Greg Garrison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greg Garrison (1923 – March 25, 2005) was a pioneer producer and director in the television business, directing nearly 4,000 shows in his career. He received more than a dozen Emmy Award nominations, although he never won.

Garrison started at the age of 22 by accident. Among his first productions were The Kate Smith Show and Your Show of Shows. He went on to produce and direct many television specials with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O'Connor and many others. He was probably best known for producing and directing the Dean Martin Variety Show, the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts as well as summer shows with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Jonathan Winters and Marty Feldman. He also directed one of television's landmark 1960 presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

Along with his career in television, he was among the first in the country to introduce the Spanish Andalusian horse breeding program. The Andalusian Society exists today because of him. He also had, at one time, the largest and finest collection of one-off Ferrari road cars.

Garrison died on March 25, 2005 in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.