Don Mischer

Don Mischer
Don Mischer
Born	Donald Leo Mischer; March 5, 1940 (age 84); San Antonio, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas
Occupation(s)	Television producer and director
Years active	1969–present
Spouses	; Beverly J Mischer (m. 1960⁠–⁠1984) ; Suzan Reed Mischer (m. 1989)
Children	Jennifer Christine, Heather Mischer Godsey, Charles Donald, Lilly Ellison
Website	www.donmischerproductions.com

Donald Leo Mischer^[2] (born March 5, 1940)^[3] is an American producer and director of television and live events and president of Don Mischer Productions.

Career

Mischer has been honored with fifteen Emmy Awards, a record ten Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, and the 2012 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America and the 2019 Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award for Television.^[4]

As a producer/director, his credits include the Oscars, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center Honors, the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Hall, Motown 25, the Super Bowl Halftime Shows (Michael Jackson, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen), the Democratic National Convention, and the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics. Mischer has also produced specials with Beyoncé, Bono, Prince, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Garth Brooks, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Yo Yo Ma, and Morgan Freeman, among others. He also presided as director over the 1975 flop, Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell, which he blamed on the inexperience and indifference of producer Roone Arledge.^[5]

He has received the Governors Award from the National Association of Choreographers and is a member of the Event Industry Hall of Fame, the Producers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he has served two terms on the board of governors. As a member of the Directors Guild of America, he has served three terms on the National Board, and in 2019 received the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award for Television, only the fourth such award ever given for television.^[6] On December 11, 2014, Mischer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[7]

In November of 2023, Mischer published his memoir “:10 Seconds to Air: My Life in the Director’s Chair,” recounting the entire span of his career.^[8] Book review magazine Kirkus Reviews wrote “Mischer's writing style is in formal and charming – he creates an atmosphere of candor and intimacy without going out of his way to ingratiate himself to readers. As a result, his recollection is thoroughly entertaining, but also affecting and thoughtful. A frank, insightful recollection of an accomplished career."^[9]

Personal life

Mischer was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Lillian and Elmer Mischer.^[10] After graduating from Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio, Mischer completed his education at the University of Texas Austin. He graduated with a BA degree in 1961 and with a master's degree in sociology and political science in 1963. Mischer's work took him to Washington, D.C., where he worked with the US Information Agency and Oscar-winning documentarian Charles Guggenheim. With his first wife Beverly, he has two children, Jennifer Christine and Heather Mischer Godsey. After 10 years in New York, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he had two children, Charles Donald and Lilly Ellison, with his wife Suzan Reed Mischer, a former CBS executive and graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Accolades

Mischer has 40 Primetime Emmy nominations, with 15 Emmy wins: 13 wins through The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and 2 wins through the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
10 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.
George Foster Peabody Award for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.
Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, from the Producers Guild of America (2012).
Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award (2019). Only the fourth such award given for Television Direction.
2 NAACP Image Awards.^[4]
Governors Award from the National Association of Choreographers.
Membership in the Event Industry Hall of Fame.
Received Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 11, 2014.^[11]
Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cinematographers Guild

2004 Democratic National Convention

In 2004, he produced the Democratic National Convention at the FleetCenter in Boston. After John Kerry's acceptance speech, balloons were supposed to drop from the ceiling onto the delegates below. However, the balloons got stuck in the ceiling and did not fall. Mischer subsequently lost his temper with his tech crew and his profanities were aired accidentally by CNN's live broadcast.^[12]^[13]

