Tom Cherones obit

Tom Cherones Dies: Emmy-Winning ‘Seinfeld’ Producer, Director Was 86

 

He was not on the list.

Emmy-winning producer, director Tom Cherones, best known for his work on Seinfeld, among many other credits, has died. He was 86.

Cherones died Monday at his home in Florence, Oregon, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, a representative announced.

Born September 11, 1939 in Tuscaloosa, AL, Cherones graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and received a master’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Alabama in 1966. He also served four years as a lieutenant in the United States Navy.

While a student at UA, Cherones begin working in educational television and later went on to produce and direct programs for WQED in Pittsburgh. He moved to Hollywood in 1975 and landed his first job in the industry as a production manager for General Hospital.

His first job as a television director was in 1986 with the “Babes in the Woods” episode on CBS comedy My Sister Sam. It was in 1990 that he began work on Seinfeld as a director and producer in a total of 85 episodes over the first five seasons, earning a DGA award for directing “The Contest” episode in 1993, which featured in the rankings of greatest television episodes of all time, as well as an Emmy award as a producer. Several of Cherones’s  other Seinfeld episodes are considered highlights of the series, including “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Parking Garage.”He also appears in a cameo in Seinfeld as the fictional director in “The Pilot.”

Cherones left Seinfeld after season five at Jerry Seinfeld’s request: “He was tired of the same thing, I guess. We changed writers almost every season, and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence, to try to keep it fresh,” Cherones said in a Television Academy Foundation interview. He was succeeded as lead director by Andy Ackerman. You a can see a couple of Cherones’ interviews below.

Cherones also directed 56 episodes of NewsRadio, and also worked on Welcome Back Kotter, Caroline in the City, Annie McGuire and Ellen.

Cherones was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame in 2003, and he taught a film production course at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from 2002-2014. In 2012, Cherones published his first novel, The Hardly Boys, a parody of the old Hardy Boys books.

Director

Reaper (2007)

Reaper

7.7

TV Series

Director

2009

1 episode

 

Desperate Housewives (2004)

Desperate Housewives

7.6

TV Series

Director

2006

1 episode

 

The Pitts (2003)

The Pitts

4.7

TV Series

Director

2003

1 episode

 

Oh, Grow Up (1999)

Oh, Grow Up

6.5

TV Series

Director

1999

5 episodes

 

Alfred Molina, Sharon Lawrence, Kaley Cuoco, Alexa PenaVega, and Betty White in Ladies Man (1999)

Ladies Man

6.5

TV Series

Director

1999

1 episode

 

Melissa Joan Hart in Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

6.7

TV Series

Director

1999

1 episode

 

Andy Dick, Dave Foley, Maura Tierney, Khandi Alexander, Phil Hartman, Vicki Lewis, Joe Rogan, and Stephen Root in NewsRadio (1995)

NewsRadio

8.0

TV Series

directed by

1996–1999

57 episodes

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)

Seinfeld

8.9

TV Series

clips

1990–1998

80 episodes

 

Justine Bateman, Rob Schneider, and Ron Eldard in Men Behaving Badly (1996)

Men Behaving Badly

6.3

TV Series

Director

1996

1 episode

 

Meredith Baxter, Jenica Bergere, Peter Michael Goetz, Nancy Lenehan, Peter Mackenzie, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., and Constance Shulman in The Faculty (1996)

The Faculty

4.8

TV Series

Director

1996

3 episodes

 

Caroline in the City (1995)

Caroline in the City

6.3

TV Series

Director

1995–1996

9 episodes

 

Traylor Howard, Hedy Burress, Anthony Clark, Steve Paymer, Tasha Smith, and Vincent Ventresca in Boston Common (1996)

Boston Common

7.0

TV Series

Director

1996

1 episode

 

Pins and Needles

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Director

1995

 

Ellen DeGeneres, Joely Fisher, and Clea Lewis in Ellen (1994)

Ellen

6.1

TV Series

Director

1994–1995

23 episodes

 

Annie McGuire (1988)

Annie McGuire

6.3

TV Series

Director

1988

1 episode

 

Tim Matheson and Patricia Kalember in Just in Time (1988)

Just in Time

5.8

TV Series

Director

1988

1 episode

 

Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer in My Sister Sam (1986)

My Sister Sam

6.9

TV Series

Director

1986

1 episode

 

Producer

Speck: Digital Film 101

executive producer

2002

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)

