Boris Sagal Wiki Boris Sagal Biography
Boris Sagal (October 18, 1923 - May 22, 1981) was a Ukrainian-American film and television director.
Early life and career
Born in Yekaterinoslav, Ukrainian SSR (now known as Dnipro, Ukraine) to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Sagal immigrated to the United States. Sagal’s television credits include episode directing for The Twilight Zone, T.H.E. Cat, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery, Columbo: Candidate for Crime, Peter Gunn, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E .. He also directed the 1972 television adaptation of Percy MacKaye’s Scarecrow for PBS. He was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for his directing of the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man and, posthumously, Masada. [Citation required]
Sagal directed the 1971 science fiction film The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston in the title role,] and The Dream Makers. [two]
There is a directing scholarship in his name at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts. [Citation required]
Shortly before his death, Sagal’s Masada miniseries aired on ABC.
Personal life
Sagal was a Ukrainian Jew. He is the father of Katey, Joey, David, Jean and Liz with his first wife, Sara Zwilling, who died in 1975. Norman Lear, who was a friend of Boris and was also Katey’s godfather, introduced Boris and Sara when Sara was his script supervisor while writing for The Martin and Lewis Show, as both Katey and Norman recognized in 2016. His second wife was Marge Champion, whom he was married to from January 1, 1977 until her death.
Death
Sagal was killed in an accident during the production of the World War III miniseries, when he was partially decapitated after colliding with the blades of the tail rotor of a helicopter in the parking lot of the Timberline Lodge in Oregon. [2] An investigation revealed that he turned the wrong way upon exiting the helicopter. He died five hours later in a Portland hospital.
He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
