Sharron Miller

Sharron Miller (born in Enid, Oklahoma) is the first woman in history to win a Directors Guild of America Award for directing drama.

In 1984, she won the DGA Award, two Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award and the Christopher Award for her afterschool special, "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle". This true-life drama is about Leslie Lemke, the blind and mentally retarded boy with cerebral palsy who became world-famous as a savant pianist.

History

Miller began writing and directing short films as a teenager. After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1971, she attended graduate school at Northwestern University, majoring in film. In 1972, she went to Hollywood and worked as a script supervisor and film editor before becoming a professional director, producer and scriptwriter in 1976. She has written and directed several short films, but the majority of her work has been in television, where she has had a long and prolific career directing television movies and series. She is known for her ability to elicit strong performances from actors. Sharon Gless, Cloris Leachman and Peggy McCay all won Emmy Awards under her direction and James Stacy received an Emmy nomination.

In 1988, Miller was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award and an Emmy Award for directing two different episodes of the series, "Cagney & Lacey". [http://emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php]

Among her other honors are the Los Angeles Women in Film Festival Lillian Gish Award and the Viewers For Quality Television Award for "Cagney and Lacey", and three New York International Film and TV Festival Awards for the half hour religious anthology series, "This Is the Life".

Partial filmography

Miller has directed many television series and television movies including:
* "That's Life" (TV series) (2001)
* "The District" (TV series) (2000)
* "Any Day Now" (TV series) (1998)
* "The Client" (TV series) (1995)
* "Christy" (TV series) (1994)
* Hotel Malibu (TV series/pilot) (1994)
* Second Chances (TV series/pilot) (1993)
* "Homefront" (TV series) (1991)
* "Sisters" (TV series) (1991)
* "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill" (TV series) (1990)
* "The Outsiders" (TV pilot) (1990)
* "China Beach" (TV series) (1988)
* "Little Girl Lost" (TV movie) (1988)
* "L.A. Law" (TV series) (1987)
* "Pigeon Feathers" (TV movie) (1987)
* Father Dowling Mysteries (TV series) (1987)
* "Pleasures" (TV movie) (1986)
* "The Paper Chase" (TV series) (1985)
* The Woman Who Willed a Miracle (TV movie) (1983)
* "Cagney & Lacey" (TV series) (1982)
* "Cradle Song" (Short) (1981)
* "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" (TV series) (1977)
* "Deportee" (Short) (1976)

References

* [http://emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]

*

* "Sixth Annual International Edition of Film Directors: a Complete Guide" (USA), 1988, pg. 10-13, by: Michael Singer