Biography.guide
Home › People › Film director › Jon H. Else
Portrait of Jon H. Else

Jon H. Else

b. 1944

American documentary filmmaker (born 1944)

Film director Screenwriter Documentary participant
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Jon H. Else

Born 1944. Jon H. Else is an American film director, screenwriter, documentary participant, film producer and filmmaker.

Jon H. Else (born 1944) is an American documentary filmmaker and professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He directs the documentary program.

Biography Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Else moved west for college. He earned a B.A. (English, 1968) from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. (Communication, 1974) from Stanford University.

He directed and produced major documentaries beginning in 1980, such as The Day After Trinity, about the work during World War II at Los Alamos in developing and testing the atomic bomb and Eyes on the Prize in 1987, a documentary about the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1965, based on the history of the same name. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1988.

Filmography The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb (1980) Palace Of Delights: The Exploratorium (1982, aired on Nova), producer, director, cinematographer Eyes On The Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1987, covering 1954–1965), series producer for PBS and cinematographer Yosemite: The Fate Of Heaven (1989, aired in American Experience (season 2)), producer, director, cinematographer Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985 (1990), series producer and cinematographer. Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic (2008) Cadillac Desert: Water and the American West (1997), director, producer, cinematographer Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle (1999), producer, director, cinematographer Open Outcry (2001), producer, director, cinematographer The Island President (2011), executive producer

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Awards
MacArthur Fellows Program
Also known as
Jon Else

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jon H. Else's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jon H. Else?

American documentary filmmaker (born 1944)

When was Jon H. Else born?

Jon H. Else was born on 16 June 1944 in Worcester.

What is Jon H. Else's occupation?

Jon H. Else is a film director, screenwriter, documentary participant, film producer and filmmaker.

What nationality is Jon H. Else?

Jon H. Else is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jon H. Else

· Wikidata: Q6270824

· DBpedia: Jon H. Else

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jon H. Else. https://biography.guide/jon-h-else/

MLA: "Jon H. Else." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jon-h-else/.

Chicago: "Jon H. Else." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jon-h-else/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-26 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:16 UTC