thirtysomething

Background:

Emmy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated American producer, director and writer known for his frequent collaboration with Edward Zwick Marshall Herskovitz had written episodes for such television series as “Family,” “The White Shadow” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” before gaining recognition with the multi award-winning NBC television film “Special Bulletin” (1983), which marked his TV-film producing and screenwriting debut. For his efforts, the Pennsylvania native took home his first two Emmy Awards in addition to a Writers Guild of America Award and a Humanitas Award. Herskovitz enjoyed further fame as the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning ABC series “thirtysomething” (1987-1991), from which he gathered his next two Emmy Awards, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award, a Humanitas Aawrd and two Directors Guild of America Awards. “thirtysomething” is the first project produced under the Bedford Falls Company, which Herskovitz co-founded with Zwick in 1985. Other television projects he has produced under Bedford Falls include “My So-Called Life” (1994-1995), “Relativity” (1996-1997) and the hit drama “Once and Again” (1999-2001), from which he netted a 2001 Humanitas Award.

Herskovitz branched out into movie directing in 1993 with “Jack the Bear,” based on a novel by Dan McCall, and made his second attempt five years later with “Dangerous Beauty,” a historical epic starring Catherine McCormack and Rufus Sewell. However, the AFI graduate is probably best-recalled as one of the producers of Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed drama, “Traffic” (2000), from which he jointly netted a Best Picture Academy Award nomination. He has also produced other popular films, including Zwick's “Legends of the Fall” (1994), “The Last Samurai” (2003) and “Blood Diamond” (2006), and Jessie Nelson's “I Am Sam” (2001), where he netted PGA's Stanley Kramer Award.

Herskovitz now is the President of the Producers Guild of America.

In Footsteps

Childhood and Family:

Marshall Herskovitz was born on February 23, 1952, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Brandeis University and earned his B.A. in 1973. It was at the Brandeis that Marshall developed a love for filmmaking. After graduation, Mashall, who penned a screenplay of Beowulf as his senior thesis, made a short movie called “In Footsteps,” through which he was accepted to the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles, California in 1975. He was awarded AFI's directing fellowship in 1976 and received his MFA in 1978. Marshall met future collaborator Edward Zwick while attending AFI.

Marshall married writer Susan Shilliday, with whom he jointly nabbed a WGA Award in 1989 for “thirtysomething.”

Producer of Traffic

Career:

Marshall Herskovitz broke into television in the mid 1970s with “Family,” a critically acclaimed drama series aired from 1976 to 1980 and starring Sada Thompson and James Broderick. He served as a producer as well as wrote and directed several episodes. He went to write episodes for the television series “The White Shadow” (1979), “CHiPs” (1980) and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1982) before collaborating with fellow AFI alumnus Edward Zwick for the NBC television film “Special Bulletin” (1983), about nuclear terrorism. Starring Christopher Allport, Mary Armstrong and Steve Arvin, the outstanding drama won Herskovitz two Emmys in the categories of Outstanding Drama Special and Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special, a Writers Guild of America for Original Drama Anthology and a Humanitas Prize Award for 90 Minute Category.

Two years after the major victory, Herskovitz and Zwick founded the film and television production company the Bedford Falls Company, which was named for the town in the classic movie “It's a Wonderful Life.” For the newly established company, Herskovitz co-created and co-executive produced “thirtysomething” (ABC, 1987-1991), a lustrous yuppie-angst drama centering on the life of the married couple Hope and Michael, who were played by Mel Harris and Ken Olin, respectively. Debuted on September 29, 1987, the series received a number of honors, including a 1988 People's Choice for Favorite New TV Dramatic Program, a 1989 Golden Globe for Best TV-Series – Drama and a 1991 Television Critics Association Outstanding Achievement in Drama, as well as brought Herskovitz two Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, a Writers Guild of America for Episodic Drama and a Humanitas Award. Also an occasional director, he picked up two Directors Guild of America Awards for his work in the pilot episode and for episode “Therapy.”

1989 saw Herskovitz serve as co-executive producer on the NBC series “Dream Street” before returning to television film in the following year with the Bedford Falls Company-produced drama “Extreme Close-up,” in which he was an executive producer and writer. He earned a Humanitas Prize nomination for his work in the latter. In 1993, Herskovitz made his feature directorial debut with the psychological drama “Jack the Bear,” starring Danny DeVito and Gary Sinise. It was adapted from Dan McCall's novel of the same name. Also in that same year, he executive produced the Fox telepic “Rock the Vote,” directed by Victor Du Bois.

Herskovitz next executived produced the critically-praised, short-lived series “My So-Called Life,” which ran on ABC from 1994 to 1995, returned to the big screen as a producer for the Brad Pitt vehicle “Legends of the Fall” (1994), directed by Edward Zwick and scripted by wife Susan Shilliday, and produced the short-lived drama “Relativity” (Fox, 1996-1997). He returned to the director's chair in 1998 when he helmed Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell and Oliver Platt in the biopic “Dangerous Beauty,” which he also produced.

In 1999, Herskovitz reunited with Zwick to create and executive produce the TV series “Once and Again” for ABC. With Sela Ward and Bill Campbell starring, the drama became a hit and during its three seasons run, it collected many awards, including one a 2001 Humanitas Prize, for Herskovitz. He continued to produce the Steven Soderbergh critically acclaimed crime/thriller “Traffic” (2000), where Herskovitz co-won an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, “I Am Sam” (2001), a drama starring the Oscar nominee Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota Fanning which won Herskovitz a Stanley Kramer Award from the PGA, and the Tom Cruise vehicle “The Last Samurai” (2003, also scripted), directed by Zwick. He also executive produced the comedies “Lone Star State of Mind” (2002) and “Women vs. Men” (2002, TV), starring Paul Reiser and Joe Montegna.

Under the Bedford Falls Productions, Herskovitz exeutive produced a family drama directed by Zwick, “1/4life” (2005). It starred Shiri Appleby, Reggie Austin, Jonathan Bennett and Rachel Blanchard. He then produced Warner Bros. Pictures' adventure, “Blood Diamond (2006), which was nominated for five Academy Awards. The film was directed by Zwick and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly.

More recently, the 56-year-old leading producer and his long-time business partner, Zwick, co-created the series “Quarterlife,” which premiered on television in February 2008 after a successful run on the Internet. The drama show stars Bitsie Tulloch, Scott M. Foster, David Walton, Michelle Lombardo, Barret Swatek and others.

Awards:

• American Film Institute: Franklin J. Schaffner Award, 2006

• PGA: Stanley Kramer Award ,”I Am Sam,”2002

• Humanitas Prize: 60 Minute Category, “Once and Again,” 2001

• Writers Guild of America: Episodic Drama, “thirtysomething,” 1989

• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series- Night, “thirtysomething,” 1989

• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series- Night, “thirtysomething,” 1988

• Humanitas Prize: 60 Minute Category, “thirtysomething,” 1988

• Emmy: Outstanding Drama Series, “thirtysomething,” 1988

• Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, “thirtysomething,” 1988

• Writers Guild of America: Original Drama Anthology, “Special Bulletin,” 1984

• Emmy: Outstanding Drama Special, “Special Bulletin,” 1983

• Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special, “Special Bulletin,” 1983

• Humanitas Prize: 90 Minute Category, “Special Bulletin,” 1983