Linda Day
Born
Linda Gail Brickner

August 12, 1938
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 2009(2009-10-23) (aged 71)
Georgetown, Texas, U.S.
Other namesLinda Day Varnum
OccupationTelevision director
Years active1976–2003

Linda Day Varnum (born Linda Gail Brickner; August 12, 1938 – October 23, 2009)[1] was an American television director, working primarily in situation comedies.

Day was born as Linda Gail Brickner[2] in Los Angeles, the daughter of Roy Brickner, a film editor. At the age of 67, she married her childhood sweetheart, L. Steve Varnum, in Texas.[3][4] She died in 2009, aged 71, after battling leukemia and breast cancer in Georgetown, Texas.[5][6]

Career

Day started as a script supervisor on the Television film Victory at Entebbe, and on the soap opera parody Soap. She became an associate director for WKRP in Cincinnati in 1978, and began directing episodes of the show in 1980. Linda Day went on to direct a number of successful sitcoms in the 1980s[4] and '90s, including the pilot of Married With Children and 32 more episodes of the show.[4] Day also directed four episodes of the soap opera Dallas during what would become the show's "dream season" in 1985–86, when the events of the entire season were explained away as being a character's dream.[7]

In addition to a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series nomination,[8] she received a Humanitas Prize and was honored by the Directors Guild of America for paving the way for women in television; she directed more than 350 episodes[9] and 50 series.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b Hollywood Reporter obituary Archived October 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine[dead link]
  2. ^ "Film Reference bio". Filmreference.com. 1938-08-12. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  3. ^ "Marriage License Application Indexes". dshs.texas.gov. Texas Department of State Health Services. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Linda Day". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 29 January 2017.[dead link]
  5. ^ Obituary, chicagotribune.com. Accessed 24 June 2023.
  6. ^ Obituary, backstage.com. Accessed 24 June 2023.
  7. ^ "PASSINGS: Joel Murray, Linda Day Varnum". Los Angeles Times. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Director Linda Day Passes". Emmys. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2017. In 1981, she earned an Emmy nomination for an episode of Archie Bunker's Place.
  9. ^ "Director Linda Day dies at 71". Variety. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2017. Pioneer helmed more than 350 episodes of TV

External links

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