Seinfeld

8.9

TV Series

supervising producerproducer

1990–1994

82 episodes

 

Annie McGuire (1988)

Annie McGuire

6.3

TV Series

supervising producer

1988–1989

7 episodes

 

Philby

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producer

1988

 

Tim Matheson and Patricia Kalember in Just in Time (1988)

Just in Time

5.8

TV Series

supervising producer

1988

5 episodes

 

The Silence at Bethany (1988)

The Silence at Bethany

8.3

producer

1988

 

Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer in My Sister Sam (1986)

My Sister Sam

6.9

TV Series

supervising producer

1986–1987

4 episodes

 

Joanna Kerns, Alan Thicke, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Ashley Johnson, and Jeremy Miller in Growing Pains (1985)

Growing Pains

6.6

TV Series

supervising producer

1985–1986

10 episodes

 

Jeff Conaway, Jonelle Allen, Laura Ashton, Claudia Christian, Art Hindle, Leslie Hope, Yvette Mimieux, Anita Morris, Ben Murphy, Robin Strand, Eddie Velez, and Sam Wanamaker in Berrenger's (1985)

Berrenger's

7.1

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supervising producer

1985

11 episodes

 

Old Friends

4.4

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producer

1984

 

Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs (1984)

Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs

6.3

TV Series

producer

1984

1 episode

 

Loving Friends and Perfect Couples (1983)

Loving Friends and Perfect Couples

7.8

TV Series

producer

1983

 

Bea Arthur in Amanda's (1983)

Amanda's

5.1

TV Series

associate producer

1983

1 episode

 

In Security

TV Movie

producer

1982

 

Doris Roberts, Judith-Marie Bergan, Miriam Flynn, James Hampton, Margie Impert, Christian Jacobs, and Billy Jayne in Maggie (1981)

Maggie

4.6

TV Series

associate producer

1982

1 episode

 

Harry's Battles (1981)

Harry's Battles

7.0

TV Movie

associate producer

1981

 

Oliver Clark, Peter Cook, Dana Hill, and Mimi Kennedy in The Two of Us (1981)

The Two of Us

7.0

TV Series

associate producer

1981

1 episode

 

Joanna Cassidy, Rhonda Bates, Candy Ann Brown, Marcy Hanson, and Marilyn Tokuda in The Roller Girls (1978)

The Roller Girls

5.5

TV Series

co-producer

1978

4 episodes

 

The Picnic Basket

The Picnic Basket

Short

executive producer

 

Production Management

Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)

Welcome Back, Kotter

7.1

TV Series

unit manager

1976–1977

12 episodes

 

Actor

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)

Seinfeld

8.9

TV Series

Director on 'Jerry' SetMan in Coffee Shop (uncredited)

1993–1998

2 episodes

 

Andy Dick, Dave Foley, Maura Tierney, Khandi Alexander, Phil Hartman, Vicki Lewis, Joe Rogan, and Stephen Root in NewsRadio (1995)

NewsRadio

8.0

TV Series

Matthew's doll (voice, uncredited)

1997

1 episode

 

Self

Marshall Jay Kaplan and Ben Kaplan in Viewer Direction Advised (2018)

Viewer Direction Advised

7.5

Self

2018

 

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (1997)

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television

6.8

TV Series

Self

2011

1 episode

 

Totally Tracked Down (2010)

Totally Tracked Down

7.4

TV Series

Self

2010

1 episode

 

Jerry Seinfeld, Submarine Captain

6.8

Video

Self

2007

 

E! True Hollywood Story (1996)

E! True Hollywood Story

6.5

TV Series

Self

2006

1 episode

 

Queen of the Castle: The Elaine Benes Story

7.1

Video

Self

2006

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld: Inside Look (2004)

Seinfeld: Inside Look

7.7

TV Series

Self

2004–2005

19 episodes

 

Running with the Egg: Making a 'Seinfeld' (2005)

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7.5

Video

Self

2005

 

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2004

 

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Seinfeld: How It Began

7.5

TV Movie

Self

2004

 

Speck: Digital Film 101

Self

2002

 

The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1994)

The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

7.2

TV Special

Self - Nominee

1994

 

The 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1993)

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6.5

TV Special

Self - Winner & Nominee

1993

 

Archive Footage

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld: Inside Look (2004)

Seinfeld: Inside Look

7.7

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2004

1 episode