Tom Cherones, ‘Seinfeld’ Producer and Director, Dies at 86

Tom Cherones, the director and producer best known for working on 81 of the first 86 episodes of “Seinfeld” during the show’s first five years, has died. He was 86.

Cherones died on Jan. 5 at his home in Florence, Ore., from Alzheimer’s disease, a family spokesperson announced.

Cherones’s first directing credit for “Seinfeld” was the sitcom’s second episode, “The Stakeout,” which aired in May 1990. Known for wearing Hawaiian shirts on set, he contributed to the show’s visual language by shooting multi-camera in a way that achieved a more cinematic look than the standard sitcom aesthetic. He went on to direct many of the show’s more experimental episodes, including “The Chinese Restaurant,” “The Parking Garage,” and “The Contest.”

Cherones appeared on camera once during his run on “Seinfeld,” playing “the director” in the fourth-season episode “The Pilot,” in which he says he was “gonna rip that little guy [Jason Alexander’s George Costanza] a new one.”

Cherones received six Emmy nominations for “Seinfeld” and, in 1993, shared the coveted award for outstanding comedy series with creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, among others. He also won a DGA Award and Golden Globe for the sitcom.

Born on Sept. 11, 1939, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Cherones graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in journalism in 1961. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy until 1965, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast and film communications from the University of Alabama in 1967.

Cherones produced and directed several programs and series episodes at various PBS affiliates before joining station WQED in Pittsburgh, where he worked on productions including “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

He moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and worked as a production manager for “General Hospital” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.” He later became an independent producer, working with Warner Bros., ABC, CBS, Paramount, Lorimar and Mary Tyler Moore Productions. In 1980, he wrote and produced the feature-length film “Two of Hearts” for cable and public television. His credits also include “Caroline in the City,” “NewsRadio,” “Ellen,” “Boston Common,” “Growing Pains,” “Ladies Man,” “The Pitts” and “Desperate Housewives.”

Cherones eventually returned to the University of Alabama, where he taught a class in television production for 12 years, pro bono.

Cherones was married to Bobby Cherones, with whom he had two children, and later to Joyce Keener until her death in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Carol E. Richards; his daughter, Susan Cherones Lee and her husband Daniel; son, Scott Cherones and his wife, Linda; and grandchildren Jessa and Thomas Cherones, as well as several brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.