Dwight Hemion

American television director

Dwight Hemion

Born|

Dwight Arlington Hemion Jr.

(1926-03-14)March 14, 1926

New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.

Died| January 28, 2008(2008-01-28) (aged 81)

Rectortown, Virginia, U.S.

Occupation| Television director
Spouses|

* Joyce Hogue

(m. 1953; div. 1970)​

* Katherine Morrissy

(m. 1973)​

Children| 2

Dwight Arlington Hemion Jr. (March 14, 1926 – January 28, 2008) was an American television director known mainly for music-themed television programs of the 1960s and 1970s. He held the record for the most Emmy nominations (47), and won 18 times, putting him at the top of his profession throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and well into the 1980s. He also won the Directors Guild of America's top TV award five times, six Ace awards and a Peabody award.

## Career[edit]

Hemion began working in live television in New York City in the 1950s, particularly for the original Tonight Show starring Steve Allen.[1] In the 1960s, Hemion began concentrating on musical-variety shows, working with producer Gary Smith on a popular series of Kraft Music Hall specials for NBC-TV. Smith-Hemion Productions arguably defined the fast-paced look and glamorous style of the American comedy-variety genre, and influenced scores of later generations working in television.

Hemion had a knack for balancing both visual and musical elements that made him a master of directing concert performance specials. He worked with such major stars as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Jr., Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine, Julie Andrews, Elvis Presley, Burt Bacharach, The Muppets, and Luciano Pavarotti. He also won Emmys for directing the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989 and 1990.

## Productions[edit]

Among the most memorable specials that Hemion produced and directed were: My Name Is Barbra (1965), Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music (1965), Peter Pan (a 1976 version with a new score, not to be confused with the musical starring Mary Martin), Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980), and Barbra Streisand: The Concert (1994). Along with producing partner Gary Smith, Hemion later branched out into producing large conventions, including the nomination conventions for the Democratic Party as well as the inaugural ceremonies for Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.[2] He is also credited as a executive producer for The Star Wars Holiday Special along with Smith.

## Death[edit]

Hemion died of kidney failure in Rectortown, Virginia, at the age of 81.[3]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "TV producer Dwight Hemion dies". Variety. February 1, 2008. ISSN 0042-2738.
2. ^ Rourke, Mary (February 2, 2008). "TV director known for his musical specials". Los Angeles Times.
3. ^ Bernstein, Adam (January 31, 2008). "Dwight Hemion, 81; Producer Of Glamorous TV Specials". The Washington Post.

## External links[edit]

* Dwight Hemion at IMDb
* Dwight Hemion at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
* Dwight Hemion at Find a Grave

Awards for Dwight Hemion

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Musical Variety

* Timothy Kiley (1971)
* Bob Fosse (1972)
* Dwight Hemion (1973)
* Roger Englander (1974)
* Jay Sandrich (1975)
* Tony Charmoli (1976)
* Arthur Fisher (1977)
* Merrill Brockway (1978)
* Tony Charmoli (1979)
* Dwight Hemion (1980)
* Emile Ardolino (1981)
* Don Mischer (1982)
* Don Mischer (1983)
* Don Mischer and Twyla Tharp (1984)
* Don Mischer (1985)
* Walter C. Miller (1986)
* Dwight Hemion (1987)
* Walter C. Miller (1988)
* Don Mischer (1989)
* Jeff Margolis (1990)
* Walter C. Miller (1991)
* Bobby Quinn (1992)
* Jeff Margolis (1993)
* Dwight Hemion and Barbra Streisand (1994)
* Matthew Diamond (1995)
* Don Mischer (1996)
* Louis J. Horvitz (1997)
* Paul Miller (1998)
* Dennie Gordon (1999)
* Beth McCarthy-Miller (2000)
* Joel Gallen and Beth McCarthy-Miller (2001)
* Matthew Diamond (2002)
* David Mallet (2003)
* Bruce Gowers (2004)
* Matthew Diamond (2005)
* Rob Marshall (2006)
* Glenn Weiss (2007)
* Bucky Gunts (2008)
* Don Mischer (2009)
* Glenn Weiss (2010)
* Glenn Weiss (2011)
* Glenn Weiss (2012)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series

1970s|

* Mark Warren (1971)
* Art Fisher (1972)
* Bill Davis (1973)
* Dave Powers (1974)
* Dave Powers (1975)
* Dave Wilson (1976)
* Dave Powers (1977)
* Dave Powers (1978)
* No Award (1979)

1980s|

* Dwight Hemion (1980)
* Don Mischer (1981)
* Dwight Hemion (1982)
* Dwight Hemion (1983)
* Dwight Hemion (1984)
* Terry Hughes (1985)
* Waris Hussein (1986)
* Don Mischer (1987)
* Patricia Birch and Humphrey Burton (1988)
* Jim Henson (1989)

1990s|

* Dwight Hemion (1990)
* Hal Gurnee (1991)
* Patricia Birch (1992)
* Walter C. Miller (1993)
* Walter C. Miller (1994)
* Jeff Margolis (1995)
* Louis J. Horvitz (1996)
* Don Mischer (1997)
* Louis J. Horvitz (1998)
* Paul Miller (1999)

2000s|

* Louis J. Horvitz (2000)
* David Mallet (2001)
* Bucky Gunts, Ron de Moraes and Kenny Ortega (2002)
* Glenn Weiss (2003)
* Louis J. Horvitz (2004)
* Bucky Gunts (2005)
* Louis J. Horvitz (2006)
* Rob Marshall (2007)
* Louis J. Horvitz (2008)
* Bruce Gowers (2009)

2010s|

* Don Roy King (2010)
* Don Roy King (2011)
* Don Roy King (2012)
* Don Roy King (2013)
* Don Roy King (2014)
* Chuck O'Neil (2015)
* Ryan McFaul (2016)
* Don Roy King (2017)
* Don Roy King (2018)
* Don Roy King (2019)

2020s|

* Don Roy King (2020)
* Don Roy King (2021)
* Bridget Stokes (2022)
* Liz Patrick (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special

1971–1978|

* Sterling Johnson (1971)
* Martin Charnin and Walter C. Miller (1972)
* Bob Fosse (1973)
* Dwight Hemion (1974)
* Bill Davis (1975)
* Dwight Hemion (1976)
* Dwight Hemion (1977)
* Dwight Hemion (1978)

2009–present|

* Bucky Gunts (2009)
* Bucky Gunts (2010)
* Lonny Price (2011)
* Glenn Weiss (2012)
* Louis J. Horvitz (2013)
* Glenn Weiss (2014)
* Don Roy King (2015)
* Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski (2016)
* Glenn Weiss (2017)
* Glenn Weiss (2018)
* Thom Zimny (2019)
* Stan Lathan (2020)
* Bo Burnham (2021)
* Paul Dugdale (2022)
* Hamish Hamilton and Shawn Carter (2023)

Between 1979–2008, directing specials competed alongside Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Israel
* United States
* Netherlands

Artists|

* Emmy Awards
* Grammy Awards
* MusicBrainz

Other|

* SNAC

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*[div.]: divorced
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