Joel Zwick

JOEL ZWICK

Date of Birth: January 11, 1942

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Zwick started entertaining back in his high school days when he and three classmates sang in a quartet. He attended Brooklyn College where he acquired a Master of Arts degree. He began his career on stage acting in the off-Broadway political satire, MacBird, in 1967. For the next seven years, Zwick worked as the artistic director for La Mama; he also spent time as an instructor at the Yale School of Drama.

Zwick began directing the national tour and Kennedy Center production of the award-winning Shenandoah, and the off-Broadway staging of Cold Storage before moving to Los Angeles to work in television.

In 1974, he began his long trek through the television world. Starting with classic shows like Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy, Zwick made his mark on more than 20 television series. They ranged from Bosom Buddies and Perfect Strangers to Full House, Step by Step and The Love Boat: The Next Wave.

Although he had worked on a number of telefilms, Zwick didn't set foot into the world of feature films until the late '80s when he released his first movie, Second Sight (1989). The comedy, about a detective who uses the help of a bizarre psychic to solve a case, was panned by critics and received mixed reactions from viewers.

Returning to the industry he knew best, Zwick didn't venture back to film for at least a decade. When he did, however, he found a more appreciative audience for the comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

Filmography:

Fat Albert (2004)
Elvis Has Left the Building (2004)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Second Sight (1989)