Jerry Zaks

Jerry Zaks (born September 7, 1946) is an American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me a Tenor (1989), and Six Degrees of Separation (1991) and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Guys and Dolls (1992).

Early life Zaks was born in Stuttgart, Germany, the son of Holocaust survivors Lily (Gliksman) and Sy Zaks, a butcher. His family immigrated to the United States in 1948, finally settling in Paterson, New Jersey, where he graduated from Eastside High School in 1963. He graduated from Dartmouth College and received a Master of Fine Arts from Smith College.

Career Stage He made his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Grease as "Kenickie" and appeared in Tintypes in 1980. He made his directing debut in 1981 with the off-Broadway production of Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy, which co-starred Sigourney Weaver. He has directed many Broadway productions, both musicals and dramas.

He has also directed many Off-Broadway productions, several at Playwrights Horizons and the Public Theater. He directed the City Center Encores! productions of Girl Crazy (November 2009), Stairway to Paradise (May 2007), and Bye Bye Birdie (May 2004).

He was the director of the new musical The 101 Dalmatians Musical, which toured the United States from October 2009 through April 2010. Zaks was named "creative consultant" for the new musical The Addams Family, which opened on Broadway in April 2010.

He directed the Broadway production of Sister Act, which opened in Spring 2011.

Lincoln Center Zaks served as Resident Director at Lincoln Center from 1986 to 1990 and is a founding member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Television and film As an actor, Zaks' screen credits include Outrageous Fortune, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Husbands and Wives. On television he has appeared in M*A*S*H and The Edge of Night and directed episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, Hope and Faith, and Two and a Half Men, among others. He also directed the feature films Marvin's Room and Who Do You Love? Marvin's Room won the Golden St. George at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival.

Honors Zaks received the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater in 1994 and an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Dartmouth College in 1999. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2013.

Personal life Jerry lives with long time partner Melissa Gooding; Jerry has two children, Emma and Hannah Zaks. (1996) Who Do You Love? (2008)

Actor Year Title Role 1987 Outrageous Fortune Tobacco Clerk 1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors Man on Campus 1992 Husbands and Wives Dinner Party Guest

Television Director Year Title Notes 1996 O'Henry's Christmas Segment "The Last Leaf" 2000 The Man Who Came to Dinner TV movie 2001 Kristin 2 episodes 2001–2004 Everybody Loves Raymond 21 episodes 2002 Bram and Alice 7 episodes 2002–2003 Frasier 4 episodes2004 All About the Andersons 2 episodes Married to the Kellys Episode "Double Dating" Hope and Faith 2 episodes 2006–2007 Two and a Half Men 3 episodes

Actor Year Title Role Notes1973 The New Temperatures Rising Show Episode "The Misguided Appendectomy" M*A*S*H Cpl. Phil Walker Episode "L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)" 1980 Attica Lenny BeckerTV movie 1981 The Gentleman Bandit Carl Schnee 1983–1984 The Edge of Night Louis Van Dine 24 episodes 2000 The Beat Episode "Can I Get a Witness?"

Theatre Director Year Title Venue 1986 The House of Blue Leaves Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway The Front Page 1987 Anything Goes 1989 Lend Me a Tenor Royale Theatre, Broadway 1990 Six Degrees of Separation Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway 1992 Guys and Dolls Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway 1993 Face Value Cort Theatre, Broadway Laughter on the 23rd Floor Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway 1995 Smokey Joe's Cafe Virginia Theatre, Broadway 1996 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum St. James Theatre, Broadway 1999 The Civil War Epic Proportions Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway 2000 The Man Who Came to Dinner American Airlines Theatre, Broadway 2001 45 Seconds from Broadway Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway 2003 Little Shop of Horrors Virginia Theatre, Broadway 2004 La Cage aux Folles Marquis Theatre, Broadway 2006 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway Losing Louie Biltmore Theatre, Broadway 2007 A Bronx Tale Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway 2011 Sister Act Broadway Theatre, Broadway 2016 A Bronx Tale Longacre Theatre, Broadway 2017 Hello, Dolly! Sam S. Shubert Theatre, Broadway Meteor Shower Booth Theatre, Broadway 2020 Mrs. Doubtfire Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway 2021 The Music Man Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway

Actor Year Title Role Venue 1972 Grease Kenickie (Replacement) Eden Theatre, Broadway 1978 Once in a Lifetime Weisskopf Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway 1980 Tintypes Performer John Golden Theatre, Broadway

Production Supervisor Year Title Role Venue 1999 Swing! Production Supervisor St. James Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations