Marvin J. Chomsky

Biography: A prolific television director whose credits range from the original Star Trek to the devastating small-screen feature Holocaust, New York-born Marvin J. Chomsky crafted an impressive TV career. He entered the business as an art director, set decorator, and producer for such efforts as Arch Oboler's The Bubble and the Western series Gunsmoke, and turned out episodes of The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, and Hawaii Five-O, among numerous others, early in his career. He moved into big-screen territory with Evel Knievel in 1971. Although Chomsky occasionally returned to feature work in later years, it was television that defined his career. Nominated for numerous Emmys, Chomsky took home the prize for Holocaust (1978), Attica (1980), Inside the Third Reich (1982), and Peter the Great (1986). In 1995, he teamed with director John Goldsmith for the historical romantic drama Catherine the Great.