Selected television credits

Year	Show	Role	Awards
1970-71	Great American Dream Machine – PBS	Director
1973-1975	In Concert – ABC	Director
1976	Twyla Tharp: Making Television Dance – PBS	Director
1978-1986	The Kennedy Center Honors – CBS	Director	3 Primetime Emmy Awards, 3 Directors Guild Awards
1978	Omnibus: Meryl Streep – ABC	Director
1981	Goldie & Lisa Together – CBS	Producer / director
1982	Shirley McLlain Illusions – NBC	Producer / director	Directors Guild Award
1982	Baryshnikov in Hollywood – CBS	Director	2 Primetime Emmy nominations
1983	Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever – NBC	Producer / director	Primetime Emmy Award, Peabody Award, Director's Guild Award
1984	Baryshnikov by Tharp – Great Performances PBS	Producer / director	Primetime Emmy Award, Director's Guild Award (with co Director Twayla Thwarp)
1985	Motown Returns to The Apollo – NBC	Producer / director	Primetime Emmy Award, Emmy nomination, Director's Guild Award
1985	Carnegie Hall: Grand Reopening – CBS	Producer
1989	Willie Nelson: Texas Style – CBS	Producer, director, writer
1987	The Tony Awards – CBS	Executive producer	Primetime Emmy Award
1988	The Tony Awards – CBS	Executive producer	Primetime Emmy nomination
1989	The Tony Awards – CBS	Executive producer	Primetime Emmy Award
1988	Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday at Carnegie Hall – CBS	Executive producer	Primetime Emmy Award
1991	Gregory Hines: Tap Dance in America – Great Performances PBS	Producer / director	Primetime Emmy Award, Directors Guild Award
1992-2005	The Kennedy Center Honors – CBS	Producer	2 Primetime Emmy Awards
1991	Carnegie Hall Live at 100 – PBS	Executive producer	Emmy nomination
1992	Bob Hope: The First 90 Years – NBC	Producer	Emmy Award
1993	Michael Jackson Super Bowl 27 Halftime – NBC	Producer / director
1996	Atlanta Cenntenial Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies – Worldwide Feed	Producer / director	Emmy Award, Directors Guild Award
1998	Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson – CBS	Producer / director	Emmy nomination
1998	To Life: Israel's 50th Anniversary Celebration – ABC	Producer
1999	Sonny + Cher: Cher Remembers – CBS	Producer / director
2000	Barbra Streisand: Timeless – FOX	Producer / director	Directors Guild Award Nomination (with c/o director Barbra Streisand)
2002	Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies – Worldworld Feed	Executive producer	Academy of Television Arts and Sciences National Sports Emmy Award
2004	Democratic National Convention 2004	Producer
2005	McCarney Super Bowl 39 Halftime – FOX	Producer / director
2006	Rolling Stones Super Bowl 40 Halftime- ABC	Producer / director
2007	James Taylor: One Man Band – PBS	Producer / director	Emmy nomination
2007	Shanghai Special Olympics – CCTV, BBC	Producer
2007	Prince Super Bowl 41 Halftime – CBS	Producer / director	Emmy nomination
Multiple years	Emmy Awards – ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX	Executive producer
2007	Movies Rock – CBS	Executive producer / director
2008	Tom Petty Super Bowl 42 Halftime – NBC	Executive producer / director
2008	Fashion Rocks	Producer + Director
2009	We Are One: Obama Inaugural Concert at The Lincoln Memorial – HBO	Producer / director	Directors Guild Award
2009	Springsteen Super Bowl 43 Halftime – NBC	Executive producer / director	Emmy nomination
2011	The 83rd Oscars	Producer / director	Emmy nomination
2012	The 84th Oscars	Producer / director	Emmy nomination
2013	The 85th Oscars	Director	Emmy nomination
2012	One Night Only: Eddie Murphy – SPIKE	Producer / director
2016	Jazz at The White House – ABC	Producer / director
2012-2019	The Breakthrough Prize – FOX, NatGeo	Producer / director
2014	One Night Only: Don Rickles – SPIKE	Producer
2011 – 2013	Billboard Music Awards – ABC	Executive producer
2014	9/11 Memorial Museum Dedication	Producer / director
2016	Taking The Stage: African American Music and Stories that Changed America – ABC	Executive producer / writer