- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJerry Herbert Ziesmer
- Grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and acted in little theaters in the Milwaukee area. After acting with Ethel Waters in a touring company of "The Member of the Wedding", he went to the High School Institute at Northwestern University, in Illinois, and studied under acting coach Alvina Krause (whose other students included Charlton Heston, Jennifer Jones, Richard Benjamin, and Karen Black). He then pursued an acting career in Hollywood, while getting a master's degree at the Univ. of California, Los Angeles. In 1967, he was accepted into the Assistant Director training program from the Directors Guild and the Motion Picture Producers Association, and graduated in 1969.
- IMDb mini biography by: Steven Dhuey <walloon@mailbag.com>
- SpouseSuzanne Ziesmer(1982 - ?) (his death, 1 child)
- Children
- Frequently worked as Cameron Crowe's first assistant director and also as an actor in his movies.
- His line in Apocalypse Now, "Terminate with extreme prejudice" is an iconic, legendary movie/pop culture quote.
- Though most of his work was behind the scenes, he's best remembered as the mysterious third man of the trio (that includes Harrison Ford) giving Martin Sheen his mission in Apocalypse Now.
- In 1999, his autobiography about his life as a Hollywood 1st Assistant Director was published by Scarecrow Press titled: "Ready When You Are, Mr. Coppola, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Crowe" as part of their Filmmakers series. He and his wife continue to mentor, speak, and teach their film production class, "The Craft of the Assistant Director", at the UCLA Extension in Los Angeles.
- Began writing a book on his experiences over the years working as a first assistant director.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
