Award-Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85 He directed Olympic Opening Ceremonies and Super Bowl Halftime Shows By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, April 21, 2025 - 12:30 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Don Mischer, an award-winning producer and director who changed the way that everything from awards shows to Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Super Bowl Halftime Shows, and more were directed, died on April 11 at the age of 85.
In a 2008 interview, Don Mischer advised aspiring directors to make sure that you have perseverance. I think it's the most important quality you can have in making a go of it in this business.
Mischer was honored with 15 Emmy Awards, a record 10 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, and the 2012 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America. As a member of the Directors Guild of America, he served three terms on the National Board and, in 2019, received the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award for Television, only the fourth such award ever given. On Dec. 11, 2014, Mischer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Among his most famous sports-related shows was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Opening Ceremony featuring Muhammad Ali, the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics Opening Ceremony, and the Super Bowl Halftime Shows from 2005 to 2010, including Prince's memorable performance in the rain at Super Bowl XLI in Miami.
Mischer was born in San Antonio, TX, on March 5, 1940, the son of Lillian and Elmer Mischer. After graduating from Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio, he completed his education at the University of Texas Austin and graduated with a BA degree in 1961 and a master's degree in sociology and political science in 1963. Mischer's work took him to Washington, DC, where he worked with the U.S. Information Agency and Oscar-winning documentarian Charles Guggenheim.
In 1971, he joined WNET, the public-TV station in New York City, to direct the second season of The Great American Dream Machine, an irreverent mix of short comic films, satirical sketches, investigative journalism, and musical acts. The show didn't last, but it was a first step in a journey in which, the following year, he became director of ABC's In Concert series. That, in turn, led to longer-term roles as director of The Kennedy Center Honors for CBS and other specials, including the famous Motown 25 special in 1983, which featured Michael Jackson moonwalking for the first time on national TV.
Mischer's memoir recalls that performance and his calling Prince on his walkie-talkie to tell him that the rain was falling very hard as the performance was about to begin. Prince, he said, responded, Can you make it rain harder?
Wrote Mischer, He clearly saw the downpour as a personal challenge. It wasn't going to stop him. I said, OK, go for it.' (Mischer discussed the halftime performance, the Olympics Opening Ceremony, and more in this video from his memorable keynote presentation at SVG's LiveTV:LA event at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City in 2015).
Mischer's many other credits included directing President Barack Obama's inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in 2009 and the 9/11 Memorial Museum Dedication in 2014.
The Television Academy Foundation ran some quotes from an interview with Mischer in 2008, including his advice for aspiring producers.
Number one, care about what you're doing, he said. Don't take the job lightly; really exhaust your options, in terms of different ways to create something, different ways to tell a story, and different ways to create an event or stage a musical number. Explore them and make sure that you have perseverance. I think it's the most important quality you can have in making a go of it in this business. You'll find you'll have to be thick-skinned at times because, no matter what you do or how good you do it, there are going to be times in which you make mistakes. And when you do, it will be pointed out in the press, and you'll have to deal with it with your fellow professionals in the business and just learn to accept those things, not look backward, and go on to the next project.
As for directing, Mischer said to work with directors that you respect, who have respect in the business, and try and learn from them.
Learn the things they do right and learn their bad habits as well, he said. And try and work with more than one, try and work with several of them, and you'll begin to absorb the things that work the best, and then you can kind of make those your own, ultimately, when you sit in a director's chair.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Award-Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85 He directed Olympic Opening Ceremonies and Super Bowl Halftime Shows By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
