Anita W. Addison
Anita W. Addison | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anita Laraine Wharton Addison September 6, 1952 Greensboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | January 24, 2004 (aged 51) New York City, New York, United States |
| Other names | Anita Addison |
| Occupation(s) | Television and film director, television producer |
| Years active | 1976–2004 |
Anita Laraine Wharton Addison[1] (September 6, 1952 – January 24, 2004) was an American television and film director and producer. She was one of the first African American women to be a senior producer for a major television network.[2]
Biography
[edit]Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, her parents were educators and civil rights activists.[2] Her father, Donald Addison, was a sociology professor at North Carolina A&T. Her mother was Ruth Wharton Addison.[3] Addison graduated from high school in Wisconsin.[3]
Addison graduated from Vassar College, where she studied political science,[3] in 1974. She then went to Columbia University, where she received a master's degree in journalism.[2]
Addison began working as a journalist at People, Money, Fortune,[1] and as a researcher for Time magazine,[2] before embarking on a directing and producing career. She took classes at New York University's school of film. She then worked as an analyst of Nielsen ratings for a small, independent TV station in Los Angeles.[2]
Addison produced, wrote and directed a short film called "Savannah"[2] which was nominated for an Academy Award for best director in 1989.[4]
In the late 1980s, she worked as a senior vice president of drama development at Lorimar before working as a producer at Warner Bros. Television.[2]
In 1990 she earned a master's degree in fine arts from UCLA and began her career in TV and film.[3]
From 1995 to 1998, Addison was VP of drama development at CBS. After leaving CBS, she worked on numerous television series including Family Law and EZ Streets with director and writer Paul Haggis. In 1999, she directed the television movie Deep in My Heart. Addison died on January 24, 2004, in New York City. When she died she was a producer at Paramount Television and had just finished directing the pilot for "Manhattan Valley."[1] Haggis dedicated his Oscar-winning film Crash to Addison.[3]
She was seriously involved in the L.A Rebellion, an African-American film movement that took place at UCLA.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Addison had an older brother, Donald Addison, and a younger sister, Alveta Addison.[3] She also had a partner for 8 years, David Byrd.[1]
Death
[edit]Addison was in New York City working on a television series when she became ill in mid-January. She was admitted to New York-Presbyterian hospital, and died a week later.[2] There was no funeral or memorial held at the time she died. Her body was donated to science, and people were encouraged to make donations in her memory to their favorite causes.[3] The cause of death was breast cancer. A tribute was made to her in the movie Crash starring Sandra Bullock [3]
Selected filmography
[edit]Director
[edit]- Eva's Man (1976)
- Quantum Leap (1989-93)
- Freddy's Nightmares (1 episode, 1990)
- Deep In My Heart[2]
- Knots Landing (1 episode, 1991)
- Sisters (1 episode, 1991)
- There Are No Children Here (1993)
- ER (1 episode, 1995)
- EZ Streets (1 episode, 1997)[4]
- Judging Amy (1 episode, 2000)
Producer
[edit]- Sisters (7 episodes, 1991)
- It Had to Be You (1993)[2]
- That's Life (Executive producer)[2] (22 episodes, 2001–02)
- Copshop (2004)
UNCONFIRMED! Anita W. Addison is possibly the namesake of fictional character Addison Augustine(Caitlin Bassett) on the Quantum Leap sequel series.
- ^ a b c d Variety Staff; Staff, Variety (January 28, 2004). "Anita Addison". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rourke, Mary (January 30, 2004). "Anita Addison, 51; Pioneering TV Network Producer, Director". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Writer, Tom Steadman Staff (June 23, 2005). "Woman left impression on director". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Profile: Anita W. Addison (1952-2004)". Black Art Story. September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1952 births
- 2004 deaths
- African-American film directors
- African-American television directors
- American television directors
- American television producers
- American women television producers
- American women film directors
- American women television directors
- Businesspeople from Greensboro, North Carolina
- UCLA Film School alumni
- Film directors from North Carolina
- Vassar College alumni
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 20th-century American businesswomen
- 20th-century African-American women
- 21st-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American women
- 20th-century African-American businesspeople