Visual History with Jeff Margolis

Enthralled by television from childhood, Jeff Margolis was intrigued by how worlds could exist inside a television monitor. He enrolled at USC as a pre-med student, one of two careers his family encouraged him to pursue. Not tolerating the sight of blood, he decided to pursue television, first changing his major to film at USC and then transferring to UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. He then reached out to his uncle, Monty Hall, of Let’s Make a Deal notoriety, who helped him secure employment with a cue cards company, eventually starting his own. After directing and co-producing his UCLA TV special, Murray Roman’s TV Show, he began a brief tenure as an Associate Director on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour before transitioning to exclusively directing with Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1974.

Spanning five decades, Margolis’ prolific directing career includes 22 American Music Awards, 8 Oscars, 7 Screen Actors Guild Awards,2 Primetime Emmys and 2 Country Music Awards telecasts, and the feature film Richard Pryor Live in Concert (1979). He has also directed a number of television specials, including Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights (1980), Sammy Davis, Jr. 60^th Anniversary Celebration (1990), Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come (1990), Micheal Jackson: One Night Only (1995), Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life (1997), and Motown 45 (2004), among others.

Margolis has been nominated for 7 DGA Awards, winning twice in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical & Variety category for the 62^nd and 65^th Annual Academy Awards. He has also been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Variety or Music Program, with one win for The 67^th Annual Academy Awards.

He served one term on the Western Directors Council and has been a member since 1972.

Margolis passed away in May 2025.