Tom Cherones

Thomas Harry Cherones Jr. ( ; September 11, 1939 – January 5, 2026) was an American television director and producer. He directed 81 of the 86 episodes of the first five seasons of Seinfeld. For his work directing the series, he won a Directors Guild of America Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as producer.

Early life and education Cherones was born on September 11, 1939, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he was also raised. His father, Tom Cherones Sr. operated a radio and television repair shop there.

Television career Cherones began working in educational television while a student at the University of Alabama and later produced and directed programs for WQED in Pittsburgh.

Cherones worked as a television producer and/or director on Growing Pains, My Sister Sam, and Annie McGuire in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he directed and produced Seinfeld (81 episodes) and NewsRadio (56 episodes). His work on Seinfeld won him praise as well as an Emmy, a DGA Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Several of Cherones's Seinfeld episodes are considered highlights of the series, including "The Chinese Restaurant," "The Parking Garage," and "The Contest," with the latter featured in rankings of the greatest television episodes of all time. Within Seinfeld, he appears in a cameo as the fictional director in "The Pilot." Cherones left Seinfeld after season five at Jerry Seinfeld's request: "He was tired of the same thing, I guess. We changed writers almost every season, and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence, to try to keep it fresh," Cherones said. He was succeeded as lead director by Andy Ackerman. Cherones also directed episodes of other shows including Caroline in the City, Ellen, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Desperate Housewives.

In 2003, Cherones was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame in 2001.

Later life From 2002 to 2014, Cherones taught a film production course at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he had earned a master's degree. In 2012, Cherones published his first novel, The Hardly Boys, a parody of the old Hardy Boys books.

Personal life and death Cherones had two children with his first wife, Bobby. He moved to Hollywood in 1975 with his second wife, Joyce Keener, who died in 2006.

Cherones was married to his third wife, Carol, when he died from Alzheimer's disease at his home in Florence, Oregon, on January 5, 2026, at the age of 86.

Filmography