Marc Daniels (January 27, 1912 – April 23, 1989), born Danny Marcus, was an American television director. He directed on programs such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, and more.
Life and career
Daniels was a graduate of the University of Michigan. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II and until 1946,[1] Daniels was hired by CBS to direct its first dramatic anthology program, Ford Theater, mastering live television direction. He was hired to direct the first 38 episodes of I Love Lucy,[2] an early filmed series. Daniels recommended Vivian Vance for the role of Ethel Mertz.[3] Daniels, along with cinematographer Karl Freund, has been credited with introducing the three-camera technique of filming as opposed to the conventional one-camera. In a 1977 interview, Daniels noted that he left I Love Lucy to take another job that paid more. "Maybe it was a stupid thing to do," he said. "But then we didn't know we were creating history. We were just doing a show".[2]
Daniels died of congestive heart failure on April 23, 1989, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 77. He is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass.