Buzz Kulik

Director · born 23 July 1922 · Kearny, New Jersey, USA

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.

Where to start: Miles from Nowhere (1992).