Biography

Don Medford was born on November 26, 1917 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Baretta (1975), The Twilight Zone (1959) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). He was married to Patti Crowe and Lynn Parker. He died on December 12, 2012 in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

For nearly four decades, he was one of the most prolific of American television directors, possibly best remembered for helming the final two episodes of The Fugitive (1963), watched by a then-record audience of 78 million. His trademark was "day for night" shooting (underdeveloping a "print shot in daytime during post-production to make it look like a scene shot at night). This earned him the sobriquet "Midnight Medford".

He got the nickname "Midnight Medford" when he shot The Organization (1971) with Sidney Poitier. Up until then they shot day for night. His wife, Lynn Parker, said, "He had a vision of doing a fantastic opening entirely at night, along with almost the entire film. He watered down the streets to make it seem darker, using much he learn from Alfred Hitchcock, using shadows, angles and camera placement. It's one of the most powerful openings I've ever seen.".

He was originally announced as the director of Juggernaut (1974), but dropped out and was replaced by Richard Lester. Bryan Forbes was also attached to the project at one time.