Capra Achievement Award, the highest honor the DGA can bestow upon an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager.

As Chair of the Council, Ziesmer decided to follow the example of his own mentors — like Capra Award Recipients Wallace Worsley (1982) and Francisco “Chico” Day (1981) — and worked towards the creation of a program where inexperienced DGA members could receive the same kind of assistance. The result was the Council’s Mentor Committee, which has been instrumental in helping women and ethnic minorities get off to a proper start in the industry.

After starting his career as an actor, Ziesmer changed course and became a graduate of one of the earliest classes of the newly-created Assistant Directors Training Program. After joining the Guild in 1969, he would go on to work with some of the industry’s biggest Directors, gathering forty feature film credits including: Sydney Pollack’s The Way We Were, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Brian DePalma’s Scarface, and Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire.

He is best known for his role as Jerry in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now in which he delivers the infamous line "terminate with extreme prejudice". His character is suspected to be a part of CORDS or DOD Command Staff.

In an interview about his Capra Award win, Ziesmer was asked if he could think of any accolade better than receiving that honor and answered, “Yes, when one of the kids that I mentored becomes the recipient, I’ll be even prouder.”

 

Second Unit or Assistant Director

Apt Pupil

assistant director

 

Kate Hudson in Almost Famous (2000)

Almost Famous

7.9

first assistant director

2000

 

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire (1996)

Jerry Maguire

7.3

first assistant director

1996

 

Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, and Kyra Sedgwick in Singles (1992)

Singles

6.7

first assistant director

1992

 

Laurence Fishburne in Deep Cover (1992)

Deep Cover

7.0

additional first assistant director

1992

 

Secrets (1992)

Secrets

5.5

TV Movie

first assistant director

1992

 

Out for Justice (1991)

Out for Justice

6.1

first assistant director

1991

 

Marked for Death (1990)

Marked for Death

5.9

first assistant director

1990

 

Solar Crisis (1990)

Solar Crisis

4.1

first assistant director

1990

 

Anne Archer, Tom Berenger, and Elizabeth Perkins in Love at Large (1990)

Love at Large

5.7

first assistant director

1990

 

John Cusack and Ione Skye in Say Anything (1989)

Say Anything

7.3

first assistant director

1989

 

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run (1988)

Midnight Run

7.5

first assistant director

1988

 

Illegally Yours (1988)

Illegally Yours

4.2

first assistant director

1988

 

Rags to Riches (1987)

Rags to Riches

7.6

TV Series

first assistant director

1987

1 episode

 

Mary Stuart Masterson, Eric Stoltz, and Lea Thompson in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Some Kind of Wonderful

7.0

first assistant director

1987

 

Whoopi Goldberg in Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

Jumpin' Jack Flash

5.9

first assistant director: additional photography

1986

 

George Carlin: Playin' with Your Head (1986)

George Carlin: Playin' with Your Head

7.9

TV Special

first assistant director

1986

 

Short Circuit (1986)

Short Circuit

6.6

first assistant director

1986

 

Richard Pryor in Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling

6.3

first assistant director

1986

 

American Flyers (1985)

American Flyers

6.5

assistant director

1985

 

Not My Kid (1985)

Not My Kid

5.8

TV Movie

first assistant director

1985

 

Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek in The River (1984)

The River

6.3

first assistant director

1984

 

Al Pacino in Scarface (1983)

Scarface

8.3

first assistant director

1983

 

Blue Thunder (1983)

Blue Thunder

6.4

first assistant director

1983

 

Aileen Quinn in Annie (1982)

Annie

6.6

first assistant director

1982

 

History of the World: Part I (1981)

History of the World: Part I

6.8

assistant director

1981

 

Great Performances (1971)

Great Performances

7.9

TV Series

first assistant director

1980

1 episode

 

1941 (1979)

1941

5.8

first assistant director

1979

 

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky II

7.3

first assistant director

1979

 

Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now

8.4

assistant director

1979

 

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

3.7

assistant director

1978

 

King (1978)

King

8.0

TV Mini Series

assistant director

1978

3 episodes

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

7.6

assistant director: additional scenes (uncredited)

1977

 

Black Sunday (1977)

Black Sunday

6.8

assistant director

1977

 

Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)

Harry and Walter Go to New York

5.4

assistant director

1976

 

Mitchell (1975)

Mitchell

2.7

assistant director

1975

 

The Gun (1974)

The Gun

6.8

TV Movie

assistant director

1974

 

Where Have All the People Gone (1974)

Where Have All the People Gone

6.0

TV Movie

assistant director (as Jerry Zeismer)

1974

 

Kung Fu (1972)

Kung Fu

7.6

TV Series

assistant director

1973–1974

19 episodes

 

The Way We Were (1973)

The Way We Were

7.0

second assistant director

1973

 

Lost Horizon (1973)

Lost Horizon

5.2

second assistant director

1973

 

Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Victor Buono, and John Colicos in The Wrath of God (1972)

The Wrath of God

6.0

assistant director

1972

 

Honky (1971)

Honky

5.0

assistant director (uncredited)

1971

 

Brian Keith and Dean Martin in Something Big (1971)

Something Big

5.7

second assistant director

1971

 

J W Coop (1971)

J W Coop

6.5

second assistant director

1971

 

Fools' Parade (1971)

Fools' Parade

6.4

assistant director (uncredited)

1971

 

James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in The Great White Hope (1970)

The Great White Hope

6.9

assistant director (uncredited)

1970

 

Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)

Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

6.1

assistant director

1970

 

Actor

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire (1996)

Jerry Maguire

7.3

Trainer

1996

 

Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, and Kyra Sedgwick in Singles (1992)

Singles

6.7

Councilman Jordan Fisher

1992

 

John Cusack and Ione Skye in Say Anything (1989)

Say Anything

7.3

U.S. Attorney

1989

 

Blue Thunder (1983)

Blue Thunder

6.4

Pilot

1983

 

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky II

7.3

Salesman

1979

 

Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now

8.4

Jerry, Civilian

1979

 

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

3.7

Eddie of Network

1978

 

Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton in Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964)

Gomer Pyle: USMC

7.0

TV Series

1st Private

1965

1 episode

 

Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)

The Eleventh Hour

7.8

TV Series

Georgie

1963

1 episode

 

Going My Way (1962)

Going My Way

8.0

TV Series

Mitch

The 1st Boy

Fred

1962–1963

3 episodes

 

Sam Benedict (1962)

Sam Benedict

7.8

TV Series

Rip Elkins (uncredited)

1962

1 episode

 

My Three Sons (1960)

My Three Sons

7.1

TV Series

Young Man

1961

1 episode

 

Production Manager

George Carlin: Playin' with Your Head (1986)

George Carlin: Playin' with Your Head

7.9

TV Special

unit production manager

1986

 

Black Sunday (1977)

Black Sunday

6.8

unit production manager

1977