Rod Holcomb (May 28, 1943 – January 24, 2024) was an American television director and producer, best known for directing the pilot and finale of ER.
Holcomb directed episodes of numerous television series, including Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, Battlestar Galactica, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, The District, Lost, Invasion, Shark, China Beach, Wiseguy, The Equalizer, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Devlin Connection, The Greatest American Hero, Hill Street Blues, The West Wing, and Numb3rs.
Life and career In 1979, Holcomb directed the television film Captain America. In 1994, he directed pilot episode of ER, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and won a Directors Guild of America Award. In 1996, he directed the episode "Last Call" and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy. He returned to the show in 2009 to direct its final episode and received a Primetime Emmy for doing so.
In 1997, Holcomb was announced as the director of a Showtime miniseries titled Dying for Our Country. It aired the next year under the title Thanks of a Grateful Nation. In 2001, he directed the pilot episode of The Education of Max Bickford, and served as executive producer for the overall show.
In 2004, Holcomb served as chair of the Directors Guild of America's television creative rights committee.
Holcomb died on January 24, 2024, at the age of 80.
Directing style On his role as a guest director, Holcomb stated:
Unreleased works In 1997, Holcomb was announced as the director of an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's novel A Fall of Moondust. In 1999, he was hired to direct a WWII drama pilot titled Skylark.
Filmography Feature film Stitches (1985) (Credited as Alan Smithee)
TV series Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer Episode(s) 1994-2009ERrowspan=3 rowspan=3 "24 Hours" "Last Call" "And in the End..." 2001-2002 The Education of Max Bickford "Pilot" 2003 The Lyon's Den 2006–2008 Shark 2007-2008 Moonlight "No Such Thing as Vampires" 2009 Lost "Jughead"
TV movies Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer 1979 Captain America 1991 Chains of Gold 1993 Donato and Daughter 1994 Royce 1995 Convict Cowboy 1998 Thanks of a Grateful Nation 2000 Hopewell 2003 The Pentagon Papers 2005 Code Breakers 2010 The 19th Wife
Awards and nominations Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Title Result 1988Outstanding Directing in a Drama SeriesChina Beach: Pilot1995ER: 24 Hours1997ER: Last Call2009ER: And in the End...
Directors Guild of America Awards Year Category Title Result 1989Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic SpecialsChina Beach: Pilot1994ER: 24 Hours2004The Pentagon Papers
The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors Honors Awards Year Category Result 2004Directing
References
External links