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 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(February 2024) |
Roger Goodman is an independent television and live event producer specializing in event production. He worked at ABC for 43 years as a television director and producer. His career has spanned sports, news and entertainment. He has done Olympic Games, elections, wars, weddings and funerals. He is now the head of RG Productions.
A veteran of ABC/Disney, Goodman has as a director-producer in three areas of television programming: news, sports and entertainment, including Presidential elections, Olympic Games and the Academy Awards. Goodman was the recipient of the DGA Lifetime Achievement in News Direction Award for 2010.
His resume includes ABC 2000 Today – a broadcast using over 400 cameras from around the world for 24 continuous hours, nine Olympic Games, four Super Bowl halftime shows, the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, Wide World of Sports, ten New York City Marathons, sports coverage, red carpet pre-shows for the Primetime Emmys and Academy Awards, two Daytime Emmy telecasts, and the 81st Annual Academy Awards for which he received Emmy and DGA nominations for achievement in directing.
He has been instrumental in a number technological advances and industry firsts. Under his direction, transmissions of live programming for Good Morning America were broadcast from a submerged nuclear submarine, the aircraft carrier Enterprise – the largest live television endeavor attempted aboard a moving aircraft carrier at sea, and from a speeding eleven-car train traveling throughout the Northeast United States. He has designed and built studios and sets including the four-story Times Square Studios – the home of Good Morning America – ABC news, magazine shows and specials. He was also responsible for the overall look and design of all of ABC News and has directed the development of ABC's efforts in interactive, enhanced television, virtual-reality production sets and other integrated new media projects. [1]
He is the head of RG Productions Inc., which does consulting for live events, television, direction, and web production. [2] Its clients include television networks, production companies, and commercial businesses.
He began his ABC career as a production assistant on ABC's Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay in 1965. [3] He was a production assistant from 1965 to 1968 when he became an associate director with the show until 1976. Goodman was a director for ABC Sports from 1976 until 1980 when started working in for both ABC News and ABC Sports. He continued to work in both until 1985 when he moved exclusively to News.
He worked on broadcasts including college football, horse racing, auto racing, bowling, boxing, golf and Frank Sinatra: The Main Event Live. He was the director and/or coordinating director for nine Olympic Games, with responsibilities that included the design and creation of the Broadcast Centers. He covered the Summer and Winter Games in Grenoble, Mexico City, Munich, Innsbruck, Montreal, Lake Placid, Los Angeles, Sarajevo and Calgary. [1]
When Goodman started at ABC News, he was the director of production development. He was promoted to director of production and design for both News and Sports in 1985. [4] In 1990, he became senior director with responsibility for the on-air look and design of all ABC News broadcasts. He continued to move up the ranks in 1996 when he was named executive director of Special Projects. In this newly created position, he was responsible for the design, direction and overall look of special programming for all of the network's divisions, including News, Sports, and Entertainment. Two years later, in 1998, he became vice president of Special Projects. This gave him a new set of responsibilities including overseeing the development of ABC's entrance in interactive television and introduction of computer-generated "virtual-reality" sets to speed production and enhance versatility in the production process. [5]
Goodman's projects throughout his tenure included developing the creative design and direction of ABC's political coverage since 1980, directing all Presidential conventions, debates, elections and inaugurations, executive director of ABC News' 15-hour coverage of the one-year anniversary of September 11, and co-executive producer and director of In Search of America: A July 4 Musical Celebration. He played a large part in the development and execution of the Times Squares studio where GMA, the Millennium, and many more shows have been produced. [6] He also directed the Peabody Award-winning coverage of the September 11th attacks and aftermath, which was broadcast live for over 91-hours, making it the longest consecutive news report in ABC history. He served as co-executive producer and director of Norman Lear's Independence Day 2001, which celebrated the 225th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On December 31, 1999, Goodman was the co-executive producer and director of ABC 2000 Today: The Millennium, the distinctive and unprecedented 24-hour news and entertainment broadcast where 175 million viewers took a world tour of New Years' celebrations that took place in more than 60 countries. Goodman directed the entire 24 hours, using over 400 cameras, 32 satellites, 4 control rooms and a staff of 1,000 technicians.
Goodman has designed and directed 20/20, Primetime Live, Nightline, This Week, Good Morning America's live interview by Diane Sawyer with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, Primetime Live's tours of the White House and the Kremlin, and the 50th anniversary of D-Day. He created the visual concept for televised town hall meetings for Ted Koppel and Peter Jennings. He also directed the historic town hall meetings that aired during the week-long series Nightline in South Africa and Nightline in the Holy Land, the critically acclaimed series examining Arab-Israeli conflicts; and the four-hour Nightline on AIDS, at the time, the most comprehensive coverage of the epidemic ever shown on network television. He also served as director for other ABC News Specials including Liberty Weekend, Capital to Capital, the historic series which marked the first live exchanges between members of Congress and the high-ranking officials at the Kremlin, and many Peter Jennings's children's specials. [1]
Goodman directed the 81st Academy Awards. [7]
Other entertainment credits include directing the Daytime Emmy Awards, Red Carpet pre-shows for the Primetime Emmys and the Academy Awards, David Blaine: Frozen in Time, Extreme Makeover Home Edition Live, the live Michael Jackson Talks…to Oprah special event (which drew a worldwide viewing audience of 110 million people,) the original Battle of the Network Stars, and ABC's Upfront presentations live from Lincoln Center and Radio City Music Hall. [1]
Goodman has received 61 Emmy nominations and 29 Emmy Awards, three Christopher Awards, three Peabody Awards, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, the first Gold Baton presented by the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, a George Polk Award, two International Broadcast Design Awards, the 1988 Directors Guild of America Directorial Achievement Award for the Indianapolis 500, six Videographer's Awards, a Communicator Award, American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award, and 1992 Cine Award. [1] In 2010 he was awarded the Life Time Achievement in News Directing award by the Directors Guild of America.
