John Herzfeld

John Herzfeld (born April 15, 1947) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, actor and producer. His feature film directing credits include 2 Days in the Valley (1996), 15 Minutes (2001) and Voices (1983). John has also directed numerous made-for-television movies, including The Ryan White Story (1989), The Preppie Murder (1989), Casualties of Love: The "Long Island Lolita" Story (1993), and Don King: Only in America (1997) for which he was nominated for an Emmy and won the DGA award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for directing the 1980 ABC Afterschool Special titled "Stoned". Early life Herzfeld was born on August 22,1948, in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in West Orange, New Jersey. His father, Henry Herzfeld, was a decorated infantry rifle platoon commander in World War 2, served in the Liberation of Dachau, and also a Lawyer at the Nuremberg trials. After the war Henry Herzfeld, ran Eastern Maintenance company, had a great love of movies, theater and ballet, and exposed his son, John, to the arts as often as he could. Career ABC Afterschool Specials Herzfeld began his directing career with two ABC Afterschool Specials. He won a Daytime Emmy for best directing in children's programming for his work on the 1980 film Stoned, the story of a shy, bullied high school student (played by Scott Baio) who becomes involved with marijuana. He also won the first annual "Scott Newman Drug Abuse Prevention Award" for his writing on Stoned. In addition to writing and directing, Herzfeld also played the part of a concerned teacher in Stoned. His second Afterschool Special, Run, Don't Walk, also starred Scott Baio about two teenager learning to cope with their life in wheelchairs.