Imero Fiorentino
Encyclopedia
Imero Fiorentino (born July 12, 1928) is an American lighting designer, considered one of the most respected pioneers and leaders in the American entertainment industry. Beginning his career as a lighting designer
in the Golden Age of Television
, he designed productions for such celebrated series as Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
and Kraft Television Theatre
. Fiorentino’s expertise is often called upon by industry professionals throughout the world to consult on the planning and development of major productions, exhibits, museums and architectural projects; from the Republican National Convention
and Democratic National Convention
and numerous United States presidential election debates
, major concert tours and television specials to the environmental lighting for Epcot
’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World. His consulting work on major corporate events with clients including: Anheuser-Busch
, Michelin
, Electrolux
, American Express
and Xerox
.
parents Margaret Viola (a doll dress maker who later worked for a real estate agency) and Dominick Fiorentino (an artist who painted the faces on the Dy-Dee Dolls
), who met in New York. As a young boy, he enjoyed trips to Radio City Music Hall
with his uncle as he became more and more fascinated with theatre, especially lighting and set design. He turned to books to learn everything he could on the art. In junior high school and later at Lafayette High School
in Brooklyn, he joined the stage squad and did the lighting and set design for plays. In high school he was encouraged by a wonderful teacher, Florence Druss, who understood immediately his aptitude for lighting design and encouraged him to pursue it as a career and to go on to college. In his junior year, his life’s plan was mapped out for him and he was accepted to Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University
. One year before graduating, there was a horrible accident and he lost one eye. He knew his great plans were in shambles because without depth perception
, he thought it would be impossible to design lighting. However, his teacher and mentor came to the hospital and told him that no one would know he only had one eye, and he “would still be the best lighting designer ever.” The teacher saw the course the young man needed to be on, and convinced him to continue with his plans. With great sacrifice from his family, Fiorentino attended Carnegie Tech majoring in theatre.
After graduation, his plans to teach and design at Indiana State University
the following fall were circumvented by the loss of his father and he undertook the new role as breadwinner for his family. He made the rounds at NBC
, DuMont
and ABC
looking for immediate employment. When interviewed for a position with ABC, Fiorentino admitted he knew nothing about television lighting to which the interviewer replied, “So what? Nobody does.” Television was a new medium in 1950 and everything was a learning curve. Fiorentino recalls, “The man called back later and said, ‘I can hire you as a lighting director for television.’ I said, ‘Who's going to teach me?’ He said, ‘Nobody's going to teach you.’ I said, ‘Well, how will I know if it's right?’ He said, ‘If it looks good, remember how you did it.’ I started the next day.”
’s first televised appearance in the U.S. Broadcasts were still in black and white. There was no videotape
or retakes. Everything was done “live.” Early television images required an intense amount of light in order for transmission
of an image to appear on the screen and often employed banks of fluorescent lights. Coming from a theatre background, however, Fiorentino stayed away from the fluorescents and selected lighting instruments that would give a more modeled effect. Word got around quickly that his technique was artistic and directors began requesting his services. Fiorentino worked with such directors in those early years of television as Sydney Lumet, John Frankenheimer
, Charles Dubin
and Alex Segal
. Lighting directors that worked on those early television programs invented lighting techniques as they went. For ten years Fiorentino worked as an ABC lighting designer as one of a small circle of lighting pioneers at other networks including Bob Barry and Greg Harney.
In 1960 Immie left ABC to form Imero Fiorentino Associates (IFA.) As the television industry expanded, Fiorentino foresaw the need of independent production companies producing much of the networks' content and their need for experienced lighting designers. Before long IFA became the go-to company for freelance lighting designers. Lighting designers from various networks came to work at IFA such as Fred McKinnon, George Reisenberger, Ken Palius, Leard Davis, William Knight, William Klages
, Greg Brunton, Carl Vitelli, Richard Weiss, Carl Gibson, Stig Edgren, Tony DiGirolamo, Alan Adelman, Robert Dickinson, Vince Cilurzo, Jim Tetlow
and Marilyn Lowey. Over time the business expanded to provide both lighting and set design, production, staging and technical supervision for television and live events; everything from Broadway
productions to political conventions, educational seminars to architectural lighting
consultation.
