Introduction
Tom Cherones (born 1939) is an American director and producer of several TV series. His best-known directing work is on Seinfeld.
Early life
Cherones grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father operated a radio and TV repair shop. His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. From 1961 to 1965, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy.
Television career
Cherones began working in educational television while a student at the University of Alabama and later produced and directed programs for WQED in Pittsburgh. His first work after moving to Hollywood in 1975 was as a production manager for General Hospital.
Cherones began as a television director on My Sister Sam in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he became noted for directing and producing Seinfeld (81 episodes) and NewsRadio (56 episodes). His work on Seinfeld won him high praise as well as an Emmy, a DGA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Other notable TV shows on which he worked include Welcome Back Kotter, Caroline in the City, Annie McGuire, and Ellen. In 2003, he was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame in 2001.
Later life
From 2002-2014 Cherones taught a film production course at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he had earned a Master's degree in 1976.
In 2012, Cherones published his first novel, The Hardly Boys, a parody of the old Hardy Boys books.
Cherones is married to photographer Carol E. Richards. They divide their time between Florence, Oregon; Taos, New Mexico; and Los Angeles, California.