John Erman

John Erman (August 3, 1935 – June 25, 2021) was an American television director, producer, and actor. He was nominated for ten Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once for the film Who Will Love My Children? (1983). He also won two Directors Guild of America Awards for the miniseries Roots (1977) and the film An Early Frost (1985).

John Erman
Born	(1935-08-03)August 3, 1935 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 25, 2021(2021-06-25) (aged 85) New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	John M. Erman
Education	Beverly Hills High School University of California, Los Angeles
Occupations	Television director Television producer
Years active	1955–2006
Spouse	Richard Blair

Career

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Erman spent the early years of his career, after a few small roles in films such as The Cosmic Man (1957), directing episodes of such primetime series as Peyton Place, The Fugitive, The Outer Limits (original series), Stoney Burke, Ben Casey, My Favorite Martian, That Girl, The Flying Nun, Marcus Welby, M.D., Star Trek (original series), and Judd, for the Defense.

Erman directed episodes of Roots and its sequel, Roots: The Next Generations, as well as Alex Haley's Queen. He helmed many television films, including Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn, Green Eyes, Child of Glass, The Scarlett O'Hara War, Who Will Love My Children?, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, Right to Kill?, An Early Frost, The Atlanta Child Murders, The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank, David, Breathing Lessons, Scarlett, The Sunshine Boys, Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke, The Boys Next Door, and Candles on Bay Street, many of which he also produced.

Erman directed the feature films Making It (1971), Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973, credited as Bill Sampson) and Stella (1990).

Death

Erman died on June 25, 2021, in New York City, New York after a brief illness, at age 85.^[1][2][3]

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result
1977	Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Roots ("Part II")	Nominated
1980	Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or Special	The Scarlett O'Hara War	Nominated
1983		Who Will Love My Children?	Won
1984		A Streetcar Named Desire	Nominated
1986	Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special	An Early Frost	Nominated
1987	Outstanding Miniseries	The Two Mrs. Grenvilles	Nominated
1988	Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special	The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank	Nominated
	Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special		Nominated
1989	Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special	David	Nominated
1994	Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Breathing Lessons	Nominated

Directors Guild of America Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result
1978	Outstanding Directing – Drama Series	Roots ("Part II")	Won
1984	Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film	Who Will Love My Children?	Nominated
1986		An Early Frost	Won

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1955	Blackboard Jungle	Actor (Uncredited)	Role: Daly
1956	The Benny Goodman Story	Actor	Role: Harry Goodman (aged 16)
	Anything Goes	Actor (Uncredited)	Role: Boy
1959	The Cosmic Man	Actor	Role: Radar Operator
1971	Making It	Director
1973	Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies	Director	Credited as Bill Sampson
	Letters from Three Lovers	Director	Television Movie
1977	Green Eyes	Director, Producer	Television Movie
	Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn	Director	Television Movie
1978	Child of Glass	Director	Television Movie
	Just Me and You	Director	Television Movie
1979	My Old Man	Director	Television Movie
1980	The Scarlett O'Hara War	Director	Television Movie
	This Year's Blonde	Director	Television Movie
	The Silent Lovers	Director	Television Movie
1982	The Letter	Director	Television Movie
	Eleanor, First Lady of the World	Director	Television Movie
1983	Another Woman's Child	Director	Television Movie
	Who Will Love My Children?	Director	Television Movie
1984	A Streetcar Named Desire	Director	Television Movie
1985	Right to Kill?	Director	Television Movie
	An Early Frost	Director	Television Movie
1987	When the Time Comes	Director, Producer	Television Movie
1988	The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank	Director, Supervising Producer	Television Movie
	David	Director	Television Movie
1990	Stella	Director
	The Last Best Year	Director, Producer	Television Movie
1991	The Last to Go	Director, Producer	Television Movie
	Our Sons	Director, Production Supervisor	Television Movie
	Carolina Skeletons	Director, Supervising Producer	Television Movie
1994	Breathing Lessons	Director, Producer	Television Movie
1996	The Boys Next Door	Director, Producer	Television Movie
	The Sunshine Boys	Director	Television Movie
1997	Ellen Foster	Director, Producer	Television Movie
1998	Only Love	Director, Executive Producer	Television Movie
2004	The Blackwater Lightship	Director, Producer	Television Movie
2006	Candles on Bay Street	Director, Producer	Television Movie

Television

Year	TV Series	Credit	Notes
1957	Navy Log	Actor	1 Episode
	West Point	Actor	1 Episode
1958	Playhouse 90	Actor	1 Episode
1962-63	Stoney Burke	Director, Associate Producer, Assistant to Producer	11 Episodes
1963-64	The Outer Limits	Director, Production Associate, Casting Consultant	19 episodes (first season only)
1964	The Fugitive	Director	1 Episode
	Ben Casey	Director	1 Episode
1965	Karen	Director	1 Episode
	Profiles in Courage	Actor	1 Episode
1965-66	My Favorite Martian	Director	12 Episodes
1966	Please Don’t Eat The Daisies	Director	6 Episodes
1966-67	That Girl	Director	10 Episodes
1967	Occasional Wife	Director	1 Episode
1967-68	The Second Hundred Years	Director	4 Episodes
1967-69	Judd, for the Defense	Director	3 Episodes
	Peyton Place	Director	12 Episodes
1968	Star Trek	Director	1 Episode
	The Flying Nun	Director	4 Episodes
1968-70	The Ghost & Mrs. Muir	Director	8 Episodes
1969	Bracken's World	Director	1 Episode
	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	Director	2 Episodes
1969-74	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Director	5 Episodes
1970	Room 222	Director	2 Episodes
1971	Arnie	Director	1 Episode
1974	The Girl with Something Extra	Director	1 Episode
1975	The Bob Newhart Show	Director	1 Episode
	Karen	Director	3 Episodes
	M*A*S*H	Director	1 Episode
1976	Family	Director	4 Episodes
	Good Heavens	Director	1 Episode
1977	Roots	Director	1 Episode
1979	Roots: The Next Generations	Director	3 Episodes
1985	The Atlanta Child Murders	Director
1987	The Two Mrs. Grenvilles	Director, Supervising Producer
1993	Alex Haley's Queen	Director, Co-Producer
1994	Scarlett	Director, Producer
1999	Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke	Director
2001	Victoria & Albert	Director	2 Episodes