Ted Zachary is an American
assistant director, production manager, film producer and seasoned movie studio executive known for his sense of humor and his fairness.[1] From the 1970s through the 2000s, Zachary worked as an executive for
Viacom,
MGM/
UA and
New Line Cinema as well as having been an assistant director on notable films such as
Bob Fosse's Lenny, Shaft and
Frank Perry's The Swimmer.[2]
Career highlights
Zachary started his career working his way up as an assistant film director and production manager based out of
New York City /
New Jersey, and worked on films such as
Frank Perry's The Swimmer, Shaft,
Bob Fosse's Lenny and The Gambler as well as having produced nearly a thousand television commercials, including the legendary Coca-Cola "Hilltop" commercial featuring the song "
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." From 1977 through 1982 he was Vice President and Executive in Charge of Production at
Viacom Enterprises, followed by four years as Senior Vice President of Television production for
MGM/
UA.[1][3] While at MGM/UA, Zachary supervised production for all television series, pilots and telefilms, including the popular television series CHiPs and Fame.[4]
Zachary appears in the behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of The Swimmer, entitled The Story of The Swimmer by
Chris Innis. In the documentary (featured on the 2014
Grindhouse Releasing/Box Office Spectaculars Blu-ray/DVD restoration of the film) Zachary and fellow assistant director
Michael Hertzberg detail what it was like to work with
Burt Lancaster and director
Frank Perry during the film's production.[2][10][11]
^Variety “ZACHARY SIGNS ON AT REEVES”, October 20th, 1992
^
ab[2] Free Library.com, PR Newswire Association, “TED ZACHARY NAMED NEW LINE CINEMA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATION”, May 9, 1994
^[3] Variety “Reeves prez won't enter New World” by Brian Lowry, August 6, 1993
^Variety “New Line Cinema appointed Ted Zachary executive VP”, May 10th, 1994
^"The Story of the Swimmer" (documentary), directed by Chris Innis, Grindhouse Releasing/Columbia Pictures, 2014 Blu-ray/DVD release of "The Swimmer"
^[4] Film Score Monthly "Aisle Seat 3–25: The Swimmer, Wolf of Wall Street" by Andy Dursin, March 24, 2014