- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHoward Burton Zieff
- Howard Zieff was born on October 21, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Main Event (1979), My Girl (1991) and Private Benjamin (1980). He was married to Ronda Gomez-Quinones. He died on February 21, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- SpouseRonda Gomez-Quinones(1997 - February 21, 2009) (his death)
- Before going into the movies, he was responsible for many memorable advertising campaigns. Most memorable was the Alka-Seltzer "Spicy Meatball" commercial in which an actor must work through repeated takes for a tomato sauce.
- Howard Zieff's early ad campaigns were noted for their innovative casting. Breaking from the stereotypical blond-haired, blue-eyed, old Hollywood ideal of perfection, he cast young unknowns with decidedly ethnic, un-Hollywood features, including Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss.
- Was originally set to direct Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) but the job was eventually given to Penny Marshall.
- Was original choice to direct Punchline (1988) when it was written in the end of 1970s.
- On photographing in 1967 for the "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's" ad campaign: We wanted normal-looking people, not blond, perfectly proportioned models. I saw the Indian on the street; he was an engineer for the New York Central. The Chinese guy worked in a restaurant near my Midtown Manhattan office. And the kid we found in Harlem. They all had great faces, interesting faces, expressive faces.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