Goodman started at WBKB in Chicago. In 1965 when a space opened up at Wide World of Sports, he was transferred to New York. He was drafted into the army where he helped produce on a variety of teaching films. He then returned to ABC to continue his career.
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with their own set of rules and award categories. The two events that receive the most media coverage are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards, which recognize outstanding work in American primetime and daytime entertainment programming, respectively. Other notable U.S. national Emmy events include the Children's & Family Emmy Awards for children's and family-oriented television programming, the Sports Emmy Awards for sports programming, News & Documentary Emmy Awards for news and documentary shows, and the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for technological and engineering achievements. Regional Emmy Awards are also presented throughout the country at various times through the year, recognizing excellence in local and statewide television. In addition, the International Emmy Awards honor excellence in TV programming produced and initially aired outside the United States.
Nightline is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main anchor from March 1980 until his retirement in November 2005. Its ongoing rotating anchors are Byron Pitts and Juju Chang. Nightline airs weeknights from 12:37 to 1:07 a.m., Eastern Time, after Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which had served as the program's lead-out from 2003 to 2012.
Donald Winfred Ohlmeyer Jr. was an American television producer and president of the NBC network's west coast division. He received notoriety for firing Norm Macdonald from Saturday Night Live in early 1998, a move that is widely believed to have been motivated by Macdonald's refusal to stop making jokes at the expense of Ohlmeyer's friend, O. J. Simpson.
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.
The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American sports television programming, including sports-related series, live coverage of sporting events, and best sports announcers. The awards ceremony, presenting Emmys from the previous calendar year, is usually held on a Spring Monday night, sometime in the last two weeks in April or the first week in May. The Sports Emmy Awards are all given away at one ceremony, unlike the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards, which hold a "Creative Arts" ceremony in which Emmys are given to behind-the-scenes personnel.
James Edward Burrows, sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. Burrows has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and NBC special Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows in 2016.
Richard N. Kaplan is an American network television producer. He has worked for CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC. Kaplan has also served as executive producer for some of the biggest names in television news journalism, including Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour.
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. The award categories are divided into three classes: the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards to honor technical and other similar behind-the-scenes achievements, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for recognizing significant contributions to the engineering and technological aspects of television. First given out in 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Award" until the International Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award were created in the early 1970s to expand the Emmy to other sectors of the television industry.
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and was produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark and directed by Roger Goodman. Hugh Jackman hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 7, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Biel.
Hamish Hamilton is a British director. He has directed the Super Bowl halftime show annually since 2010. He has also directed the Academy Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards, and worked with music artists such as Mariah Carey, Eminem, Madonna, The Who and U2. He has directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as the same events during the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Donald Roy King is an American television director, producer, writer, and actor. He served as the director for Saturday Night Live from 2006 until 2021. He has "directed more hours of live network television than anyone else in the history of television," according to Michael Chein.
Brent "Bucky" Gunts is a multiple Emmy-winning sports television director currently serving as Head of Production for NBC Olympics.
David Bohrman was an American news executive, working in network television news, cable news, new media, internet, convergence, and consulting. Bohrman created almost a dozen new TV news programs at ABC News, NBC News (MSNBC), CNN, and TechTV.
Allen "Al" Schwartz is an American television producer who has produced a variety of shows in association with Dick Clark. He is best known for producing award shows such as the American Music Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. Shows that he co-produced were nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards three times and for a Primetime Emmy Award once.
The Honourable Ben Winston is a British producer, director and a founding partner of Fulwell 73. He has won 12 Emmy Awards and been nominated 33 times. He holds the record for the individual with the most Emmy nominations in any one year when in 2019 he received 8 nominations.
Daniel Flannery is an American artist, creative producer, theatre director, scenographer, film/television director, director of photography and lighting designer.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was originally to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead hosted from the Staples Center, while winners gave speeches remotely from their homes or other locations. It aired live on September 20, 2020, following the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 14–17 and 19. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 23 categories. The ceremony was produced by Done and Dusted, directed by Hamish Hamilton, and broadcast in the United States by ABC. Jimmy Kimmel served as host for the third time.
Clark Jones was an American television director. He gained acclaim in the early days of television as a director of live programming.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards ceremony was held live on September 12, 2022, and was preceded by the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 3 and 4, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast in the United States on NBC and Peacock. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 25 categories. The event was produced through Done and Dusted and Hudlin Entertainment and was directed by Hamish Hamilton. Kenan Thompson was the ceremony's host.
The 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards were presented on September 3 and 4, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. A total of 99 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 93 categories. The ceremonies were broadcast in the United States by FXX on September 10.