Fiorentino actively participated in the artistic as well as company management, leadership and direction and took great pride in helping to guide the many unique projects that came through their doors.
Fiorentino's creativity was evidenced by his participation as leader of the IFA team serving as design and lighting consultants for fourteen Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
He led the team that designed the environmental lighting for the World Showcase Pavilions at Disney's Epcot in Orlando, Fla.; the exhibition lighting and staging of the famous Howard Hughes
Flying Boat "Spruce Goose" aircraft in Long Beach, CA.; Neil Diamond
international concert tours and television specials for which he received two Emmy Award
nominations; he also lit the legendary industrial show extravaganza (the granddaddy of corporate theater
), The Milliken
Breakfast Show for 21 years.
Fiorentino was also responsible for spearheading IFA's role as designers and consultants for many large television facilities around the country. He headed the IFA team that redesigned the lighting during the 1991 renovation of Madison Square Garden
and designed the WaMu Theater housed in the Garden.
Additionally, his credits include: Frank Sinatra
- The Main Event, televised live from Madison Square Garden, El Cordobes: The Bullfight of the Century, transmitted live from Spain
to 28 countries via satellite, the historic mass audience rock concert event, California Jam
and the Broadway show, The Night That Made America Famous
. He has served as consultant to every U.S. President since Dwight D. Eisenhower
, and to a multitude of major political candidates in television appearances and campaigns, as well as numerous Presidential Debates. He was hired to do the television lighting the day after the first Kennedy-Nixon debate
where Nixon looked awful as the bright studio lighting exaggerated his jowls and sunken eyes. He lit the first-ever pictures that were transmitted to outer space and back to Earth via “Telstar 1” in 1962. Fiorentino and William Knight were the lighting designers for the historic Barbra Streisand
- A Happening in Central Park, Sept. 16, 1968.
where he continued in the same capacity. During the 2000 and 2008 political conventions, Fiorentino was the overall lighting designer for the Fox News coverage. In 2002, he entered the latest phase of his career as an independent lighting and production consultant.
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
in the Golden Age of Television
Golden Age of Television
The Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...
, he designed productions for such celebrated series as Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse is an American television anthology drama series which offered adaptations of Pulitzer Prize winning plays, stories and novels. The distinguished journalist Elmer Davis was the host and narrator of this 1950-52 ABC series....
and Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
. Fiorentino’s expertise is often called upon by industry professionals throughout the world to consult on the planning and development of major productions, exhibits, museums and architectural projects; from the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
and Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
and numerous United States presidential election debates
United States presidential election debates
During presidential elections in the United States, it has become customary for the main candidates to engage in a debate...
, major concert tours and television specials to the environmental lighting for Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World. His consulting work on major corporate events with clients including: Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
, Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
, Electrolux
Electrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
, American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
and Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
.
Early life and education
Fiorentino was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of SicilianSicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
parents Margaret Viola (a doll dress maker who later worked for a real estate agency) and Dominick Fiorentino (an artist who painted the faces on the Dy-Dee Dolls
Betsy Wetsy
Betsy Wetsy was a doll originally issued by the Ideal Toy Company of New York in 1935. Named for the daughter of Abraham Katz, the head of the company, the doll's special feature was urinating after a fluid was poured into her open mouth. The doll was made in several sizes in the 1940s and saw a...
), who met in New York. As a young boy, he enjoyed trips to Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
with his uncle as he became more and more fascinated with theatre, especially lighting and set design. He turned to books to learn everything he could on the art. In junior high school and later at Lafayette High School
Lafayette High School (New York City)
Lafayette High School is a large secondary school located in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York . It is currently one of the low performing high schools of the city and is operated by the New York City Department of Education.-History:...
in Brooklyn, he joined the stage squad and did the lighting and set design for plays. In high school he was encouraged by a wonderful teacher, Florence Druss, who understood immediately his aptitude for lighting design and encouraged him to pursue it as a career and to go on to college. In his junior year, his life’s plan was mapped out for him and he was accepted to Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. One year before graduating, there was a horrible accident and he lost one eye. He knew his great plans were in shambles because without depth perception
Depth perception
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the ability to move accurately, or to respond consistently, based on the distances of objects in an environment....
