Tom Schiller is an American writer best known for his eleven-year stint writing and directing short films for '' Saturday Night Live'' (following the show's original short film makers

Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...

and Gary Weis). His films, often featuring members of the original ''SNL'' cast, aired on the program in a segment titled, "Schiller's Reel." He is the son of TV comedy writer/producer

Bob Schiller Robert Achille Schiller (November 8, 1918 – October 10, 2017) was an American screenwriter. He worked extensively with fellow producer/screenwriter Bob Weiskopf on numerous television shows in the United States, including ''I Love Lucy'' (1955 ...

Career

Schiller was part of the original 1975 writing team when ''Saturday Night Live'' debuted on NBC. Schiller was an on-screen cast member for one season. Notable films included the

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

send-up "La Dolce Gilda" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", which depicted an elderly John Belushi as the last living "Not Ready For Primetime Player" and dancing on the graves of his deceased castmembers. (Ironically, Belushi would be the first ''SNL'' cast member to die, four years after the film first aired.) Another favorite was "Java Junkie", a send-up of a 1950s-style cautionary film about a coffee addict (played by Peter Aykroyd) which Schiller made with producer/cinematographer Neal Marshad. Schiller wrote and directed the short film "Love Is a Dream" for ''SNL'' again with producer/cinematographer Neal Marshad and starring Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks. Schiller also wrote and directed a feature film, '' Nothing Lasts Forever'' (1984). The film, which was shelved by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has never been officially released theatrically or for home media, featured Bill Murray,

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

, Zach Galligan,

Sam Jaffe Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950) and app ...

, Mort Sahl,

Lauren Tom Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. Her roles include Lena St. Clair in '' The Joy Luck Club'', Julie in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', Dot in the final season of ''Grace Under Fire'', and the voices for Amy Wong in ''Futurama'' ...

, Imogene Coca, Apollonia van Ravenstein and Eddie Fisher, has gained a cult following and influenced a number of young directors. Prior to working on ''Saturday Night Live'', Schiller worked as an assistant to documentary filmmaker Robert Snyder and directed a film about his longtime friend and mentor, author Henry Miller. Schiller is the son of sitcom writer

, who was a staff writer on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

''. Schiller has gone on to direct over 500 comedy TV commercials and is currently represented by his own company, Schillervision. In spring, 2013, the comedy album "Tom and Don", which is a compilation of improv interviews between Schiller and musician

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

, was released. Schiller's body of work is the subject of the 2005 book ''Nothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller'' by Michael Streeter. Schiller is married to humorist, community volunteer, author and partygiver
Jacque Schiller, née Lynn

References

External links

*
Nothing Lost Forever:The Films of Tom Schiller
- a book about Schiller. * http://www.schillervision.com/ the official Schillervision site

Interview - Tom and Don: Part 1 at Apple

ITunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiller, Tom Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male comedians 21st-century American comedians American male television actors American television directors American television writers American male television writers American film directors Primetime Emmy Award winners 21st-century American screenwriters Advertising directors 21st-century American male writers