jerry foley
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Jerry Foley, the longtime director of David Letterman’s late-night talk show, has died. He was 68 years old.
Foley died Sunday at Albany Medical Center in New York after a skiing accident in Vermont, family friend Ryan J. Wiggins said. hollywood reporter.
A lifelong New Yorker, he was born in 1956 and raised on Staten Island. He was the director and supervising producer of Letterman’s late-night talk show for his 25 years. Considering Foley had to track and film the host’s constant and unpredictable comedic antics, it was a feat for him to control his room.
“Your main responsibility is to get out of the way. Don’t suffocate. Don’t miss it,” Foley told DGA Quarterly in 2009, as Letterman and his guests were captured performing on stage, grinning. He said he went back and forth between host and guest laughing and mugging, expanded to two-shots, and even expanded to be Letterman’s music director and sidekick. Paul Shaffer.
Then, Foley and his team created a scene where Letterman would spontaneously throw a notecard into a prop window and match it to the sound of breaking glass, a cameraman would enter the audience, or a stage where a cameraman would be strategically placed. I had to chase Letterman as he walked out the door. .
The USC graduate began his career at Letterman as a technical director for NBC. Late Night with David Letterman.He followed the legendary funnyman who came to CBS. David Letterman’s Late Show He became director in 1993 and director in 1995, working on the program until it ended in May 2015.
Foley has been nominated for 24 Emmy Awards and nine DGA Awards, the most ever for anyone who has worked on a variety TV series. In total he directed nearly 4,000 hours of late-night television.
“Jerry was their beating heart.” David Letterman’s Late Show “He oversaw some of the most iconic moments in music and television history,” says TV producer Kim Reynolds. late show He said alongside Foley. “He was a north star for many in this industry and was known for his unparalleled and incredible humor, wit, and sarcasm.”
He is a veteran of variety shows. America salutes you Sinclair Networks Benefit Concert and 2016 NBC Primetime Special Tony Bennett celebrates 90: the best is yet to come.
Survivors include his wife Anne Marie, son Quinn, and brothers Kevin and James (director of the 1992 film and others). glengarry glen ross — Eileen and Jo Ann.
