Michael Pressman

Michael Pressman (born 1950) is an American film and television producer and director and actor

Early life Michael Pressman was born in Manhattan, United States in 1950. His mother, Sasha, a modern dancer, was an original member of Martha Graham's first dance troupe. His father, David Pressman, was a theatrical and television director. His television career stalled in the early 1950s was suddenly derailed when he was targeted by Senator Joseph McCarthy during his blacklisting of alleged communist sympathizers. He was unable to work in television for close to 15 years, and became a teacher. He returned to television in the 1960s, and directed soap operas. He directed the popular One Life to Live for almost 30 years, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and ten Daytime Emmys, winning three times.

Career Michael Pressman's interest in filmmaking was inspired by his father's career and persecution. He was a child actor in theater before becoming interested in directing and filmmaking when he was a teenager.

Afterwards, he directed films like The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, the sequel to the original Walter Matthau film, the Dan Aykroyd comedy Doctor Detroit, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.

Pressman directed the 1979 film Boulevard Nights, a first Latino gang film that was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2025. He followed that with Those Lips, Those Eyes, a love letter to the theater about the life of the actor in summer stock, starring Frank Langella.

In between series projects, Pressman also directed the play Finks in Los Angeles. It was a personal story for him as it is about the blacklisting of comic actor Jack Gilford during the McCarthy witch-hunt. Joe Gilford, the author of the play, was a childhood friend and they were able to share and embrace their pasts as children of the blacklist and how it affected both of their creative lives.

Awards and nominations Pressman won two Emmys for executive producing and show running the series Picket Fences. He earned an Emmy nomination and a DGA nomination for his work on the hospital drama Chicago Hope.

Personal life Pressman is married to actress Maia Danziger, who is also a creator of Relax and Write, a meditative writing program that she teaches around the world. They knew each other as children, having grown up in the same building on the upper west side of Manhattan.