, he thought it would be impossible to design lighting. However, his teacher and mentor came to the hospital and told him that no one would know he only had one eye, and he “would still be the best lighting designer ever.” The teacher saw the course the young man needed to be on, and convinced him to continue with his plans. With great sacrifice from his family, Fiorentino attended Carnegie Tech majoring in theatre.
After graduation, his plans to teach and design at Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
the following fall were circumvented by the loss of his father and he undertook the new role as breadwinner for his family. He made the rounds at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
looking for immediate employment. When interviewed for a position with ABC, Fiorentino admitted he knew nothing about television lighting to which the interviewer replied, “So what? Nobody does.” Television was a new medium in 1950 and everything was a learning curve. Fiorentino recalls, “The man called back later and said, ‘I can hire you as a lighting director for television.’ I said, ‘Who's going to teach me?’ He said, ‘Nobody's going to teach you.’ I said, ‘Well, how will I know if it's right?’ He said, ‘If it looks good, remember how you did it.’ I started the next day.”
ABC Lighting Designer
Fiorentino’s lighting career began during the “Golden Age” of television, when his TV credits included Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, The Voice of Firestone, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, and the Bolshoi BalletBolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
’s first televised appearance in the U.S. Broadcasts were still in black and white. There was no videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
or retakes. Everything was done “live.” Early television images required an intense amount of light in order for transmission
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
of an image to appear on the screen and often employed banks of fluorescent lights. Coming from a theatre background, however, Fiorentino stayed away from the fluorescents and selected lighting instruments that would give a more modeled effect. Word got around quickly that his technique was artistic and directors began requesting his services. Fiorentino worked with such directors in those early years of television as Sydney Lumet, John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
, Charles Dubin
Charles Dubin
Charles Leonard Dubin, OC, O.Ont, QC was a Canadian lawyer and former Chief Justice of Ontario. He is best known for leading the Dubin Inquiry into the use of steroids by athletes.-Early life:...
and Alex Segal
Alex Segal
Alex Segal was an American television director, television producer and film director.He directed mostly on television making over 25 productions between his debut as a director on Starring Boris Karloff in 1949 and his death.He directed a few films including Joy in the Morning in 1965.He received...
. Lighting directors that worked on those early television programs invented lighting techniques as they went. For ten years Fiorentino worked as an ABC lighting designer as one of a small circle of lighting pioneers at other networks including Bob Barry and Greg Harney.
Imero Fiorentino Associates
In 1960 Immie left ABC to form Imero Fiorentino Associates (IFA.) As the television industry expanded, Fiorentino foresaw the need of independent production companies producing much of the networks' content and their need for experienced lighting designers. Before long IFA became the go-to company for freelance lighting designers. Lighting designers from various networks came to work at IFA such as Fred McKinnon, George Reisenberger, Ken Palius, Leard Davis, William Knight, William Klages
Archive of American Television
The Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
, Greg Brunton, Carl Vitelli, Richard Weiss, Carl Gibson, Stig Edgren, Tony DiGirolamo, Alan Adelman, Robert Dickinson, Vince Cilurzo, Jim Tetlow
Jim Tetlow
William James Tetlow is a theatre consultant, television and theatrical lighting designer based in San Diego, California. He has been the recipient of an Emmy Award, won in 1990 for Sesame Street, and two other nominations...
and Marilyn Lowey. Over time the business expanded to provide both lighting and set design, production, staging and technical supervision for television and live events; everything from Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions to political conventions, educational seminars to architectural lighting
Architectural lighting design
Architectural lighting design is a field within architecture and architectural engineering that concerns itself primarily with the illumination of buildings. The objective of architectural lighting design is to obtain sufficient light for the purposes of the building, balancing factors of initial...
consultation.
Fiorentino actively participated in the artistic as well as company management, leadership and direction and took great pride in helping to guide the many unique projects that came through their doors.
