Edd Griles (born Edward Mori Griles, November 18, 1945) is an American television producer and music video

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Early life

He was born to Pearl "Corky" Griles (née Hirsch) and Daniel Griles (born Greilshiemer) in New York City, and was raised in Astoria and Flushing, Queens.

Career

After graduating from

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York City, Griles began his professional career in 1965 in advertising at Doyle, Dane, Bernbach Advertising (

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

) as an Art Director. In 1972 he became creative director for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

and served as editor and creative director of Goal Magazine and Executive Producer of NHL Films. In 1975 he created People and Properties, a sports and entertainment marketing company and in 2002 he founded Timing Is Everything Productions, a multi-media creative marketing company. In 1979 he began directing music videos for musical groups such as Deep Purple and

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

. He also directed videos for a group called Blue Angel, which included band member

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

. In 1983, Griles directed Lauper's first video release as a solo artist; "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the song in 1983. I ...

". In 1984 he was nominated as director of the year at the

MTV VMA The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

's for his video for " Time After Time". Also in 1984, he was awarded the title, director of the year, at the Billboard Awards for the video "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

Television producer

Griles produced the first

ESPY Awards An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

in 1993 and the first and second MTV Video Music Awards (1984, 1985). Griles was also the producer for the TV show ''Welcome Home America'' featuring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, Frank Sinatra and Arnold Schwarzenegger performing in front of Presidents George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford and a contingent of 4500 returning troops from the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. American Heroes - A Sunday evening anthology series centered on sports topics and personalities. In 1996 Griles began a 3-year stint as producer of

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

and

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the M ...

. At that time the show was owned by Madison Square Garden, a division of

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. To help boost ratings, Griles hired

Marla Maples Marla Ann Maples (born October 27, 1963) is an American actress, television personality, model, singer and presenter. She was the second wife of Donald Trump. They married in 1993, two months after the birth of their daughter Tiffany, and div ...

Trump as the host of the shows. Griles was instrumental in the sale of Miss Universe to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and worked for him in 1998. In 1998 Griles co-executive produced the 26th Anniversary of Catch a Rising Star. In 2004 he created and produced AutoRox, the first Automotive Awards show ever televised. In 2004 he also created and produced the ''Ultimate Chop'', the

Biker Build-Off ''Biker Build-Off'' is a reality television series for the Discovery Channel. Created and narrated by Thom Beers, the series was originally conceived as a single special called ''The Great Biker Build-Off''. The show proved so popular that more e ...

Awards. He produced ''30 Seconds Over Washington'' for HBO an interstitial series starring Bill Maher and

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a stri ...

. He served as co-executive producer with Rick Newman on Comedy Central's "USO Comedy Tour". This series appeared in 1991 and 2002. Directed an episode of

Shelley Duvall Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...

's ''

Tall Tales & Legends ''Tall Tales & Legends'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends'') is an American folklore anthology television series of 9 episodes created by television and film actress Shelley Duvall, who also served as Executive Producer and Pr ...

''. ''

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled ''The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Birm ...

'' starring Ed Begley, Jr.,

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

and Beverly D'Angelo. Co-Executive Producer of the animated feature "Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw". Associate Producer of

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ...

's ''

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, '' The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time ...

'' directed by Robert Altman. In 2008, Griles produced an illumination for the Grand Opening of

Atlantis, The Palm Atlantis The Palm, Dubai is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis but includes distinct Arabian element ...

and the

Palm Islands The Palm Islands are three artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah, Deira Island and Palm Jebel Ali, on the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Palm Islands were conceived around the same time as The World, another artificial island project i ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Music video director

Griles directed the following music videos: ;

- featuring

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...

and

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and R ...

*"I Surrender" *"Can't Happen Here" *"Death Alley Driver" *"Stone Cold" ;

Novo Combo Novo Combo was a power pop and new wave rock group popular in the early 1980s. Their initial lineup was Pete Hewlett, Stephen Dees, Jack Griffith, and drummer Michael Shrieve, who was formerly with Santana. The band scored minor hits in 1981 wi ...

- featuring

Michael Shrieve Michael Shrieve (born July 6, 1949) is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second you ...

(formerly the drummer of

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

) *"Tattoo" ; Blue Angel - featuring Cyndi Lauper *"Late" *"I Had a Love" *"I'm Gonna Be Strong" ;

" **Winner;

MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...

**Also indications;

MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

MTV Video Music Award for Best Concept Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Concept Video was first given out in 1984, awarding the best videos that involved the conceptual interpretation of a song. As the years went on, however, the majority of videos aired on MTV became concept videos, ...

MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice The MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice was first awarded at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Until 1994, the Viewer's Choice award nominees were the same as the Video of the Year nominees. In 1995 MTV created a separate set o ...

MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance The MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video was first given out at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The last of this award was given out in 1987. Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Mtv Video Music Awar ...

*" Time After Time" **Winner; April 1985

American Video Awards The American Video Awards (19831987) was an annual music video award show taped for distribution to television. ''The'' ''First Annual American Video Awards'' was hosted by radio personality Casey Kasem, and Kasem continued in his role as emcee of t ...

for Best Pop Video and Best Director. **Also indications;

MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly rename ...

She Bop "She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, ''She's So Unusual'' (1983). It reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the ...

" **Indication;

*"Hole in My Heart" (Theme from '' Vibes'') ; Huey Lewis and the News *"

The Heart of Rock & Roll "The Heart of Rock & Roll" is a song performed by Huey Lewis and the News, released as the third single from their 1983 album ''Sports'' in 1984. The single peaked at number six on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background The song was inspire ...

" *" If This Is It" *"

Stuck with You "Stuck with You" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the band's fourth album, ''Fore!''. The song spent three weeks ...

" *''Be-Fore'' - A documentary airing on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

by filmmaker

Les Blank Les Blank (November 27, 1935 – April 7, 2013) was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Life and career Leslie Harrod Blank Jr. was born November 27, 1935 in Tampa, Florida. He atten ...

about the making of "Stuck with You". ;

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

*"Do It for Love" - Marked the debut of a young actor named Billy Zane. Zane went on to star in the 1997 film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''. *"

Jimmy Mack "Jimmy Mack" is a pop/soul song that in 1967 became a hit single by Martha and the Vandellas for Motown's Gordy imprint. Written and produced by Motown's main creative team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Jimmy Mack" was the final Top 10 pop h ...

" - Remake of classic song by

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosali ...

*"So Far So Good" - From the soundtrack of the 1986 film '' About Last Night...'' ; Eddie Murphy *"

Party All the Time "Party All the Time" is a song by comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, written and produced by Rick James. It was the lead single from Murphy's 1985 debut musical album '' How Could It Be''. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for ...

" ; Peter Wolf *"Oo-Ee-Diddley-Bop!" *"Come as You Are" ;

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

God Bless the USA "God Bless the U.S.A." (also known as "Proud to Be an American") is an American patriotic song written and recorded by American country music artist Lee Greenwood, and is considered to be his signature song. The first album it appears on is his 1 ...

" ;

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

*" It's Such a Small World" ;

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

*" Land of a Thousand Dances" - Featuring Cyndi Lauper,

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...

, and over 50 wrestlers from the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griles, Edd 1945 births Living people Television producers from New York City School of Visual Arts alumni