Fielder Cook (March 9, 1923 – June 20, 2003) was an American television and film director, producer, and writer whose 1971 television film ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'' spawned the series ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

''.

Biography and career

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Cook graduated with honor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from Washington and Lee University, then studied

Elizabethan Drama The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Background The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...

at the University of Birmingham in England. He returned to the United States and began his career in the early days of television, directing many episodes of such

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

as '' Lux Video Theater'', ''

The Kaiser Aluminum Hour ''The Kaiser Aluminum Hour'' is a dramatic anthology television series which was broadcast in prime time in the United States from July 3, 1956, through June 18, 1957, by NBC. ''The Kaiser Aluminum Hour'' was shown on alternate Tuesday nights a ...

'', ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'', '' Omnibus'', and ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

''. In later years, he directed the television movies ''Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys'', ''A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story'', ''Gauguin the Savage'', ''

Family Reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...

'', ''

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a Maya Angelou#Chronology of autobiographies, seven-volume series, it is a Bildungsroman, ...

'', ''Will There Really Be a Morning?'', and others; adaptations of ''The Philadelphia Story'', '' Harvey'', ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and score by Frederick Loewe. The plot features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years; on ...

'', ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', '' The Price'', ''

Miracle on 34th Street ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (initially released as ''The Big Heart'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American Christmas film, Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story ...

'', and ''

The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Mar ...

''; and episodes of ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member ...

'', '' The Defenders'', and '' Beacon Hill''. Cook's credits for feature films include '' A Big Hand for the Little Lady'', ''

How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

'' (1968), '' Prudence and the Pill'' (1968, co-director), '' From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'' (1973), '' Eagle in a Cage'', and ''Seize the Day''. Cook died in Charlotte, North Carolina from complications from a stroke.

Selected filmography

* ''

Patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

'' (1956) * '' Home Is the Hero'' (1959) * '' The Philadelphia Story'' (TV movie - 1959) * ''A String of Beads'' (TV movie - 1961) * ''The Farmer's Daughter'' (TV movie - 1962) * ''Focus'' (TV movie - 1962) * ''The Fifty Minute Hour'' (TV movie - 1962) * ''

'' (TV movie - 1966) * '' A Big Hand for the Little Lady'' (1966) * ''

'' (1968) * '' Prudence and the Pill'' (1968) * ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'': '' Teacher, Teacher'' (1969) * ''Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall'' (TV movie - 1969) * ''Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster'' (TV movie - 1971) * '' Goodbye, Raggedy Ann'' (TV movie - 1971) * ''Neighbors'' (TV movie - 1971) * ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'' (TV movie - 1971) * '' Eagle in a Cage'' (1972) * '' The Hands of Cormac Joyce'' (TV movie - 1972) * '' From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'' (1973) * ''

'' (TV movie - 1973) * ''Pomroy's People'' (TV movie - 1973) * ''This Is the West That Was'' (TV movie - 1974) * ''Miles to Go Before I Sleep'' (TV movie - 1975) * ''

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

'' (TV movie - 1975) * ''The Rivalry'' (TV movie - 1975) * ''Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys'' (TV movie - 1976) * ''Beauty and the Beast'' (TV movie - 1976) * ''A Love Affair: The Eleanor & Lou Gehrig Story'' (TV movie - 1978) * '' Too Far to Go'' (TV movie - 1979) * ''

'' (TV movie - 1979) * ''Gauguin the Savage'' (TV movie - 1980) * ''Family Reunion'' (TV movie - 1981) * ''Will There Really Be a Morning?'' (TV movie - 1983) * '' Why Me?'' (1984) * '' Seize the Day'' (1986) * ''A Special Friendship'' (TV movie - 1987) * ''Circus'' (TV movie - 1988) * ''

'' (1997)

Awards and nominations

*1959

9th Berlin International Film Festival The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June to 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the French New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and Franç ...

Golden Bear Award ('' Home Is the Hero'', nominee) *1963 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama (''Big Deal in Laredo'' on ''The DuPont Show of the Month'', nominee) *1967 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety or Music (''Brigadoon'', winner) *1967 Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Program (''Brigadoon'', winner) *1969 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama (''Teacher, Teacher'' on

, nominee) *1971 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama (''The Price'' on

, winner) *1972 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama (''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'', nominee) *1976 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series ('' Beacon Hill'', nominee) *1977 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Special Program (''Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys'', nominee) *1987

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Grand Jury Prize for Drama ('' Seize the Day'', nominee)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Fielder American television directors Television producers from Georgia (U.S. state) American television writers American male television writers Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state) Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers from Atlanta Washington and Lee University alumni 1923 births 2003 deaths Alumni of the University of Birmingham Screenwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Mass media people from Atlanta