Alan Rafkin
Encyclopedia
Alan Rafkin was an American Emmy Award
-winning director
, producer
, and actor
for television
.
, Rafkin attended Admiral Farragut Academy
in Pine Beach, New Jersey
.
Alan Rafkin was one of the most prolific sitcom directors of all time. His resume' includes such series as The Andy Griffith Show
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, M.A.S.H., Murphy Brown
, Get Smart
, and Coach
.
According to his autobiography Cue the Bunny on the Rainbow (its title is taken from a direction on Captain Kangaroo
), Rafkin directed episodes of over 80 different sitcom series. He won an Emmy
for an episode of "One Day At A Time". During his career he worked with legendary producers such as Sheldon Leonard
, Danny Thomas
, and Norman Lear
. Rafkin had endearing relationships with many of his actors including Andy Griffith
, Dick Van Dyke
, Jerry Van Dyke
, Mary Tyler Moore
, Bob Newhart
and Redd Foxx
. At the same time he had volatile relationships with several others including Demond Wilson
and Craig T. Nelson
. The volume and longevity of his work would certainly place him as one of the most "in demand" directors of his era.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Biography
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Rafkin attended Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy is a college preparatory school with Naval training founded in 1933 in Pine Beach, New Jersey by, among others, Admiral Samuel Robison, one-time President of RCA, and former Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is named after Admiral...
in Pine Beach, New Jersey
Pine Beach, New Jersey
Pine Beach is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population increased to a record high of 2,127....
.
Alan Rafkin was one of the most prolific sitcom directors of all time. His resume' includes such series as The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, M.A.S.H., Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, and Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...
.
According to his autobiography Cue the Bunny on the Rainbow (its title is taken from a direction on Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
), Rafkin directed episodes of over 80 different sitcom series. He won an Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for an episode of "One Day At A Time". During his career he worked with legendary producers such as Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, and Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
. Rafkin had endearing relationships with many of his actors including Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
, Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke is an American comedian and actor. He is the younger brother of comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, and made his acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey...
, Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
and Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
. At the same time he had volatile relationships with several others including Demond Wilson
Demond Wilson
Grady Demond Wilson is an American actor, author, and pastor. He is best known for his role opposite Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford's long-suffering son, Lamont Sanford, in the 1970s’ NBC-TV sitcom Sanford and Son....
and Craig T. Nelson
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...
. The volume and longevity of his work would certainly place him as one of the most "in demand" directors of his era.
Filmography
As director:- Ski PartySki PartySki Party is a B-movie, directed by Alan Rafkin, and released in 1965 by American International Pictures. Ski Party is part of the 1960s Beach Party film genre, with a change of setting from the beach to the slopes - although the final scene places everyone back at the beach...
– 1965 - The Ghost and Mr. ChickenThe Ghost and Mr. ChickenThe Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a 1966 American Universal Pictures feature film starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house, which is located in the fictitious community of Rachel, Kansas...
– 1966 - The Shakiest Gun in the WestThe Shakiest Gun in the WestThe Shakiest Gun in the West is a 1968 Western comedy film starring Don Knotts. It was directed by Alan Rafkin and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum.The film is a remake of The Paleface, a 1948 movie starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell....
– 1968 - Angel in My PocketAngel in my PocketAngel in my Pocket is a 1969 film starring Andy Griffith and directed by Alan Rafkin. The movie was one of three originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, and also featured Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, Henry Jones, Edgar Buchanan, and Gary Collins. This film has...
– 1969 - How to Frame a FiggHow to Frame a FiggHow to Frame a Figg is a 1971 Universal comedy about a bungling bookkeeper's assistant, Hollis Alexander Figg in the Dalton city hall, who finds himself framed for embezzlement...
– 1971 - One Day at a TimeOne Day at a TimeOne Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
– Various Episodes - It's Garry Shandling's ShowIt's Garry Shandling's ShowIt's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
– Various Episodes