- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHoward Burton Zieff
- Howard Zieff was born on October 21, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Main Event (1979), My Girl (1991) and Private Benjamin (1980). He was married to Ronda Gomez-Quinones. He died on February 21, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- SpouseRonda Gomez-Quinones(1997 - February 21, 2009) (his death)
- Before going into the movies, he was responsible for many memorable advertising campaigns. Most memorable was the Alka-Seltzer "Spicy Meatball" commercial in which an actor must work through repeated takes for a tomato sauce.
- Howard Zieff's early ad campaigns were noted for their innovative casting. Breaking from the stereotypical blond-haired, blue-eyed, old Hollywood ideal of perfection, he cast young unknowns with decidedly ethnic, un-Hollywood features, including Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss.
- Was originally set to direct Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) but the job was eventually given to Penny Marshall.
- Was original choice to direct Punchline (1988) when it was written in the end of 1970s.
- On photographing in 1967 for the "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's" ad campaign: We wanted normal-looking people, not blond, perfectly proportioned models. I saw the Indian on the street; he was an engineer for the New York Central. The Chinese guy worked in a restaurant near my Midtown Manhattan office. And the kid we found in Harlem. They all had great faces, interesting faces, expressive faces.
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