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Gary Halvorson
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Gary Halvorson

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland marks Gary Halvorson's feature film directorial debut.

Halvorson's work can be seen on some of television's most popular television series. For Carsey-Werner he directed episodes of NBC's Friends, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, Grace Under Fire, Roseanne, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Jim Henson's Muppets Tonight.

Television specials include Franco Zeffirelli's Carmen, a MET/PBS production; Dangerous Liaisons, a world premiere opera production for The San Francisco Opera; El Gato Montes, a Los Angeles Opera Company Production; and Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters, for PBS Great Performances, hosted by Herbie Hancock and Vanessa Williams. The special celebrated 50 years of Verve Records.

Halvorson was nominated for an Emmy as Best Director for each of the four years, 1994-1997, that he directed the NBC broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He received an Emmy for his direction of the ABC-TV special Free to Be... A Family, hosted by Marlo Thomas and starring Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams, Carly Simon, Jon Bon Jovi and Whoopi Goldberg. He also received an Emmy Award for his direction of Kids Inc., a half-hour syndicated series on the Disney Channel.

For seven years, Halvorson was the director of the American Comedy Awards with stars that included Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Penny Marshall, Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. From 1993 till 1996, he directed Adventures in Wonderland, a comedy children's series, for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Director as well as a nomination for a Special Emmy Award: Children's Best.

Halvorson directing credits also include ABC-TV's Emmy Award-winning special Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues, with guest stars Billy Dee Williams, Bernadette Peters, Dick Shawn and Little Richard. For CBS-TV, he directed David Copperfield IX & X, Escape from Alcatraz and The Bermuda Triangle, with guest stars Ann Jillian and Lisa Hartman.

Halvorson won an Emmy for his direction of Walt Disney's The Very Merry Christmas Day Parade and directed the parade and premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame for that same company.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2002.

Gary Halvorson Facts

OccupationDirector

Selected Filmography

Not available.