Fiorentino's creativity was evidenced by his participation as leader of the IFA team serving as design and lighting consultants for fourteen Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
He led the team that designed the environmental lighting for the World Showcase Pavilions at Disney's Epcot in Orlando, Fla.; the exhibition lighting and staging of the famous Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
Flying Boat "Spruce Goose" aircraft in Long Beach, CA.; Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
international concert tours and television specials for which he received two Emmy Award
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...
nominations; he also lit the legendary industrial show extravaganza (the granddaddy of corporate theater
Industrial musical
An industrial musical is a musical performed internally for the employees or shareholders of a business, to create a feeling of being part of a team, to entertain, and/or to educate and motivate the management and salespeople to improve sales and profit...
), The Milliken
Milliken & Co.
Milliken & Company is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. With corporate headquarters is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company has expertise across a breadth of disciplines including specialty chemical,...
Breakfast Show for 21 years.
Fiorentino was also responsible for spearheading IFA's role as designers and consultants for many large television facilities around the country. He headed the IFA team that redesigned the lighting during the 1991 renovation of Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and designed the WaMu Theater housed in the Garden.
Additionally, his credits include: Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- The Main Event, televised live from Madison Square Garden, El Cordobes: The Bullfight of the Century, transmitted live from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to 28 countries via satellite, the historic mass audience rock concert event, California Jam
California Jam
California Jam, also known as Cal Jam, was a rock music festival concert held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. It was produced by ABC Entertainment, Sandy Feldman, Don Branker and Leonard Stogel...
and the Broadway show, The Night That Made America Famous
The Night That Made America Famous
The Night That Made America Famous is a musical written by folk singer Harry Chapin. After fourteen previews, the production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on February 26, 1975 and closed on April 6 of that year, after 75 performances. Chapin's brothers Tom and Stephen, in addition to...
. He has served as consultant to every U.S. President since Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, and to a multitude of major political candidates in television appearances and campaigns, as well as numerous Presidential Debates. He was hired to do the television lighting the day after the first Kennedy-Nixon debate
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
where Nixon looked awful as the bright studio lighting exaggerated his jowls and sunken eyes. He lit the first-ever pictures that were transmitted to outer space and back to Earth via “Telstar 1” in 1962. Fiorentino and William Knight were the lighting designers for the historic Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
- A Happening in Central Park, Sept. 16, 1968.
Post-IFA
In 1996, Caribiner International acquired IFA and Imero Fiorentino joined the global communications company as Senior Vice President. Caribiner was subsequently acquired by Jack Morton WorldwideJack Morton Worldwide
Jack Morton Worldwide is a global experiential marketing agency within the Interpublic Group of Companies. The CEO is Josh McCall, and the company’s capabilities include strategy and planning, creative and design, production, fabrication and measurement....
where he continued in the same capacity. During the 2000 and 2008 political conventions, Fiorentino was the overall lighting designer for the Fox News coverage. In 2002, he entered the latest phase of his career as an independent lighting and production consultant.
Family
Fiorentino was married to Carole Hamer from 1953 to 1963 and they had one daughter, Linda. Still living in New York City, he has been married to Angela Linsell since 1970. His daughter Linda, a minister, is married to Ken Crabbs. They have a son, Christian Imero Fiorentino Crabbs.Associations
- National Academy of Television Arts & ScienceNational Academy of Television Arts and SciencesThe National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
s: served on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and was its Vice President from 1971 to 1975 - Illuminating Engineering SocietyIlluminating Engineering Society of North AmericaThe Illuminating Engineering Society of North America is a non-profit learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mission is to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into...
- International Tape Association
- International Industrial Television Association
- International Teleproduction Society
- International Radio and Television Society
Awards and recognitions
- U.S. Institute Of Theatre TechnologyUnited States Institute for Theatre TechnologyThe United States Institute for Theatre Technology is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and technology, and to generally promote their interests...
Award - 1992 Silver Circle Honoree, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
- Art Directors Club Award
- Illuminating Engineering Society:
- Award Of Merit
- Section Award
- Award Of Excellence
- Lumen Award
- Carnegie Mellon University:
- Merit Award
- Distinguished Alumni Award
- L. Blair Award Of Excellence
- Emmy Award Nominations (3)
- VPA Pioneer Award
- USITT Distinguished Lighting Designer Award