Gail Mancuso (born July 14, 1958) is an American film and

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 ...

Early life and career

Mancuso grew up in

Melrose Park, Illinois Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 24,796. Melrose Park had long been home to a large Italian-American population. The suburb was the home o ...

. She is married to Brian Downs, a doctor, and divides her time between her homes in

Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California. This area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River. Development projects continue to be built in ...

and

River Forest, Illinois River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, U.S. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The ...

. Mancuso began her career as an usher of the set of several television talk shows. Later, became a script supervisor for the

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 ...

comedy ''

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

''. In 1989, she began serving as associate director for '' Roseanne''. After one of the show's directors left in 1991, she had the chance to become one of the main directors and continued until the show's eighth season. She went on to direct episodes of many television series like ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', ''

Dharma and Greg Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

'' and ''

Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place ''Two Guys and a Girl'' (titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'' for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-sea ...

''. In 2007, Mancuso began working on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom ''

Rules of Engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...

''. She has also directed episodes of '' 30 Rock'' and '' Scrubs''. In 2008, she won a

Gracie Award The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...

for her work on '' 30 Rock''. In 2011, she was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award 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 ...

for her ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'' episode " Slow Down Your Neighbors". In 2012, she directed

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1 ...

and

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...

in the pilot episode of ''Downwardly Mobile'' which was commissioned by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, but ultimately not picked up. In 2013, she won the Emmy Award for directing episode "

Arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

" on ''

''. In 2014, she won the Emmy Award for directing episode "

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

" on ''Modern Family''. In 2019, Mancuso made her feature film directorial debut with '' A Dog's Journey'' which was the sequel to 2017's ''

A Dog's Purpose ''A Dog's Purpose'' is a 2010 novel written by American author W. Bruce Cameron. It chronicles a dog's journey through four lives via reincarnation and how he looks for his purpose through each. The novel was a ''New York Times'' bestseller f ...

'' directed by Lasse Hallström.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mancuso, Gail American television directors American women television directors Living people 1958 births People from Melrose Park, Illinois Primetime Emmy Award winners Television producers from California American women television producers People from Valencia, Santa Clarita, California People from River Forest, Illinois Television producers from Illinois 21st-century American women