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Abby Singer(1917-2014)

  • Production Manager
  • Producer
  • Production Department
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Abby Singer was born on 8 December 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a production manager and producer, known for St. Elsewhere (1982), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and Remington Steele (1982). He was married to Lotte Katz, Michelle Stone and Helen Eininger. He died on 13 March 2014 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.
BornDecember 8, 1917
DiedMarch 13, 2014(96)
BornDecember 8, 1917
DiedMarch 13, 2014(96)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys
    • 2 wins & 5 nominations total

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Known for

Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)
St. Elsewhere
8.0
TV Series
  • Production Management
Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, and George Kennedy in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
7.0
  • Production Management
  • 1974
Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)
Remington Steele
7.3
TV Series
  • Production Management
Man in the Chair (2007)
Man in the Chair
7.0
  • Abby Singer
  • 2007

Credits

IMDbPro

Production Management

  • Leslie Nielsen and Judge Reinhold in Family Plan (1998)
    Family Plan
    4.9
    • unit production manager
    • 1998
  • Gene Barry and Peter Barton in Burke's Law (1994)
    Burke's Law
    6.6
    TV Series
    • unit production manager
    • 1994
  • Nicole Dubuc, Chelsea Hertford, Gerald McRaney, Shanna Reed, and Marisa Ryan in Major Dad (1989)
    Major Dad
    6.5
    TV Series
    • unit production manager
    • 1989–1993
  • Dah-ve Chodan, Jacob Gelman, Sarah Martineck, Audrey Meadows, and Kevin Meaney in Uncle Buck (1990)
    Uncle Buck
    5.7
    TV Series
    • unit production manager
    • 1990
  • Peter Falk, Lindsay Crouse, Peter Jurasik, Ken Lerner, Stephen Macht, and Julia Montgomery in Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective (1989)
    Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • unit production manager
    • 1989
  • Columbo: Murder, Smoke and Shadows (1989)
    Columbo: Murder, Smoke and Shadows
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • unit production manager
    • 1989
  • Peter Falk, Anthony Andrews, Anthony Zerbe, Dana Andersen, Karen Austin, and Alan Fudge in Columbo: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989)
    Columbo: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • unit production manager
    • 1989
  • Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)
    St. Elsewhere
    8.0
    TV Series
    • unit production manager
    • executive in charge of production
    • executive in charge of production: MTM Productions
    • 1982–1988
  • Robert Clohessy, Michael Warren, and Bruce Weitz in Hill Street Blues (1981)
    Hill Street Blues
    8.2
    TV Series
    • executive in charge of production
    • unit production manager
    • executive in charge of production: MTM Enterprises
    • 1981–1983
  • Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)
    Remington Steele
    7.3
    TV Series
    • executive in charge of production
    • 1982–1983
  • Newhart (1982)
    Newhart
    7.8
    TV Series
    • executive in charge of production
    • 1982–1983
  • In Defense of Kids (1983)
    In Defense of Kids
    4.1
    TV Movie
    • executive in charge of production
    • 1983
  • Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Frank Bonner, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Richard Sanders, and Gary Sandy in WKRP in Cincinnati (1978)
    WKRP in Cincinnati
    8.0
    TV Series
    • executive in charge of production: MTM Productions, Inc.
    • executive in charge of production
    • production executive: MTM Productions, Inc.
    • 1979–1982
  • Lou Grant (1977)
    Lou Grant
    7.3
    TV Series
    • executive in charge of production
    • production executive: MTM Enterprises
    • 1979–1982
  • A Little Sex (1982)
    A Little Sex
    4.9
    • production manager: Los Angeles
    • 1982

Producer

  • Leslie Nielsen and Judge Reinhold in Family Plan (1998)
    Family Plan
    4.9
    • producer
    • 1998
  • The Last Best Place
    4.3
    TV Movie
    • producer
    • 1996
  • Gene Barry and Peter Barton in Burke's Law (1994)
    Burke's Law
    6.6
    TV Series
    • producer
    • produced by
    • 1994–1995
  • Meg Tilly, Ed Begley Jr., Josh Brolin, Kristen Cloke, Kurt Deutsch, Catherine Hicks, Paige Turco, and Megan Ward in Winnetka Road (1994)
    Winnetka Road
    6.8
    TV Series
    • line producer
    • 1994
  • Nicole Dubuc, Chelsea Hertford, Gerald McRaney, Shanna Reed, and Marisa Ryan in Major Dad (1989)
    Major Dad
    6.5
    TV Series
    • coordinating producer
    • 1989–1993
  • Shalom Sesame (1987)
    Shalom Sesame
    6.7
    TV Series
    • co-producer
    • producer
    • 1987–1991
  • Peter Falk, Lindsay Crouse, Peter Jurasik, Ken Lerner, Stephen Macht, and Julia Montgomery in Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective (1989)
    Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • coordinating producer
    • 1989
  • Columbo: Murder, Smoke and Shadows (1989)
    Columbo: Murder, Smoke and Shadows
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • coordinating producer
    • 1989
  • Peter Falk, Anthony Andrews, Anthony Zerbe, Dana Andersen, Karen Austin, and Alan Fudge in Columbo: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989)
    Columbo: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • coordinating producer
    • 1989
  • Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)
    St. Elsewhere
    8.0
    TV Series
    • coordinating producer
    • 1983–1988

Production Department

  • Dana Ashbrook, Nia Peeples, Clifton Collins Jr., Kellie Martin, Tina Lifford, and Matt Roth in Crisis Center (1997)
    Crisis Center
    4.6
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1997
  • Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder (1993)
    Diagnosis Murder
    6.9
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1996–1997
  • Melissa Joan Hart in Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)
    Sabrina the Teenage Witch
    6.7
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1996–1997
  • Tattingers (1988)
    Tattingers
    6.8
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1988–1989
  • Newhart (1982)
    Newhart
    7.8
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1983–1985
  • Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)
    Remington Steele
    7.3
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1983–1985
  • Robert Clohessy, Michael Warren, and Bruce Weitz in Hill Street Blues (1981)
    Hill Street Blues
    8.2
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1983–1985
  • The Duck Factory (1984)
    The Duck Factory
    6.3
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1984
  • Sharon Stone, Dennis Franz, Julius Carry, Bernie Casey, Patrick Cassidy, Pat Corley, Michele Greene, Peter Jurasik, Perry Lang, Michael Nouri, Ken Olin, Marco Rodríguez, and Mykelti Williamson in Bay City Blues (1983)
    Bay City Blues
    6.7
    TV Series
    • production consultant
    • 1983

Personal details

  • Alternative names
    • Abner E. Singer
  • Born
    • December 8, 1917
    • New York City, New York, USA
  • Died
    • March 13, 2014
    • Woodland Hills, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Lotte KatzJanuary 7, 1978 - March 13, 2014 (his death)

Did you know

  • Trivia
    Worked as a production manager and assistant director in film between the 1950s and the 1980s. His name has become famous in Hollywood as a phrase describing the second-to-last shot of the day ("the Abby Singer"). The last shot of the day is known as the "Martini". Mr. Singer got the reputation for calling the "Martini" shot and after that shot was completed he would state they had one more shot to do. Eventually the second to the last shot was referred to as the "Abby Singer".

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