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  • BIRTH 23/07/1922
  • DEATH 13/01/1999
  • Country United States
  • DIRECTOR 21
  • PRODUCTION 3

Buzz Kulik

Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American film director and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series Playhouse 90 and several episodes of The Twilight Zone. Kulik went on to direct made-for-TV movies, such as Brian's Song.

After leaving the army as a first lieutenant after World War II, Kulik went to work in the mail room at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in New York. He eventually saw a notice at work that they were looking for people to direct programs for a new medium called television, and Kulik responded. A lifelong baseball fan, he started directing the cameras at Yankee Stadium before starting a career directing live television programming such as Playhouse 90 and Lux Video Theater. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 and eventually began directing some of the landmark series of the 1950s and 1960s including Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Dr. Kildare and The Defenders (for which he directed the pilot episode). He directed a dozen episodes of Twilight Zone, which brought him lasting fame and recognition among the legion of fans who religiously watch the Twilight Zone marathons that continue to air on holidays to this day.

Kulik also began directing feature films in the 1960s including Explosive Generation with William Shatner, Warning Shot with David Jansen, Villa Rides with Robert Mitchum, Yul Brynner, and Charles Bronson, and Riot with Gene Hackman and Jim Brown. He directed the first television mini-series, Vanished, with Richard Widmark and James Farentino. In 1971, he directed what many critics and fans feel is the greatest television film ever made, Brian's Song, for which he received "Best Director" honors from the Directors Guild of America. For several years in a row the lead actors in the films he directed won "Best Actor" of the year including Peter Ustinov for A Storm in Summer, James Caan for Brian's Song, Alan Alda for Kill Me if You Can, Susan Clark for Babe, and Anthony Hopkins for The Lindbergh Kidnapping. Some of the prominent long-form mini series he directed were From Here to Eternity with Natalie Wood and William Devane, Around the World in 80 Days with Pierce Brosnin and Peter Ustinov, and Kane and Abel with Peter Strauss.

In the 1970s and 1980s he also directed feature films including To Find a Man, Shamus with Burt Reynolds, and The Hunter with Steve McQueen.

Over the course of a career that lasted more than 40 years, Buzz Kulik established himself, and is remembered today, as one of the greatest television directors of all time.

Buzz Kulik

Director (21)

The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
(9 episodes)
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
(5 episodes)
The Hunter
The Hunter
Rawhide
Rawhide
(1 episode)
The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper
The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper
Perry Mason
Perry Mason
(2 episodes)
Villa Rides
Villa Rides
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
The Defenders
The Defenders
(10 episodes)
Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
(2 episodes)
Kane & Abel
Kane & Abel
(3 episodes)
Rage of Angels
Rage of Angels
Her Secret Life
Her Secret Life
Warning Shot
Warning Shot
To Find a Man
To Find a Man
Shamus
Shamus
Babe
Babe
Riot
Riot
Brian's Song
Brian's Song
Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre
(1 episode)

Production (3)

Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Her Secret Life
Her Secret Life
Warning Shot
Warning Shot