David Price Powers (December 2, 1932 – July 3, 2008) was an American

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

and producer.

Life and career

Powers was born in

Big Bear Lake, California Big Bear Lake is a small city in San Bernardino County, California, located in the San Bernardino Mountains along the south shore of Big Bear Lake, and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. The city is located about 25 miles (40& ...

, and broke into show business working as an usher on ''

The Dinah Shore Show ''The Dinah Shore Show'' is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to July 1957, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division. For most of the program's run, it aired from 7:30 to 7:45 Eastern Time on Tuesday an ...

'', 1966. He later worked as an associate director before being hired by

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

in 1968 to direct her variety program, CBS-TV's ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harvey ...

''. He remained with the show through its entire ten-year run and also directed Burnett in a number of prime-time specials. Powers then went on to direct many episodes of the successful television programs ''

Mama's Family ''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called " The Family" featured on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1967–78 ...

'' and ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'' (both from Season 3 up to and including their series finales), as well as of the Three's Company spinoffs ''

The Ropers ''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 22, 1980. It is a spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''George and Mildred'', which was itself a spin-off of ...

'' (Season 1) and ''

Three's a Crowd ''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from September 25 ...

'' (its entire lone season). Powers won four Emmys (1974,1975,1977, and 1978) for directing, and received three additional nominations, and was also nominated twice for

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

awards. Powers, who became a member of the

in 1956, remained a member for 52 years. In addition to her variety series, Powers directed Burnett in two CBS-TV specials, '' Sills and Burnett at the Met'', with

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...

, for which he was nominated for another Emmy, as well as ''

Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center ''Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center'' is a 1971 American television special featuring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett, their second out of three specials after ''Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall'' (1962) and before ''Julie & Carol: Together Again ...

'', with

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

. Powers's daughter Debra Lee Vowell (born October 27, 1957) disappeared in January 1979 while on a boating trip off the California coast. Powers died July 3, 2008 in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

References

External links

*
LA Times Obituary
1933 births 2008 deaths People from Big Bear Lake, California American television directors Television producers from California Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from skin cancer {{US-tv-bio-stub