Sharron Miller
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Sharron Miller is an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. She is one of the pioneering women directors who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s (along with Elaine May, Lee Grant, Perry Miller Adato, Joan Darling, Joan Micklin Silver, Karen Arthur, Lela Swift, Gabrielle Beaumont, Nell Cox, Gwen Arner, Randa Haines, and Kim Friedman). In 1984 she was the first woman ever to win the coveted Directors Guild of America Award (DGA Award) for directing a narrative (non-documentary) work. Perry Miller Adato was the first woman to receive the DGA Award in 1977 for her documentary about Georgia O'Keeffe.
Career
Born in Enid, Oklahoma and raised in Perry, Oklahoma, Miller began writing and directing short films as a teenager. After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1971 with a degree in Theatre, she attended graduate school in Film at Northwestern University. In 1972, she went to Hollywood and worked as a script supervisor, sound editor, and film editor before becoming a professional director in 1976 when she was hired to direct the NBC television series, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. This made her one of the handful of women directing in Hollywood at that time. She also edited the theatrical film Guardian of the Wilderness in 1976, the true story of mountaineer Galen Clark and Abraham Lincoln saving Yosemite from being destroyed by logging companies.
She has written and directed several short films, but the majority of her work has been in television where she has had a long and prolific career directing television movies and series. Early in her career she studied with acting teachers Jack Garfein, Harold Clurman, and Jeff Corey, and has demonstrated an ability to elicit strong performances from actors. Sharon Gless, Cloris Leachman and Peggy McCay all won Emmy Awards under her direction, and James Stacy received an Emmy nomination.
In 1983 Miller won the DGA Award, two Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award and the Christopher Award for the ABC Afterschool Special she produced and directed, The Woman Who Willed a Miracle. This true-life drama is the story of Leslie Lemke, the blind and intellectually disabled boy with cerebral palsy who became world-famous as a savant pianist. It is one of the most well-known and honored of all Afterschool Specials, receiving Emmy Awards in all the major categories, in addition to numerous other awards. Miller expressed great gratitude for all those who had helped her achieve her goals throughout her life, leading to some very memorable televised moments.
In 1987 she was nominated for the DGA Award and an Emmy Award for directing two different episodes of the series, Cagney & Lacey (Turn, Turn, Turn part 1 and Turn, Turn, Turn part 2)
Selected filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Cradle Song | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1978 | The House of the Dead | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| 1976 | Deportee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1973 | Down Home | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1971 | Felice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The District | Director |
| 2001–2002 | That's Life | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1999 | Hyperion Bay | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1998 | Any Day Now | Director |
| 1997-1998 | Fame L.A. | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1996 | The Client | Director |
| 1996 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Director |
| 1995 | Christy | Director |
| 1994 | Hotel Malibu | Director, Pilot |
| 1993 | Second Chances | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1992–1993 | Homefront | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1993 | Sisters | Director |
| 1990–1992 | The Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1991 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Director |
| 1990 | The Outsiders | Director, Pilot |
| 1989 | China Beach | Director |
| 1988 | Little Girl Lost | Director, TV movie |
| 1988 | Pigeon Feathers | Director, PBS American Playhouse Drama |
| 1988 | Knightwatch | Director, Also editor |
| 1984–1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1986–1987 | L.A. Law | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1986 | Pleasures | Director, TV movie |
| 1984 | The Paper Chase | Director |
| 1984 | Maximum Security | Director, Also editor |
| 1983-1985 | This is the Life | Director, Multiple episodes |
| 1983 | The Woman Who Willed a Miracle | Director, Also producer, ABC Afterschool Special |
| 1979–81 | In Search of ... | Multiple episodes. Also producer, writer and editor |
| 1976–78 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | Director, Multiple episodes |
Awards
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Peabody Award | Won | Television Special | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" |
| 1983 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Direction in Children's Programming | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" | |
| Outstanding Children's Entertainment Special | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" | |||
| 1983 | Christopher Award | Television Special | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" | |
| 1983 | Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence | Television Special | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" | |
| 1983 | New York International Film and TV Festival | Gold Medal | This Is the Life (Episode "Bon Voyage and Shalom") | |
| 1983 | Directors Guild of America Award | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows – Daytime | ABC Afterschool Special "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" | |
| 1984 | New York International Film and TV Festival | Gold Medal | This Is the Life (Episode "Reprise for the Lord") | |
| 1985 | New York International Film and TV Festival | Gold Medal | This Is the Life (Episode "The Face of Gabriel Ortiz") | |
| 1987 | Viewers for Quality Television Award | Best Director in a Quality Drama Series | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2) | |
| 1987 | Humanitas Prize Certificate | For Humanizing Achievement in Television | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2) | |
| 1987 | CINE Golden Eagle Award | Drama | American Playhouse (Episode "Pigeon Feathers") | |
| 1988 | Women in Film Award | Lillian Gish Award for Excellence in Episodic Directing | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Don't I Know You?") | |
| 1988 | Humanitas Prize Certificate | For Humanizing Achievement in Television | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Don't I Know You?") | |
| 2023 | Lumine Lifetime Achievement Award | For significant and sustained contributions to the media industry | ||
| 1987 | Primetime Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 2) |
| 1987 | Directors Guild of America Award | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | Cagney & Lacey (Episode "Turn, Turn, Turn", part 1) |
Memberships
External links
- at IMDb
Further reading
- "CAGNEY & LACEY ... and Me" by Barney Rosenzweig, iUniverse, Inc. 2007; ISBN 978-0-595-67878-5
- Sixth Annual International Edition of Film Directors: a Complete Guide (USA), 1988, pg. 10–13, by: Michael Singer; ISBN 0-943728-26-6
- Los Angeles Times (USA) Calendar section, 17 March 1984, pg. 1 + 6, by: Judith Michaelson, "The Girl Who Wanted to Be Like Kazan"